Callarduran

Callarduran was a Creationist. In this capacity, on 9 Bliss 8750 DE he created the gnome race in his likeness, though far less exotic. Late in the Dawn Era, the first gnome civilization came about in Bal-Kriav's Zythess region.

In the Demon Spawn War (8972 GE - 9493 GE) , the armies of Jurusalax abandoned Kriav and started the invasion of a world already reeling from demon invasions. The Núlananya Rift was used by the invaders to assault Honmin and the other regions of the continent Hezmort. This mini-war of the Demon Spawn War is called the Zythess War. In this war, the demon armies were contested by those under Callarduran. When Ares, then Supreme Commander of the Quara'tun Covenant, sent orders to pull out of Hezmort, Callarduran refused by stating that he could not abandon the gnomes. Callarduran failed to stop the waves of demons pouring through the Núlananya Rift. He saved his gnomes, but perished battling Jurusalax and more than a hundred runehounds. The Gimrune have a legend of this, claiming that it was not Jurusalax that delivered the killing blow, but a mound of dead hounds that suffocated the Great Callarduran.

The demon invasion of Hezmort resulting in the gnomes splintering into three groups. Those that fled underground, became the Svirfneblin, those that fled by air, scattered, became known as the Forstneblin. The last group stayed behind, battling alongside their creator. Those that survived under the yoke of demon masters became known as the Gimrune.