The First World, from which the gnomish race originally hails, is a land of wild imaginations and impossibility, where the Eldest of that plane have the power to reshape reality on a whim. Even though our own world has magic and other fantastical wonders, it is nevertheless based on a physical reality that is constant and unchanging. Because of their heritage, gnomes have difficulty coping with and accepting this reality, and must therefore constantly strive to innovate, dream, and take in new experiences. Those who fail to do so become bored and slowly accept our reality, succumbing to a condition only experienced by gnomes: the Bleaching. Those who suffer from this ailment slowly lose all color in their hair and skin, and eventually succumb to dementia or madness, and death.