Ruemins
The Ruemins are a unique culture of gnomes that live far beneath the surface in the heart of Leuber. The Ruemins have an exceptional interest in history, and their insistence on supporting every claim with factual written evidence far surpasses that of their neighbors in Firecomb. The daily activities of the Ruemins revolves around binding, writing, and maintaining books.
To most Ruemins, the primary purpose of books is to record history. They record everything they can learn of the outside world, from city-crushing battles to royal lineages to arrests in small towns. Ruemin Cavern is filled with millions of such histories stored on shelves hundreds of feet long. To organize them, each tome has a magical gem embedded into its spine, marked with a unique signature that tells its age, author, and subject. Complex mechanical and magical machines traverse the shelves, scanning the books and moving them if necessary. Preserving the books is a science the Ruemins have perfected to an astonishing degree; special curing processes for their covers, pages, and inks can keep a book in readable condition for millenia.
Often, there will also be a smaller and more exclusive library dedicated to magical books and spellbooks. Access to the thousands of spells, rituals, and magical manuals is restricted to only a few high-ranking librarians. Exceptions can be made for other Ruemins when necessary, and very rarely for an outsider if they are in dire need and can promise a great service to the colony. These libraries have a multitude of magical wards and protections to keep out intruders.
To record other culture’s histories, scouts are frequently sent out to nearby friendly settlements and cities to learn of recent events. In exchange for access to their libraries, they may be given food, rare materials, or other services such as protection. The service the Ruemins provide is valuable because they make an absolute guarantee that the knowledge will be kept for longer than any mortal lifespan and that it will be completely factual. Ruemins who infuse their writing with biases, opinions, or creativity may be detained, exiled, or executed.