The Life Quest of a Gnome is their life. This may be passed down from father to son or daughter through their guild, making sure the Quest will continue through the family and their family's souls won't rest in peace if they weren't successful. A lot of gnomes can be found living in isolation, working only on their Life Quests. If a gnome completes his/her Life Quest, the gnome and his ancestors' souls can rest easy. Conundrum's Life Quest to map the Hedge Maze at the Citadel of Light is an example of a Life Quest.
A gnome holds a special celebration once they have reached adulthood, and they will stand before the council of the Guild that they were apprenticing the longest to receive their Life Quest. The council will then suggest an assignment that a gnome will have to thoroughly examine for the rest of their life. The gnome may choose this assignment, or choose the Life Quest one of their family has done in the past and not completed. Once the Life Quest has been chosen, a large celebration takes place where all gnomes dress in their best clothes and perfumes. A lot of dancing and eating takes place at these celebrations, with the gnome announcing to all what his/her Life Quest will be.
If a gnome is looking into the study of religion, this is mainly done through a Life Quest or not done at all. Life Quests can also include finding ways to channel divine energy to power machines, creating an endless supply of energy if they could find a willing god. They could also use a Life Quest to prove infallibly that there are gods on Krynn, or create some sort of device that would allow for the gnome to travel to the Dome of Creation and visit the homes of the gods.
Sometimes a gnome will be branded a Mad Gnome. When this happens their guild affiliation is revoked, and their Life Quest they were working on is stripped from them and either passed down to another family member or left unfinished. If the Life Quest is left unfinished in this way, great dishonor is brought down upon the gnome's family and ancestors. A few mad gnomes will continue to do their Life Quests, even though this goes against their former Guild.
References[]
- Conundrum (Novel), p. 22
- Darkness and Light, p. 50
- Dragons of a Vanished Moon (HC), p. 223
- Kendermore (Novel), p. 180
- The Annotated Dragonlance Chronicles, Winter Night, p. 798
- The Siege of Mt. Nevermind, p. 19
- Races of Ansalon, p. 94-96