Lideya

Lideya is the only god which is not technically alive. She has fused with the "Weave" of reality and now controls the use of magic, allowing most of it to be used without risk. She created the gnomes to utilize this power.

The Weave is shorthand for the way the strands of reality come together, binding everything into the integrated whole of reality. All those who use magic pull and push on this Weave. The Weave is made up out of Miasma, put together to make up everyone and everything. This means that the Miasma can be influenced without destroying the Weave, though this was still dangerous before Lideya came to be. Strong beings were able to do it naturally, Dragons and gods are an example of this, but there are others. Sorcerers are another example, though usually they do this through relation to a powerful being. Others are able to use the condensed power of a powerful being, such as clerics and warlocks. Others still learn the natural way of the Weave and can influence it with vibrations, such as bards. Lideya allows people to simply learn the nature of the Weave and change it through directly acting upon it, wizards and artificers.

Lideya has merged with the Weave, strengthening it with her own being. She can repair small rips made by most magic, and can usually act pretty fast. This is why most magic has little to no lasting damage on reality. However, magic greater than she cannot repair does exist in legend, creating huge damage to reality and leading to wastelands. Followers of Lideya, which includes most wizards and the entirety of the Worldwide Magic Initiative, refuse to learn these spells and destroy any mention of them.

Lideya has minor consciousness, but has remained silent in most situations. She has clerics and certainly influences the world, but she is not technically alive in the sense other gods are. She gave this up in melding with the Weave.

The gnomes were created before she became part of the Weave, as her students. They were not the first wizards, but were the first in the traditional sense, creating the Worldwide Magic Initiative. They also classified and standardized all the spells which were known and then discovered.