Lilliput is a small forest surrounded by a large lake, and boasts a proud and ancient history. It’s inhabited by a population of goblins who belong to two tribes, the Imps and the Elves. Members of both tribes are pretty much alike. They also get along well enough together, except for their opinions on how well each tribe is suited to lead the forest and their respective performances while leading the forest. They are so happy when their tribe gets to lead the forest, and the other side are so dejected about it, without realising that all of them will actually be living in the same forest under the same conditions. Although it has to be said that some privileged tribe members do get to enjoy much better conditions. These are normally called “blue eyed goblins” – in the Lilliputian language: gażużli.
To the north of the lake there’s the Land of Milk and Honey, also known as the YouWho. Strictly speaking, Lilliput is part of the YouWho, but the goblins, isolated as they are, don’t really feel part of it, and many consider the YouWho as a foreign land, just a source of milk and honey and a means to indulge in all sorts of devious endeavours and dodgy skullduggery.
For the past few centuries, it’s the Imps who have been leading Lilliput. In ancient times it had been the Elves in power who convinced the Land of Milk and Honey to accept Lilliput as a member. Much against the wishes of the Imps’ leader at the time, Gant, who wanted Lilliput to become a Swan on the Lake. Because of his stubborn insistence on this, Gant made the Imps lose 18 successive elections, first to Geddie and later to Geddie’s successor, Gobbi.
The Imps eventually realised that Lilliput’s population didn’t like Gant’s idea of the Swan on the Lake, so they replaced him by a ginger haired goblin with a permanent smirk named Gasket. This Gasket forgot all about the swan and promised that with him in charge there would be love all around, and Lilliput would belong to everyone.
Many goblins had grown bored of Gobbi and his Elves, so they switched their allegiance to Gasket, who won the following election and became the Great Leader of Lilliput. With the help of his close friends Geeshkembry, Gondrad and Gyorgye, Gasket immediately set about to collect and hide millions of acorns into secret treasure chests hidden in forests far, far away. He also made sure that the goblins in Lilliput would also get some acorns, so they would be happy and love him even more.
But then, there came a fairy goblin called Gaffy Gagazza. She found out about Gasket and his friends’ skullduggery and wrote about it on her Daily Bulletin, which every single goblin in Lilliput used to read. There was a huge uproar – those who liked Gaffy’s bulletin wanted Gasket to be locked in a dungeon, but according to Gasket’s admirers Gaffy was a witch, and Gasket was their Kink.
And then, Gaffy Gagazza was slain. The uproar turned into a revolution. Gasket’s minstrels of the round table removed him from Great Leader. Geeshkembry went to live as a hermit in a cave, but kept up his hobby of collecting acorns and hiding them in secret holes, Gondrad started a new life as a druid and Gyorgye was locked up in a dungeon for a couple of centuries, but was later set free once again.
Following Gasket’s downfall, a young, sturdily built goblin called Gobert made a pact with the Big Bad Wolf and became the new Great Leader of Lilliput. Although he was never really loved or considered a Kink, Gobert held on well to his position by giving a hundred acorns from the forest’s treasure chest to each and every goblin in Lilliput before every election. In the meantime, the gażużli could do whatever they wanted, pull down trees, grab millions of acorns for themselves and build large pyramids next to the ordinary goblins’ houses, but the ordinary goblins didn’t mind. They were happy with their hundred acorns. One minstrel from the Imps’ side, a portly goblin named Glewis, once called these ordinary goblins Ġaħan. This became the favourite insult in Lilliput, everyone ending up being called and calling others Ġaħan.
Now it’s the Elves, who originally thought they were the only ones who could possibly lead Lilliput, that have lost 17 successive elections. To improve their chances, they tried different leaders, whom they called Il-Kap. Gobbi was replaced by Guzuteal, who soon went back to the Land of Milk and Honey, whence he had come. Then came Geidrian, but many Elves didn’t like the way he spoke. They began to fight among themselves before putting forward Gerard, a Kap who had the incredible power of being invisible, so much that, at one point, the Elves couldn’t find Gerard anymore, and they had to put in yet another Kap, a young upstart called Galex, who claims that he always wins any competition in which he takes part.
We’ll soon see how that goes.
Meanwhile, in a much larger forest, far, far away, a fat, orange fire-breathing dragon, Grumpy, is threatening to invade the Land of Milk and Honey, the YouWho, and wants to become Emperor of the entire universe.
Lilliput, and not only Lilliput, is in great danger.
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