The gnomes create the Clockwork Beast

Having founded the Order of Invention over three hundred years previous, the gnomish people were renowned the world over for their mechanical engineering prowess. Unlike their close cousins the Dwarves, however, Gnomes did not spend much time with magic and were not nearly as adept at its application. For reasons that are not entirely clear, members of the Order decided to try an incredibly ambitious project: to build a sentient mechanical creature, able to mine without the aid of an operator. Not much is known of the magic they used, but it is clear that it was far beyond their comprehension. The Clockwork Beast, imbued with agency and with power levels far beyond others' control, rejected the idea that it be a slave to the gnomes or any other creature, and left the gnomes behind, ultimately building a race of clockwork brethren.