Halfling
While no longer a part of the world in any sense resembling what they once were, the impact they had and the character they brought to the pre Blight world is one that is sorely missed. These diminutive folk were well thought of and generally well respected, having been a culture of hospitality and extremely well versed in the arts of healing, gastronomy, and brewing.
Basic Information
Anatomy
The halflings were very small in stature, the tallest of them only standing at about a meter in height. They were round faced people that favored extra weight due to their simple lifestyles and tended to have larger feet to offset their small stature.
Additional Information
Social Structure
Society within the small villages inhabited by the Halflings were very social, their houses forming small rings within the confines of their village and each maintaining a central gathering location for the many festivals and feasts they would hold. Families were large and most married couples would produce four to seven offspring over the course of their lives. In general, each village would elect a mayor that would monitor and keep the day to day needs of the village as a whole in check, but for the most part the title was an abstract concept, and the Halfling in general just went about their business no matter what the politics of the time were.
As a rule, hospitality was more than just an ideal, but a matter of pride. Guests were welcomed with a joyful exuberance and often households would quietly compete to entice potential visitors to stay with them. Their tables were always set and filled with all manner of delightful foods and drink, and the rooms often offered to wayward travelers were small, but remained cozy, many homes keeping an extra large bed on hand for occasions of the larger folk coming to visit.
The Gaul Do Shah Elves were held in the highest regard, their histories conjoined in may ways, and their cultures functioning in a symbiotic manner, each benefitting from being in proximity to the other. Trade between the two was common and the good of both could be found at either location with regularity. It was not uncommon for the elves to be visitors at the Halfling festivals, and likewise the Halflings honored guests at the Elven events as well.
Facial characteristics
Round faces with large eyes gave these people a welcoming countenance for most other cultures. They tended to wear their curly hair short, and beards and moustaches cropped and carefully waxed and maintained. Freckles were very common, as were ruddy cheeks and large rounded ears.
Geographic Origin and Distribution
The Halfling settlements were originally centralized around the borders of the forests of the Gaul Do Shah elves. They seldom travelled as a people, having a great cultural distaste for long journeys and a general fear of the dangers that lurked outside the safety of their homes.
Average Intelligence
While the Halflings didn't place much importance on academic matters, they were masters of the arts that mattered to their culture. Gastronomy and brewing were beyond compare according to many who remember, and their agricultural prowess was said to have been otherworldly, able to "pull sprouts from a stone", as the saying went.
Perception and Sensory Capabilities
Halflings had remarkable hearing and a refined sense of smell and taste.
Civilization and Culture
History
It is said that the Halflings of Sinufae came into being at the same time as Shah created the elves. The two had enjoyed a tandem existence ever since. Their earliest days were spent in small burrows in the fields beyond the elven forests where they learned and grew as a culture, relying on the land and the protection of their elven neighbors to get by. Over time, Sinufae, who loved her people, taught them all manner of skills within her domain of healing, and before long the Halflings gained a widespread reputation as being kind and friendly, and able to heal almost any ailment. This notoriety garnered them a significant place in the world, and between this and their proximity to the swiftly growing elven kingdom, the Halflings were able to evolve over time without needing to endure the trials, wars, and evils of the world.
As the Kingdom of men rose to power, the Halflings were largely overlooked, though many of their skills and the products of their tables graced halls and homes within the human domains. For the Seanachaisians they had tremendous love and respect, the songs of the occasional Seanachaisian visitor viewed and a spectacular opprtunity to celebrate life and art. Their unwillingness and lack of want to fight or be involved in conflict of any kind save for their desire to help and heal left them in the shadow of the Elven kingdom, often overlooked or forgotten. As the troubles began to rise, the Halflings remained fairly unaware, having little interest in the larger world, but when the Blight hit, they were shaken to their core.
The Halfling proximity to the impact site of the Blight left many of their smaller communities in ruin, most of the standalone farms destroyed in the first days that followed. The Ruins of Bonnyport are a testament to the destruction, as the small coastal fishing village was wiped out to the last Halfling in that first day as a wave of foul energy swept across its lanes and paths, choking the life out of the inhabitants as many of them were still waking from the disruption of the hit. Desperate to understand, they turned to their long time allies, the Elves for help, only to find them in worse condition than themselves. The Halflings, as was their nature, en masse rushed to the aid of their neighbors, using all the resources and remaining able bodies that could be spared to attempt to aid them in saving their rapidly dying forest. Sadly, their efforts would be met with an unexpected and terrible twist.
For years they fought against the leeching power of the Blighted energy that was overtaking their domain, shoulder to shoulder using every aspect of their knowledge and ability, but without the backing of their goddess, the majority of their ability beyond the practical was gone. It was a losing battle and they knew it, but still the Halflings fought on, their sense of duty to their allies strong enough that no one questioned the orders coming from the Elven queen, Sharvisal Gwhynndahris began to become erratic and strange. By the 22nd year following the Blight, both cultures were exhausted and changed, the Halflings lost without their goddess and their own homes falling into disrepair, their fields barren and their wells poisoned. The Elves had become increasingly aggressive and unpredictable as well, but the Halflings in their naivety viewed it as behavior due to the stress and hardship they had endured together. They soldiered on, and accepted these changes, remaining dedicated to their course of action, until the next year.
When Queen Sharvisal's mind finally lost its battle with reality, and the madness caused by the deterioration of the Elven Spirit Tree overtook her, the Halflings were caught completely unaware of the depth of the danger they had placed themselves in. The order given, the highly trained and physically superior elves fell upon them at her urging, believing in her fractured state that they blood of the small folk would nurse the roots of the Spirit Tree back to health, a needed sacrifice to ensure the continued existence of her people. The Halflings stood no chance against the swift turn of attitudes towards them, and while they tried to run and to hide, the now barren and desolate remains of the Elven forests offered no respite from the hellish violence that had come down upon them The Halflings offered no retaliation and no resistance, and were quickly expunged from the realm and the world.
There remained some rumors of survivors for a time, but even these were seldom more than a sighting of a single person. Hope for the return of these once beloved and kind folk was lost.
Historical Figures
- Genevieve Goodall
- The Butcher
EXTINCT
Genetic Descendants
Scientific Name
Humanoid
Lifespan
350 Years
Average Height
300cm to 350 cm
Average Physique
Their short height was offset by their commonly round bellies and larger than average feet, giving them low centers of gravity. While they may have appeared to be fairly weak, lifetimes of working in fields, tending crops, and maintaining the small herds of animals that they kept actually translated into them being remarkably fit despite their outward appearance.
Geographic Distribution
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