Nearly every race in Exandria has an origin myth or two. The stories vary from realm to realm, but it’s clear that
Corellon the Arch Heart wove the
Elves from grass,
Moradin the All-Hammer carved the
Dwarves from earth, and so on. Halflings across Wildemount have no such stories, and no faiths tell of their god creating the small folk. Some speculate that
Avandra the Change Bringer placed halflings in the world, but despite some of
Ioun's most devout priests petitioning their god to reveal the truth of the halflings’ creation, the Knowing Mentor has remained infuriatingly coy on the topic.
For their part, halflings in the Dwendalian Empire and the Menagerie Coast don’t much care where they came from. All they know is that they walked out of a hole in the ground one day to find a beautiful world spread out before them. Some longed to explore to that world’s farthest horizons, while others were content to gaze upon the beauty of the same sunrise each morning. Plenty of halflings have joined the Cobalt Soul over the years in desperate search of answers to the world’s big questions—where did we come from, and where are we going? But most halflings are content to leave the questions of past and future well enough alone, simply living in the present.
| Halflings in the Dwendalian Empire |
| Generations ago, the halflings of the Felder clan established a settlement now known as Felderwin Tillage, and discovered in time that they had inadvertently created an agricultural powerhouse. The word “halfling” has been synonymous with a simple, rural lifestyle ever since.
The dutiful, orderly people of the Dwendalian Empire most often think of halflings as carefree country bumpkins. In a nation obsessed with its heritage and its legacy, the stereotypical halfling philosophy of living life in the moment is viewed as pathetically unambitious. |
| Halflings on the Menagerie Coast |
| People in this part of the world have no real assumptions about halflings. Most perceive them on a level with humans, having similar ambitions, virtues, and vices. The only difference is that halflings are a wee bit smaller from prow to stern and a fair bit bigger from port to starboard.
Halflings are common enough in the Clovis Concord that just about every vessel, shop, tavern, coffee house, and brothel has been designed with halflings and gnomes in mind. Stairs often have shallow steps for small legs, stools feature hand-cranks to adjust their height up or down, and most restaurants have utensils sized for small hands. |
| Halflings in Xhorhas |
| Few Xhorhasians have ever seen a halfling except for the occasional halfling soldier in Dwendalian armor. Because of this, most Kryn citizens view halflings as icons of the empire and are quick to distrust them. Only the Lotusden halflings, a reclusive and insular clan native to the Lotusden Greenwood, call Xhorhas home. |
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