Hokolea

Home to some of the greatest advances in animal husbandry and arcane breeding the Hokolea was founded in the remote reaches of Gedic by a family of halflings seeking to breed animals better suited to their races' smaller frames. Now thanks to their specialized skills the isolated village has become a pilgrimage point for those seeking magically bred and trained beasts.

Demographics

69% Halfling
14% Human
11% Dwarf
6% Other

Government

Officially the Hokolea village is controlled by a human governor who oversee's the town to insure no threats to the Republic of Man are made. In truth the kinfolk, the same family that founded the city, are the true masters of the village.

Defences

Thanks to it's remote location there is little chance of a surprise attack on the town. Besides having a larger fraction of the population holding some form of magical teaching, Hokolea has several trained griffons, hippogriffs, and other magical beasts as well as trained direbreed horses and dogs. When suitably threatened the city is also able to call upon the army of the Republic of Man as they have become beholden to the Republic after the Expansion War though it may take some time for the military to arrive as the village is in such a remote location.

Industry & Trade

Besides the influx of visitors both human and halfling the village makes most of it's money off the sale of unusual and or specialized mounts and beasts of burden. As of recently there has been a large number of visitors searching for the magic college that has made a name for itself, with trained wizards, alchemists, and specialists being offered large sums of gold to work in the big cities.

Infrastructure

Built almost entirely around the Hoek Farm most of the village either directly supports the farm itself or supports those who work on the farm in some fashion. Near the edge of the city limits is a magical college that grew from the farm and has since taken on a life of it's own becoming the forefront to arcana specific to agricultural efforts with emphases on flora, fauna, and a branch of druidic research.

Guilds and Factions

The the three largest factions within the village are the kinfolk, farm and the school. While the farm has been around the longest and has become the center of the village's resources the growing magical college has established itself independent of the farm as many trained graduates of the school have been wooed by large amounts of gold to bring their knowledge to larger cities. Above the two factions are the kinfolk, members of the other factions and independent themselves they represent the Hoek family that founded the village. While they have been the absolute authority for ages thanks to the governor officially taking control and the last dean of the school Coola Hoek appointing Peni Akamai, the kinfolk have lost their monopoly of influence and power.

History

Founded by Tua Hoek, the small community of halflings had expressed frustration over the large sizes of human settlements, equipment, and horses. Forced often to ride barely broken ponies and trained but ill equipped dogs Tua and his family gathered likeminded halflings to build a better settlement. As time went on many of the Hoek family were sent searched across the continent of Gedic devoted int learning animal husbandry and searching for the smallest horses and the largest dogs. As these explorers returned with new beasts some also returned with arcane knowledge. Utilizing alchemy, spellcraft, and various other magical means the Hoek farm soon bred the first commercial magebreed horses. Hokolea grew in fame and size as word spread of the advances Hoek farms had brought to make halfling lives easier than ever. Even humans and elves soon began flocking to Hokolea as they learned of the village's advances in magic, though suprisingly a larger number of dwarves came to the village bringing their engineering marvels specific to farming and beasts.
But when the Expansion War began the village was torn, many halflings wanted to use the beasts in support of the allied breeds while the Hoek matriarch, Kekeni Hoek forbid direct intervention as the village was too far away to affect either side positively or negatively. Instead the matriarch allowed the trained beasts be used to pass messages. Regardless when it was revealed that the halflings had been spying upon humanity an army marched upon the town. While Kekeni did not want this fight she would have fought and defended the sovereignty of her home were it not for her son and grandchild having been apprehended by the human armies. Unwilling to lose her immediate family and learning that most halfling had at least some of their distant reletives held hostage by the human armies Kekeni surrendered the town to human occupation. While the majority of the beasts were too small for humans to ride a number of tamed beasts were requisitioned by the army to fight the allied breeds. Alongside the halflings surrendering or turning on the allied breeds the Expansion war had turned to the favor of humanity. Within a few years the allied breed surrendered and along with other halfling settlements Hokolea wad forced to accept human supervision and taxation in return for peace.
Today Hokolea has returned to it's former glory as efforts to grow have been bolstered by an influx of human settlers and trade has bolstered both the arcane college and farm itself. Orders for larger magebreed horses and domesticated magical beasts have grown as large cities find unique beasts to be the height of fashion. The newest magebreed, Corgiants have become surprisingly popular among the higher classes of humans as well as many halflings with demand far outstripping the supply. As more people demand the Corgiant breed the town has become overrun by peddlers, merchants, and opportunists all looking to gain a fraction of the wealth that is flowing into the village.

Alternative Name(s)

The Magical Farm, Arcane Acres, and Halfling Homestead

Type

Village

Population

786

Inhabitant Demonym

Hokolean

Location under

Gedic

Owning Organization

The Republic of Man