Spriteling (World of Zid)

Spritelings (Cobbler Elves) are a people with no state to call their own. A race born of unions between Elves and Halflings. They can be found in many parts of the world living in cities or rural workshop communities. They stand on average a meter tall with long pointed ears. Hair ranges from straight blond to curly black with skin tone ranging from pale to ebony. They live longer then the average Halfling yet shorter then the average Elf
==History==
Spritelings where first documented in lands north of Alterra in the land of Holdere which it's self was known for it's Half Human Half Troll population. Holdere (from which the Half Trolls get there name) frequently conducts trade with the Halflings to it's East. When the Orcish and Goblin populations of Colm drove the Elves from that land many traveled South others West or East with those traveling East arriving in Holdere.
The first Spriteling according to local lore was the daughter of a Halfling Merchant and an Elven Shoemaker. She had four brothers born latter. Together they created a buisness utilizing their father's trade and their mother's commercial interests. As their mother was a traveling Merchant and their father a wandering Elven refugee the family traveled with the brother's settling down in various lands.
Such says the lore of Holdere which has the daughter return to her homeland of Holdere where she meets another like herself and establishes the local population. In actual terms the occurrence of Spritelings (as the Elves named them) wasn't isolated to a single family. While it's possible that this daughter was well known during that era and perhaps even the first there are far too many during that time of Elven exodus to be accredited to a single lineage.
Why that specific era saw the rise of Spritelings is uncertain. The Elves of what is now the land of Colm had partially been driven out by another half race (the Goblin) which had been by most accounts the result of captives taken by the Orcs of the region or a sour reminder of Orcish conquests prior. Some speculate that the burst of half breeds during that era was likely caused by a whim Elves might of had prior to being driven out. Accounts of Elves prior to the lose of thier homeland describe them as a very promiscuous race given to romance on a whim and at times being so torn by a desire to be free and an urge to settle that they'd kill their own mates (especially if said mate was Human, doomed to die long before them).
The Elven conscious changed after being expelled from the homeland- becoming more haughty and focused on preserving the species so it may return to reclaim what is now Colm. The Spritelings may have been a breed that rose prior to the fall of the Elvish state; a breed perhaps not worth note until after the fall.
==Society==
Spritelings like Halflings have a society built around family ties. Families tend to specialize in a single trade with it's holdings and members operating somewhat like a guild with 'family business' policies where in leadership is generally in the hands of a Patriarch who appoints their own children to positions of authority which in it's self isn't a major issue for the clan as everyone is related but with the clan's reputation resting both on it's stability and product it's easy for members to feel overlooked for advancement. Spriteling clans usually form a local network with in the cities and regions they inhabit- creating trade ties with other clans to obtain goods they themselves do no craft. These networks can become very influential and if not countered by other businesses come to monopolize the craft industry of a settlement. Spriteling society tends to suffer the most during plagues and natural disaster which damages the workforce and the craft network which tends to breakdown in such situations allowing other races the opportunity to retake the craft industry. It's one of the weaknesses of specializing in a single craft but such is their way of life.
Category:World of Zid