Halflings

**Halflings** are a group of sentient species belonging to the category of fey. More of a term resulting from historical and political bonds than actual genetic ties, halflings encompass many groups whose main characteristic is being shorter than humans. The term “*halfling*” itself is a human construction, as most fey consider them as other member of the “*minor fey*”. Most of these groups live in the Lands Behind the Hedge, Scimitarian and the Island of Wizards.

## General Halfling Characteristics

As the term “Halfling” was made by humans to describe a particular group of fey, halflings do not have many things in common. Still, one can see that the biggest element they all share is their short size. Halflings are universally shorter than humans, and most of the time they are also shorter than dwarves. Halflings are also much less muscular than dwarves, having a lesser level of physical fortitude, but their stamina is much higher in exchange. Halflings are very efficient energy-wise, being able to function for long periods of work without any major caloric intake. This point is often forgotten, as halflings are seldom seen not preparing great feasts or happily eating considerable quantities of food. This makes them quickly take very rotund shapes, which has little to no bad effect on their health, unlike in humans. The halflings’ body proportions are also somewhat different, with hands and feet bigger than those of humans or dwarves.

The term “Halfling” began being used after the wars between Azan and the Western Elven Empire. After the azanese victory, the Lands Behind the Hedge began receiving more and more human influence, making these groups get in contact with the Azanese Empire. Nowadays, the lands of Hereby, Whereby and Thereby have the biggest concentration of halflings by far, with hobbits, gnomes and brownies being the most characteristic of these species. Some groups related to the previously mentioned are also considered as halfling, despite its small presence in the Lands Behind the Hedge.

## Main Halfling Species

### Hobbits

**Hobbits** are one of the halfling species living in Giantstep. They are the tallest of the halfling species, and the one with the most political influence outside of their homeland, though that is not saying much. They have a humanoid shape, with a height of one meter at most. They have broad shoulders, though not to the extent of dwarves, and are generally not very muscular. Hobbits are very hairy, though they seldom have beard. Instead, their sideburns can grow so large that they will take the role of a beard. Males often leave their sideburns as is, while females try to keep them as kempt as possible, through braids or curls. Most hobbits have brown hair, but it is not unusual to see blonde hobbits, particularly in Scimitarian. Hobbits have a very thick skin, particularly in their hands are feet, which makes them excellent for rough manual labor. This thick skin also makes hobbits dislike wearing things such as gloves or shoes, only using them during very dire circumstances, like travelling through freezing mountains. Hobbits tend to have very long lives, easily reaching around 150 years of age.

Hobbits have a natural ability to work the land. As part of the fey, they have a natural affinity for magic, which in this case translates into being excellent farmers and herders. They are able to detect with little effort the needs and requirements of their crops and their charges, and it is commonly known that a field worked by hobbits tends to be more productive than one worked solely by humans, even when the conditions are identical. Combined that with the lands of Hereby being naturally fertile and with a gentle climate, and you find that their lands are incredibly productive. However, hobbits prefer to work their own individual lands, being divided in familiar plots instead of big properties. Due to their innate talent for fieldwork and the fertility of their soil, hobbits need to dedicate little hours of work to their crops, with only a couple of months of the year being truly work intensive. This leaves them free to other affairs, which they spend loafing around. Hobbits have a very developed public life, spending most of the time on taverns, sports (they are quite fond of lawn bowling, to the point that the Great Herebian Lawn Bowling Competition has been going on uninterrupted for more than a millennia, being one of the longest lasting sportive competitions in the world) or reuniting in each other’s homes. They also have a lot of theatres and public spectacles, having grown particularly fond of fireworks.

While most of the public life is done in towns not that dissimilar to those of human nations, the private life of most hobbits is done somewhat underground. Hobbits live in burrows that are half in the surface and half underground. Most of the time, hobbits spend their time in the surface part of their homes, since it is dedicated to common living and to receive visitors. The underground rooms of a burrow are reserved for a hobbit’s private life, as well as for other uses such as storerooms. Hobbit storerooms are massive, and since they are underground, can reach truly monumental sizes, almost twice the size of the domestic area of the house. These storage rooms are dedicated to storage food, but they also serve as workshops for those interested in craftsmanship. Hobbits do not have a kitchen, instead preferring to eat outdoors. During rainy or foggy days, they will erect a series of tents to protect themselves from the elements while they feast.

### Common Gnomes

**Common Gnomes** are one of the many halfling species in Giantstep. Gnomes are diminutive humanoid creatures, reaching at most 70 cm of height. The gnomish features resemble that of an elderly child, with thick wrinkles even in the youngest members. While the gnomes’ hair is universally grey, gnomes frequently color it with many different pigmentations. The male gnomes develop big moustaches and beards that never stop growing, and need to be maintained constantly, otherwise they would grow longer than the gnomes themselves. Male gnomes also have very big noses, usually being proportionally double those of humans or elves. Female gnomes have more elven features, with bigger eyes and long, sharp, even pointy noses. In general, gnomes have a great sense of smell, capable of detecting dangers such as poisons gasses even when in infinitesimal quantities. Gnomes have slender hands, and have a level of dexterity unseen in other fey. Their hands are incredibly sensible, allowing them to notice even the tiniest detail through touch. This has made gnomes excellent craftsmen.

Gnomes are very unusual for fey. While they are as inclined to nature as most fey are, gnomes are exceedingly fascinated with technology. In particular, their high dexterity has made them excellent when tampering with delicate mechanism, making them the best makers of clocks and other devices with intricate machinery. Many archaeological projects hire a great deal of gnomes, safe in the knowledge their expert handling is the most adequate to study these ancient items. This interest in mechanics has also made them very useful for the design of many things, from mills to war machines. However, this constant need for invention leaves them needing a great deal of materials. Gnomes are very good miners, though mostly through their designs to mechanize the process rather than due to their own physical strength. Gnomes are very protective of their designs, not letting many people see their contraptions unless they are specifically meant to do so. Checking a gnome’s experiment without their consent is considered very rude, and the result will most likely be being kicked out of their home. As much as the gnomes love inventing, they are universally opposed to the creation of automata, and while they will happily study their intricacies, they will refuse to explain how their inner mechanics work to avoid others replicating the machines.

Gnomes have very big families. A gnome couple can have around 10 children over their lives, and the children frequently start their own families when still in their parents’ house. As such, gnome burrows tend to be of considerable size, needing enough space to accommodate both all the members of the clan and the workshop and vaults of each. Gnomes can live up to 120 years, though they never age in the same way as other species. Instead, once they reach adulthood, they stay young until the day they die. To the eyes of other species, however, they look like wizened people even when they are at the peak of their lives. While the gnomes keep very good relations with other species, they generally keep themselves and their inventions far from the other groups, rarely letting other species benefit and spread their inventions. This often reaches the point where the gnomes themselves destroy their inventions to prevent others from learning from them, safe in the knowledge that they can always rebuild them while the outsiders cannot.

### Swamp Gnomes

**Swamp gnomes** are one of the many halfling species in Giantstep. As with many of the groups living in the Swamps of the Bog Witch, the swamp gnomes have been greatly affected by the dark nature of the marshes. Their bodies are a musty green, and are covered with warts and boils. Unlike their cousins the common gnomes, their features have no resemblance of youth on them, universally looking old and shriveled, with yellow eyes full of visible veins. Their hair is much shorter than that of common gnomes, as having long hair in the swamp is just asking for trouble. Instead, their beards and moustaches grow uneven, as if someone had tore their hairs until its growth became altered. They have an even more potent sense of smell, which they use to detect the many threats in the bogs. Their hands are not as sensible or dexterous as the common gnomes’, being much more resilient and with thicker skin to protect them from poisonous thorns and bites.

Swamp gnomes use their heightened sense of smell to detect all potential poisons in the bogs, and use them to concoct their own chemicals. They use this to make weapons, or to sell or trade them for other goods in the swamps. Like common gnomes, swamp gnomes have natural tendency to hoard shinny metals and stones, but to an even greater degree, to the point it can be considered an obsession. Throughout their lives, they accumulate great amounts of shinny bits, always carrying the best bits on their backs, since they do not trust others unearthing and stealing their treasure. They are said to hide the rest of their loot in the “fairy kingdom”, but what they refer to it is a mystery for non-gnomes. Robbery is frequent between swamp gnomes, and they also tend to steal from non-gnomes whenever they have the chance. However, if the target is much bigger than they are, which is frequent, swamp gnomes will resort to trickery, either swindling them for their valuables or sending them to their deaths to rob whatever is left from their corpses.

Swamp gnomes are some of the most elusive halflings around. The swamp makes for a treacherous place to live, full of dangers for the gnomes. That, combined with a natural tendency for backstabbing and treason, and swamp gnome societies tend to break fast. Unlike common gnomes, swamp gnomes seldom form big family units, instead being mostly individualistic. Swamp gnome courtship consists of offering the partner the biggest and shiniest possession and see if they accept or not. The swamp gnomes have little familiar bonds with each other, with the pair splitting up once their offspring has been born. The mother will abandon the kids as soon as possible (or better yet, sell them into slavery, which is another way of gaining riches), making few swamp gnomes survive to adulthood. However, once a swamp gnome reaches maturity, they have become resilient enough to survive for very long periods. For as harsh of a life they have, swamp gnomes can easily reach 100 years old.

### Uldra

**Snow gnomes**, also known as the **Uldra**, are a species of gnomes living in Giantstep. Snow gnomes live near exclusively in the continent of Zemyland, and as such, they have adapted to the harsh weather of the land. Uldra have thicker body hair than most gnomes, with dense unibrows and beards that can sometimes hide the near entirety of their faces, leaving visible only the sharp and long nose. Female uldra share the thick unibrow, but due to the lack of facial hair, they instead have a bigger percentage of fat in their faces, making them look like they are constantly swollen. Uldra skin is a light blue, which darkens when in contact with extremely cold temperatures. This is caused by a chemical within the skin itself, which helps the body preserve its heat and protects the organs from frostbite. Instead of the sensible hands most gnomes have, uldra have claw-like fingers, allowing them to carve through frozen ground or ice. Uldra are slightly shorter than most gnomes, at around 60 cm of height at most.

Snow gnomes live in many areas of Zemyland, often near forests, lakes or other natural spots. They are nomadic herders, moving across the frozen lands with their sheep. These sheep are essential for the lives of the snow gnomes’ clans, as they are their main source of nourishment and income. Many uldra move around the land selling their cattle to human or snow elven populations, obtaining all that they cannot produce by themselves through trading. Unlike other gnomes, snow gnomes are poor craftsmen, as their claw-like hands are poorly fitted for delicate works. And while they have learned to make things such as tools or clothes by themselves, they still need the aid of others for many other labors. With these claws, however, they are excellent at both climbing and digging, and this has made them many alliances with the human populations. Many uldra have been hired by humans as mercenary scouts, being able to reach a spot normally inaccessible and keep guard for hours despite of the cold. They are also very good prospectors, searching for mineral veins underground. Uldras still have the universal gnomish interest for shinny things, so it is frequent to see them happily working for human mining projects, always demanding a portion of the product obtained. Human watchers need to keep an eye on the uldras, least they hide some of the shiniest bits they find for themselves.

Most snow gnomes live in familiar clans, with an elder patriarch in charge of the responsibilities of command. These clans rarely go beyond twenty members, and young uldra tend to want to leave once they reach a certain age. After a series of proofs that demonstrate to the rest of the clan they are adults, they are allowed to take a couple of sheep and start their own clan if they so wish, under the condition they never return to the clan. If they are successful, they will attract other uldra and join them, steadily growing their herd over time. If not, they will be left without sheep and will have to join another clan. However, it is not rare to see uldra living in human or elven populations, since they can integrate in non-gnome society very easily. However, their claw-like hands means they cannot work as artisans, and as such they often dedicate themselves to other jobs. They have become quite effective merchants and bankers, as their love for shinnies makes them very good at the trade. They have also become very good guides, helping many explorers travel around the frozen lands, keeping them safe from the wild life and the elements.

### Domovoy

**Domovoys** are a species of halfling living in Giantstep. Believed to be a gnome race artificially created by the faerie lord Ekel Ageykin, domovoys are a smaller and more primitive gnomes. While they are shorter in stature than common gnomes, they are also broader and more muscular, with remarkable strength considering their size. They are also much hairier than gnomes, with very dense body hair, sometimes covering the near totality of their face. Domovoy are also known for having two thumbs, one at each side of their hands. This makes domovoys universally ambidextrous, though their actual dexterity depends on the individual. Domovoys also share the universal gnomish interest for shiny metals and trinkets, though they tend to not accumulate them, instead leaving them around for others to pick up.

Domovoy are universally followers of the faerie lord Ekel Ageykin. An entity living in the Kingdom of Copper of Zemyland, it spreads a life philosophy based on radical selflessness, and all all domovoy are compelled to follow it to the letter. The way this manifests varies wildly, though a pattern often repeated is that of the unwanted help. A domovoy will choose a human, either an individual or a group of them, and decide to help them in any way they can. However, they do not present themselves to the individuals being helped, instead hiding from them using their powers of illusion and stealth. The domovoy then starts doing mundane labors before the humans have the chance to do so. While many consider this a big boon and thank the domovoy by leaving food and shiny trinkets for them, others become fearful that some creature is intruding and violating the privacy of their home, and try with all their might to kick them out. Young domovoy who aren’t particularly adept at human tasks can also become a problem, since they tend to be more destructive than helpful, causing unwanted mayhem. Kicking out a domovoy is an arduous task, since they practically never appear directly in front of those who help. In the cases when a domovoy is found out and kicked out, they will enter a severe depression and seek the presence of other domovoy, only to try to find some other individual to help. A domovoy expelled too many times becomes actively destructive, but dies after a relatively short period of time.

Domovoy are naturally lonely creatures. They have little concept of family, only really seeking the company of their own kind to pay respects to Ekel Ageykin or to find a mate. Mother domovoys are, however, highly possessive of their children, and they are the ones in charge to introduce them into the cult of selflessness. Domovoy have no possessions of worth, and even their natural love for shiny items is highly tempered by a rigorous lifestyle. Every shiny item in their possession needs to be relinquished, either given to someone else or discarded in the wilderness for someone to find. Domovoy have an irrational fear of moving water, either in the form of rivers or the sea. The reasons for this are poorly understood, but nevertheless, domovoy avoid getting close to bodies of moving water. They also fear the rain, and they will desperately seek shelter when it occurs. Oddly enough, this behavior does not happen during snowstorms.

### Brownies

**Brownies** are one of the many halfling species living in Giantstep. A diminutive race of humanoids, brownies are smaller than even common fairies, reaching at most 8cm of height, with many thinking they are in fact a strand of flightless fairy. However, their anatomy is fully humanoid, having none of the insectoid elements of actual fairies. The brownies’ anatomy is surprisingly similar to that of a human, with a couple of exceptions. Their heads are somewhat rounder, with eyes proportionally bigger than those of humans. They have very small teeth, twice as many as a human mouth, and they regenerate constantly, immediately growing them back if they are lost. Brownies’ ears are sharp and pointy, and covered with natural dents. Brownies are universally thin, no matter how much they eat, and their metabolism keeps them from ever becoming fat. This is essential to them, as brownies are very quick and nimble creatures, but are not gifted with any special ability to move around or defend themselves. They are as skilled at climbing, swimming or running as a human of that size would, and as such, brownies have become experts at taming creatures that at first glance shouldn’t be tamed, and use them as transportation and defense.

Brownies have a natural affinity towards animals. They have to be skilled at handling most creatures, otherwise they might just end up as a light snack for most of them. Through a mix between animal psychology and magical talent, brownies are able to pacify many creatures, some much bigger than they are, which then become docile and obedient. Brownies use these creatures for transport, work, defense or simple company. The Soothsinger Sparrow is the most well-known of these creatures, a highly intelligent bird bred to serve as flying personal transport for the brownie tamer, similar in role of that of a horse, but much more intelligent. Other creatures the brownies use as mounts are rats, minks, small dogs, beetles, lizards, and so on. This taming effect is not universal, as some creatures are seemingly immune to the brownies’ touch. This is believed to be one of the reasons why brownies do not live near the coast, as seagulls are known to be one of these creatures, and their small size make seagulls extremely dangerous to them. They also have to be weary of ants for similar reasons.

Brownies tend to prefer living in isolated communities, not because they are distrustful of the bigger-folk, but because the frequency of accidents while living with them is considerably high. Brownies live in big families, with a brownie couple being able to have up to 20 children over their lifespan, around 130 years. Brownies’ tend to live in multifamilar groups, with four or five families joining together to create their own space. They can chose pretty much anything to be their house, from a fallen tree trunk, an abandoned tree stump, an underground burrow… They will hollow it as much as possible, making brownie homes deceptively small on the outside, but capable of hosting more than a 100 members. Brownies decorate the entrances to their homes with ritual paints and other icons, both as a way to protect themselves from spirits and to make any passerby know that they should tread lightly, as the land is occupied. Brownies live of the land, both as hunter-gatherers and as farmers. They appreciate the bigger-folks’ food, as a single chicken egg is enough to feed a dozen brownies for a couple of days. When brownies have to defend themselves, they will usually develop guerrilla tactics, as sabotage and infiltration is something they can excel at. However, actual physical confrontations are often deadly to them, so they rely on others for the actual violence.