Halfling

A Halfling.

Halflings are a species of folk known to be noticeably shorter than other races, and much like humans in a lot of ways. They are said to be a human subspecies by some, or a derivation, while others insist that their similar forms are amark of parallel evolution.

## Physiology

Halflings are a humanoid species with two legs, two arms, and a single head. They have slightly-pointed ears and some have feet and hands that are larger than a humans would be at a comparative size.

### Reproduction

Halflings commonly have single children after a gestation period of seven months for the mother. However, they have an increased likelihood of multiple births compared to most, with one in five being twins. The pregnancy period is much the same as humans, but slightly sped up.

## History

Halflings have been around for less time than other races, although some insist they were just hiding. Their origins are unknown, some believe that they are the product of human/dwarf crossbreeding during the Long Night Era, while others claim their roots date back further than that. The Halflings traditionally keep no written history, instead their societies prefer to have a musical, lyrical history where details often change to fit in with the popular musical style of the time the story is told.

### Elven Era

Claims of Halfling involvement are vague and patchwork in the Elven Era. Some say that the early use of such creatures as "smaller humans" as pets in Elven society points to their existence, while others believe this refers to either children or just those humans who are shorter than average.

### Long Night Era

During the Long Night era, there are very few traces at all of Halflings. According to their own histories, the Halflings hid in the far reaches in this time, while others believe that the Halflings marched with the Winter King and have worked to hide this fact from others.

### Dawn Era

In the Dawn Era, Halflings began to set up homes in the Midlands, where the influence of the monsters and demons of the Winter Kingdom was low to almost non-existent. They called these untouched lands the 'blessed realm', and set up small communities that soon grew and splintered into larger towns and cities.

Today, they mostly live peacefully in the Royaume's villages and their homes in the Midlands, they don't want much and are often very peaceful and relaxed.

## Culture

### The Royaume

In the Royaume's villages and small towns, Halflings are not an uncommon sight. They tend to live as cheerful farmers and carpenters, usually taking on jobs that are close to nature and let them work solidly with their hands.

### Midland

Most Halflings are from Midland, where they are more industrious, but still prone to the classic cheerfulness in the outer reaches. Unlike in the Royaume, where they are primarily involved in peaceful activities, in Midland Halflings also join the military and are wary of magic.

## Religion

### The Way

The Way is the primary Halfling religion, focussed on practices and following examples set by "Idols". Unlike the Dwarves' Ancestor Gods, these Idols are believe to be divine spirits, who blow into town and make manifest what they want through persuasion and impossible magic. Prechers, called Chanters of the Way, learn the hymns, songs, and stories of a particular Idol and go from town to town to preach of them, giving their messages as warnings or celebrations.

### The Divine Church

Many Halflings follow the Human Divine Church's practices, at least in The Royaume. They tend to follow less enthusiastically than Humans, but still attend prayer services and the like every prayerday.