Two Moons Halfings
These small, clever people have suffered greatly, but they have survived the rise and fall of empires and every effort to eliminate their culture. In the end they will probably outlast all of the larger, louder cultures around them.
History[edit]
The Halfling homeland of Di Shram was once a thriving, bucolic land of farms and small villages. When the Uruk Empire first surged North in its expansionist greed they saw the soft countryside as the perfect target. To their surprise and horror the Halflings turned out to be masters of guerrilla combat, and mounted an effective, multi-year resistance to conquest. In the end, though, the small people's cleverness was no match for the armies and dread magics of the Uruk.
In vengeance for their dead the Uruk destroyed the once peaceful country, burning everything, salting fields, diverting the courses of rivers, and finally cursing the land itself until all that was left was lifeless desert. Finally they enslaved the people as a warning to all who might resist their advance.
Culture[edit]
Uruk Empire[edit]
In the modern Uruk Empire Halflings are still slaves. A Halfling slave is an expensive luxury, a statement of wealth and power, so most serve as body servants. The wealthiest have additional Halfling slaves as chefs, gardeners, and artists so that their lives are enriched by the suffering of their conquered enemies.
The breeding and training of slaves is a monopoly backed by the Council of Seven. All are raised in "classes" of about twenty, cared for by Halfling nurses too old to continue to bear children, until the age of 12. The Uruk reason this way they are old enough to have been properly trained in basic responsibilities and graces, yet young enough to easily adapt to the requirements and rules of their new masters.
Ironically, the efforts to erase Halfling culture have failed, as education in religion, language, and cultural traditions are hidden in plain sight, as each class is raised and taught by their nurses to know what it is to be Halfling, and the necessary skills for always remaining one step ahead of the hostile humans. An active campaign of resistance and escape so survives inside of the brutal world of the Empire.
Elsewhere[edit]
In the former Uruk lands of the North slavery is now strictly illegal, as is capture of escaped slaves from the Uruk lands. Few owners bother to track their slaves once they make it beyond the boundaries of Empire, though some particularly cruel or particularly wealthy and powerful will do so.
As small people in a hostile world of giants, Halflings usually prefer to find ways to work with the humans rather than risk fighting. Halfling servants, secretaries, and craftsmen are popular throughout the human Northlands, and often command exceptional wages. However resentment between the peoples does occasionally break into violence, and the Halflings usually suffer the worst of it.
Beyond the mountains Halflings are rare in the extreme, but not subject to the same historical prejudice. While living in those lands means relinquishing the deeply supportive community of kinsmen (and after the violent diaspora all Halflings recognize each other as kinsmen), for some the promise of life without constant threat of violence is more than enough reason to travel to new and unfamiliar lands.
Religion[edit]
The Halflings honor two gods: Gezets - god of law, and Toyshn - god of chaos. Both gods bless and curse in equal measure, and either without the other leads only to harm, for if Gezets should fall the world will end in chaos, but should Toyshn fall the world will end in stasis. For this reason the Halflings seek balance in all things, finding a middle path between oppressive order and terrifying anarchy.
Due to the efforts of the Uruk to extinguish their culture, and the hostility from even the "friendly" humans of the North, Halfling religious practice is kept secret, and many of the accessories and rituals are hidden within ordinary daily life. As a result very few outside of their society know anything of their faith at all, and most presume that Halflings practice the religions of the humans they live among - a false impression the Halflings are happy to encourage.
