Halflings

The Halflings, or Hin, are one of the two races that are truly native to the Weald. While below the ground gnomes constructed their deep-villages, the Hin constructed roundhouses. While gnomes dug for gemstones, the Hin cultivated orchards. While the gnomes allowed their communities to be expanded by an influx of dwarves, the Hin welcomed humans to build alongside them.

Halflings are divided into two rival clans: the Hillhin and the Dellhin. Their rivalry is broadly friendly, with the two groups often competing in sports and games, in which creative cheating is considered every bit as admirable as skillful play. Hin communities are peaceful and friendly, considered oases of calm to travelers who come across them.

Hillhin Hillhin are a loud, confident, and brash culture, considering jokes and songs as suitable for almost all situations. Constructed at the top of hills and bluffs, their roundhouses are warm and cozy. Every Hillhin family will ensure that they always have plentiful food and mead for all that want it. Visitors are treated like family, which can be baffling when in-jokes and unspoken rules start flying around.

Hillhin tend to dress flamboyantly, competing with family members and neighbours to see who is able to stand out most. Brightly died fabrics, bold prints, and extravagant hat-plumes vie for attention, and when visitors are due every Hillhin in a community will make sure to dress their very finest. Despite this, Hillhin take great joy in sneaking and hiding. The idea of managing to avoid being seen while wearing an ostrich feather in one's hatband is seen as the mark of a master gamesman, and a source of no small pride. For this reason, when they pick the games Hillhin will often choose ones wherein stealth is a viable tactic.

Dellhin Where Hillhin are cocksure and talkative, Dellhin are calm and relaxed. Walking into a Dellhin village is like wading into a millpond: cool and calm. The Dellhin construct their roundhouses in shady hollows and alongside babbling streams, creating an almost somniferous ambiance.

The Dellhin see work as an unfortunate inconvenience and ensure that their communities are established in such a way that daily tasks are kept to a minimum. A Dellhin farmer is more likely to set up nets below their fruit trees to catch windfall than to go out and pick fruit, and a Dellhin fisherman will construct fishing wiers rather than using a rod or spear. While some would consider this laziness, most halflings see this as ingenuity, as it provides more time for the things that the Dellhin truly love.

Where other races tell tales of great heroes and mighty villains, Dellhin folklore focuses on their people's finest brewers and distillers. Dellwater, distilled from a secret mixture of botanicals unique to its creator, is considered the finest spirit in the Weald, a fact that Dellhin will never let the Hillhin forget.

Dellhin tend to be stout, with attractiveness correlated closely with weight. For this reason they often compete in contests of eating or drinking, or games where they can bring their comparative strength to bear.