Halflings
The entire race of halflings consist of three main clans: The Valleyans, the Hairies and the Jolups. The Valleyans are the original clan, from where at first diverged Hairies and after them Jolups. Nowadays five different halfling clans live in the new continent (Antcash): Valleyans, Hairies, Jolups, Pineans, and Greenies. The Pineans and Greenies diverged when halflings came from the western continent to the new continent (Antcash). The Pineans diverged from the Hairies earlier and the Greens diverged from the Valleyans.
In the western continent live only original Valleyans, Hairies and Jolups.
"It's long and crazy story, but we have time..."
| -Fennoli the Valleyan - The most known halfling philosopher - |
With the phrase above the most known halfling philosopher always started his stories about his opinions and thoughts. He enlightened people with his own theology so eagerly that the high priest of Loi'Iatha stuck to his doctrines and warned him not to continue spreading his heretical thoughts. But because Fennoli obstinately continued spreading his thoughts, he was banned by a church of Loi'Iatha and disappeared. Nowadays people suspect that Fennoli was sacrificed on the altar of Dragon, but there is no evidences about that, as there is no evidences about Fennoli himself.
Early history
Fennoli was a descendant of the ancient philosopher Arton the Valleyan. Arton started writing the history of halflings in the beginning of the age of chaos (according to the calendar of Titans). Nowadays there is knowingly only one page left of his writings and it has disappeared into the archives of the Valleyans. The another halfling clan was named according to the Arton the Valleyan. Knowingly only one halfling clan existed when Arton the Valleyan lived. At that time halflings started wandering. In other words Perkis the Strong and few other halflings bet with Touppu Turkanen, who was the head of the clan, is it possible to build useful and cozy dwellings above ground.
Perkis the Strong, Mutto the Hairy, Kuutti the Stocky and few dozen other youngsters left to north with their families searching for a new and nicer place for a new village. They swore each other that new village would become much cozier, more beautiful and more versatile than the old village. Young Arton promised to go with them as an observer. Company traveled forty days to the north until they found area suitable for them all. Building above ground dwellings took longer than Strong, Hairy and Stocky had planned, but luckily The land was fertile and luxuriant and had plenty of game, so they don't have to hurry to admit their loss. Arton spent few years with settlers and started keeping up diary about the progression of dwellings. Halflings had invented penmanship earlier, but writing was so hard that it hadn't become popular among their society. When Arton returned back to his own village, he still kept on writing all day's happenings up to his diary. These notes were the first history book of halflings.
At first, settlers were called clearers, landiers, stoniers and by many other names. People from the original village even kept a meeting where they defined the settlers to be unvillagers, but that name never became general. Time passed and generations changed. Descendants of the settlers were mainly called as new-villagers. Names were easy to form and remember, because there was only first villagers and new-villagers. Villages grew enormously and soon there was not enough farmland and game for all. Families moved for some distance away from villages and established new villages. People from the first village called themselves as Valleyans, because Arton the Valleyan was remembered to be their first historian. The new villagers were called as Hairies, because the Hairy was one of the founder family and because people in the north dressed to a fur.
Obviously Aikku Jolulainen lived at that same time and legends tell that she was not able to decide for which clan she wanted to belong. For this reason she wandered around between both clans and by degrees length of her journeys increased and increased. Stories about her adventures awaken the desire to travel also among some other halflings. Their desire to travel was so intense that they left their gentle villages and left wandering around. Their sociality however was so strong that they inadvertently assembled to a bigger groups. Other halflings naturally started calling them as Joluans.
Joluans groups care knowledge and cultural traditions between other clans. Just the mixed blood and travelling desire of Joluans preserved the language of halflings. The Joluans founded new villages all around their continent. As the structure of their language changed the name of Joluans changed to Jolups. This way the Jolups formed the third halfling clan.
General history
In the year of 810 of the age of law the Titans had totally gotten enough of excessive worshipping of a statute-book and sailed west from the continent of Antcash. From the west they found formerly unknown continent and on that continent found tiny people. At first the Titans called these open minded and kind people as a "Tiniers" but later humans started to call them halflings.
Titans occupied the western continent and build there their cities and palaces and forgot the misery and narrow-mindedness of Antcash. The halflings spent gladly their time with Titans listening bloody stories of the history of Antcash and more they hear stories, more they wanted to see that new continent.
The western continent was plentiful and peaceful place to live, excluding random raids of Minotaurs. Though the raids were very rare, since the halflings didn't really have anything valuable to rob. At these times there was only three halfling clans: The Valleyans, the Jolups and the Hairies.
The Valleyans occupied warm areas of the western continent. They dug their dwellings underground or below tree roots and tightened them with "hardener" which was made from tree sap, sand and lime. Their style of life was tardy and mild. Everyday life was tardy working and they never had hurry to anyplace. Even their festivals were peaceful drinking and gentle blathering or mending the matters of the world. They always had enough time to stop for a pipeful (about two hours) chatting this and that about creation of the world, standing of gods or tomorrow's weather. Peace got broken only temporarily, when Arton named youngster insisted that he had seen that new continent and was going to travel there again even if he should have to sail alone with the ship of Titans.
The clan of Jolups occupied other parts of the western continent. Aikku Jolulainen was the first and the greatest "world wanderer" and an idol for other Jolups. As a person Aikku lived so long time ago that it is impossible to say from which clan she left wandering, if she has ever even existed. Legends tell that she learned walking when she was six months old and left wandering around the world once she was not breast-fed anymore. Every halfling, who wanted to see more than his backyard, pretended other halflings that he had the blood of Aikku Jolulainen running in his veins. This was commonly accepted reason to be different and wander away from the home village maybe to the next village or even further. Jolups are very important part of the whole eace of halflings. They care news between villages and those who only change to another village bring new fresh blood to halfling community.
The Jolups were very crossing clan between the Valleyans and the Hairies. Jolups had villages, which were skillfully built both above and under ground from stone wood and "hardener". When group of Jolups thought they had have enough for wandering, they simply settle down and found a new village (or moved to a deserted village left by other Jolups). They built (or fixed) nicely working community in ten or twenty years. They cultivated fields, brewed beer and wines, bought and sold goods from other Jolups, bred cattle and children and spent gentle and serene life. Every day they ate and drunk luxuriously chatting about philosophies, battles or weather and assuring to other that their wanderlust was finally left behind.
Village life lasted at most twenty years, until some next generation Jolup had heard too many stories about Aikku and journeys of their parents. This way the youngster noticed "the blood of Aikku running in their veins." He mentioned to his friends, who surely had felt the same desire to wander. When they stated to their parents that they were leaving, all parents, grandparents and even grand-grandparents started dreaming and melancholy. Not later than two starturns after the youngsters had made their decision, people of the whole village had packed their most valuable property to bags, bundles, sacks, ponies and wagons. Village deserted and all Jolups left and oldest of necks, them again felt like being on their first journey. Some older halflings, who already felt the gum smelling breath of the Destiny at their say goodbye to others and left alone on their last journey. When leaving, the old one said he is going to search a treasure chest, whose location his grandfather had revealed him, when he had been on his first journey.
Jolups were the first who begged Titans to take them to east in to a new continent. Few centuries they begged Titans and few centuries Titans had to listen incredible reasons for why they had to go back to Antcash. Finally unusual toughness of Jolups rewarded (or long living Titans lost their nerves.) and Titans agreed going back to Antcash and take Jolups with them. First ship returned to Antcash in year 1201 of the age of stability. At the same time Titans also brought the Sword of Balance to Antcash for keeping up the balance.
The Hairies occupied northern parts of the western continent. Their dwellings were built from wood and stone and tightened with turf and "hardener". Off all halflings the Hairies were most persistent and diligent. In the human scale they still were the same "slack-stump" people as other halflings. Hairies always built their villages near mountains and near forests. However they never built their villages to mountains or to forests below mountains. They want their villages to be in open areas, which has water nearby. In open areas beasts (or Minotaurs) can easily be seen from a long distance. Hairies almost enjoy fighting. They would gladly fight battles where even single halfling would not be slain, but every one would become a great war hero. Every battle (all four) fought in the history of Hairies, have recalled hundreds of times during decades and heroic tales swelled at least to excess.
After half of the Jolups had left to a new continent, part of the Valleyans out of curioisity moved after them. Hairies started thinking would the new continent be better place to live than the old western one. Hairies kept meeting and decided to send a group for expedition to a new continent. Part of the group returned back reporting about the new continent and part of them moved living to a new continent.
