Lore: Halflings and Frontiersmen League, The Fellows of Yonder.

           


               Halflings are one of few creatures that are spread across most of the lands. Though they are known by many different names in any given land, and they even look wildly different from each other from place to place. Halflings being a very generic board swiping term to describe a race of beings born at creation from the leftovers of Humans (or Awoken) and other mystical additions.

What follows are a few of the different types of Halflings, some of their customs and there appearance.

Shirelings: 

    A very common type of Halfling appearing much like Humans do other than none among them stand more the a few hands high the tallest being around 2 and a half feet. These Halflings enjoy living in quiet places near enough towns that they always have the option of being in a bustling place but far enough that they can escape to their Dens. The live in cave like homes dug into hills, and their Yonders are oft simple villages, no different from any Human village near them. They enjoy adventure when it suites them and napping in the sun just the same, they also eat like cows and have 8 official meals a day (with snacks in between). Often times these folk take up careers as local Adventurers or Guides in the near by villages.

Goblings: 

    Unlike the more common place Shirelings the Goblings are scarce to be seen by most. The are a folk known to be highly paranoid of any they were not born and raised with (including other Goblings) and are even more xenophobic. Though not outwardly hostile they don't hesitate to attack those that they feel threatened by on sight. The are tenacious beings needing very little in the way of food or water, one can go up to a month with out eating and be perfectly fine, however that being said they are not made of iron and still are fragile by nature physically. They usually live in deep in caves of far underground away from the "Sky Highs" the name they use to describe the taller races. Goblings never aligned with outsiders fro very long if at all, and are most prone to aligning with beasts and spiders.

Feylings:

    Preferring the wilds to of jungles, forests, swamps, bogs, and other such overgrown locations for their Yonders Feylings share a special place among the Halflings as they we born of energies of the Fey and Oberon, they share a special connection with the natural world as such they often center their homes around trees of a great size or even within one, or in a particular natural garden, a sparkling well spring and many other locations could be the home to a Feyling community. Much like Shirelings Feylings will seek out communities of other races and mingle among them. Feylings often help crops of the communities they frequent by tending them.

Waiflings:

   Shadowy beings with a connection to the after life. Waiflings a usually quiet people, typically forming their Yonders in the ruins of old forgotten temples or abandoned graveyards. It is said Waiflings can hear the dead and if in contact with a item of great connection to the spirit can even communicate with it. Waiflings being good of nature at heart use their special power to help ease spirits of those that can not pass peacefully. As well to ease the living who suffer from the loss of the person of creature. Waiflings are known to also ten graveyards of the towns they live near at night when it is quiet, placing flowers on the graves and communing with restless spirits.

Vexlings:

   Strange aberrant creatures are the Vexlings with a strong connection to the Abyss they are few beings that have been touched by it that are better for it. They are all look different form one another save that they each a have similar horns. Being creatures of Chaos they love causing mischief wherever they go, though lacking any real physical strength to do real harm, they settle instead for pranks using their minor mastery over magic. Yonders of Vexlings can be found wherever large groups have settled such as towns and cities, offering the largest place to cause minor mischief and many escape routes. Though not living in the city proper usually live in abandoned homes or old parts of the city and are active mostly at night throwing strange parties, in fact most odd folk lore ghost stories can sometimes be attributed to a Vexling party. Vexlings however can be helpful, if they can be coaxed or tricked, as they have natural compasses towards ley lines of the Abyss and strong areas of its concentration, allowing them to find the best places to draw upon its power....or find other things.

Archlings:

    Possibly the most altruistic and esoteric of the Halflings are the Archlings. Beings born straight from the Arcana they resemble small humanoids with feathery wings and glow faintly all over. They come and go like the wind at seemingly random times to offer help or guidance. Having a connection with the Arcana has lead to the Archlings having small divination magic and they can make vague auguries of soon to be events. None know where their Yonders are but the few League members who have had the honor of settling a Archling Yonder claim the live in clouds that never move in the sky.

Yonder(s) and The Fellows of Yonder    

    In Halfling society Yonder is Home, Heaven, and God all in one. 

Holy Symbol of Yonder

    Yonder, the home, is simply where a particular Halfling comes from, be it a hovel in the city, a swampy marsh, cave, or something all together different. All Halflings come from Yonder, more preciously "Over Yonder". Halflings deal in a language called, Half-Speak, Using a combination of simple phrases and hand gestures to communicate. The system has quite a bit of depth to it and complexity, but a key phrase and hand gesture to watch for is "Over Yonder". Since all Halflings are from Yonder if simply where they are from a Halfling will reply with by saying "Over Yonder" followed by a hand gesture of some kind denoting the exact Yonder. As you might guess this can be problematic if overlap of gestures arises, when talking take note of the type of Halfling you are speaking and how old they are, Halflings live in communities where everyone is roughly the same age. Yonders are nearly impossibly to find even if they are in plain sight, when a Yonder is settled a special ritual spell is cast on the are hiding it from all but those that are meant to see it and wards off or prevents unwanted visitors from entering. Only powerful magic could break a Yonders spell. 

    Yonder, the heaven, or "The Far Off Yonder" is the divine place all Halflings believe they go when they die, or when they "Take the Longest nap". It is said to be many things, no two variants of it being described the same way. Different not just from sub-race to sub-race, but from Yonder to Yonder as well. As each Yonder will have their own cultural view on it. But one thing holds true it is where Yonder, and all its incarnations and servants live and await, protecting the realm with the other gods. 

    Yonder, the god, is a multifaceted god. Halflings as a whole believe that Yonder takes on many forms at different times, these forms can even and have even died to be change for another, in order to serve the realm and assist Halfling kind as a whole. Each Yonder will have its own depiction of Yonder. Some speculate that Yonder is either a form of Gleshmere or is a servant of him as many legends depicting Yonder do so with either an unnamed great wold companion or having him directly interact with Gleshmere in legend. Some even speculate that it was Gleshmere that created Yonder and the Halflings to assist him in his desires. 

    The most notable rogues gallery of heroes in the Halfling circles is The Fellows of Yonder. 

A group of Halflings hand picked by the high priest of a given Yonder to head out into the world and find a mystical place called "Yonder Over There", which is a location known to all Halflings the knowledge passed down from the forebears. It is a scared Lodge atop a mountain, known in Halfling culture as Mt. Sky Toucher, others in the realm know it as Mt. Orcol a mountain said to be made by a powerful Oricalcon wizard. It creation aside, the Lodge atop this mountain is where The Fellows meet. There are many groups of Fellows that meet there from all across the realm. They come to this place to achieve two things. The first is to be blessed by the highest priest, Sophie from Far over Yonder, an ancient Archling who is the current most high priest. The second create a "Piece of Yonder" a special totem that when used in conjunction with a ritual makes the spell cast on Yonders to protect them. It is the soul task of The Fellows to travel the realms searching out and settling Yonders for wayward Halflings.