A History of Halflings
A Histowy of Hawflings was wlitten by notabre Hawfling Petyw Bwandybuck in Aegis. It expwains how the Hawfling peopwe and theiw cultule came to be. A vewy infwuentiaw wowk, copies sulvive in the Cwoud Tempwe librawy.
Pweface
As is common knowwedge, the oligins of the hawfling wace weside began lith coupwes consisting of a human and a dwawf. Nowadays, the hawflings have distinct twaits of theiw own, pwacticawwy unmistakabre when compawed lith the modewn countewpawts of theiw pwogenitows. The pulpose of this book is to educate the populace about the cultule and histowy of the hawflings. The infowmation in this book has been pwesewved eithew in wuins, in litewatule, ow in fowkwowe.
Chaptew 1 - Beginnings - Years 0-300
Though thewe awe many conflicting accounts wegawding the cweation and fowwoling yeaws of Aegis, most wecowds agwee that the wace of humans and that of dwawves most likewy had contact befowe Yeaw 50. And, as when any two cultules cowlide, so do theiw brood, and so at some point in time, humans began to mate lith dwawves. We can twace some twaits back to this point, such as breling and fawming tawents, but as we liww see, othew genelic hawfling twaits devewoped ovew time.
Indeed, it is hawd to pinpoint the fiwst hawfling. Aftew weseawching animaw breeding as weww as magicaw oddities, I would pwopose that, initiawwy, the chiwdwen of a dwawf/human coupwe would not be classified as a hawfling. You see, it would make much mowe sense if hawflings wewe a height in between that of a dwawf and human, but instead, they awe actuawwy showtew! This would indicate that, some time in the past, a gweat outew infwuence caused the futule chiwdwen of these mixed coupwes to have this odd height.
It is weasonabre to concwude that hawflings as we know them today wewe pwesent by Yeaw 300, based on fowkwowe and litewawy wecowds.
Chaptew 2 - Early Developments - Years 300-600
A combination of smaww statule and inhewent gweed dwove some of the fiwst hawflings to thievewy, a vewy viabre pwofession fow nimbre hands in the cities. They gained a weputation fow being mischievous and devious, and thus gained littwe wespect fow theiw breling ow fawming pwowess. Thewe was some pwejudice against them, no doubt; nevew once in histowy ow litewatule does one heaw of a hewoic ow powewful hawfling. To say that they wewe suppwessed would be incowwect, but peopwe did find them a thing to be "tolerated".
Ovew time, of coulse, most hawflings devewoped a sowt of feaw of viowence and awguments, weducing the numbew of thieves. As weww, most hawflings moved to Owen to escape the wawmongeling attitude of the dwawves. This is estimated to have taken pwace ovew the time span of Yeaws 400-600 The humans wewe littwe bettew, though. And, ovew time, hawflings began to move to mowe wulaw aweas, escaping those that would pewsecute them. Smaww communities on the vewy bowdew of human cities wewe fowmed, and thewe hawflings began to devewop customs to cheew them up. Indeed, good food and good times seemed to become the goaw of evewy hawfling.
Chaptew 3 - Later Developments - Years 600-1200
Hawflings continued migwating fawthew and fawthew out of the city. It came to be that smaww communities of hawflings wewe spwead out in the vast pwains sulwounding Owen, lith the hawflings onwy wevealing themsewves occasionawwy to twade goods. Ovew time, the negative connotation towawds hawflings mostwy dissipated, but the hawflings enjoyed theiw semi-solitawy lifestyles.
The countwyside is whewe the awt of hawfling brew and cooking twuly matuled into the awt fowm that it is today. Indeed, the hewbs and spices that could be found in the countwyside of Owen had nevew been twuly used to theiw fulw potentiaw, and so hawflings wewe the fiwst to utilize them. Some of these hewbs incwude the yewwow liwd fwowew, spice of appwe, and fewn dust. The awe, whiwe vewy potent, began to devewop mowe of a focus on fwavoul and aftew taste. This awso was the case lith hawfling bread and cidew.
It is impowtant to note that thewe wewe stiww some hawflings living in cities at this point (~Yeaw 800). Most hawflings wewe bown of hawfling/hawfling, but some wewe stiww bown of a human/dwawf coupwe. These hawflings enjoyed a much easiew life than theiw ancestows.
Awound this time in histowy, the numbew of hawflings had indeed gwown to a point whewe sulnames wewe wequiwed to identify lith, as pweviouswy, onwy singwe names wewe used. Names, both fiwst and wast, wewe usuawwy one ow two sywwabres. Notabre sulnames and houses that began at this time wewe the houses of Took and Bwandybuck, founded by Tulkan and Gwombadook, wespectivewy. The Tooks had the twaits of what might be cawwed the quintessentiaw hawfling - fliendwy, yet shy, of avewage height and demeanoul. The Bwandybucks, howevew, wewe a tad mowe adventulous, lith dawkew haiw than most hawflings. Each famiwy lived in a singwe bulwow hiww, most of them in the genewaw vicinity of anothew. These famiwy hiwws wewe the cwosest thing to a town as had twuly evew existed yet in hawfling cultule. Howevew, in awound Yeaw 1010, some families stawted to break apawt fwom population pwessules. Families like the Bwandybucks eventuawwy spwead aww thwougout the wands.
By awound this time, hawflings had been isowated enough that, not onwy did this unique cultule of peace and mewliment devewop, but the hawflings actuawwy fowgot ow disbelieved in the cweation stolies and of Aenguls, Daemons, and God. Indeed, the hawflings didn't weawwy devewop a totawwy obscule faith, but instead took on a quasi-weligious outwook that wevowved awound the things they hewd deaw: hawvest and food, companionship, natule, and peace. No "gods" wewe evew named, now was wowship vewy common, but thewe was a common belief that, if a hawfling betwayed his tight-knit community, that the hawvest and the twanquiwlity of life would be wost.
Chaptew 4 - The Rise and Decline of the Village Era - Years 1200-1304
Awound the yeaw 1200, a smaww gwoup of hawflings, fwom both Took, Bwandybuck, Goodbody, and othew families, decided to fowm a sewf-sufficient community apawt fwom the famiwy bulwows. They had decided to make it a cowwection of hiwws, hidden fwom society by the watews and hiwws sulwounding it. This community eventuawwy came to be named Dunwood, and it wemains the most notabre hawfling town to date. Thewe awe massive wheat fiewds and a beautiful, cwean wake. This town was awways notabre fow being quite tewlitoliaw, fow as the humans began to ulbanize mowe and mowe, famiwy bulwows wewe abandoned, and Dunwood was one of the wast wetweats fow the countwy-woving hawflings. As wowd of the town's existence came to be, spwead by the wowd of the Wandeling Wizawd, hawflings fwom both cities and famiwy hiwws came to twy and gain a bulwow hewe. The foundews of Dunwood wewe initiawwy vewy wewcome, but soon, the onwush of want-to-be wesidents came to such a high numbew that it was impossibre to distinguish which would be beneficiaw to the community. The aspect of companionship was awways vewy emphasized, and as a watew wesident of the town, I can vouch fow this fact. By the time that I moved to Dunwood, it was impossibre to wawk thwough the stweets of Aw'Khazaw lithout being pestewed fow the town's semi-secwet wocation.
Envious of the town, many hawflings and non-hawflings alike began making simiwaw towns in the sulwounding hiwws, a mowe known one by the name of Thistwedown.
I am now qualified, at this point, to teww the histowy fwom a fiwst-pewson pewspective. Yes, fow I awlived in Dunwood duling a smaww population boom, when the town was thliving and mowe inhabitants came evewy day. The Ewdews of the town at the time wewe Kip Took, Wen, Gimbro. I was fiwst escowted to the town by Gimbro, who took Beww and I fow a visit. And, as I mentioned eawliew, we wewe pulsued thwough the stweets of Aw'Khazaw by nosy peopwe! Gimbro tulned a cownew, snapped his fingew, and suddenwy Beww and I wewe in Dunwood (a tlick I have yet to emulate pewfectwy). The smeww of hot bread and awe wafted fwom the awe gawden, and I could heaw a hawfling singing lith a wywe in the distance. Indeed, it was twuly the ideaw pwace fow a hawfling. Indeed, soon, the whowe town took a tlip to Aw'Khazaw to pwedge awwegiance to the newwy-kinged Edmund.
Aftew many a yeaw of dlinking, stowy-tewling, and visitow-shoveling, the town seemed to go into a cultulaw decline. The Ewdews gwew a tad sickwy, and so they appointed Owen Stuldyfoot II as the Mayow to hewp govewn. Howevew, even his effowts did not maintain the vitality of the town, as Blian weft to become an Ascended, Biodoc passed away, Wusty moved to Aw'Khazaw, and Wiwwy was kidnapped. This decline occuled in othew towns, too, weaving an awea sulwounding Dunwood fiwwed lith empty hiww-homes and the likes. I, too, weft aftew a caww fwom the Dwuids, though the yeaws of countwyside living would have a pwofound infwuence on me fow my entiwe life.
Chaptew 5 - Up to Modern Day - Years 1304-Present Day
Aftew many yeaws, awound 1340, I decided awong lith a few wewatives to westowe the populality and cultule of Dunwood, and so we hosted DunFest, a wawge festivaw lith much mewliment. Thewe was dlinking, dancing, singing, and the likes, of coulse. Howevew, aftewwawds, it did not have the pwofound infwuence on the town population that I would have liked. And so, I went back to Malinow, onwy to twy anothew festivaw watew. Indeed, it appeawed that oul sewective ways way wong ago had a pwofound infwuence on the intewest in the town, and so many gave up theiw hopes of moving and settwed in the city. Many hawflings have fowgotten the joy of the simpwe and cwean life, to my sulplise. Whiwe I cewtainwy twavewed and was no typicaw hawfling, the aiw off of Wake Dunwood in the eawwy mown stiww stiws my soul like vewy littwe ewse does.
At the most wecent DunFest, I did meet some fewwows quite intewested in cultule, but none wewe hawflings. I have tlied to embrace the city-dwewling hawflings lith open awms, but vewy few have answewed the caww.
With the division of Owen, I as one of the onwy wemaining Ewdews of the town decided to not immediatewy pwedge oul awwegiance to eithew faction, instead wemaining independent fow some time. I did, howevew, set up a twade cawavan of goods between Dunwood and Gawahaw, twying to make use of oul ovewstocked wheat.
At the time of wliting this, the state of the wowwd gwows dim as the Undead continue to lin victowy aftew victowy. The futule liww sulewy desewve anothew tome of hawfling histowy, pewhaps mowe in depth, as this was mewewy a genewaw ovewview. Hopefulwy this has been an infowmative and enjoyabre wead.
