Mortal Races: Halflings

No one knows where halflings come from. Are they related to gnomes, or dwarves? Are they diminutive humans or elves? If the halflings know, they are not saying. They traveled into Tirenia some five hundred years after the time of La Salvatrice. Halflings travel together, looking for seasonal work. There are many stereotypes about them as criminals, and about the strange magic powers that they possess, and they face prejudice wherever they go.

Halflings are also popular as court jesters, where they are seen as being grotesque and mocked. They are depicted in art, and there are many jokes about their sexual prowess. Those who cannot find 'authentic' halflings have been known to use humans with dwarfism, or to artificially stunt the growth of children to create their own court halflings,

Image result for renaissance jester art
Art: 'Laughing Jester.' Jacob Cornelisz van Oostsanen, c. 1500.

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