Song of the Little Folk

Cultural event

Varisians exploring the mountain regions of the islands discover the Dwarven nation. The Elwin become a part of the Varisian community bridging the divide between the two cultures.

The villages of the Isle grew and turned into towns as the Varisians became part of the Isles. Each island is dominated by a mountain range at its center and so explorers of the Sea Gypsy eventually made it to these peaks. They found living against the walls of the mountains a huge range of birdlife, from the tiny sparrow to the gigantic and majestic Roc. Inside the calderas of the extinct volcanoes, the roosts of griffins and hippogriffs were discovered. These larger predators, often flying in prides, moved from island to island hunting over the herds of the islands and sea. Many of the calderas still released steam, smoke and gas into the air, their centers hot and linked strongly to the planes of earth and fire. As the explorers traveled into the spine of Nord another occupant was discovered, the great nation of the Dwarves. The Dwarves of Alphatia had discovered the connection the islands had to the planes of earth and fire and were mining and crafting beneath the mountains. Contact with the Dwarves was peaceful but fruitless for the Varisian. The Dwarves needed little from the surface and could send out small parties to collect it themselves, so while they had many riches the Varisians couldn't get their hands on any of it. Further, the forces of goblinoids that plagued Westeros and the Oni of Xeng were distant memories to the clans of Dwarves in Alphatia. For now, it seemed these stalwarts of the earth had no need to work with the Sea Gypsies. Yet both communities knew of the other and young adventurers would seek out the other clans to explore and sate their curiosity.   For no group could this be more true than the Elwin. The Hairfeet, friends to the Ornhini and Fey, had been living within the forests of Alphatia. They had discovered both the Dwarves and Varisians and had begun to find their way into these communities. Whole tribes of Elwin decided that they would like to be children of the Earth or Sea and so had moved near these communities. Slowly the Elwin near the Dwarven strongholds began to adopt the traditions of these bearded warriors, becoming the Stouts. A stronger tougher community, regulated and rigid in its laws and ways, these Elwin would even mine the upper layers of the mountain or work the scree slopes beneath the Dwarven stronghold looking for the missed fragments of precious metals and rock. Within their small towns, they would craft tools similar to their Dwarven friends. Many an ancient greybeard could be found moving amongst the Stout communities providing their wisdom to these "little children". But unlike the Dwarves who kept to tradition, hundreds or thousands of years old in their crafts, the Stouts invented and created, making new devices and exploring the ideas of gears and machines. The Elwin that traveled to the Sea found themselves among the Varisians. Within these growing and thriving communities, they found songs and laughter similar to their Fey cousins and were happy. The Varisians so much taller than the Ornhini and far more connected to family, influenced their Halfling watchers, and so the Tallfellow tribes grew. These Elwin felt a strong connection to their community, each intimately aware of their family and how it weaved its way through the community with siblings, cousins, step-siblings, marriages, and contracts.    Many of the Tallfellow found the sea and lived with the rolling deck beneath their feet, they began to connect communities of Tallfellows amongst the Isle together, and so created a network of information that would rival any spy network a ruler could establish. A Tallfellow knows that any gathering will first require a discussion of how each Halfling is related and then a sharing of stories and news from each traveler. Many historians will speak of the grand heroes and great moments in the history of the Isle, but the truly wise looked to the Elwin for their work on bringing together the communities and races of the Isle. For it was the Tallfellow and Stout that helped the Varisians and Dwarves to open their doors to each other. It was the Stouts and Hairfeet that allowed the Dwarves and Elves to see the value of the Varisians and allow this young race to become caretakers of the islands. And it was the Hairfeet and Tallfellow that opened the Fey realm back up to the islands and allowed the Fae to return to their favourite playground amongst the Ornhini and Sea Gypsy musicians. From little things, big things grow.