Halflings

Halflings in Frae:

Halflings in Frae are widely viewed not as citizens, but as property, descendants of a conquered or “bound” people integrated into the urban structure as laborers, servants, and entertainers. Their position is protected under Guild Law, which assigns them limited rights, often tied to their employer, temple, or noble patron.

• Most halflings are indentured servants, bonded workers, or domestics within noble houses and guild halls.
• They are expected to be cheerful, loyal, and non-threatening—a cultural stereotype reinforced through years of legal subjugation.
• Though slavery in Frae is veiled under terms like “eternal service” or “ancestral contract,” its effects are brutally real: halflings may be branded, collared, or barred from owning property.

Estimated Number: ~15,000–16,000

Legal Status: Property under Lumite agricultural code, codified after a broken treaty ~150 years ago

Enforced Labor Roles:

• Agriculture: Spice fields, river-root farms, herb gardens
• Catacomb Work: Tunnel scrapers, bone-sorters, miners
• Textile workshop: Intricate threadwork and scroll production
• Temple service: Shrine-tenders, silent acolytes, unacknowledged ritual victims
• Ship maintenance: Bilge workers, crawlspace riggers, underdeck labor
• Household labor: Nannies, butlers, maids, cooks

Cultural Attitudes:

• Noble houses treat halflings as inherited fixtures, often passed down through generations like heirlooms.
• Guilds train halflings in technical skills but deny them advancement, citing “natural limitations.”
• Some temples (notably those of Valistal and Aergethyr) argue halflings lack the moral depth for divine stewardship.
• Secret halfling resistance cells operate in the catacombs, using Miell’s magic and ancestral rites to preserve stories of freedom.
• Many halflings have preserved stories and ancestral songs in secret, using coded symbols in embroidery and rice patterns.
• In districts like Barangay Maharuwa, they find protection and spiritual solidarity, often reimagined as “the small who carry the weight.”
• A rumored resistance movement, the Ashroot Concord, is believed to operate through underground libraries and coded murals.

Names for Halflings:

Common (Neutral or Diminutive) Nicknames

Used by everyday citizens, including those with no strong stance on The Bound Compact. These reflect the halflings' size or roles but may still carry condescending undertones.

• Buttonfolk – A reference to their stature and tidy uniforms
• Scurriers – For their speed and presence in tight quarters
• Shorthands – Especially among scribes and nobles who use them as aides
• Clutchers – A nod to their role carrying things, often heard in the market
• Dustlings –Slang in upper districts, repurposed by halflings to reflect their place in the margins.
• Alukín - The common Maharluini term meaning "short-sea one"

Derogatory Nicknames

Used by cruel nobles, Compact enforcers, or Dalomir loyalists. These terms dehumanize or trivialize halflings and reflect the systemic prejudice embedded in Frae.

• Stubs – Brutal slur, implying they're not “whole people”
• Chattelkin – Degrading term that lumps halflings in with livestock
• Sigglings – Refers to their bound names in magical contracts (from “sigil”)
• Tethers – A mocking reminder of their supposed loyalty and leash
• Half-hearts – A suggestion that halflings lack courage or will

Coded Terms Used by Resistance or Sympathetic Circles

Used by the Ashroot Concord, Maharluini dissidents, and halfling resistance members. These terms are secretive, protective, or reverent, often hiding messages in plain speech.

• Threadless – Those without a bound contract; free in soul if not in law
• Nameless – Refers to those still labor-bound
• The Stillbound – Honors halflings who endure quietly, waiting for their moment
• Kuko – (“nail” in Maharluini) Tiny, sharp, and unyielding, used as a badge of honor
• The First Fork – A poetic metaphor; halflings as the earliest split from fate or power

HALFLING RESISTANCE IN FRAE

Known as: Ashroot Concord, The Beneathkin, The Threadless, or The Second Sun

See Ashroot Concord