Erventon

The burrows of the Halflings are, like the Halflings themselves, stuck halfway between men and Elves. They speak Anglish. They are experts at sausage-making, beer-brewing, and relaxation. Their lifespan more closely resembles that of humans, but their slow-moving lifestyle that of Elves. Their soups take days to ripen, their pipes hours to empty.

Climate

Erventon is nestled in a large valley in the Great Mountains, and their climate is warmer and more comfortable than the surrounding areas. This facilitates their abundant crops, which in turn facilitates their easy-going lifestyle.

Language

The Halflings speak a dialect of Anglish, though with sprinklings of Celtic throughout. The Halflings of Outer Erventon will also often know Celtic, as they must speak it with the traders.

The Halflings write in Elvish, though they write rarely. They will often mark their buildings with a single letter to signify the first or last name of the owner.

Time

The Halflings love their celebrations. The first day of the Pipe is a feast day, and the best of the smokeweed is saved for this day. The first of the Tea Cup, the Juggler, and the Plate are also feast days, and there is a planting feast sometime in March depending on the whims of the weather. The month of the Hero’s Feast is strewn with special meals and gatherings, some of which are made up at will, others of which last through the years.

Calendar

The Halflings use a calendar similar to that of the Elves, though they have their own names for the months. Each month is a constellation. When that constellation comes over the horizon, it is that month.

The first day of the Unicorn and the first day of the Hero’s Feast are also holy days for the Halflings, and filled with joyous worship. Every month, however, will begin with at least some celebration.

Crops and Herds

Erventon’s greatest, and for the most part only, export is their tobacco. They grow wheat, barley, rye, and smokeweed in the summer. They grow potatoes, tomatoes, herbs, garlic, and onion throughout the spring, summer, and autumn, as well as other vegetables such as turnips, carrots, lettuce, and cabbage.

Erventon farmers also raise horses, cattle, pigs, and sheep. The domestic animals, including the sheepdogs, of Erventon are reduced in size similar to the Halflings themselves.

Dragon’s Wine

Halflings drink both beer and wine. Those Halflings who live in holes will store wine for special occasions. Some also enjoy a special high-alcohol wine, similar to port wine, during the month of the Dragon. They enhance the alcohol content of this wine by heating wine in lamb and cow bladders. This draws the water out, leaving a highly-flavored alcohol behind.

Trade

Known throughout Highland as northweed, Erventon’s smokeweed is traded through Celtic traders to merchants in Fartown and Weaving. Tobacco became popularized, if not popular, throughout West Highland during the Goblin Wars and has since spread all the way to Crosspoint, and from there to Great Bend.

Most trade with the outer world takes place in Outer Erventon, an arc around the valley where Halfling culture more closely resembles Celtic culture than the three-culture hybrid inside the valley.

Religion

The Halflings worship three nature gods, Deirdre, Erin a’Dale, and Glen of the Green.

Deirde, the river goddess who lit the sun on the first morning and whose daughters live in the mountains.

Erin a’Dale, goddess of peace and contemplation, whose spirit lives throughout the valley and warms the land. She is also a singer, and inspires all who sing in the valley.

Glen of the Green, who brings messages from afar and who may be found at any time drinking alongside you should you drink in the fields or forests.

Small shrines (marked with the Elvish for ‘D’ or ‘A’ may be found throughout Erventon for the worship of Deirdre and Erin. The springs that the Celts call the Three Springs of Brigit are, for the Halflings, dedicated to Deirdre.

The Halflings do not have a mythology of the cataclysm.