Halflings live hard lives in many places in Aervera. They survive by finding ways to coexist alongside larger races but often have to settle for spaces, jobs, and living conditions that are undesirable by others. In some parts of the Empire they are considered a nuisance, and in others they are even enslaved outright.
Not so in the community known as Mountainshire, a collection of halfling thorps and hamlets on the eastern edge of the New Albion region that borders the trade road through the Cloud Pass. Historians disagree on how long it’s been there but all agree it easily predates the arrival of the Han. The most widely accepted theory of its founding is that somewhere between 600-400BER (Before Empire Reckoning) a nomadic group of halflings crossed the Black Mountains and happened upon a secluded small valley. The vale proved to be defensible and fertile, so the halfling clan decided to stay.
The erstwhile nomads didn’t keep an early history of their settlement, but stories and legends abound describing their early struggles of survival. If all of the these are to be taken at face value they overcame everything from famine and blizzards, orcs and hobgoblins, and even the likes of giants and dragons! Whatever they faced, they also managed to flourish, raising new settlements and slowly attracting other halflings from across the continent.
Over the centuries the Mountainshire halflings adapted well to their mountainous world. Rangers and scouts secured the borders with spear and bow. Priests brought the blessings of the gods, especially Desna, to the confederation, increasing prosperity for all. As human traffic increased to and from Albion the Mountainshire folk began to collect tolls in exchange for escort and protection through the pass. This arrangement continued until the Han conquered Albion. Mountainshire initially resisted the occupying Han, having some knowledge of the bad treatment halflings experience across the Empire, but level heads ultimately prevailed; instead of a costly and deadly military operation, the Han offered terms that were appealing to the halfling leadership. They would retain their independence in exchange for helping to garrison the fort being constructed in the pass. The Fort Pearce Treaty was signed in 162GHA (Glorious Han Ascended), and the arrangement has continued ever since to the mutual benefit of all.
In the modern day New Albion region, the Mountainshire folk still honor their arrangement with the waning Han, and it is considered both an honor and a rite of passage to serve a deployment at Fort Pearce (and the wages are also a notable source of income for some of the less affluent communities). They work hard to maintain their way of life; encroaching monsters are a perennial problem and farming in the mountain highlands is a challenge even without the addition of marauding beasts. Still, they do well. No one knows the Black range better than Mountainshire rangers, who are rumored to know more than one way through the mountains and are especially deadly when facing their chosen foes. Their scouts move with near invisibility, gathering information and warning people of danger in plenty of time to prepare for it. There is even a cadre of halfling warriors who travel lightly through the mountains with both stealth and speed, facing dangerous threats with little more than their bare hands.
Of course, when they’re not busy defending their lands, most residents enjoy simple lives, proud and free in a place of their own. Halfling homes are usually made of mortared stone and often incorporate caves and other natural features as storage or living spaces. They’re crowded with comfortable furniture acquired over generations, and indeed generations of halfling families will often live together under the same roof. Just as their homes are comfortable and familiar, so are their villages. Trades are learned and passed down from parent to child, property lines are well established and respected, and everyone knows everybody in one’s community. Life is good, and people want to keep it that way, so change is regarded with suspicion and comes slowly if at all. Halflings who become adventurers are often somehow dissatisfied with the status quo and yearn for more, but even so they keep their homeland and their families close to their hearts.