Halflings are the product of human and elf unions; a universally shamed act that neither parent is eager to admit to, so the resulting babe is often abandoned in some manner. Most commonly the child is left with the nearest temple. These unwanted half breeds are kept until they’ve seen two or three summers, and those that are considered suited may be kept by the temple and trained as servants and assistants to the priesthood if they have the space an resources to take them on. If not, they are sold to the highest bidder.
Halflings are viewed as property in both human and elven culture; bought, sold, and bred like farm animals. What a halfling child goes through early in life can sometimes depend on whom they’ve been purchased by or what purpose they’ve been purchased for. Most halfings are bought an raised as domestic servants, and due to this must be rendered harmless by their owner. Claw-like nails are pulled and their beds cauterized to prevent regrowth, as are the halfling’s enlarged canine teeth the moment they grow in. A cheaper way to declaw a halfling is to simply remove the last joint of each finger, and those who cannot always afford to de-fang their slave will muzzle them instead.
Times when a halfling is allowed to keep their sharper parts are when they are purchased by soldiers, or by brave brothel-owners who are trying to cater to specific tastes in their clientele.
Male halflings are often used for intensive labor, tending fields or doing the heavy lifting in port towns. The best a male slave can hope for is that their owner might think they make good breeding stock and try to stud him out as one does a prized stallion before they’re inevitably worked to death. Nobel families also prefer male halflings for domestic servants, raising and training them not only to wait upon the family hand and foot but also to guard the house like a loyal dog.
Female halflings are often treated as utterly decorative by the nobility, a sort of living accessory that can be brought to parties and shown off to friends, dressed in finery and decorated with all elegance. Unlike their male counterparts, who rarely gain any education outside their profession, female halflings are occasionally allowed to learn how to read and write so they might write the missives of their mistresses as they dictate. In rare occasions, female halflings are even allowed to learn the basics of magic to perform more specialized labors such as shaping metal, lighting city lamps, maintaining roads, and other tasks.
Nearly all halflings are farmed for their hair, as it tends to be of an almost metallic shine and, like elves, can come in a number of fantastic colors. Wigs made of halfling hair were highly fashionable during Pijami’s time, and come Lorana’s century halfling hair is used to make textiles, braided into decorative trim sewn onto expensive garments, used as the sword knot on fine blades, and plenty else besides.
Above we have a sketch of Lanle, the personal slave of the highest ranking priestess in Lorana’s time, Lady Sotsieme. Lanle is the good Lady’s personal handmaiden, following her wherever she goes as a silent, silver-haired shadow. As a water-born halfling she’s been educated enough in magic to practice Foresight, and Sotsieme often calls upon her to peer into near futures so that she may plan each and every one of her moves very carefully. Dressed in a manner appropriate to her mistress’s status, Lanle enjoys long sleeves that cover her disfigured hands, as well as a pair of heavy earrings that clearly mark her as the property of the Shadow Temple in Jiaal... something that discourages anyone who might think to harm or steal her, should they see her alone.
