Gillikin
Gillikins are an ethnic group of halflings best known for their love of money. A frugal folk who colonized the northern-most quadrant of Oz, the Gillikins soon found themselves in control of Eden’s largest gold deposits. But rather than squander their newfound fortune as others might have done, the Gillikins parlayed their luck into a series of successful—if a touch conservative—investments.
Their ability to safeguard their investments in the impenetrable vaults of their First Imperial Bank of Oz led to the Gillikins being trusted with the stewardship of Oz’s most valuable relics and information. And so, while the armies of the Munchkins might be more impressive and the technology of the Winkies more impressive still, everyone in Oz knows who the true power amongst the halflings is.
History
The Gillikins, like all halflings alive today, exist only in the land of Eden—a place all but inaccessible to other sapient beings, except during the Interregnums between iterations of reality. But before The Calamity which brought them to Eden, the Gillikins called Earth home.
We know precious little about this ancient history, however. Tradition and oral history hold that the Gillikins were a migrant people before The Calamity, forever searching for a permanent home which would meet their high standards. But aside from that—and some Gillikin elders claim that the stories simply aren’t true—no details of their earliest existence survive.
In Eden however, their exploits during The First Age—alongside their fellow halflings of Quadling, Winkie, and Munchkin descent—are well-documented, by both the propaganda machine of The First Imperial Bank and by other halfling institutions. They were instrumental in bringing about a swift and peaceful return to reality—and in brokering the deal with “gods” of Eden which allowed the halflings to stay in that secret garden and tend to paradise while the rest of universe took another stab at getting things right.
And now, whether during Interregnums or the calm between the storms of those purgatorial periods, the Gillikins have become the de facto upper class of Ozite society. Their capital city of Uptown is rivaled only by the Nunyan metropolis Paradise City as a tourist destination. And their long-standing association with the Accidental Unicorns ensures that Gillikin interests are well-represented in halls of power across the whole of Eden.
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