The Marginalization of the Halfling Race

Halflings were once amongst the most powerful of the races (after the retreat of the elves). In their harsh scrublands and thick jungles they built marvel after marvel, making using of many artefacts left behind by the elves and pilfering a lot more.
Over time their odd habit of being seemingly everywhere as well as a large amount of geography to expand into unchallenged led to a powerful series of independent city states who warred with each other as often as the outside world.
Large, circular ziggurats dotted the landscape, towering above the surround canopy, while in the scrubland, sprawling stone edifices grew seemingly out of the landscape itself.
It wasn't until an enterprising demonologist by the name of Hildebrant Scribblesmith started to experiment with the process of combining the essences of summoned of demons with the local fauna to create more insidious breeds of attack animals. Most of his experimentation offered failures or only marginal successes, until he tried to bond a particularly strong demonic essence with an extremely hardy breed of canine - his logic being more power and strength will surely prove to be what's lacking.
The monstrous, uncontrollable creatures that emerged from this particular demonic experiment was an astounding success. Unfortunately for Hildebrant, his elation was short lived as the bonds which ever proved to contain demons did little to stop creatures of the material plane. He died screaming.
This new race multiplied quickly, as they bred just as fast as their forefathers but also because their saliva caused whomever was bitten to slowly also change, adopting their chaotic ravenous appetites.
Little is known about the period that came next, except that the resulting war between the halflings and the scourge destroyed many a citadel, ending only with a landscape locked in perpetual ice, and a people dispossed.
The halflings turned to the other races, asking for succor, but their previous perfidious nature and habit of disregarding or dismissing ambassadors or trade merchants with an arrow through the eye left them with little friends.
These days most halflings are not tolerated in smaller towns, and looked upon with suspicion within larger cities.