Kaendaloth
The Shires
"Far fewer than teeming men are we,
Half as high – the right height to be!
Our castles small, our people free,
Just the way we’d have it be! (Chorus)
Chorus
The Hobbledehoy marched in one by one,
The foe just stood and laughed,
But when the bloody fray was done,
We laughed at the last!
We laughed at the last!
Our pockets lighter far than most,
Our armies but a smallish host,
Ale aplenty and lots to eat,
Happy homes good friends to greet! (Chorus)
Many came to take our lands:
Human troops, giant bands,
Hordes of orcs – all we met,
And stood our ground – we’re here yet! (Chorus)
Where now those proud who did invade?
Our Shires’ depths field and glade?
We sent them back they went away,
This is our home where we’ll stay! (Chorus)
We are a little people we,
Living underground or tree!
We’ll never leave our fine Shires,
Here’s everything our hearts desires! (Chorus)
And when perchance your feet stray,
Across lands and seas far away,
Remember your home, recall your clan!
And stand tall – half as high as a man!" (Chorus)
- Hobbledehoy High, Song of the Kaens.
All are welcome in the Shires and are received with peace and protection of the halflings that call this beautiful countryside their ancestral home. Halflings are by far the most numerous inhabitants with human, dwarf, and elves making up the rest though they tend to mostly be ambassadors, peddlers, and traders found in the larger settlements and border towns of the Shires. It is a place where there is no social standing based on wealth or birth, though the Halfling clans vary in wealth and influence, as do all those within the clan, this does not influence them.
Every Hobbledehoy in a clan has his or her place within it and that is how a Hobbledehoy is treated by others. The Shires have no recognizable nobility. There is no slavery in Keandaloth, though there are clan-less folk, either outcast, orphans or recent immigrants that know no clan. To most races that have a social class, the view is that the Hobbledehoy of the Shire are all commoners that work diligently in such professions as hunting, farming, fishing, and brewing.
Although the individual Hobbledehoy or the entire clan may or may not be rich in terms of coins, almost all are comfortable, they suffer from no want. Even the poor tend to be adequately housed, clothed and fed without stint or shortage and most own weapons and some finery.
All of Kaendaloth is clan property and that means common property, although individuals may own small areas that have been built up and passed down over the years. No non-hobbledehoy is granted such a thing unless they have earned it and the local Sheriff agrees, a very rare occurrence indeed. Hobbledehoy by their nature are unimpressed by title unless the one bearing the title is personally impressive in their own account of their deeds or are known and worthy of respect. Battle ranks are treated a little differently, as a leader of another nation will be either obeyed or treated with deference, depending on if they are allies or foes but even this is probationary. Hobbledehoy venerate elders but regard most religious behavior with head-shaking bemusement, even disdain, for faith. Order and clear aims are seen as good things but there should be limits to such beliefs when others are hurt, deprived, enslaved or compelled to direct their lives strictly adhering to a religion, to the average Kaen this results in a line that should not be crossed. A Hobbledehoy will fearlessly tell even a cleric so, as there is no excuse for one’s own excessive actions, within the bounds of being proper.
Outsiders traveling to the shires are treated with good nurtured politeness by most encountered as that is their nature but bullies, and braggarts will soon wear out this warm and easy welcome and discover that Hobbledehoy are also open and direct of speech far more than perhaps most other races are. Wasteful extravagance and ostentatious wealth perplex or disgust Hobbledehoy rather than impress.
Those that openly pass judgment upon individuals and conditions within the Shire will be looked down upon not deferred to. In short, social status is earned not conferred or held by right, although eccentricity is considered the right of all. Unlike the realms of men Kaendaloth has few formal laws or set sentences for crimes as justice is the judgment and decrees of Clan-masters, Keepers, and Sheriffs who keep a code of accepted behavior passed on by the Elders. Generally, transgressions conform to Serious, Lesser and Least wrongdoings. In practice, all three transgressions can be formally charged, but only the most serious of which such as murder, clan betrayal, rape, torture, slave keeping or slave trading and fire setting, are really given any punishment. This is mainly owed to the simple fact that serious crimes are rare among these truly peaceful law-abiding folk. Punishments range from execution to fulfilling a service, being cast out of a clan, or treated to deathly silence for a time. The last of these is quite serious for the most important elements in a hobbledehoy's life is good fellowship, comfortable surroundings with good and plentiful food, drink, pipe smoke and fun pursuits of mostly singing, gaming, the telling of jests, gossip and news, and of course the spinning of yarns and telling of tales.
The Shires of Kaendaloth are green and pleasant with rolling fields, dark woods, and little wasteland. The moist air blows inland both cooling and leaving moisture behind that sometimes makes most areas wet and misty while the mountain ranges serve to protect the Shire like a great wall from the worst of the cold winter winds while the coastal breezes ensure
a moderate climate over the long run. All of these factors favor a land of comfort and plenty through all seasons as none are presently overly cold or hot, the mighty storms of the coasts, however, are on record through the many tales that are told of their ferocity.
With such a verdant land it is no wonder that orcs, kobolds, and men have invaded Kaendaloth throughout history though all have been turned back. Most notably the relatively recent battles of Blackflame, FireRock and Fool’s Ford still remain in stories told by those who took part in them. The last invasion occurred in 426 C.E. when Baron Ludwig von Hendriks of the Afilam Heartlands sent a small force, thinking little of Hobbledehoy as warriors. The Baron’s men were slain to the last man at Fools’ Ford. Canny Clan-masters delivered the bodies of the fallen, neatly crated, to the docks of Fort Doom as “fresh meat for the Baron.” The maddened Baron hurled two more expeditions into oblivion before he realized he could not subdue the Shire and cope with his enemies in Afilam at the same time.
The Shire today maintains strong armies to guard against the orcs of the mountains and further invasions. From the creation of the Kaendaloth Shires to the present, Hobbledehoy have ruled the land they came to so long ago; a rule of peace and prosperity they hope to continue for many more generations to come.
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