Emberfoot

The Emberfoot halflings are very different from the general perception their race has, particularly in the east, as quiet, peaceable, and often weak. While no larger than their eastern and northern cousins, the emberfoot halflings on the west-southern shores are fierce, weilding a strength and determination unexpected of their small stature.
According to ancient records, their people was once a small nomadic band that broke off from the larger group of wanderers that roamed the midwest. Making their way south, they found a small bay on the shore to settle down, fishing and forging tools with metals found inside the nearby cliffs. This depiction of a small group keeping to themselves in a small corner of the world is a stark contrast to the Emberfoot of today. While many of the early details are currently buried in history, it's known that this small tribe eventually began forging weapons from particularly powerful metals they found deeper underneath their cliffs. These weapons were used to expand their territory, conquering coblin tribes, dwarven settlements and more until their tribe became the empire it is today.

Culture

Shared customary codes and values

Emberfoot halflings value strength and courage above all else, believing all obstacles can be overcome through strength, either of body or of will. Their early penchant for war and growth hasn't changed with the years, and they're still considered one of the largest military powers in the world. This status is highly prized by their culture, and it seems it is a status they mean to keep, making frequent shows of power and might even when growth by conquest has slowed somewhat.

Coming of Age Rites

Young emberfoot are trained in combat informally more or less since birth, as many of their games and sports consist of mock-battle or other shows of strength. Formal training begins at the first coming of age, where students are collected into bands that train to fight and hunt together. Children are also given a secondary group, depending on what vocation they showed the most interest in or aptitude for in early schooling.
A second coming of age occurs five years later, when their fighting band is tasked with a hunting mission of real and present danger. They are overseen, but left to deal with the threat alone as much as possible, and if they succeed they are considered full-fledged adults, and warriors.