Polder

Often called halflings or gnomes by outsiders, names some find charming and others quietly resent, polders are a small, adaptable people found throughout the towns and cities of the Vale. Though not human, they live closely alongside them and readily absorb the customs, jokes, and rhythms of the places they settle. Their origins, like those of many peoples, are lost to time and remembered only through scattered local traditions.

Standing around three and a half feet tall, polders are nimble and quick-moving. Many possess a natural talent for shadowmelding, allowing them to slip into dim light with practiced ease. This has earned them an enduring, but perhaps undeserved reputation as thieves, a charge polders commonly dispute by pointing to their prominence as chefs, merchants, innkeepers, and keepers of active households.

Polders thrive in lively neighbourhoods and close-knit social circles, favouring communities where familiarity grows through daily contact. They appear across nearly every profession, including baking, civic service, record keeping, and craft. Friendships form quickly and are maintained through constant presence and shared routine. Their faith follows local custom, with devotion offered to the same Saints as their neighbours, and many towns proudly claim a polder saint among their own.

Sociable, clever, and quick to adapt, polders bring humour, warmth, and practical sense to the places they join. They fit themselves into the life of a community with care, becoming part of its fabric through use, trust, and everyday contribution.