HETHIN

An average hethin is pale to tan skinned. Males tend to be 3 feet in height while the females are a little shorter at 2 feet 10 inches. On average they are between 70-154 pounds in weight, dependent on their natural build and profession, again with females being a little lighter in general, perhaps as low as 35 pounds in weight. They have no average hair colour, although blonde is perhaps the least common. It is cut to any length or style, but what is called the 'short and simple' is most common among males. Eyes can be any colour. In all other ways they resemble a diminutive serevmen.

They happily reside along almost all other races, aslong as those races respect the hethin homes, cultures, and members. Family life and growth are the keywords for hethin, those and independence. All Good races are free to trade and live with the hethin in general.

If hethins take religion it is often the common one for that region or the one that links with their communities lifestyle the most. Hethins are fundamently Good and Lawful in nature but otherwise can have any alignment. They may take to the cloth if the religion benefits their community. They rarely join cults, little known religions or religions of an agressive stance towards something.

Hethin rarely have monarchs or even leaders, they tend towards placing the most suitable people for the job as and when they are required. Groups within the settlement tend to help everybody, and all aid in the working of the settlement. The wealthiest are often the most highly respected, but it is not the wealth of gems or coins that they allude to, although it can raise interest in some. More so, in a typical hethin community the wealthy are those with many family members and much land to work, or those of great craft skills and reputation, and treasured possessions.

Hethin are monogamous and the femal can produce one to four young, although one being typical. Young take around fifteen Dodecates to mature, but maturity is often not to do with age but the size of the community in which they live, some communities having quicker maturity ages, as the young are brought in earlier to aid in the running of the settlement. Often it is particular professions which dictate at which age training should begin.

Hethin can live almost anywhere given enough food, water, and some shelter, they are generally a hardy folk but suffer from short lives and a limited resistance to disease or pestilence when compared to many other races. The average life span of a hethin is between 45-75, dependent on the environment in which they live and their profession. Females are the same as males in this context.

THethin have their own distinct language, Hethish, but share the Common tongue with most races also. They also have local dialects, while sone sub-species have completely different languages all have the power of speech and many can read and write and learn other languages. Literature is generally restricted to scholars, religion and Mancery, or for records of public and court proceedings. Finance is recorded on paper but not in the same way as say the serevmen do.

They live in a small to large communities, often of many large families. They try to be self-sufficient in their settlements, but are happy to settle with other races for trade, mutual protection or resources, or as a way of increasing their trade within their family from other settlements.

Dwellings come in the form of housels (hoo-zels) or cottages. Housels are buildings dug into the ground to the depth of one storey,then have another story built atop this. The roof is either thatched or grassed over and comes down to ground level at the rear. Some rare hethin have built dwellings with more than two storeys but only the wealthy can usually afford to do so and often then for inns and such.

They keep animals in barns and pens and grow their food within the settlement areas,rarely growing anything except wheat, maize, or fruit outside of the settlement. Hethin tend to build grass and reed banks behind their housels, through which the rain water flows, filtering out debris and the clean water used for baths or drinking if clean enough. Hethins are skilled earth workers but not particularly talented with stone. Landscaping is their forte and around their homes theyoften have ridges, gardens, or fake moats.These moats can be built near rivers or streams,the water from which is partly siphoned off into the moat. The moats around large dwellings or even around while settlements are sometimes covered with reed mats and turf. Not only does this allow water to be given to crops and such but also act as a defence. Hethin tend to be light and these mats are designed to be able to take the rough weight of and average hethin, approximately 100 pounds, this allows the hethin to pass safely over the mats, especially where they know the supports are. Should anyone heavier than this pass over the mats however, they will more as not break through the reed mat and plunge into the water below. These settlement false moats are called the 'dunky, 'for obvious reasons. Low water or dry 'dunkys' can even be a place for hethin to hide for a short while if needs be.

Music comes in many forms. Singing is the main form of natural instrument, but they craft other instruments such as harps, horns, lyres, violins, drums, flutes, whistles, and rattles. They have many different styles of music and speeds.

Hethins are adept at all physical aspects and are adequate in their senses. Few in their numbers seem to have Manc naturally, but are able to acquire it with time and training, perhaps absorbing it intotheir bodies as they focus their minds.

Hethins are competant carpenters, wood builders, smiths, brewers, farmers, potters, labourers, fishers, and weavers. They are less skilled at masonry, animal training, or fine crafts and fine smithing like gem-cutting or silver smithing, but are able to learn the trades of almost all other professions.

Lores are rare, but not unheard of, among hethin. Some hethin have special abilities manifesting in the form of a relationship with an element or some ground-based lore.

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