Tinies
The tiny races of Felarya: tomthumbs, mausus, neeras, and efrii. They are humanoids whose common point is their minuscule size, being about three inches tall on average. They form very secretive communities and live mostly hidden lives, save for mausus who can be quite adventurous at times. Thus it's extremely hard to determine their number, but they are considered pretty uncommon. They are obviously at the bottom of the food chain and often fall prey to nekos, their main predators, many animals, and sometimes even humans!
A Tiny about to be caught ! Picture by Pogojo and used with artist's permission. For larger version visit Pogojo's gallery
Neeras
Neeras are usually between 2 and 3 inches tall, though larger species exist. They have often brown or black hair and mouse-like features such as large, rounded, furry ears, a hairless mouse tail, and sometimes paws in place of hands, though possessing thumbs. They're an intelligent race, just as much as nekos and humans, but they remain very discrete. Some of them living in Negav have managed to become part of the community but this is the only known case. Most neeras prefer to live deep in the wilderness, in small villages scattered throughout the jungles of Felarya that are nearly impossibly to find. Most of them are situated in Chidokai forest. Some neeras there tame muris, which they usually get along with very well, the large green rats carrying and protecting them.
Efrii
Efrii are human-like beings between 3 and 6 inches tall but with four arms and three eyes. They are a secretive and fierce society of warrior-like tinies (at least, they think they're warrior-like, those bigger than them just think it's adorable when they try to act tough) who have a dislike of larger races (you know, because of the whole eating thing). They especially dislike nekos, which have a real taste for them. When scared, an efrii's body releases pheromones, which, when looked at from an evolutionary perspective would seem to be a defense intended to instill a sense of love for the efrii in the predator, thus dissuading the predator from killing the efrii. The strength of the pheromones corresponds directly to the strength of the fear in the efrii. Unfortunately, sometimes, especially with nekos, the pheromones only instill a sense of horniness. Go figure.
Tomthumbs
Tomthumbs are ubiquitous yet discreet and diverse peoples. Located squarely at the bottom of Felarya's sentient food chain like other tinies, they do their best to keep out of everyone's way, but can be found throughout the known continent. They look very similar to humans in appearance and, like them, they can adapt to a variety of climates.
They tend to be highly social, relying on one another to survive. Scholars apply the blanket term "tribe" to their communities, but the latter are fairly diverse, ranging from societies grounded in strict hierarchies to loose associations of autonomous individuals. Settled in Felarya since times immemorial, tomthumbs have developed a variety of social organisations, customs, practices, values and religious beliefs. Very small beings, covering a vast territory, they are divided into a high number of tribes. Their numbers sometimes increase as tribes grow larger and divide. Periodically, however, entire tribes are wiped out by hungry predators.
Tomthumbs in Negav
Under construction
While Negav is primarily a human city, tomthumbs (and, to a lesser extent, other tinies) have also come to view it as a relative safe haven. Most of them tend to keep to themselves, and avoid contact with humans. Consequently, the Tomthumbs' Negav is a 'world within a world', mostly unknown to the city's human residents, and subject to occasional speculation. A small number of tomthumbs live 'between worlds', interacting regularly with humans.
Tomthumbs have been living in Negav for as far back as anyone can remember. Over time, humans just began to notice them, without having seen them arrive. The tiny people live primarily in abandoned buildings, in burrows dug into the earth of the city's parks, and more generally undeground. Nobody is certain how many there are. Urban legends claim that tomthumbs have dug a vast network of subterranean chambers and passageways which extends under most of the city. Some paranoid humans claim that this enables the tinies to enter any home or building and spy on the human world. It has also been claimed that some tomthumbs offer their services as tiny assassins, carrying drops of potent poison unseen into humans’ homes. This suspicion has led to a degree of anti-tomthumb prejudice.
On the other hand, tomthumbs often appear in human fiction, including children’s stories. There, they are most often represented in a positive (albeit stereotyped) way. They are often seen as sneaky yet simple and kind-hearted. Some humans believe that seeing a tomthumb is a sign of good fortune. There are even humans who go ‘tomthumb-watching’, and who take their children to the nearest park to see whether they can spot any tinies darting about under the bushes.
"Tomville"
Centuries ago, the city's rulers decided that the tomthumb population must be brought under control. They ordered the building of a tomthumb area within the city, and decreed that all tinies must live there. Tinies found to be "permanently residing" outside this segregated area would be subject to arest, and repeat offenders would be expelled from Negav altogether. A decree ordering tomthumbs to pay taxes was quietly dropped, however, due to the tinies' obvious incapacity to handle human-sized money.
The tomthumb segregated area -or "Tomville", as it is popularly known- was not a success. Most tinies were not at all keen to place themselves under the scrutiny of the city's human rulers. It's estimated that a vast majority of Negav's tinies live outside Tomville, but the area is not entirely uninhabited. Tomville is thus one of the city's curiosities - a miniature town nestled within the larger human city. It's inhabited mainly by tomthumbs who prefer a life of openness rather than secrecy, and by the descendents of those who originally moved there when the decree was first issued. Tomville is also ideal for tinies who want to maintain relations with humans. Lastly, there is a safety aspect to it. Tomville is under the protection of the human authorities, who do make some effort to keep it safe from hungry nekos and human slavers.
Tomville is administered by a Board of Councillors, all of whom are tinies. Almost all are tomthumbs, although other tinies (neeras, mausus, efriii) are occasionally represented. The Board has seven members, of whom three are appointed by the magiocrats (the city's rulers), and the other four elected by and from a narrow list of Tomville's richest and most influential tinies. The Board decrees who is on the list of electors. Although Tomville is essentially autonomous, the Board answers to the magiocrats, who may veto its decisions and impose their own rules.
Tomville is composed of tiny stone houses, and other stone buildings such as the Council Hall, the tallest building in the tinies' area. Most buildings sit atop an underground passageway which enables residents to flee below ground in an emergency. Townville also has its own verdant parks, and its own marketplace. A few small temples enable people to worship their various deities. Houses tend to come with gardens, where the tinies grow their own food, and part of the town is reserved for fields of crops – agricultural lands within a city. Lastly, some of the non-tomthumb tinies living in Tomville have built up their own areas; thus, a small cluster of distinctive houses forms the town’s ‘Mausville’.
Tribes
Tomthumbs in Negav are by no means a united community. Although some are loners, detribalised individuals or families, most live in tribal communities, with their own leaders, customs and territory. Tomville itself is a mixture of detribalised people and autonomous fractions of wider tribes, living side by side or intermingled in general harmony. Tribal leaders retain various degrees of customary influence in Tomville, but are subordinate to the Board of Councillors.
Outside Tomville, tribal leaders are the highest authority over their territory and community. Each tribe has its own form of leadership. While some are essentially egalitarian, recognising nothing more than an influential role for select individuals, others are governed by a rigid hereditary aristocracy. There are even examples of tribes where leadership has faded away altogether; members view themselves as part of the tribe, but no longer recognise any authority.
Tomthumb religions are also diverse, and have been a subject of interest for human scholars. While some tribes worship a pantheon of deities, others belive in gods who are detached from the world of mortals, and whom they consequently do not pray to. Among the more ‘curious’ are a tribe which lives in one of the city parks, guarding a specific tree which they believe to be imbued with “sacred creative spirit”. A small cluster of tribes are known to believe that gods are incarnated in particular humans, and consequently worship those humans – to the latter’s puzzlement, amusement or annoyance. It is rumoured that one tribe worships a catgirl as the incarnation of a high goddess, and that they even allow the catgirl to eat them, but this is generally considered to be one of the wild urban legends which surround Negav’s tomthumbs.
Relations with humans
As noted above, a small number of tomthumbs do interact with humans. Some seek human friends for protection; it is not unknown for a family or three of tomthumbs to live freely in a human family’s house, sometimes in exchange for small services, othertimes out of human’s friendship or desire to help the city’s most vulnerable residents.
Some tomthumbs offer their services to humans in a number of ways. Tomthumbs are employed for tasks which require tiny people – retrieving things which have fallen into cracks, for example. Or spying, as alleged by some. In addition, tomthumbs cultivate tiny licroa seeds, which, despite their size, are a much sought after spice used to flavour human foods. Licroa plants are so small that only tomthumbs can properly tend to them.
There is also a popular trend among humans to employ tomthumbs to deliver love messages to their sweethearts. For some reason, using a tomthumb messenger is considered particularly romantic.
A very small number of tomthumbs have become renowned by humans. Kirip Sateem (male) writes popular works of fiction, which are read in taverns for the enjoyment of a human audience, while Loti miToren (female) is a celebrated medical researcher, whose discoveries have enhanced tiny, human and even neko medicine. Tururirahi is a highly skilled street painter, whose artwork decorates the pavements and walls of his area. He has been commissioned to decorate the inside of human homes, and even public buildings. Sateem, miToren and Tururirahi are among the very few tinies who are known and respected by the city’s human population, being invited to human social functions and mingling with influential humans. Tururirahi is even known to have had several human lovers.
Lastly, it is rumoured that a small number of tomthumbs have mastered a unique type of magic, and practice their art for human customers, but if so, this type of trade is shrouded in secrecy.
The builders
An interesting feature of tomthumbs’ presence in Negav is their tendency to build things. Small stone shrines, stone or wooden statues, as well as intricate, carved wooden structures with no obvious purpose appear here and there from time to time, in abandoned human buildings, in parks (sometimes on the branches of trees), and even on street corners. It has been hypothesised that they have a religious purpose, but tomthumbs remain clamp-lipped on this topic; other humans believe that this is just a form of artistic expression. These objects tend to appear more in certain parts of the city than in others, which suggests that they’re created by certain tribes only.
The “Marks”
“Marks” is a nickname given to tomthumbs who live in or around human marketplaces. Most of them are not there to trade, but are scavengers, living off human foodstuff dropped by sellers. They are thought to live below ground, and generally come scampering out for food in the evening, when the humans are gone. This is somewhat risky, due to tomthumbs being prey for nekos (as food) and humans (as slaves).
Dangers
Life in Negav protects tomtumbs from the forest’s predators, but contains many other dangers. Not least, the risk of being stepped on by inattentive humans, which, to a large degree, explains why tinies stay out of humans’ way.
Arguably the greatest danger they face, however, comes from nekos. While the city prevents any large predators from entering to feed on humans, it does not keep out nekos, who have an unfortunate tendency to view tinies as delicious meals. While those outside Tomville are not protected by the human authorities, Tomville itself is not always safe. Nekos know that they can find a steady source of food there, if they can get past the human guards.
Some humans, however, are also a threat to tinies. There is a black market slave trade in which tomthumbs are kidnapped and sold as ‘pets’ or slave workers to humans who can afford them. Officially, trade in tomthumb slaves is a serious crime, but enforcement is often lax.
Tomthumbs have been known to fight back, however, and from time to time a human or a neko is found dead, pricked by multiple tiny poisoned darts…
Known Tinies
Darania
Tiffany
Hercules
Tina
- credits to Haar for the idea and design of the efrii, and to Moonlight-pendent, Ravana3k, French-snack, and Maniakmonkey for the Neeras, Tomthumbs, and Mausus.
