Half-breeds are not a race, but the offspring of mingling between two races. Frequently, they are the cast offs of that mingling. Intimate relationships between the different peoples is something that is frowned upon, to put it mildly. When it happens and is brought to light, the reactions can range from disgust to violence. It happens more often than most would like to admit, and the hypocrisy rampant in this regard would by stunning if it weren't so common.
Each half-breed is unique, and so it can be difficult to describe them as a whole. Some might be indistinguishable from a member of one or the other of their parents' races. Others are unmistakable, having a collection of traits that could only arise from a mixture. Like many marginalized people who suffer from prejudice, they often form their own groups and communities. The largest of these is on the Island of Yls, to the east of the Caribre Mountains. It is a large island on the edge of civilization, and only nominally within the realm of Calibran. The Dragon King pays little attention to what happens there, and the half-breeds who live there pay little attention to the doings of the court.
For whatever reason, humans seem to be most inclined to form liaisons with other races, and so the vast majority of half-breeds had a human as one of their parents. A half-breed might be referred to as half elven, which would indicate one human parent and one elven. Half goblins are likewise the offspring of a goblin and a human. More exotic combinations exist but are rarer.
Biology[]
It is difficult to speak with completeness about the biology of half-breeds. Any given example may have any of the traits of either parent. As their numbers have grown, and large communities have formed, it is natural that two half-breeds might meet, form a relationship, even marry and have children. These children might have characteristics that combine in unexpected ways. As note, while the pedantic might be inclined to call these children quarter-breeds, or work out the specific fraction of parentage, the term half-breed is usually assumed to cover any person of mixed parentage, from first generation and beyond.
Half elves are perhaps one of the more common types. They will have longer lives than their human parents, perhaps much longer, but they will age and eventually die. They also tend to have a talent for magic.
Half goblins are also common, with tendency toward long noses, baldness, and sallow skin. Half orcs are big, and usually quite strong.
Otherwise, almost anything is possible.
Cities:[]
The Island of Yls is large enough that most of it is uninhabited. There are enough people for two cities to have formed, however. Zayd is the smaller of the two, and is at more or less the center of the island. Phleg is larger, a port city at the very southern end of Yls.
Zayd[]
Zayd is in the eastern foothills of the low, short range the locals call the Yls Mountains. The countryside around the city is thick with small farms, and acts as the breadbasket for the island. Zayd, then, is where the farmers come to sell their crops and buy supplies. The center of the city is Split-Goblin Market, which is strung along the city's main street, the Goblin Way, and has infiltrated the maze of short streets and lanes that surround the Way.
The city has no walls, and consists mainly of low stone and wooden buildings. There is no government, and no real law, in Zayd. The natural law is in force, that each may keep whatever they can defend. People tend not to build too large or too well for fear some strong armed thug will move in and force them out.
Goblins are common in Zayd, and there are a higher proportion of half goblins there than anywhere else. There is a small but significant population of humans as well. By and large the Island of Yls is the home of the outcasts and rootless in Calibran, half-breed or otherwise. Zayd is the last stop for this sort, as far away from the centers of civilization as possible, while still being part of it.
Phleg[]
At the very southern tip of the Island of Yls, Phleg is what connects Yls to the rest of the world. Its port is the center of the city, which is cupped in a low range of hills that forms its boundaries and keeps everything crowded together. As a result, Phleg is a close packed city, with buildings that might be three or even four stories tall.
The city is kept in hand by the Port Captain, a half elven man who has come to control the comings and goings of ships in and out of the port. As the city depends on the port, his control has spread to the city as a whole. He collects port fees, and uses that money to pay guards and keep the basics of sanitation and order in place. There is never enough, but it is better than Phleg's sister city, Zayd, to the north.
The Horns, the sanctuary of the dragons, is just a few hundred miles to the south of Phleg. That makes the city the closest inhabited place to the dragons' home. The citizens of Phleg are always looking to the south, aware that if there were to be a new Dragon War, they would be the first to know, and to suffer because of it.
Religion[]
Half breeds might share the religion of one or the other of their parents. More likely, they don't believe in any gods at all. Some have begun to share the goblins' beliefs, that the world is ruled by chance, and luck is the only true god.
Language[]
Half-breeds speak the King's Speech. There is a patois that has developed, as well, that partakes of several other languages, mixing them with the King's Speech. The city names, Zayd and Phleg, as assumed to have come from this patois.
Magic[]
The magic of the half-breeds depends on their parents. There is no magic particular to half-breeds.
History[]
Recorded history makes no mention of any half-breeds. It is likely that official recorders did their best to ignore them, and whatever accomplishments they may have had. They no doubt fought at the Battle of Farsalon, but there is no mention of them in any histories or sagas.
An effort has begun in Phleg to begin recording the history of Yls and prominent half-breeds.
Named and Important Characters[]
None yet.
Naming Conventions[]
Half-breeds might be named by a parent, and so take their name from that culture, or a mix of both cultures. They might choose their own name when they are able. There are no fixed rules or common traditions when it comes to the names of half-breeds.
Notables Skills and Traits[]
Any combination of their parents' or ancestors' skills and inclinations might be possible, and anything else as well.
Cultural notes[]
Nothing as yet.