Tomthumbs

One of the under-used species of Felarya... They're at the bottom of the sentient food chain, on the same level as neeras. I rather like them, and I keep meaning to develop them more, but I haven't done much yet.

The wiki says almost nothing about them yet, and I haven't encountered them in many stories, so I simply used them in my own way. I view them as identical to humans in appearance, but tiny - small enough to be swallowed whole by a human, just like a human is small enough to be swallowed whole by a giantess. Which gives us three sizes for "human-like" beings: giantesses, humans, and tomthumbs.

One of my main characters, Tina, is a tomthumb. This is how I describe her in the first story in which she appears: She “had a light build and light blond hair, […] cut short in a mock-ruffled style [and] wore simple, neat but modest clothing of forest greens and browns.”

Tina's people are the Alsumi tribe. They live in the forest to the north-west of Ur-Sagol. More specifically, they live underground, beneath the hut of the giantess Milly, who acts as their protector. It's a sheltered home for them: Milly doesn't view them as food, because they're too small, and any creatures which hunt them are prey from Milly's perspective. She eats their predators.

The Alsumi live in a network of burrowed chambers underground, with few accesses from the surface. These chambers are re-enforced with wooden walls, floors and ceilings. They also have underground fields for agriculture, where the light for their crops is provided by some special sort of plant or fungus (I haven't gone into details yet). This means they can spend more time underground, and avoid wandering around in the dangerous forest.

Another tribe of tomthumbs, which appears in a recent story of mine, is the Mukuen tribe, who live on the banks of the Lake of Illusions. They're one of several tribes living in the area. Their tribe is divided into clans, which are themselves subdivided into families, but everyone mixes pretty much freely. This is what I wrote about them:

"Since most other sentient peoples in the area desired to eat them, the Mukuen kept mainly to themselves. Safety required them to sleep underground, and they had dug out homes for themselves, consolidated with wooden walls, floors and ceilings, and furnished to provide relative comfort. These underground rooms were little more than dormitories and storage areas, however. Tomthumbs, like humans, had evolved to live above ground, craving fresh air and sunlight. By day, they strolled through within the bounds of their territory. While children played, adults tilled the soil for agriculture, or hunted creatures –such as insects– minuscule enough to be eaten. In the tribe’s gardens, cool oxales and sogram tastima were nurtured and flourished. Occasionally, they went fishing, to catch fish so tiny that other species ignored them completely."

Also:

"Boats were one of the Mukuen’s greatest sources of pride. Although they were rarely used, they were little masterpieces of workmanship and artistry. Solid, well-balanced, functional yet comfortable, they were intricately decorated with carved scenes and figures depicting images from popular stories and ancient legends. They were, of course, truly tiny, suited to their makers, and this particular aspect of Felaryan art remained mostly unknown to other sentient species. "

The only other aspect I established about Mukuen society was their names. Examples of Mukuen names are Deme seMalat loReem (female), Rutche saIngon loTavan (male) and Ethil saDares loTavan (male). The first part is a personal, given name. The second is the family name, with a sa- prefix for men and a se- prefix for women. The third part is the clan name, with a lo- prefix for men and women alike.

I don't know yet whether the Alsumi follow the same niming pattern or not. Probably not, though. They may have a fairly different culture, and I'm thinking Alsumi people actually have only a given name, with no family name at all. After all, the Alsumi live a long way away from the Mukuen - they're foreign to each other.

So, to sum up... The tomthumbs I've created are social beings, living in communities. They build underground dwellings, for safety, but they don't necessarily spend all their time below ground. They're carpenters (building boats, wooden structures for homes), which implies that they also make tools. They're agricultural peoples, but also hunt and (if they live close to water) fish. Some (like the Alsumi) have developed underground agriculture, while others till the soil above ground - which means you may come across tiny fields of crops in Felarya.

Their communities are discreet. They don't construct buildings above ground. In one of my stories, I mentioned tomthumbs living in the ruins of Ur-Sagol, but they don't construct their own buildings there.

Other than animals, their main predators are nekos, as well as human-sized nagas, human-sized mermaids (when they can get at them), and so on. Giant nagas generally consider them too small to be of interest.

Tomthumbs don't eat sentient prey - there's nothing small enough.

I have yet to develop their society, in terms of art and political institutions, for example. But I'll be thinking about it. The tomthumbs who appeared in Ur-Sagol in one of my stories were artists. They were making "a structure built in fragrant dark yellowish supple rods, bent and assembled to form a tilted rectangular frame, with two crudely symbolised trees emerging from it. A form of imagery, made from an unfamiliar substance." Which turned out to be dried kauro sap. And it was a form of abstract sculpture. So some tomthumb communities at least have artists.

I hope this is ok, anyway. I just wanted to flesh out one of Felarya's little-used species. Bearing in mind that I see tomthumbs as a diverse species, which means that Alsumi and Mukuen society doesn't necessarily reflect the societies of all tomthumbs.

And I think this is an excellent idea ! I will watch the thread closely

Thank you.

Regarding tomthumb art, I'm thinking they would have to use what they've got. They're not going to be painting on canvasses, for example. On the other hand, they use wood for practical purposes, so they may use it for art, too. I see their art as relying quite heavily on wood - wooden carving and sculpture (friezes, statuettes), and maybe wooden slabs used as support for painting with natural pigments.

I also imagine them using malleable, driable tree sap as a sculptuble substance. (They'd just have to be careful not to try and extract sap, or wood, from a dryad. )

Regarding politics and government... I imagine it as being fairly informal. Each tribe might have a loose tribal council, which gathers only whenever there's an important decision to be made. Each family selects a representative to a clan meeting, and the clan meeting selects one or two of its attendees to go to the tribal council, thus ensuring that every clan is represented. This is how it might work for the Mukuen at least, who have subtribal clans. I think the Alsumi may be a smaller tribe, without defined clans, so their "government" might be even more informal: a very loose council of people who are popularly and informally regarded as wise enough to take decisions. No formal elections; tribe members would make it clear to would-be council members whether or not they enjoy wide support within the tribe.

I've just written and uploaded "At the bottom of the food chain", which, unless I'm mistaken, is the first Felarya story focusing exclusively on tomthumb characters. It's about my characters Tina and Joanna. They had previously appeared as minor characters in my stories, as background friends of Milly and Jissy's. Now they get the limelight.

The story is here:
http://aryion.com/g3/showitem.php?id=171308

It contains a description of life in a tomthumb community.

Tomthumb tribes and societies

Tomthumbs are ubiquitous yet discreet and diverse peoples. Located squarely at the bottom of Felarya's sentient food chain, they do their best to keep out of everyone's way, but can be found throughout the known continent. Like humans, 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.


Alsumi
location: north-west of Ur-Sagol, south-east of Felarya’s main beach; beneath Milly's hut.

See above.


Felecia's people
location: Vorchek’s homestead

A community of tomthumbs who live with their slug girl queen, the lovely Felecia. (These belong to timing2; their first story can be found here.)


Mukuen
location: on the banks of the Lake of Illusions

See above.


Tomthumbs in Negav

See here (fourth post).


Tomthumbs in Ur-Sagol

Tomthumbs' presence in Ur-Sagol goes back to a time before the mighty city's destruction. Paintings and carvings found in the ruins occasionally depict tinies, and constitute precious archeological evidence of their long history in this location. Virtually nothing is known, however, of their lives in the city prior to its downfall. But whereas very few humans today can be found in the ruins, tomthumbs stayed on, or drifted back over the centuries after the catastrophe.

Unlike their counterparts in Negav, tomthumbs do not seem ever to have had their own reserved area in the city. There was no Ur-Sagol equivalent to Negav's "Tomville"; or, if there was, all traces of it have long since vanished. Consequently, tomthumbs today live in the ruins of human buildings, and in small underground caverns dug out below them. Very few of them erect tomthumb-sized houses, not wishing to draw attention to themselves.

Outside of Negav, Ur-Sagol today probably has the highest rate of detribalised tomthumbs, eking out a living as lone individuals. The ruins attract outcasts of all sorts, from many species, and lone tomthumbs fit into their lawless, precarious culture. Ur-Sagol itself may have crumbled, but its ruins are still a port of call for visitors arriving through the great dimensional gate. Lone tomthumbs have been known to offer their services to visitors as paid guides. A small group of tinies are known to take tourists round the ruins’ most interesting spots.

For the most part, however, Ur-Sagol’s tomthumbs retain tribal societies, and survive by sticking together as communities. The precise number of tribes living in the ruins is unknown, since they tend to eschew contact with humans. On occasion, they have helped lost and frightened humans, telling them where they could find shelter and keep out of the way of giant predators.

Although the city is a ruin, containing the vestiges of artwork painted or sculpted over 2000 years ago, small parts of it are brought to life by tomthumbs. Thus, visitors may notice tiny paintings on some of the walls, or tiny sculptures in the backyards of crumbled houses. These are not remains of Ur-Sagol’s glory days, but the recent work of tomthumbs hidden among the ruins today.

The vast spread of the ruins offers tomthumbs many nooks and cranies to vanish into when pursued by predators, but life for them is never really safe. Nekos, slimoids, small nagas and human-sized slug girls use Ur-Sagol as hunting grounds, devouring high numbers of unfortunate tinies.


Shahewi
location: Akaptor desert

The Shahewi are an isolated tribe of tomthumbs living far out within the Akaptor desert. Their community is fairly small, and they are said to have survived in their harsh habitat for centuries. The Shahewi themselves say that their ancestors came from elsewhere, and travelled over the desert’s magic sand by laying large wooden planks over it – a movable footpath. They eventually befriended a cactus dryad, Lueri, and set up camp beside her. There, they built a small wooden village, set on planks to keep off the sand.

The tomthumbs’ relationship with Lueri is mutually profitable. The dryad conceals herself from strangers, projecting the image of an oasis. Travellers crossing the desert are drawn to the village and water, whereupon Lueri reveals herself and devours them. She also eats wild animals and other predators who attempt to attack the village. This arrangement means that few strangers ever get to talk to the reclusive Shahewi.

How exactly they survive is something of a mystery. They appear to have little or no access to food or water. Few people know that they actually live by making use of the desert’s unique properties. Stepping out onto the dreaded sands, skilled, tiny hunters travel back far into Felarya’s past, where they gather food and water to bring home. They do not stray far, however, and do not appear to have explored Felarya’s past beyond a minuscule area.


Tomthumbs in Deeper Felarya

Although little is known about tinies who have made their homes in this area, it is thought that they are more numerous than in the ‘central’ Felaryan forest. This might be explained by the fact that Deeper Felarya lacks many of the predators who prey on tinies further south. Tomthumbs in Deeper Felarya tend to have dark brown skin, and hair that is either dark brown or dark green. Most of them seem to live in smallish, semi-nomadic clans, nestled in the branches of the area’s gigantic trees, where they erect temporary dwellings. Tomthumbs here have domesticated very small birds, which they use for transport, flying between trees rather travelling on the ground. These clans are generally not aggressive towards strangers, but defend themselves using arrows dipped in highly potent poison.

Leadership among them seems to be informal. There are no apparent indications of religious beliefs. In addition to carving tree bark, their art includes painting on tree leaves – creating beautiful, colourful designs which last only until the next rainfall…


Quanob
location: Grove of carnivorous plants

The Quanob are one of the relatively numerous tomthumb tribes inhabiting the Grove of carnivorous plants. While the area is deadly to humans, it is mostly harmless to tinies. Few flesh-eating plants are small enough to take much of an interest in them, and any predators big enough to worry them are quickly consumed by the plants. Thus the grove is, paradoxically, something of a safe haven.

This is one of the few places on mainland Felarya where tomthumbs actually build villages and live in full sight, rather than hide away below ground. Quanob homes are woven from tight-knit plant stems and strips of leaves, coloured in natural dyes which give their walls striking and beautiful patterns of colour. Indeed, Quanob architecture is considered unique, although it is little known to the world beyond the grove. The Quanob, and neighbouring tribes, have also developed a form of writing, and use clay tablets to write on. Poetry circulates between tribes on these tablets, and is an important item in reciprocal gift-giving. Gifts of written poetry are considered central to maintaining friendly relations between tribes. Once acquired by the Quanob, a poem offered by another tribe will be read in the evening to the assembled villagers, at a time deemed auspicious by elders. Poetry readings are one of the highlights of Quanobs’ daily lives.

The Quanob are sedentary agriculturalists, growing crops with little fear of being disturbed by predators. They believe in a single, beneficial spiritual presence. It is not viewed as a creative force, nor is it considered sentient, but the tomthumbs believe they can attract its beneficient effects through appropriate rituals, and by leading good lives – most notably by helping one another out. They form a peaceful, friendly and generally happy people.


Mathreemi (extinct)

The Mathreemi were a tribe of tomthumbs living on a small, isolated island in the Topazial sea, out of sight of any other land. They were thought to have lived there for many generations. They shared the island with peaceful herbivorous creatures and a number of other very small animals. They had no natural predators, and were the island’s only sentient inhabitants. Protected by their isolation, they constructed stone buildings, wove tapestries, tilled the soil and fished for food in the ocean. Sundials marked the time and guided their daily lives. They believed in a small pantheon of gods, but paid them little attention, believing that the gods played little part in the lives of mortals. Mathreemi society was structured around hereditary, endogamous social classes, and governed by a fairly large assembly of ‘aristocratic’ leaders. However, these leaders governed in close consultation with the ‘lower class’, and the daily lives of members of the two classes were essentially alike. Both took part in necessary activities such as agriculture and fishing; they also mingled socially, ensuring that the class distinction was, in fact, very slight.

The Mathreemi were wiped out when a group of nekos from the mainland heard about them, and travelled to their island, successfully braving the perils of the ocean. The nekos feasted on the unfortunate tomthumbs, devouring every single one and then lying back on the warm, pleasant island to soak in the sunlight while they digested their large meal…

Today, the island remains uninhabited, the stone homes lying empty. Stone slabs dotted around the village are inscribed with writing, but the Mathreemi’s alphabet was unique, and has never been deciphered, so the meaning of the texts –or indeed the purpose of the slabs– is unknown.

Great thread.

It's very detailled and interesting. I like this lore you are developping around this race ^_^

There is just the name "Tomville".. not totally sure about it XD

Karbo wrote:

There is just the name "Tomville".. not totally sure about it XD

would "Tinytown" suit you better XD

FalconJudge wrote:

Great thread.

Thanks!

Karbo wrote:

It's very detailled and interesting. I like this lore you are developping around this race ^_^

Glad you like it. I've been meaning to develop tomthumbs for a while, so I thought I should finally get down to it.

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There is just the name "Tomville".. not totally sure about it XD

Well, the way I see it, it's not an official name. It's what people call it informally. Officially, it's probably called "Small Persons' Autonomous Quarter", or something.

Reptillian wrote:

Karbo wrote:

There is just the name "Tomville".. not totally sure about it XD

would "Tinytown" suit you better XD

Thumb District? Littleville?

One thing that isn't mentioned about tomthumbs is how quickly they mature. Do they follow the normal human cycle? Or is their development accelerated?

That... is a good question. I can't imagine it being highly accelerated, since their physiology is essentially the same as humans'. And the mind of a child would need time to mature and learn. They may grow up a little faster than humans, but I don't think it would be flash-growth.

Given that you're one of our local experts on tomthumbs too, though, your thoughts would be valuable.

My intention with the tomthumbs in the Howling Forest (all of which are located within the Vorchek homestead) was that the children would mature somewhat faster than human normal. I didn't have any specific numbers in mind, but at somewhere around ten years of age, they would be considered adults. They would be self-sufficient far, far earlier than that.

I am planning on a very lighthearted babysitting story for Serimela at some point in the future, and realized I hadn't even thought about tomthumb children or babies and how they should be handled. The tomthumbs there had few children when they arrived, and have only been living at the homestead for four years by the time of the story All Is Not As It Seems. Serimela showed up less than a year after that story.

timing2 wrote:

My intention with the tomthumbs in the Howling Forest (all of which are located within the Vorchek homestead) was that the children would mature somewhat faster than human normal. I didn't have any specific numbers in mind, but at somewhere around ten years of age, they would be considered adults. They would be self-sufficient far, far earlier than that.

*nods* That makes sense.

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I am planning on a very lighthearted babysitting story for Serimela at some point in the future, and realized I hadn't even thought about tomthumb children or babies and how they should be handled. The tomthumbs there had few children when they arrived, and have only been living at the homestead for four years by the time of the story All Is Not As It Seems. Serimela showed up less than a year after that story.

Isn't Serimela a bit young still to be a babysitter? That should be... interesting.

Goodness, tomthumb babies must be tiny. To Milly, they'd just be a speck. She'd find it difficult cooing over the newborn members of her little tribe of protégés, if she can't really see them.

Serimela is young but not a child. Remember, all her brothers and sisters from the same brood are now out on their own in the world. The big thing that led to her predicament was fear of the open sky. Well, that and fear of being alone. She has a core of strength that never had a chance to show itself until she was abandoned.

She now has a family that cares for her and under the supervision of the tomthumbs, Felecia, David, and Satasha, she blossoms into quite a little spitfire. So much so, that by the time of The Dridder Strikes Back, she’s more than capable of dealing with Quincy and some of his infamous tantrums.

Quincy’s reasoning for her being a good babysitter is that with eight legs and a rapid fire web shooting behind, she should be able to easily keep tomthumb children in line. And if they act up, she can always cocoon them, then hang them up as punishment. These are Quincy’s words to a very appalled Serimela.

And I agree about how tiny they must seem to a giantess - tomthumbs themselves would be tiny specks to Milly. Their babies would be even tinier specks.

timing2 wrote:

Quincy’s reasoning for her being a good babysitter is that with eight legs and a rapid fire web shooting behind, she should be able to easily keep tomthumb children in line. And if they act up, she can always cocoon them, then hang them up as punishment. These are Quincy’s words to a very appalled Serimela.

She should be able to get back at him for that.

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And I agree about how tiny they must seem to a giantess - tomthumbs themselves would be tiny specks to Milly. Their babies would be even tinier specks.

Heh. Poor Milly... She'd like to be able to hold the tribe's babies in her arms, but, well, that's not really possible. (She also has to be careful not to step on the tomthumbs!)

After reading some of the above posts, I'll have to spend some time on is what exactly do Felecia's tomthumbs do when they aren't sleeping, eating, or training. If Quincy had his way, they would never stop training, but regardless of how convincing he may be, the others won't put up with that constantly. You've given me something to think about in regards to art/hobbies. The tomthumbs in the Howling Forest would have access to a lot of raw resources (wood, plants, flowers, seeds, rocks). They also have David and Satasha who regularly travel outside to bring things back for them to work with. They have access to two large ponds and a creek (large by tomthumb standards, at any rate), so I can see them making a few boats as well. Add Serimela and her web making capabilities and you could come up with all sorts of novelties.

As for politics, like you, I also see them as being very informal. Quincy became "leader" because he was the most stubborn and loud about it (and very few protested). Nevertheless, for big decisions, he would not make them alone - they would probably have an informal meeting of the elders for such occasions.

One thing I only briefly went over in the stories - Felecia did not always appreciate having the tomthumbs around. Early on, when they first arrived, they became a real nuisance to deal with. Because of their size, they're able to get into places most people wouldn't even consider. I imagine in Negav, or other cities, they might find themselves viewed as pests or even spies under certain circumstances. Want to know what your neighbor is really doing at night? Hire a tomthumb investigator!

timing2 wrote:

After reading some of the above posts, I'll have to spend some time on is what exactly do Felecia's tomthumbs do when they aren't sleeping, eating, or training. If Quincy had his way, they would never stop training, but regardless of how convincing he may be, the others won't put up with that constantly. You've given me something to think about in regards to art/hobbies. The tomthumbs in the Howling Forest would have access to a lot of raw resources (wood, plants, flowers, seeds, rocks). They also have David and Satasha who regularly travel outside to bring things back for them to work with. They have access to two large ponds and a creek (large by tomthumb standards, at any rate), so I can see them making a few boats as well. Add Serimela and her web making capabilities and you could come up with all sorts of novelties.

That should be interesting. I imagine they can come up with lots of games and competitions. Boat races, of course, but you only need very basic tools to invent a number of games. I'm sure they could develop something imaginative around a game as simple as pebble tossing.

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As for politics, like you, I also see them as being very informal. Quincy became "leader" because he was the most stubborn and loud about it (and very few protested). Nevertheless, for big decisions, he would not make them alone - they would probably have an informal meeting of the elders for such occasions.

That seems the most logical in this setting. Especially since they have a Queen, anyway. (In other contexts, tomthumbs may develop rigidly hierarchical societies, hereditary aristocracies and the like.)

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One thing I only briefly went over in the stories - Felecia did not always appreciate having the tomthumbs around. Early on, when they first arrived, they became a real nuisance to deal with. Because of their size, they're able to get into places most people wouldn't even consider. I imagine in Negav, or other cities, they might find themselves viewed as pests or even spies under certain circumstances. Want to know what your neighbor is really doing at night? Hire a tomthumb investigator!

Heh, yes. That's how they became victlms of stereotypes and prejudice. If someone were sufficiently paranoid, he might imagine tomthumbs crawling about the house, watching his every move.

It's amazing the things you forget to think about. I hadn't considered where Felecia's tomthumbs would actually live in the homestead. Your Alsumi tribe lives under Milly's hut, specifically in burrows beneath the ground. Quincy and company have the benefit of being not only free from predation, but also of living in a protected environment. The magic that encases the homestead, courtesy of Stephandra, prevents extremes of temperature and weather from affecting the interior. So they would have no problem flopping out at night under or on the flowers and plants. They would probably have little moss beds all over the place for such occasions. Some of them might prefer to stay inside the house proper, with David and Felecia. And some would probably have come up with the idea of making their own houses. I can easily envision a bunch of tiny homes in amongst the flowerbeds.

I deliberately kept the tomthumb population low in the homestead, with somewhere around fifty to sixty total. You brought this up in a previous note, but your perception that Felecia acts as a calming, comforting influence is very correct. Around her, the tomthumbs behave as if they're up for review (mostly) and her word carries tremendous weight, even though she rarely, if ever uses that fact. What started out as a joke about her being their queen turned into reality.

How big of a community is the Alsumi tribe? I imagine with Milly acting as protector, their population has increased more than normal due to her eliminating most of their predators.

And regarding Tina - does her friendship with Milly friend give her any special status with the other tomthumbs?

timing2 wrote:

The magic that encases the homestead, courtesy of Stephandra, prevents extremes of temperature and weather from affecting the interior. So they would have no problem flopping out at night under or on the flowers and plants. They would probably have little moss beds all over the place for such occasions.

It sounds idyllic. They're definitely a lot luckier than most Felaryan tinies - although, as Serimela's initial intrusion proved, the homestead isn't entirely free from danger. What about rain, though? For the flowers, melons and such to grow, they need rain. Does Stephandra control rainfall and warn everyone when it's going to happen? I can't imagine them leaving their moss beds out if they're going to get soaked.

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How big of a community is the Alsumi tribe? I imagine with Milly acting as protector, their population has increased more than normal due to her eliminating most of their predators.

You know, I've never actually imagined a number. They don't restrict their natural growth, though, so there are always children among them. When children grow up, it's easy enough to dig new rooms out for them. There also have to be enough families to prevent a genetic bottleneck. Few Alsumi would leave and settle among tribes who don't benefit from the same safety, but there's probably some measure of immigration - families from the outside moving in, foreigners marrying into the tribe, and so on. I imagine their number is upward of 3 or 400, but I'm not very good at estimating populations.

Of course, although they're in less danger than most tomthumbs, the Alsumi aren't as safe as Quincy and his friends. They don't stay underground all the time, and whenever they emerge, there's always a risk of being eaten. From time to time, an Alsumi or a small group of them run into a predator and never make it home.

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And regarding Tina - does her friendship with Milly friend give her any special status with the other tomthumbs?

Not really. She's not on the informal leadership council - except when the council wants to consult her on her knowledge of the wider world. She's travelled a lot more than any other Alsumi, in the safety of Milly's company. For the most part, she's recognised as a valuable go-between, but Alsumi see her mainly as just one of the tribe. After all, she does spend more time with the tribe than with Milly, and she does her fair share of work with everyone else.

Serimela and Satasha are both reasons why Quincy is so adamant that the tomthumbs keep up their training exercises. They had been doing so before Satasha's arrival, but their efforts were half-hearted at best. Quincy tried to fashion the training as a game, which made it more palatable. The sense of constant danger from their previous home out in the rocky plains had greatly diminished. After Satasha crashed into the scene, their attitudes changed. And after Serimela showed up, their attitudes really solidified.

They still treat the homestead as an extremely safe place, but that sense of heightened awareness has come back. No large predators would be allowed close, but as you point out, even small ones like Serimela are capable of preying upon tomthumbs. That is something Stephandra overlooked (even millennia old dryads make mistakes!), as her main concern is for Felecia.

Stephandra is capable of controlling the weather over the entire Howling Forest and beyond, but she rarely does so. She does, however, limit what gets through to the homestead. Her link with Felecia lets her give warning of any incoming rain. In fact, she knows days in advance of any storms that might pass over the area. If they happen at an inconvenient time, when no warning can be given, then nothing makes it through to the homestead. She can easily divert or suppress such weather in those cases.

The beds are made of living moss, so even if they get wet, they would dry out rather quickly. And I figure the tomthumbs can deal with being wet every now and again. Some of them may even enjoy it. They always have the choice of going inside if they wish.

The plants in the homestead do require occasion rain to survive. Beyond having a creek that runs through the homestead, as well as two large ponds, the soil itself is rich even by Felarya standards. There is a brief mention of this in one of the stories - that with a little effort, almost anything can be grown there. This comes back to Stephandra and one of her dryad abilities. The whole Howling Forest is a plant paradise with incredible species diversity. The homestead is a step above even that.

One thing that might come up elsewhere in the world regarding weather - something as innocuous as hail could easily mean certain death for tomthumbs unlucky enough to be stuck outside in it. In fact, fat raindrops might not be such a nice thing to be struck by if one were only two or three inches tall.

Aside from nekos, the Alsumi might also have to contend with things such as snakes above ground, and moles or other underground menaces in their burrows. I would imagine something like a badger would be bad news for a colony of tinies based underground.

timing2 wrote:

One thing that might come up elsewhere in the world regarding weather - something as innocuous as hail could easily mean certain death for tomthumbs unlucky enough to be stuck outside in it. In fact, fat raindrops might not be such a nice thing to be struck by if one were only two or three inches tall.

I'm not sure whether the Felaryan forest gets hailstorms... I suppose it does, sometimes, but in general that risk would be the least of tinies' worries.

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Aside from nekos, the Alsumi might also have to contend with things such as snakes above ground, and moles or other underground menaces in their burrows. I would imagine something like a badger would be bad news for a colony of tinies based underground.

Indeed, animal predators are a threat. I suppose there aren't too many burrowing predators in the area, though, otherwise life underground would be untenable. When one does come along, tomthumbs would rush to warn Milly (their underground tunnels connect to her hut), and the predator would add a little variety to her diet.

Have you decided where the homstead is, in relation to the rest of Felarya, or are you leaving that undefined?

I haven't really decided where it would be, and I'll probably ask Karbo where it could be placed before tying things together in a story.

I don't think it'll be on the main map though, because the area it encompasses is too spread out. It will probably end up either north, in deeper Felarya, or east, past Frost Peak.

A quick layout would have snow-capped mountains just to the north of the Howling Forest. The homestead is in the southern section of the forest, away from the mountains. Several days to the south of that would be the lone black mountain where Galya resides. Between the forest and black mountain is an vast, open, rocky plain/grassland. Just south of that is an unnamed lake. And far, far south of all of this is where Marsha rules, out in the marsh. There's brief mention of an unnamed human city that David travels to - it takes him one week there and one week back on foot.

The rocky grassland is where Quincy and the other tomthumbs migrated from. It's also where Satasha's tribe was located before being enslaved.

The original tribe from whence they came was called the Verdoya, but that name has been mostly abandoned. The name refers to a type of green mineral out in the rocky grasslands, used by the tribe to craft tools as well as fine works of sculpted art. The name is now only used in very formal events where the tribe has something important to discuss.