Geographic Base: The Hawaiian Islands

Appearance: Menihuni are usually 3-4" tall and strongly resemble the native Hawaiian islanders. Their ears are slightly pointed, they have full heads of shaggy black hair, and their bodies are surprisingly lithe and agile. They wear traditional Hawaiian clothes and tend to decorate themselves with flowers and other plants. Menihuni also carry with them shell horns which they use to summon birds to carry them from island to island.

Lifestyle: The Menihuni live pretty much in harmony with nature, in caves and stone houses by waterfalls or in otherwise deserted jungle spots. They use magic mostly to control natural forces and even the volcanoes are supposedly subject to Menihuni powers. Usually however, they will only intervene in natural processes in cases of extreme emergency. Mostly they work as protective agents for the many endangered species of animals on their islands. While they can fight sharks if necessary, they are truly and deeply afraid of owls. Because Menihuni always travel at night, and given their small size, owls often scoop them up and devour them with such speed that the Menihuni don't even have time to identify themselves (as owls don't mean to eat Menihuni, they're simply not as careful as they should be), let alone cast a protective spell. At home, the Menihuni enjoy song and dance and are proficient at many sports of their own devising.

Human Interaction: Menihuni are more apt to help animals than humans, but particularly for native islanders they will come to human aid in crises situations. They are rarely seen by men, but are often responsible for wild animals stopping their attacks or storms subsiding, before tragedy happens. While there are some human myths about Menihuni intermarrying with humans, these are only stories, as even the size difference aside, the Menihuni have certain taboos about actually touching human flesh. They care for all living parts of their island home, including man, but their dedication to preserving the larger native picture of the island - as it was before even the ancient Polynesians reached it - will always mean there will be some distance between these cultures.