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Centaur Man
The half-human, half-horse Centaur is best known as
a creation of Greco-Roman mythology. According to myth, there
were two races of centaur, both immortal. One race was warlike and savage. The
other, led by Cheiron, was peaceful and wise, sought-after as
teachers for young gods and heroes. Cheiron was said to have
been instructed in the arts by Apollo and Artemis, and became a good
friend of the hero Hercules. Eventually, he was terribly wounded
during one of Hercules' famous twelve tasks, shot by a poisoned arrow
intended for a wild boar. Unable to die and unable to find
peace, the centaur was at last turned into the constellation
Sagittarius by Zeus. From here, he rules the ninth House of the
western zodiac.
Origins
Centaurs have been in Tirialle
for a very long time, arriving well before reliable written records.
Each lineage of centaur has a different story explaining how they came to
this land. Some say they emigrated from across the
Celestial Sea, to the south, while others indicate that they crossed a
now-vanished land bridge from a now-vanished land to the west.
Habitat
Most centaurs of
Tirialle live in the West Realm wilderness, though a few bands have been
reported in other regions. Some individuals even become "civilized" and
move into towns and cities. For the most part, they
prefer living in the wild, and can be found in many habitats.
Feeding
Though mostly vegetarian, the centaur's human (or human-like) half does enable them to
eat meat. To them, meat is a sacred meal for special occasions,
such as religious ceremonies or celebrations. The hunt has taken on
near-mythical significance, with elaborate rules governing what animals can be killed, with what weapons, and when. To violate these
rules is to anger the animal spirits, which leads to very ill luck.
Unlike horses, they don't eat grass or bark, and usually avoid leaves except
in very lean times. Centaurs feed on
berries, grains, fruits, tubers, mushrooms, and other natural foods in forms
that
humans would consume.
Life Cycle
Foalchilren, born singly or as twins, arrive in late spring.
Initially nursed by thier mother, they switch to solid foods within their
first year, at which time they begin their training with the other
foalchildren, learning woodlore, astrology, defense, and other arts of
centaur culture. At roughly twelve years old (sometimes earlier or
later as the stars dictate), they undergo rituals of maturity, varying by
tribe but usually involving some solemn rite of passage or ritual
trials. The next spring, the new centaur men and women are honored
during the equinox celebrations, at which time they usually take betrothal
vows (more common in the northern regions) or pledge themselves into
apprenticeship to a higher-ranked warrior, healer, or other
profession. Centaurs live for roughly a century and a half, some
passing 200 years in fair health and fine mind.
Culture
Centaurs have a tribal
social system, varying by region as to specifics. Usually, there is a
chief (which can be a male or a female), who leads a council composed of
"elders" (which are not necessarily the oldest centaurs, just the
most important and those considered wisest). Each tribe is organized
into related clans, with each clan holding specific tribal responsibilities.
They tend to be
nomadic, traveling north in spring and south in fall, but some tribes prefer
not to travel, even staying through hard Northern winters. They take pride in being
self-reliant and unburdened by frivolous possessions, but they have a weakness for
jewelry. Those who live in cooler climates accumulate hides and
blankets to keep warm, but even the migratory tribes often have such
"luxury" items, especially among the high-ranked clans. Such items are stored in collapsible hide
houses, like teepees (design varying by region), that are hauled behind the
tribe on skid-sleds by low-ranked young adults. Centaurs
usually live and sleep out in the elements, except for the
weak and ill.
Centaur religion is based in nature and the stars, with all things reflecting the spirit
and some aspect of the Star-Maker. All things in nature
must be treated with proper respect, lest the Star-Maker be
offended. In an odd contrast to this philosophy, all centaurs are
required to be trained in the arts of war, and must master at least one
weapon by the time they reach adulthood. There is sporadic warfare
between centaur tribes, and sometimes they skirmish with
other beings. For a long time, centaurs were considered
warlike, but recently it has come to light that most of these
"wars" are highly ritualized, almost religious events, which they
claim are dictated to them by the star-paths. There is some dispute as
to whether all centaur conflicts are predicated astrologically or if they fight over
differing interpretations of the stars. Usually, the battles are
intended to clarify the Star-Maker's will. Centaurs believe that the Star-Maker
arranged the stars and planets to show how the world was supposed to exist, but that
sentient beings, with the "taint" of free will opening
them to the evils of Chaos, have
been slowly forcing the world away from that plan. It is up to
"enlightened" creatures like centaurs to do their best to bring
this world back to the Star-Maker's design. Centaur clashes with
other beings might be an extension of this ideal, except in cases
of obvious self-defense against hostile enemies and other threats.
Temperament
Most centaurs come across as aloof and humorless. In truth, though rarely wild and carefree, they can be
warm and considerate, and do enjoy a good joke or festival (provided they
are in the right mood, and said festival doesn't conflict with the will of
the Star-Maker). If they
seem distant and unwilling to step forward, it is probably because of their
belief in predestiny according to the stars, and that their efforts might be
undermining the Star-Maker's will for the world. They will honor any debts to other species, especially life-debts. This may seem
to counter their philosophy of all things being the Star-Maker's will, but -
like many religions - centaurs also believe that, by living their lives by
their beliefs, they are performing an invaluable service to the higher
powers. Any creature enlightened enough to realize that and save a
centaur's life must be truly wise, indeed.
Magical Traits
Centaurs are
extremely gifted astrologers and fortune tellers, to the point that many suspect that they
possess some magical sense of precognition. Many centaurs excel at
natural magics, and are said to be able to cure or kill anything with access
to the proper plants. Some have empathic skills with other creatures,
especially subsentient animals (most notably horses). Usually, these centaurs are trained as
tribal wizards or witches, and accorded great respect. Some, however,
develop too strong a bond with animals, and go wild
themselves. Such individuals are pitied, but allowed to remain
outcasts. It must, they figure, be the Star-Maker's will.
Other Notes
Despite slanderous
rumors and a few exceptions (usually among the city-dwellling individuals,
most of whom are tribal exiles), centaurs do not drink alcohol in any form,
considering it a corrupting influence on mind and body. Those centaurs
who do drink display very erratic behavior and are highly prone to
alcoholism and alcoholic diseases. It is thought that old stories of
rampaging centaur clans can be traced to such drunkards; an alcoholic
centaur often undergoes a permanent personality change, making them violent
and irrational even when not actually intoxicated.
Centaurs and sagittaries have a long-standing rivalry, owing to the fact
that sagittaries once occasionally hunted centaurs in the distant
past. Today, no longer sharing natural habitat (sagitarries only
surviving on Eoterra and its surrounding islands), efforts are being made to
work civilly with each other. There are rumors that centaurs learned
much of their herb lore from sagittary healers, but the centaurs deny this
with suspicious vehemence, insisting rather that the Star-Maker granted this
knowledge to them. Considering how closely sagitarries guard their
secrets, this might very well explain how relations originally soured
between them; today's sagittaries never hunt sentient creatures, and what
few records still exist of their ancient rivalry indicates that they hunted
each other in a battle context rather than a survival context.
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