Centaur

Centaurs are proud nomads who range far and wide across their ancestral territories, protecting their lands from exploitation and intrusion. They are survivalists who forge tight bonds with family and community and stand firm in the face of danger. Many are skilled hunters, trackers, and warriors who do battle with bow, steel, and hooves. Brave and stubborn, they're willing to challenge even the fiercest foes and largest forces to protect their homes, kin, and the land within their domain.

As hunter-gatherers, centaurs rely upon the bounty of the natural world for sustenance. As youths, they're taught to nurture and respect their surrounding ecosystems so the land remains healthy and bountiful throughout their lives and is preserved for future generations. Centaurs understand that a land exploited or despoiled is a land unfit for survival, just as a herd overhunted dies off. In the ancient past, such carelessness and greed resulted in malnutrition, famine, and loss of territory, and most centaurs are careful not to repeat the mistakes of their distant forbears. Thus, centaurs prefer to adapt to their surroundings, rather than abuse their environments for their own comfort. They're guardians of nature, and their beliefs lead them to clash with careless urbanites and expansionists over exploitative and dangerous practices, including overhunting, overlogging, pollution, and city development.

History

Centaurs originate from Gladenlil with many still living there today, though they no longer return to their ancestral homeland, now the home of Bayle Fyppin, the Dread. Many died when the infamous dragon claimed his title of "The Dread", burning the land many Centaurs once called home.

Centaurs began spreading over the rest of the contanent of Gladenlil and travelling to Condeus. They can now be found all across the world in various nations.

Religion

The beliefs of a centaur often depend on where and how they were raised. Many centaurs follow the Green Faith or worship deities who share their respect for nature.

Centaurs have two primary religious figures: Greenspeakers and Faithspeakers. Greenspeakers are one with nature, followers of the Green Faith, exceptional herbalists, and otherwise learned in the ways of the natural world. Faithspeakers are pious devotees of gods, demons, celestials, and other beings. Both are given equal respect, considered two sides of the same coin. Through their Speakers, centaurs interact with the world beyond what they can see and feel, and lead ceremonies, celebrations, and prayers. Celebrations are usually divided into two categories: beginnings and endings, with beginnings such as weddings, births, and spring celebrated at dawn, and endings such as harvests, funerals, and partings celebrated at dusk. Death rites vary by region and culture, but sedentary bands and those who cultivate fields, gardens, or crops, often burn their dead on pyres, releasing their spirits from their material bodies, then using the resulting ashes to fertilize fields or gardens so the dead can continue to serve their community. In regions with rocky ground or frigid climate, centaurs instead bury their dead under cairns and stone mounds.

Trivia and Useful Info

Centaurs consider saddles and bridles both restricting and shamefully insulting, akin to being shackled and caged. They despise being ridden and refuse to serve as a mount except in the direst of circumstances or emergencies, or only by their most trusted companions.