Centaur

Thank you master Plod. I don't think I could have gotten my garden ready for planting without your help.

— Giantess Bertha to her friend Plod in the spring drive for planting.

Centaurs, like other fae enjoy some of the finer things in life.  Centaurs enjoy games which involve strategy or physical exertion. Some centaurs find work as mounts for other fae, though this is rare since they usually find it to be a degrading position.

Naming Traditions

Feminine names

Female centaurs are given names very similar to dance maneuvers and certain gaits, like Pirouette, Plié and Prance.

Masculine names

Male centaurs are given names which indicate specific types of movement, like Chase, Dash, and Gallop.

Culture

Shared customary codes and values

Centaurs believe in the value of a good day's work.  In this, they are very much akin to dwarves.  The difference is that centaurs do not spend all of their time being productive.  They prefer to have time to just have fun.

Common Etiquette rules

For the few centaurs willing to carry a rider it is common etiquette to wait for the invitation to mount before climbing up onto their backs.

Common Dress code

Centaurs when they wear clothes, it usually consists of a jacket or shirt.  Young female centaurs enjoy simple halter tops.

Birth & Baptismal Rites

Once the young foal is born the first thing they do after being towelled off by the mother is feed.  This initial feeding helps to bond the young with the mother.  Centaurs enjoy a herd mentality and thus when a new foal is born the community gathers to watch and help.  The stallions encircle the mares to provide shelter and protection from danger.  Once the initial feeding is complete the foal is introduced to the herd.
On the rare occasion where the mother has twins or dies in childbirth, the other mares of the herd will take up the task of breastfeeding the young foals.  This helps to create a sense of family within the herd.

Coming of Age Rites

Centaurs are considered to have come of age at one hundred thirty years. For a centaur, the coming of age is considered a sacred rite. This is the day they are given their first set of horseshoes, crafted for the occasion by a dwarven farrier.
For though there is no real test or trial each colt or filly is taken off for a year-long journey outside the fae wilds. During this time away from the fae wilds the young centaurs learn about the trials and tribulations of some of the nations. Thormalk and Herigmark are two nations that actively accept the centaurs. It is here that the young centaurs learn to pull a plow or wagon. They exchange labour for food and shelter. On the rare occasion, they will ask for the Rite of breeding in exchange for their labours.

Funerary and Memorial customs

When a centaur dies, the herd comes together to mourn the deceased. For those who have never seen a centaur funeral, they would consider it macabre. The entire herd forms a long line that runs over the body until it has been trampled into the ground, with every bone being broken.  This ritual will last from sun up to sun down.  The reasoning behind this is because in the past there have been some unscrupulous mages who have tried to use body parts of the centaurs in their magical experiments.  With the body trampled, it can no longer be desecrated.

Common Taboos

For the centaurs, it is considered taboo for the young to be approached by anyone who is not from the herd.  The stallions are likely to drive anyone they do not recognize away from the area.

Ideals

Courtship Ideals

For centaurs, the art of courtship is one of daring-do and showing off.  This can involve leaping into the air or jumping a hedge repeatedly.  Whether the courted is a centaur or another of the fae ethnicities is dependant upon whether or not they are open for the adventure and challenge. There have been some notable relationships between centaurs and other fae.
Centaurs enjoy a good frolicking in the fields near where they live.

Relationship Ideals

Centaurs believe that for a relationship to remain stable both sides need to listen and compromise.  This is especially true where members of other fae ethnicities are involved.
Centaur relationships have a tendency to last for only about a decade or so.  This does not mean they do not return to previous relationships.  Like most fae they are known to have very casual relationships.  The only exceptions to this rule is if the partner is human.  Centaurs will abide by the culture of their partner even if this means remaining together "until death do us part".

Corrigenda    Fae    Fae Wildlands      Fae      Centaur

Encompassed species

• Fae

MOTTO

Centaurs have a motto by which they live.

"Work hard, play harder."

ANATOMY & MORPHOLOGY

Centaurs have two stomachs, two sets of lungs, and two hearts. One stomach for grain and grasses and the other for everything else. The reason for the two hearts is so that neither one is overworked pumping the blood throughout the body. The two sets of lungs provide the centaur with richer blood allowing for extended periods of exertion.

PERCEPTION & SENSORY / EXTRASENSORY CAPABILITIES

Centaurs have an innate knowledge of the fields and when they need to be left fallow for a season. They can also scent poisons within the food, even if it normally an odourless poison.
Centaurs are capable of communicating with any of the equine species on Corrigenda.  Horses and ponies enjoy the company of centaurs and will talk to them for hours if the centaur is willing to listen.

GROWTH RATE & STAGES

Centaurs, like horses, can walk within moments of birth. The young colts and fillies develop slowly to maturity.

BIOLOGICAL CYCLE

Centaurs are fertile once every five years. Their fertility cycle begins at one hundred fifteen for mares and one hundred ten for stallions. Though the mares are fertile only once every five years they are fertile for eight months at a stretch.  Stallions, always being fertile has led to problems between the mares and stallions.

BIOLOGICAL TRAITS

Centaurs only have one set of mammary glands, these are located in the upper torso. Centaur mothers lie down to breastfeed their young.

AVERAGE HEIGHT

Centaurs measure height similar to the way humans judge a horse's height, being from the ground to the shoulder of the front flanks. This being the case centaurs average about fourteen to sixteen hands at the shoulder. This does not mean there are no exceptions. There have been some who have grown to eighteen hands while others have stopped growing at nine hands. The upper torso is usually about two and a half to three feet from the shoulder to the top of the head. The exceptions with this are for the few who grow to be less than twelve hands, these rare members usually have an upper torso of one and a half to two feet.

AVERAGE WEIGHT

Centaurs range in weight from three hundred eighty to eight hundred kilograms.

FACIAL CHARACTERISTICS AND FEATURES

Stallions have rugged features and will wear a beard once they are capable of growing it. Mares, on the other hand, have fine delicate features. Both mares and stallions grow their hair long and leave it flowing in the wind.

GENETICS & REPRODUCTION

Centaurs, unlike the other fae, are capable of breeding with wild and domesticated equines. Like all other fae, this results in the child being the same race as the mother. When this happens the type of equine plays a part in the overall size of the offspring.
Centaurs usually only bear one foal at a time, though it is not all that uncommon for there to be twins.

Header pic of female centaur walking passed an ancient wyrm lion-headed dragon statue by Stefan Keller from pixabay.com
Centaur pic in main body by Stefan Keller from pixabay.com