Centaur

A horse man walks into a bar...

Centaurs a half human, half ungulate creatures that live in The Fantasme. While not exclusively horses, as other hooved variants such as deer or goats exist, they mostly consist of horses.

Basic Information

Anatomy

Ayeshi and Rozehert by Amevello Blue

Centaurs have the lower bodies of closely resembling that of horses (or other hooved animals) if it's head was removed, and replaced with the body of a human or fae from the lower torso up. They tend to have fur covered ears that can move freely and some centaurs like goats, deer or elk will grow antlers or horns. Some centaurs can have markings on their skin that mimic the markings on their fur.
The upper body of most centaurs tend to be strong and muscular, but this is not always the case. To make up for their lack of magic centaurs train their bodies, however of a centaur did learn magic, they wouldn't need to bulk up as much. Deer and Goat centaur tend to not match this trend, and tend to be smaller framed to match their lower half body type.
If they have any fae genes, their hair, fur, and eyes can produce the same colors that Fae can. This can even show up in their fur, allowing for colors that are not typically found in nature.
The two skeletal systems connect where the human spine ends and the horse spine begins, and the pelvis is fused with the horse collar bone. Their human digestive system connects to their horse digestive system, and they have two stomachs. They also have two sets of lungs and two hearts. Everything else though, they only have one/one set.
Pegasus centaurs are a very rare form that occurs when a magical mutation causes a baby to be born with wings on the back of their horse body. These centaurs will also grow a singular horn from their heads.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

Many centaurs have a hearing advantage over humans since they can move their ears around freely. Since many centaurs are based from prey animals, they also have sharp reflexes.

Biological Traits

Centaurs can vary depending on the animal type they are born as. The most common are horses, followed by deer or goats. Other types like cows, antelopes or even Pegasus exist, but are far more rare. The most obvious difference is the shape of and color of their lower halves, but also size differences. The default horse centaur tends to be the tallest, deer centaur tend to be average height and goats the smallest.

Genetics and Reproduction

Centaurs can be born one of two ways. The first method is obviously between two centaurs. After having intercourse, a female centaur will become pregnant, and carry the baby in her uterus located down in her horse half. Gestation for centaurs lasts longer than humans at around 11 - 12 months.
The second method is through interracial breeding between and elf or a human and a Beastcia. There is at least a 25% chance that the baby will inherit the a gene in beastcia to become a centaur. If not, the baby will be born an elf/human. however, if it is a centaur, he gestation period will be just as long, but the pregnancy will be hard and painful for the mother. In the end the child will be born, but it will most likely kill the mother in the process.
Centaur and Human/Elven anatomy are completely incompatible and thus can not reproduce together. A possible solution would be to use Transformation Magic to shapeshift them to a humanoid form, but it's never been done before.
Centaur babies are born more developed than human or fae babies, appear more like a 2 year old, and can usually stand up straight minutes after being born, and walk a few days after being born. They will stick to their mothers a lot and need to be breast or bottle fed until they are at least a year old.

Growth Rate & Stages

Rozehert as a fawn by Amevello Blue

Centaurs have about the same life span as a human, and grow at about the same rate. New borns tend to be more developed physically when they are born, but mentally they still need a few years to learn how to speak and take care of themselves. Like human babies, baby centaurs have to wear diapers until they are old enough to be potty trained.
Young centaurs tend to be wobblier with lankier body types. They will fill out more as they grow older. Some children like fawns will have a spotted pattern on their backs and arms that fade away as they age. At adolescence, or about 12 years old, if they are capable of growing horns and antlers, they will at this age. Horns will grow slowly as the centaur reached adulthood, while antlers will annually grow and fall off every year, slowly growing larger and branching out more every time.

Dietary Needs and Habits

Centaurs would be able to eat most human foods, but also things that are inedible for humans, but their horses bodies can process fine. If a centaur were two eat grass, it would pass through the human stomach and be digested properly by the horse stomach.
Occasionally there is a chance that one or the digestive systems may react poorly to a type of food and cause the centaur to feel sick. Its unknown what causes this.

Biological Cycle

Like real animals, centaurs will grow seasonal coats that will need to be shed. Centaurs are more proactive about this than their animal counterparts, and will usually deal with the problem by brushing and bathing regularly.

Additional Information

Uses, Products & Exploitation

Centaurs can still produce the same goods and byproducts of the animal they are related to. Cowtaurs will still produce cow milk from their udders, sheeptaur can still be sheered for wool and the velvet off of freshly grown antlers can be used in potions. Because centaurs are still sentient people with basic rights, it's considered immoral to take these from them by force. Typically they will offer or sell their own goods if they wish to.

Average Intelligence

Centaurs are just as intelligent as any human. However they do have some quirks to their personalities which can be caused by their half animal traits. Centaurs will occasionally respond to certain stimuli the same way as horses or deer would, which can include being very skiddish or being really energetic.

Civilization and Culture

Beauty Ideals

Having long hair in centaur culture is considered a sign of a true warrior. This is due to famous war heroes in centaur culture having long hair that flowed dramatically in the wind. A particularly shameful mistake is usually marked by cutting an inch off your hair. Short hair is considered a show of a weak willed person.

Courtship Ideals

Since their hair is so important to them, centaurs put a great deal of importance in it when it comes to romance. Touching hair, stroking it or brushing it is considered a flirtatious act, and shouldn't be done unless you intend of showing romantic affection. Touching the hair is essentially equivalent to caressing someone's muscles while commenting on how strong and handsome they are.
The act of cutting off a lock of hair and giving it to someone is considered and intimate act of love and dedication to another, and is essentially proposing to another centaur. Typically they like to form the lock of hair into some sort of jewelry, like placing into a transparent locket. If the parter accepts the proposal, they will wear the jewelry as a sign that the two have dedicated themselves to each other.

Common Dress Code

Kheiron is rather warm, so centaurs tend not to wear much in regards to clothes at all. In fact, many of them wander around completely naked, as this is considered normal for them and it's more confusing to them why bipeds obsess so much over their naked bodies.
They do occasionally wear clothes, like fancy garnments for special occasions, winter clothes for those who travel to colder regions and armor to protect themselves in battle. They also often travel saddle-like bags on their back, usually over a blanket of some sort to prevent chafing.

All art by Amevello

Common Customs, Traditions and Rituals

Centaurs are very close social people. They have close bonds with their families and friends and will often treat their neighbors like family as well. Immediate family members will regularly bathe together and groom each other, which helps since there are many places on a centaurs body that are hard to reach on their own.
Children are often taught to fight and defend themselves, and if they are a species that is too small or weak to fight, they will usually learn how farm, cook or craft things.
Centaurs have many unique sports that take advantage of their powerful legs designed for running and kicking. A variant of soccer is play with the major rule being that goals can only be made if the ball is kicked with a bucking maneuver.

Common Taboos

It's considered incredibly rude call a centaur a horse. It's also considered inappropriate to ask for a ride from one. Occasionally, if there is a level of trust between the centaur and a biped they can ride, but otherwise it's typically a hard no.
You may call a male centaur a stallion, but never call them a gelding. It is an insult, basically saying they have no balls.
Never cut a centaur's hair. Unless it's done by a parent or higher ranking member as a punishment, the act of cutting a centaurs hairs a grave insult and can be perceived saying someone doesn't deserve to be respected. It's a sure-fire way to get yourself in a fight.

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by Amevello Blue

A young Ayeshi Espera and his father Boshkee.

Genetic Ancestor(s)

• Beastcia
• Elf

Scientific Name

Chimera ungulata homo sapien

Lifespan

80 years

Average Height

4 - 7ft (Depending on Species)

Average Physique

Centaurs are typically proportionate to both their human and animal counterparts. A centaur can have the genes of a large breed of horse, but still have a human proportioned torso, just being small compared to it's body.

Country

Kheiron

Capitol

Vermilion Canyon

History

Centaurs were first born when Beastcia began intermixing with humans and elves. Due to their powerful natural transformation magic, the offspring of these couples would be genetically altered into half human, half horse creatures known today as centaurs. At first, these children were seen as horrible mutants, rumored to be cursed creatures created through demon magic or even bestiality.
Parents of these children were ashamed to let them out in public. Some would lock them away in barn, others would separate the two half and bury them in separate graves. As the population of centaurs grew, so did public knowledge of them, however the were still seen as animals by many, and were treated and sold like slaves.
This all changed after the The Centaur Rebellion, when the centaurs fought for freedom, acceptance and a place to call their own. They gathered up their brethren and ran off to the soon to be Kheiron badlands and founded Kheiron.

Major Historical Figures

General Niwch'i was the leader of the Centaur Rebellion and was one of the key people who helped the the centaurs their freedom. He is a well known figure in centaur history and a large statue of him sits in Vermilion Canyon.

Attained Technological Level

Despite starting their civilization essentially from scratch, and having limited magic, they were able to focus on their technology more than their elven counterparts. Many of their basic tech has had to be changed dramatically to accommodate their race, such as the size of their homes, their means of transportation, or even the furniture they use. Their anatomy makes most aspects of their lives very different than a biped's.

Inter-species Relations

Centaurs still have a sour relationship with what they refer to as 'bipeds'. The peace treat signed during the rebelion my have banned centaur slavery, but there's still nothing stopping the horrendous level of discrimination in the Empire towards them.
Centaurs are often seen as dirty, rowdy creatures and are often barred from entering major cities, temples, or places of high society. They still frequently get stares and rude comments from people who see them as freaks of nature rather than people. Typically, centaurs and bipeds only interact to make trade deals, and it's very rare to a centaur and biped be very close, and even rarer to see a biped dating a centaur.

Extra Notes and Trivia

• The can take brief naps standing up by locking the muscles in their legs and upper torso. They will usually only be half asleep and can easily be stirred from this state.
• The like to decorate their tails and occasionally shave patterns into their fur as a stylistic choice.