A race defined by its unique build. Being half humanoid and half herbivore they developed a rich culture that is oddly shared throughout the individual species. The three species of centaur that exist ar Equus, Oryx, and Cervidae. Generally the humanoid half looks like any other member of the humanoid races the centaur hails from. Though in rare cases the humanoid torso bears the same colors as their herbivore half.
Equus centaur combine a humanoid with a horse. For the Equus the horse portion generally follows the rules of the normal horse colors. So they may range in all sorts of coat colors and pattern. In addition those who live in Asante resemble the zebras there and can freely breed with other centaurs.
Oryx combine humanoid with antelope. They generally resemble the antelope of their given region. They even grow horns upon their heads as the antelope do. They share the same dietary abilities as the antelope.
Finally cervidae combine humanoid with deer. Generally they resemble the deer of their region. The males grow antlers that they shed as well. Making for some odd looks, but magnificent to other centaur cervidae. They share the same dietary abilities as the deer.
All centaurs are able to interbreed with each other opening up some interesting coat patterns. On the whole though they share the same culture and style of thoughts.
Society
Centaurs organize themselves most naturally along family lines. A family starts with the core mare, stallion, and foal. Then slowly expands out include other members of the core group. Then slowly encompasses other families within the herd. Herds vary in size from the amount of a village to herds the size of a small city. The herd is always led by a pair of centaurs a stallion and a mare. The two are usually viewed as the wisest and best suited for the job.
The herd will only heed those it views as being right for the job. As such the Herd Stallion is always tasked with keeping outer threats to the herd at bay. The Herd mare is responsible for threats within the herd. This has led to the Herd Stallion keeping warriors and scouts always trained for threats from without. While the Herd mare trains healers and those who maintain law within the herd.
Due to racial tendencies stallions tend to be warriors more often. Though the unusual stallion who takes up the more peaceful life is not mocked as all must follow their lifepaths. The stallion who becomes a healer is viewed with even more respect than a mare, this is due to the fact the very first centaur healer was a stallion named Chiron. These tendencies also do not prevent a mare from becoming a warrior.
Chastity is neither expected nor required unless your faith or view requires it. Fillies are required to remain chaste until they become mares. This is more for the safety of the filly and potential foal than anything else.
Courting
Centaurs as stated before organize themselves into family groups. If an adult is unpaired they reside with their core family until they find their match. Centaurs tend to be very practical and down to earth, but when they fall in love it is very quickly. They tend to pair with someone who has a similar personality to them making friction less of chance. Though sometimes they wind up with someone who is slightly or greatly different to them. In every case it is viewed that the pairing is makes up for weakness in each other.
The stallion must have proven himself on several fronts to even gain the look of a mare as a potential mate. He must prove his courage, bravery, stamina, strength of arm, responsibility, and have stood as foal sitter at least once. The mare decides if a stallion has proven these things.
Some stallions go adventuring to garner great fame and prove themselves before the world that they are worthy of a mare. This has been known to backfire when a mare selects a less worldly mate as he missed on proving he could care for foals or she cares not for the potential enemies to the family.
During the courtship there is a bonding process. The process can sometimes cause the two to start having more similar outlooks on things. Or have some behaviors be mimicked by the other. Either way at some point in the courtship the pair will mate and this is viewed as simply part of the selection process is accepted as part of the process.
Once they have settled on whom they will pair with the couple undergo a pair bonding. This is done to bind the two forever. Once this is done the pair devote themselves to each other and to any foals they might have.
Not every stallion will win a mare in his lifetimes. This due to the fact there are about 3-4 stallions for every mare that is born.
Pair Bonding
Upon picking a mare and earning her respect, preparations begin for the wedding ceremony. While it is communal in nature, it also can be tailored to reflect the class, skills, and nature of the mated pair.
The colors of the wedding are the combined colors of the mare and stallion, but the bonding ceremony itself is private and designed to heal and join the hearts of the mare and stallion. Centaurs share a very close connection to the earth, and the pageantry of the wedding reflects this close bond with the earth and the elements.
The first portion begins with a feast the night before the wedding, this feast is designed to celebrate the passion of the mare and stallion with a bonfire. The mare and stallion are seated beneath a tent that features the color of the centaurs before they are bonded. The feast itself is not overly formal, but features the ceremonial eating of a sweet cake. The mare knows she must prepare this once she has accepted her stallion, and makes a sweet cake out of a basic, essential combination of oats, sugar, flour. It is sweet and symbolic of the bond between the mare and stallion. She give this as an offering to her stallion and as he accepts it, he accepted her promise to nurture and support him. The feast opens with a prayer by the head druid, who announces the beginning of what will be the wedding process.
The next day, a hunt is announced. This is a colorful pageant and includes an additional feast as the mare and stallion lead the hunt to kill their first meal together. It is to remind the centaur’s that death is as much a part of life, and cements the position of the couple in the eyes of the herd. A druid who states that, through this hunt, the herd now knows them as only for each other. This hunt is designed to take all day, and go after a difficult quarry. It will require the herd to work together and use tactics. The kill is given to the stallion who hand offers it to his wife as promise to always take care of her and ensure her safety married by tradition.
After the hunt, the mare and stallion receive a scarf in the same colors as the bonding pair, which is a formal acknowledgment that, in the eyes of the herd they are mated. The scarf is wrapped around the hands, as the druid utters a prayer to the gods. It is a silent prayer as the centaur herd is very well aware of the duties and does not need to be reminded of them. Once the prayer has been completed, which should be as the sun sets. The druid then whispers into the ear of the mare something only meant for her ears. It is the location of a sacred grove guarded by nymphs and dryads. As the other stallions welcome the newly mated stallion into the herd as a fully formed adult and responsible member of the herd, the mare is sent to the grove to await her stallion.
The stallions ritual dedicated to the gods for aid the man in finding his wife in a grove he has never seen or heard of. The next portion, finding the grove, is by far the most difficult. Because the couple is not fully bonded, they cannot feel one another as strongly. They need to rely on following the mare’s scent, her hooves, and any sign she chooses to leave behind to guide him. Varying on the mare this may be very easy or very difficult.
Traditionally, the mare will leave red roses petals, in memory of the goddess of love, to guide the stallion once he gets close enough the grove. Once he finds her, the private ritual begins. This is the bonding ritual and can only be witnessed by the pair. The mare will be sitting at the side of the pool, waiting for her stallion and once he arrives, they enter the pool together. The rest of the ritual is kept secret from all, but mated pairs.
Pregnancy & Foals
When a mare becomes pregnant she will not be due for 535 days or roughly 19 months. When she starts to become heavy with foal she will generally cut back on her duties to the herd. She is allowed to cut back more and more the closer she come to her due date. Once she has foaled the foal is up and walking within hours much as a horse foal is. The humanoid torso resembles that of a two year old.
A month later the mare resumes her duties as she and her partner if she has one rear the foal, if the mare has no partner then the father of the foal steps in to help out whenever possible. The rearing of foals is a task taken up by both parents and both see to the foal's needs and early education. During the childhood phase the foal eats a strict herbivore diet.
Once the foal has become a yearling (happens at 2 years of age) he is sent to school. There they begin the foundation of higher learning. All yearlings are taught basic survival, first aid and herb lore. The lessons on those three subjects remain as the centaur grows until they graduate their schooling. Also included in the lessons are math, history, geography, astrology, religion, and basic combat.
Anatomy
Centaurs have a unique anatomy. Several organs are redundant, but help the centaur maintain a much more efficient body. They have two hearts, while making them that much harder to kill with heart shots, it also helps them pump blood to the large body in a far more efficient manner. They also have two sets of lungs to enable them to draw in more breath. This allows them to run at the swift pace of the horse and also ensure they get enough oxygen for both bodies. Unless they are running usually only one set of lungs is working enough to be noticed.
The final duplicate is the one that makes them so efficient at eating. They have two digestive tracts. One is in the horse portion and one is in the human portion. When they are foals and yearlings only the horse portion is working properly. So all food is passed on to the horse portion of the tract. This means foals and yearlings are only capable of a vegetarian diet. Once they hit adolescence they may start to add other food items to their diet. Anything that the human cannot digest is passed to the horse to digest.
The area where the humanoid portion and horse meet is full of strong muscles. As the horse becomes humanoid the bone of the spine becomes partially cartilage. This is to allow for the unique flex of the centaur. The muscles in this area are stronger as are the ones partly up the belly, horse chest and both backs. These muscle and unique structure where the two portions meet allows the centaur all the motion it requires and the strength to wear armor or wield weapons with greater strength than many think.
Traditions
Centaurs have a long history of braiding the manes(hair) and tails. These braids indicate where a centaur stands in society, whether they are paired, and what role they play in their herd. They have no problem with centaurs adopting a herd especially if they are for some reason raised by non-centaurs. They always try to gently teach the lost one as they call those raised outside the herd their culture. The braids make up the biggest portion of the culture with many innate meanings depending on style and color.
Some standard colors woven into the braid. Usually ribbons are used but anything bright enough to show can be used. Usually the braid is put into the mane and tail. They may be removed and washed before being put back in. A close family member or their lover usually puts in the braid. On rare occasions a very close friend may be allowed to do the honor.
Below are some examples of classes/roles and their colors.
• Warrior: Done with red ribbons along. Put in the mane and tail
• Healer: Done with green ribbons along with a symbol of their specialty.
• Leader: 3 braids with gold ribbons
• Bard: Multiple colors woven into the braid.
• Barbarian: Ornate leather decorated with symbols indicating his inner rage.
• Cleric: Ribbons in the colors of his deity.
• Druid: Light green with feathers and vines interwoven
• Fighter: See Warrior
• Inquisitor: Deity colors and red
• Magus: Dark Blue with hints of gold and Red
• Monk: Pale yellow and red
• Oracle: Silver and gold. Other colors may indicate area of influence
• Paladin: Deity colors, red, silver, and gold
• Ranger: Green-brown ribbons
• Rogue: Deep grey
• Sorcerer: Light Blue with hints of red as the magic comes from within
• Summoner: Black with gold flecks to represent the being giving aid
• Witch: Brown and black to indicate unknown power source
• Wizard: Dark blue with hints of gold to indicate the training required
There are also unique braids that represent something more. Below are two examples of unique braids
• Roses: Braiding roses into a mares mane and tail indicates passion, love, and also a way of claiming her by the stallion
• Marriage: A special braid is woven into the mane and tail of the pair. The pair design the colors and braid them in personally. Generally the braids represent the professions of both and what deity they serve if any. It also may only represent to the two bearing the colors any meaning. Each marriage braiding is unique making it clear who is with who.