In a time that most people have no memories of, except for those ancients and elders who lived through the rebirth of Avilion, the people lived in prosperity thanks to a just and wise Lord and Lady.
People worked hard, toiling as they ploughed the fields and tended to the daily tasks of living. The horse, this wondrous beast of burden, was found to be an excellent helpmate to the people of the island but only a few had been found in Avilion and domesticated.
It was during a summer hunt for winter provisions that the hunters of Avilion discovered a band of wild horses in a wild forest grove to the east of the fortress. The men grew excited about the possibility of capturing the horses and forgot about their hunting for the time.
After a long debate with Hathor the Drow, who was in favour of eating them, William Beck, the captain of the hunt made the men gather downwind from where the horses were grazing.
Running downwind of the herd the hunters closed off all possible exits for the herd to escape through by posting a man there with a big torch, to be lit when the signal was given by the captain.
A fence was created in the one open side of the grove using tree branches and boulders to force the horses into their surround trap. When all was made ready, the hunt captain signalled the men with a shrill whistle of an eagle.
The men at the posts lit their torches and the rest began running at the horses, screaming at them and flapping long pieces of leather in the air, smacking the horses with them.
This behavior, along with the frightening smell of smoke and humans incited the horses to stampede forward, away from these two dangers to horses; man and fire.
The lead stallion was killed by accident, leaving the herd without a leader.
The next few days were spent attempting to tame the horses so the hunters could lead them back to Avilion. An odd looking little foal was also herded along for he was too frightened to resist his fate.
All the way back to Avilion he pined for his mother, needing to both nurse and draw comfort from her. The other horses did not like him for he was different and they sensed this, but the hunters did not notice.
His eyes were human looking and hair like that of a man was beginning to form on his head, instead of a mane. He had a thicker neck than the other foals, more wide than long with a funny set of what looked to be tubes on each side.
Deep inside him, he sensed he would never see his mother and father again.
When they reached the village, word spread quickly. The Lord and Lady came to inspect the newest additions, giving praise to the brave hunters for their success.
Lord Malakh decreed that the horses would be made available to the people in a lottery, save for a male and female that were chosen to be the breeders for future generations.
The little foal huddled near the water, making eye contact with a dragon who also noticed him; exchanging a moment of compassion before the foal glanced away and shook his head.
When the time for the lottery came each chit was called out by the clerk and a lucky person would get to choose a horse from the corral. One by one the horses were given homes with the people of Avilion until Lord Hildyard’s chit was called.
“As a loyal member of Avilion, surely I have as much right to a horse as anyone else” exclaimed the proud dragon. “I choose the little foal, the odd one in the corner” he proclaimed firmly.
The people laughed and shook their heads for that was not a good choice at all. The clerk decreed the dragon was correct. The dragon spoke not to the foal, rather, he looked into his eyes and within moments, the foal ceased to resist and allowed the dragon to lead him to his home high in the hills of Avilion.
The people were amazed by this and wondered what magic the dragon possessed to still the foal like that.
And so it came to be that the foal grew up in the hills with the dragons. Lord Hildyard named him Tadeusz Boronski and the little one seemed happy to have this name. The foal did not speak the dragon’s language, but his voice and actions hinted that the dragon would treat him well.
The dragon saw some changes in the little foal who was growing to be a fine colt that caused him to smile, for he suspected that his colt was indeed special.
The people of Avilion did not see the same unique intelligence that the dragon saw in the colt. They laughed at him and called him deformed when the two would walk to the drum circle for stories and company.
As the seasons changed and summer chased the fall, the colt was changing. His legs grew taller and his head did not grow to that of a horse that anyone had ever seen.
He appeared grotesque and deformed, so much so that the dragon stopped taking him to the drum circle to spare him the cruelty of the people. But in the safety of their home, the dragon was learning some startling things about this special colt! Tadeusz was growing a lot of features that looked human.
The dragon could vaguely remember some ancient tales of a race that looked like this. He hurried to the library next to the village tavern. He buried his nose deep in the ancient books.
Once he was satisfied of the truth, Lord Hildyard made his way to the dragon circle to discuss what he had learned with Tadeusz. Both the dragon and the colt now knew what he was… a centaur!
Everything the dragon knew he taught Tadeusz for he knew that the colt would need to be as prepared as he could for a difficult and lonely life. There were not any female centaurs that he could recall, not another that Tadeusz might be able to grow to know and one day start a family with.
After Tadeusz’ first winter, they set out to the drum circle with Tadeusz bolting ahead and running back to excitedly ask the dragon about the people they would see. As they neared the town the excited chatter of the people became a hushed and shocked silence.
People stared, some laughing as they pointed while quite a few mothers reached for their children in fear of the strange being with the dragon. It seemed that he had grown into a human half while the bottom part remained a horse!
Women screamed and men called for their weapons as Lord Hildyard tried to be the voice of reason between them all. He tried to explain that Tadeusz was a centaur, an ancient being whose race was driven from our lands long before the rebirth of Avilion.
But although even the Lord himself had shown favor on the little centaur, the people could not get used to the idea of a horse who looked like a man. He was ignored, spit on, avoided and even the horses at the stables neighed with laughter when he passed by.
As the years passed the lonely centaur grew more withdrawn and sad. Lord Hillyard tried his best to help Tadeusz feel better but all he could do was to help him become who he was meant to be; a great centaur who would one day face his true destiny.
What that destiny was, the noble dragon did not know but he felt sure that this centaur would be important to Avilion.
One thing about centaurs is their great skills with the bow and arrow and Lord Hillyard was well acquainted with this and many other facts about Tadeusz and his race.
Tadeusz was getting regular training in archery from his dragon step-father. As he got older, his skills continued to improve until there was no better archer in Avilion.
The dragon also filled Tadeusz with a love of knowledge and learning, so much so that he quickly devoured all the knowledge in the books housed in Avilion’s great library.
Tadeusz entered his 13th year during a spring that none had ever seen before. He began to look at the young maidens in the village and beyond with new interest. He had grown handsome and appealing, or would have been if not for the fact of his horse side which continued to keep him an outcast among the good people.
Lord Hildyard gave him a very special bow and arrows made of cedar wood. Tadeusz practiced endlessly with his new bow. In his beloved library Tadeusz learned centaurs should not drink alcohol because they would find themselves completely unable to control their actions.
One day an orc was circling the village. Tadeusz was galvanized into action when he saw that Kaya, a fae he had feelings for, was snatched into the beast’s mighty talons. As fast as he could run, Tadeusz sped to the village to stop the orc from kidnapping Kaya.
The fae’s life was at stake so he charged forward with his bow, chasing the horrid beast as Kaya wept in terror from his mighty talons. Higher and higher the beast ran into the hills so that even Tadeusz was having some difficulty finding them.
Tadeusz took aim and released his arrow, the arrow sang as it sliced through the air, stopping when it was embedded into the flesh of the orc. The shriek was heard for many miles as the beast cried out in rage and pain.
The fae was released from it’s deadly grip and from such a height no one felt she would survive her fall. But Tadeusz was quicker and raced to position himself under the falling fae.
He gently placed her on the ground and resumed his pursuit of the orc who had continued towards the village square with revenge on it’s mind. Galloping towards the beast, a second arrow claimed the place above the beast’s heart causing it to falter further in his attack.
In his fall the creature pushed over a lit torch onto the library, igniting the books at once. The orc was dead.
Tadeusz could not bear the thought of the books burning to destruction and with it all the knowledge that was contained within them. Without thought to his safety he raced to enter the burning library scooping armfuls of books and bringing them to safety outside.
The villagers were trying to make a water line to put out the fire but too much time had gone by before the line was complete.
People saw Tadeusz racing in and out of the building and were angry that he would get in their way of the water line until they saw that he had rescued many of the books from destruction with his fast horsefeet and the advantage of his human arms that were able to hold so much.
Tadeusz became a hero that day and was praised by the people. Lord Hildyard was filled with pride. Though many books were lost in the fire, the good people worked together to build a new one in Mystic Falls which didn’t take all that long with the help of the strong and swift centaur.
Many hands helped Tadeusz, offering to donate materials for the new library, some promising to rewrite books lost in the attack, still others asked for forgiveness and extended their hands in friendship to him. Whenever one of the elders now sees the centaur, they greet him with nothing but respect.
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