In Loki's Honor Life 28 - Chapter 9 - Now playing: Dagobah is Here!

Becoming just one more powerless prisoner in the hands of the mindbenders working for Pekothas was suicide. Maybe I could find so opportunity, but rushing now as just another civilian and knowing I would need to wait for my body to mature to access my full Status were half of what convinced to stay.

The other half was Zacheia's not-so-subtle nudge and the curiosity. What did they an by secrets of the centaur species?

"I have decided," I said to the priest. "I'll stay here and learn what you and the other elders are willing to teach ."

He smiled, "An excellent choice. If it's with you, the knowledge of your species, our lore and origins will live forever, long after the last centaur ran over these plains."

It surprised , "Do you think the centaur will beco extinct?"

"No. I don't think so. But it is a chance every species may beco extinct, isn't it? Even the Gods, if you would so wish."

I tilted my head, closed an eye, and sighed, glaring at him through the open one. "I never attacked a deity without provocation or due cause. And if the Pantheon lets live my life, I can even be of service, as it happened many, many tis."

"True," he grinned.

We walked to where the other elders were talking. There, they conveyed their decision.

We should head deeper into the peninsula. The herds that ran away will spread the news that the centaur suffered a great blow. There are those that will seek the opportunity to strike and take the breeding grounds away from us, even though it is just sand, rocks, and cactus. You'll co with us, Snowdrop. We'll teach you everything we know. You'll be the Loremistress of the Centaur. Co. We should start right away."

The elders and I moved deeper into the peninsula. We went east until one could see the sea both north and south. There I found a walled settlent with dozens of stone buildings. An oddity in the plains.

"A group of wizards built this, before the First Age," one elder said. "The enchantnts are still strong and they keep monsters and the tides away. Here is where we'll live until you finish your training."

We went inside. I saw the elders used an al-Mi'raj horn as the key to the village's enchantnts. It had a few buildings and also a garden. The telltale signs of a field enchantnt lingered over the garden. Probably to make stuff grow faster. I could see several vegetables ready for harvest and others in various stages of growth.

The elders' diet was based on hogrown vegetables, fish, and crustaceans.

There, I started my training.

"The centaur is not a native species," they taught . "In ancient tis, before the Gods arrived with their System, there was a magnificent creature, the lord of these plains, with fae blood in his veins. He was called the Unicorn King, and he could take the shape of an elf."

As far as I knew, unicorns were all but extinct. There was no sign of unicorns anywhere on the three continents.

"The Unicorn King, however, was a lascivious creature. A seductor. It is said that no female could resist his charm. He gathered many females in his harem over the years. All of them lived in a permanent state of bliss by sharing the love of the Unicorn King."

"And by love you an..." I asked, leaving the end unsaid.

The elder smiled, "Yes. The Unicorn King liked to mate with his wives very much. One day, a child that was half people and half unicorn were born. This child had a magnificent horn, the upper body of a person and the lower body of a horse. She was the first female centaur."

Another elder joined the lecture. He sat next to and said, "But the Unicorn King had another wife. A griffin from the northern mountains. Wyrmspine they were called in old tis. The Griffin Queen gave birth to a creature that had the hindquarters of the unicorn and the eagle upper body of the griffin. That creature was the first hippogriff."

"But differently from the first child, this one ended in tragedy. The Griffin Queen thought her child hideous. While the Unicorn King and his harem protected the hippogriff, the griffins fought to eradicate them. The Griffin Queen was the only wife that rejected the Unicorn King, ever. That led the griffin to covet all creatures that resembled the Unicorn King. That's where their legendary appetite for horses cos from. Centuries later, the Unicorn King wed a hippogriff. With the hippogriff, he had another baby boy. This one kept only the eagle wings from her mother. He was called pegasus and strove to break free from his father's domain, as he knew the Unicorn King would see him as competition and eventually kill him.

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"Pegasus flew far away. But one day, he t his sister, the female centaur. They fell in love and from this forbidden love a creature that resembled his mother but without horns or wings was born. A war broke out. Instigated by the Griffins, the centaur waged war upon their grandfather. The war ended with the death of the Griffin Queen, the Unicorn King, most of his harem, and the centaur progenitors."

The first elder finished, "And then we wandered these plains for thousands of years since then."

The elders all went silent. They stared at . The tropes were there. The taphorical stars were aligned. Why the heck would they single out. I didn't need a mirror to tell. I've seen several herds of centaurs. None of them had a pure white coat and mane, like .

I raised my hand, "And the reason you all want to learn this has sothing to do with my fur color, right?"

The priest of Zacheia approached. "Yes, child. As you can see, no centaur has the white coat of the Unicorn King. No centaur holds the concept of purity as high as you, either. Zacheia told . And you cherish freedom as much as the first pegasus. You also have a strong connection to the fairies. You can recover this heritage. Rekindle the dead embers of our ancestors lying in your blood."

Yup. The sa beaten and old chosen one bullshit. Made wonder if soone wasn't ssing with my reincarnation pattern again. But who? Loki said I wasn't beholden to him anymore. I knew for a fact that none of the Gods could interfere either. But I was two years old and already three of them showed great interest in . As if...

As if they wanted to stake a claim on before it was too late. On Snowdrop's achievents. Or better, to associate themselves with the legend Snowdrop would leave behind.

I didn't want to believe, but that explained why that rancher chieftain wanted so badly. And why the elder told to run away and hide.

I approached the priest. "Do you think I can unlock the powers of our ancestors?"

All the elders nodded. It was kind of creepy. But hey, the power of these ancient legendary creatures? Sign on.

They started to train . In the mornings I would do physical training, weapons drills, and in the afternoon I studied the centaur lore and traditions. There was much more regarding the Unicorn King and his wives, and the griffin wars. How the centaurs of old decided to wander the plains as punishnt for committing regicide.

I also learned why they had this stone settlent here. And why every building here was conveniently sized for us. It was one of the Unicorn King's residences. One out of two that was spared the ravages of war and ti. The other one was taken over by the priests of Queltphion. Yes. The Abode of War was once the seat of power for the Unicorn King.

And just because why not, there was an artifact hidden in the underground. A weapon carved from the Unicorn King's body.

One, two, three years passed. The training was harsh but I had the ntal fortitude to endure. It would help by giving extra proficiencies when the System was activated.

They also taught about the changes in the System since I died as Arista. Everyone had a basic Class assigned to them. That's why the trials were so important, to allow one to pick a better starting Class. Other deities also adapted sothing like that for the other species. Skills were gone. The System now assigned so proficiencies to the person, attached to the Class. The professions also didn't require Exp to level up and were bound to the species level.

I would need to brace myself for the ti when I activated. All my Skills would be converted into new proficiencies. I wasn't too worried, as the System wouldn't screw out of so important Skill Perk. But things would change very much. As they always did.

I learned several secrets. We once had shamans in all the herds, but the warrior culture pushed them away and they ca to exist only in the peninsula.

There's one secret I'm spoiling right now. Can a centaur wipe their own butts?

Spoiler

Because we don't have butts in the sense humans have butts so butthole it is. And the answer is a resounding no. If I stretch myself I can reach there with the tip of my fingers, but I'm as flexible as a centaur can be at my current age, not to ntion I have probably so bonus flexibility from my Grandmaster [Yoga] Skill even if it's locked. The answer for Joe Centaur is no.

Adult centaurs without any kind of special power cannot reach their assholes to wipe themselves. Especially those that dump their Attribute Points into Strength and Endurance (ALL of them!), losing flexibility. However, that's not necessary. A centaur eats plenty of fiber and its digestion yields a stool that doesn't stick to the fur. Differently from horses that take a shit standing up, we crouch to poop, giving the excrete a clear path away from the body. Ah, we also raise our tails, so no stuff sticks there too. Kids are even taught to grab the tail and hold it back while they don't have the necessary coordination to do so with their own tail muscles.

Though we are barbarians, we're still people and nobody wants to travel with the herd having to sll the buttocks of the centaur in front of you. So, a golden star for centaurs and their hygiene practices. Much better than most human cultures at the ti even though nobody washed their hands. And because so weirdos will ask, it's the sa for peeing. Male centaurs can write their nas with their pee just like humans, if only they were literate. The girls follow the sa routine used for number two, so it also doesn't cause any problem.

Last question. How do centaurs jerk off? And the answer is, the guys don't do it. They can't reach it down there. As for the girls, well, I'll leave that as an exercise for the reader.

Too much? Oh, well, soone had to shed a light on that. Where was I? Right, Centaur secrets and training. The not-naughty ones. Back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Eight Yznarian years after we arrived at the peninsula, I finally got the ssage I was waiting for.

CONGRATULATIONS. You have co of age and are now a user of the System.

Your base species received an upgrade.

Your base species received an upgrade.

You are a Battleborn Centaur Heritor. As a unique variant, you receive...