With three of the seven centaurs out of the tent, Colet saw no need to extend the meeting. Until the small human force was addressed, all talks about advancing on the Torpin Stronghold was out of the question, especially when he was in the dark about the human intentions. He needed to speak with Ilumin as the Cloud Hawk might possess additional information on the unorthodox attack. The other centaurs agreed that they should reconvene at a later time.

“Igas, may I speak with you for a moment?”

Igas was the centaur leader for the support spellcasters. Unlike standard spellcasters under Eupoos who could inflict heavy damage on the enemy and healers under Kallosa who could visibly heal wounds, the support spellcasters were far less flashy and their impact on the battlefield was harder to discern. Even when Colet’s father was in power, support spellcasters were looked down upon. They were seen as useless as centaurs like Tolien because no centaur could see value in their spells. Like Tolien with small sized centaurs, Igas changed the perception of support spellcasters.

“Yes, chieftain.”

Igas stood out easily within the centaur ranks due to his habit of wearing clothes. Having lived with a lizard-like race called Qroxl, he adopted some of their customs including wearing robes commonly seen on Qroxl spellcasters. On this day, he wore a dark blue robe that barely fitted over his torso.

“How has the training been going?” Colet asked the centaur once everyone else left the tent. “I know you weren’t given enough time.”

“We have done what we could, chieftain.” Igas bowed respectfully. “We will do our utmost to contribute to the battle at hand.”

It was those same Qroxl spellcasters who taught Igas many support spells he would later pass onto the centaurs. Prior to this, centaur support spells were not only limited but generally extremely situational if not outright useless. For instance, they have the Illuminate spell when centaurs could see in the dark with no issues. Until Igas introduced support spells that contributed to the battlefield, support spells were seen as a waste of time to learn and master. Due to that perception, support spells were neglected for a long time by the centaurs resulting in slower progress when it came to centaurs learning new and useful support spells. Igas was tasked with training those with talent in support spellcasting but their training was halted with the short notice to march onto Torpin Stronghold. If the plan proceeded as Colet hoped for, the support spellcaster could reliably improve the combat capabilities of all of the non-spellcaster centaurs.

“I believe in you,” said Colet sincerely. “You and Tolien have both transformed the centaurs into a stronger race. The centaurs who once were cast aside now had a place in our society. Once the war against the human kingdom is over, I will do everything in my powers to break the caste system we are trapped in.”

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The caste system had been a sensitive topic among the centaurs. Despite efforts, Colet’s father tried and failed to abolish it. The social hierarchy was in place since the centaurs recorded their history. With how deeply rooted the system was, the concept of abolishing it was met with great resistance. Colet, having traveled to many different realms, had seen for himself how outdated the system was and how it hindered many of the centaurs who were trapped at the bottom of the social rung. The war against the humans took precedence but the chieftain was confident he had enough support to end the archaic system once and for all.

“I thank you, chieftain.” Igar’s eyes watered at Colet’s words. “I fled my home to flee the fate awaiting me at the bottom of centaur society. With you in power, I returned home close to the top where merit mattered more than one’s family background. I sincerely believe that, if a chieftain was to abolish the caste system, you would be the one. The centaurs would then see a new golden age as all centaurs could prosper under a fairer system.”

The two centaurs exchanged a few more words before Igar returned to the support spellcasters. With all the centaurs gone, Colet left the lonesome tent to meet up with Ilumin. Ten years had allowed them to develop basic communication methods over long distances. Colet only had to reach out and he knew Ilumin would show up as soon as possible. As expected, Ilumin descended and landed on his arm once more.

Bad news. More humans leave the stronghold.

How many?

Half of the garrison!

Colet’s eyes widened at the news. The centaur chieftain galloped towards the closest lookout tower and ordered the centaur on watch to blow his horn. Shortly after the horn was blown, Actolio and a handful of ax wielders galloped towards the tower. The centaur’s angry expression was quickly replaced with a puzzled one upon seeing the chieftain.

“Actolio, gather your ax wielders and prepare for battle! Half of the human garrison just left Torpin Stronghold.”

Actolio took a moment to digest the information but he immediately carried out his order. Taking out a horn reserved for the ax wielder leader, the centaur blew into it to gather all of his warriors. Colet didn’t wait around to see how Actolio deployed his warriors. Shortly after Actolio's arrival, the other centaur leaders also arrived onto the scene. He went straight to the other leaders to relay the recent development and ordered them to head into combat. They were told to meet up with Ides and hold off the humans until reinforcements arrived. As soon as the orders were given, Colet galloped towards the dwarf camp. To have a chance against half of the human garrison, the centaurs simply lacked the number to hold them at bay. At the very least, he needed the dwarves to support his forces. As a precaution, he asked Ilumin to take to the skies once more and return if more humans were sent out from the Torpin Stronghold. Thus far, the humans had been extremely unpredictable and the coalition was forced to be reactive in these engagements.

I hope Skostaer won't be too much of a pain to deal with.