Pilot: The Last Days of Happiness

The Arcus Tempora Continent, otherwise known as the Rainbow Continent, is the home of several Fae and humans who live in joyous harmony.

Moving to the center of this continent, we will find the Revelora Plains, or its more common name, the Centaur Domain.

This region is home to at least 6 Centaur Tribes that are on relatively good terms with each other and co-own this region and work hard to protect it.

Now let the story begin…. 

My name is Nemenio. I am a centaur and a gatherer. My main job is to gather herbs, fruit, and plants. 

I am also the 5th son of Chief Akoros. He is the leader of the Angel Oak Tribe, and he’s great. 

Though I wish I had gotten to know him better, by the time I was born, my father was preoccupied with my oldest brother and my three sisters. Now we Centaurs have a strict culture; pretty much everything is decided based upon your gender, and your fate is planned out from there. My brother Chrisidas is destined to be the next chief of the Angel Oak Tribe, while my sisters have been set up for political marriages with the other Centaur tribes.

And frankly, I don’t think my father cares at all for me. Mother died giving birth to me, and I was mainly raised by my sisters and the tribe midwife. My brother, though, did make time for me when he could, but Father barely seems to regard my existence.

I soon get up and leave my Copes and stretch. My upper body is dressed in a thick wool shirt with poofy sleeves with frilled edges, sort of like a pirate shirt. My horse half is a pristine white with cyan blue markings.

My hair is a calm silver color tied in a ponytail with a cloth headband wrapped around my forehead. My eyes are a deep shade of green, and my hooves each have tufts of hair over them. These tufts of hair are called feathers.

I quickly stretch for a bit and then go back into my Copes and grab one of my baskets.

As a Gatherer, my job is to collect various herbs, seeds, and plants that can be used by our farmers, healers, and alchemists.

So my job is pretty important.

Thinking back to yesterday, I saw some wild strawberries growing on a bush, and there may be other herbs nearby. 

So I take a breath and begin to travel out to go find the strawberry bush.

Leaving the many Copes that house the other members of my tribe, I feel the chill of the morning air, and I smell the dew on the grass. I soon travel south, coming to a small grove, and taking a breath, I begin to examine the plants in the grove.

I find some healing plants and take at least three and extract seeds from some. I then find the strawberries and begin collecting them since the summer season is ending. These are the last strawberries for a while, and some of them are already starting to wither. 

Picking the ripe ones, I soon explore the grove some more, and I soon find an apple tree, and not just any apple tree; it’s an azure apple tree. These are incredibly rare, and they only grow for a certain time. This is a big find. I soon take a branch from this tree, and then I use my magic to mend the tree.

I soon take a breath and gather some more useful plants, and then I make my way back to the tribe. I am very proud of myself for finding the Azure Apple Tree. Azure apples can be used to make frost potions and Azure tonics, both of them incredibly valuable items that can be sold to humans for a good amount of gold.

Making it back to the Tribe, I see that a few members are getting up and doing their part. 

Hunters are preparing to go out; our merchant is taking stock of our valuables, and the alchemists are hard at work. I make my way to the forester.

Her name is Pereusa. She just became the lead forester after her teacher passed away. Pereusa is 36 (that’s like 14 in human years). She’s still just a kid, so she has a lot of pressure put on her. 

Walking over to her, I make myself known by saying

Nemenio: Hello, Pere Are you awake?

Pere: Sadly, yes. What do you want, Nem???

Pereusa would then walk out of her Copes; she was dressed in a monk-like cloth garb with a pastel green coloring; around her wrists were bangles, and strapped to her back was a wooden rod. Her hair was a whitish silver color with soft purple edges.

Pereusa, still being a teen, was half my height. I stood at 6 feet and 9 inches, so in a way I towered over her.

I then present the Azure Apple Branch to Pereusa; she just lets out a sigh and takes it.

Pereusa: Is this all you wanted to show me?

Nemenio: Well, yes, I thought it would be of great use to us.

Pereusa: Yeah, it will be. The humans will love the potions and juice the alchemists will be able to make from this cutting. Now I should get to work.

Pereusa would then trot off to our Grove, and I would then drop off the rest of my findings in the respective places, and with that done, I would take a break and go by the treasurer and ask for pomegranates. 

Having received my breakfast, I go to the plaza and sit down in the grass and begin to eat the pomegranates. As I’m eating, I hear some of the tribeswomen talking; apparently, they’re gossiping about my brother. Apparently, Chrisidas’s crowning ceremony is being moved to the end of the week. 

This may be because Father is growing weaker, and he may not have much longer; I wouldn’t know.

I finish my breakfast and soon go back to my Copes, and I clean myself up with water from my jug.

With the sticky juice cleaned up, I soon get ready to go gathering again, but I am soon met by my sister, Iseia.

My sister Iseia is not what you would call feminine; she has a lot of masculine features as well as the strength to rival any seasoned centaur warrior. She’s also taller than most members of the tribe.

Iseia is wearing a cloth bra and pastel yellow arm sleeves with butterfly patterns. She also wears a silken wrap around her arms. Iseia’s hair is a darker shade of silver with hot pink edges. 

It should be noted that Iseia hates wearing these clothes; she mainly wears them because she needs to look more feminine so she can be more appealing to her future husband.

Iseia is actually a seasoned fighter. She is dangerous with a partizan, and her earth magic is no laughing matter either. 

It’s an understatement to say that Iseia is not happy with her role; either way, she is always motherly and protective of me.

Iseia soon walks over, a smile on her face; she then taps at the ground with her front hooves and says

Iseia: Hello there, little brother. How are you today???

Nemenio: I’m fine. I was just about to go out again to see if I could find any more plants to gather.

Iseia: Oh, do you mind if I join you?

Nemenio: No, I don’t mind at all, but why???

Iseia: I just want to get out for a while.

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I was a bit nervous. Iseia doesn’t do anything without purpose; she probably has a feeling something she’s well known for is either way. I grab my basket and begin to leave with my sister close behind me.

We both gallop into the distance, and I begin to use a floral detection spell to see if I can find any undiscovered groves. My Florel Detection spell soon manifests into a pink and green hawk that soon takes to the skies, following it. My sister and I come across a grove, and this one is full of potential. 

And I instantly go to town gathering plants and taking note of what grows here. This particular grove seems to have a high quantity of alchemical plants. These can be used for making money. Gathering what I could, I would soon look to my sister, proud of myself, and she soon smiles, praising me, and we begin walking home.

For the most part, I believe it’s going to be a good day, but my sister soon stops and holds her arm up to me, and I see that there are three humans standing before us.

These humans are armed with rusty farm equipment, and they look mad.

Iseia: Can we help you with something?

Farmer #1: You Fae Freaks need to leave your blight on this world. 

I stayed silent, but Iseia soon began to roll her eyes and say

Iseia: You farmers are only parroting the propaganda the Holy Human Empire spews out. Tell me, do you really feel that way, or did some missionaries promise you something in exchange for a Fae corpse?

It was at that moment that the farmer’s resolve began to falter; they visibly began to tremble.

And whisper amongst themselves

Iseia: Do you really feel that we, the Fae, are demons from hell? After the good relations we, the Centaurs, have maintained with you, I can recall just a month ago that my father sent a group of farmers to one of the nearby farms to help you harvest your crops after your own field hands got sick.

The Farmers then lowered their weapons and apologized soon walking back to their homes

Iseia soon smiled at me, and we continued to travel back to the tribe.

As we traveled, I looked to Iseia and asked

Nemenio: Iseia, are we going to be ok?

Iseia: Yes, we’re going to be fine. Why?

Nemenio: I’m just worried about the Holy Human Empire. I have heard what they do to Fae.

Iseia: Little brother, I promise I won’t let any harm come to you or the tribe. Don’t worry about that, ok?

I would nod as we made it back to the tribe; I would once again drop off my gathered plants. A lot of them were alchemical, so I made a few trips, and then the meeting horn was sounded. The entire tribe would gather around, save for the children and preteens.

We all gathered in the plaza. Father stood in the center, tall and proud. He then smiled and said

Chief Arkoros: Greetings, everyone. I know it is late, but we have something dire to discuss. 

Father took a deep breath and cleared his throat and said

Chief Arkoros: Now, as you all may have heard, I have been getting weaker as my son Chrisidas enters his prime. Now, this is in fact caused by the Rite of Succession that affects some Fae species, and now it has manifested in me. 

The crowd would then gasp, hearing this was alarming. The Rite of Succession is a biological ailment that runs in certain Fae species; in some Fae, this Rite is prominent, and in others it lies dormant, rarely surfacing unless Fate wills it.

Chief Arkoros: Now this is not a bad thing; it only means that Chrisidas will be a more powerful chief than our tribe needs, but it could also mean that there is a fierce trial coming our way and Fate wants us to be prepared for it, and if so, I will not prolong it any longer.

Father would then pull out a small vial; the contents were a purplish black, and we all knew what was inside it.

The contents in the vial were made up of 15,000-year-old Basilisk Poison. From what the elder told me, the poison was a gift from a human we aided years ago.

Father would then call Chrisidas over to him and would say

Chief Arkoros: My son, I leave the tribe in your capable hands. I have trained you for this day, and upon realizing the rite had manifested within me, I became much harder on you and your sisters in order to make sure they are taken care of. So as I join the ancients, remember that I put all my faith within you.

I would watch all this incredibly upset; my suspicions were confirmed right there: my father had no love for me. 

He gave my brother one final hug and then drank the contents of the vial. He would soon begin to hack and wheeze, and, as is customary for us centaurs, my father would be engulfed in green light, and a stone totem would appear in his place. 

The Totem was adorned with unique runes that would tell my Father’s story from his birth to this very moment 

Then it happened: my brother would soon be surrounded by green and white mana; it swirled around him and soon entered his body. This was the Rite of Succession at work; the mana strength, stamina, and power would transfer into the next blood decedent, in this case, my brother. 

On that night we held a festival, and a funeral elder, Atrion, along with two warriors, would take my father’s totem to our tribe's shrine located inside a nearby hill.

And frankly, I don’t think I care. I soon returned to my Copes after eating, and I would sit on the ground and work on a dream catcher I had been working on. 

In Centaur culture, when you wish to proclaim your love for someone, you weave together a dreamcatcher with beads made in that person’s preferred color. 

In this case the beads are purple, and I’m adding some small gems I prepared. I really want him to love me. I have been working on this nonstop for twelve months. 

And frankly, I don’t think he even knows I exist. We’ve only spoken five times, mainly because I can only see him at the winter solstice when all the tribes meet, and he’s so wonderful. He’s a bard and a talented craftsman. He makes such wonderful art and beautiful songs. His hair is a beautiful shade of blue with bubblegum pink highlights. His coat has lavender purple coloring with a zebra design, and he always wears crop tops with a thin felt coat over it. 

Oh, how he consumes every thought in my mind! His name is Cosmylus, and he is so handsome. He once told me that he spent his younger years training to become a warrior, but he wanted to be a bard. He was eventually disowned by his family and eventually left his tribe to travel to Fae Land. I hear he went to the Aurum Continent and studied to become a bard, and now he’s come back to write songs and entertain.

The fact that he still stays with his tribe despite how badly they treated him is so admirable, and from our last conversation, he admitted that he’s hated by his tribe and only stays out of his own choice. Cosmylus is a part of the Iron Pansy Tribe. They are best known for their strength and endurance. They have won several battles in the past, but because of this, they have a strict military code. 

As I work on my dream catcher, my mind is filled with the future. Cosmylus and I could live together in my downtime. I’m actually training to learn how to be a good husband for Cosmylus. I’m learning how to cook, clean, and prepare cotton for crafting. 

????: Hey little bro, may I enter?

I soon jump and hide my project away and look to the entrance of my Copes and say

Nemenio: Sure thing, come in, Chrisidas.

Soon Chrisidas would enter; he was now wearing the Chevera cape over his left shoulder.

This distinct cape is only worn by the chief; it also has a unique pattern distinct to our tribe. Chrisidas also wore a medallion around his neck. 

My brother soon entered my cope and sat next to me. 

Chrisidas: Hey, are you ok?

Nemenio: Um, kinda. I’m honestly a little mad about Father.

Chrisidas: That's understandable. Your sisters were worried about you too, so they sent me over to check on you. 

Nemenio: Well, thanks. Glad to know someone cares about me.

Chrisidas: Well, that’s a silly thing to say. The entire tribe cares about you, Nemenio. You practically work harder than anyone to gather the best flora for us, and due to your efforts, we’ve been able to live comfortably. 

Nemenio: Thank you. 

My brother and I soon began talking. Our conversation went deep into the night, and it made me feel like I was Colt again. When Chrisidas had free time, he would take me out to the fields, and we would race and play tag. Afterwards we would lie in the grass and talk for hours. 

My brother soon left, and I fell asleep. The next morning, after I had finished my work, I heard from a warrior that the tribes were going to gather. My heart was aflutter with excitement hearing this; I had nearly completed the dream catcher, so I hurried to my copes and began putting the finishing touches on my declaration of love.

I soon worked for days without end to make sure my dream catcher was perfect, and I soon managed to finish it on time. 

Soon all the tribes gathered in the center of the Plains. A meeting of the Centaur tribes is comparable to a country-sized festival. 

I was garbed in my best clothes, and I held the dream catcher in my messenger bag. 

Stepping into the crowd, I soon used a tracking spell. For this spell, I wrote Cosmylus on a cloth, and I folded it five times. Soon the cloth would shine as it transformed into a bird and took flight. I followed the fabric bird for a good while, my heart racing. 

Soon I saw him; Cosmylus, I soon called his name, and he turned around and smiled. My eyes filled with tears. 

As we soon shared a loving embrace

Cosmylus: Hey, what’s wrong, Nem? You don’t usually cry like this during our meetings.

Nemenio: I’m sorry, it’s just that I have something I have been meaning to ask you for some time.

Cosmylus: Let me guess: you want to offer me a specially made dream catcher.

I was completely shocked. How did Cosmylus know my intention? How was he aware?

Nemenio: How on earth did you know???

Cosmylus: Because I have had a mountain of offers from several other Centaurs over the years.

Nemenio: Ah, I see. Well, if you don’t want to marry me, I completely understand.

Cosmylus: No, far from it. Nem, I would be happy to take you as my husband. 

My heart then started to race. He said yes; Cosmylus, the love of my life, said yes. I soon started crying tears of joy. 

There was only one thing Cosmylus soon told me: he had two other husbands, one from the Fern Tribe and the other from the Oaken Tribe.

Oaken Centaurs are essentially the biggest Centaurs; they rely on their strength. Their horse halves are similar to Shire Horses. It is rumored that the Oaken Centaurs fought in the first Fae Land Civil War as gorilla troopers. 

That is just a rumor, though. 

The Fern Tribe is on the complete opposite spectrum. The Fern Tribe is best known for their meek appearance and gentle nature. The Fern Tribe actually has the best relationship with humans, and they commonly take on human lovers from time to time.

Soon Cosmylus takes me over to his two other husbands, the first being the Oaken Centaur, who towers above me. Since he’s a shire, he has long, wild hair the color of dark purple; his skin is an indigo blue, and his other half is as black as night. His muscles are absolutely bursting, like his skin can’t even contain them. 

His eyes are a deep forest green; his chest is completely bare save for a few unique tattoos and a few wristbands. 

His face was marred by several markings but also looked like it had the remnants of something beautiful. 

Upon seeing me, the Oaken Centaur crossed his arms and looked me over before smiling. 

And saying nothing, I then looked to the Fern Centaur, and honestly, he looked like he was still a child. He was a twink in every sense of the word. His hair was short and frilly with a white streak. The main color of his hair was a coral orange. He was dressed like he attended an all-boys’ boarding school, and his other half was a summer pink color with some pastel yellow undertones. lastly, his eyes were a lavender purple color

This small Fern Centaur began to act like a giddy foal on Yule Day. 

Cosmylus: Guys, this is Nemenio. He is going to be joining our family.

Oaken Centaur: an interesting find from the Angel Oak Tribe, no less interesting. Well, new co-husband, you may call me Calelos. I’ll be handling the protection of our family as well as the hunting and other difficulties.

Fern Centaur: It’s a pleasure to meet you, Nem. I am so happy to have a new husband. My name is Elemon. I may not look it, but I’m actually an accomplished mage. This is partly due to my mixed heritage, with one of my grandfathers being a sage.

Nemenio: It’s a pleasure to meet you all. I’m happy to be in this family, honestly, and I hope things can get better in the future.

The four of us would then begin to speak some more on the subject and what was expected of me and my role, but we were soon interrupted when the horn would sound. Soon we gathered in the center with all the tribe chiefs. 

Among them was my brother, who actually took center stage.

Chrisidas: Hello, my fellow Centaurs. I am Chrisidas of the Angel Oak Tribe, and on behalf of all the Centaur Tribes, we shall be having a suppression war. 

The entire crowd would begin to let out a loud audible gasp. 

And for a brief moment, fear welled up in my heart; this could be the end of us.

end of Pilot