TOMB OF THE HORSE PRINCES

 


Hook: You have heard stories of them, the centaurs, and know they were not always as they are, now... Always, they have been isolationist, but not enemies of the goodly peoples. Horse people, originally. Good riders and better warriors. You're surprised to see this tomb from that long gone time, though, once you think about it, you're traveling through a part of what used to be their land. They were called the Ašva (ASH-vuh), and rode fierce, bold war horses, called Žirgas (SHEER-gahs) or Žirgai (SHEER-guy), plural. The forces of evil destroyed them, early in their efforts to claim all of Keltika in The Beast's name during the First Age of Heroes. They were too bold, in some ways, and fought too recklessly. You stand before the tomb's granite opening, stone doors impassive and heavily carved with spiralling knot work and figures of horses and people. The doors weren't meant to open easily, and then only during funerary rites...

Details: The Ašva were frequently in and out of alliances with the other early human tribes and were friends with the elves. Their land, Žirgania occupied the area south of The Road on the western edge of The Wilderness where it shares a boundary with modern Eräland. Despite the fact the elves' gryphons hunted their horses, the Ašva saw it as good sport and respected the gryphons' natural instincts and right to feed. Ašva tombs are large, despite the people's very short stature. The reason their tombs are so spacious, however, is that their royalty were buried with their favourite horses and fellow warrior tribesmen. The tribesmen were placed astride horses belonging to their lord or lady, but, all laid on their sides, posed in war stances, all surrounding their leader, whose tomb consists of a heavily-carved plinth upon which the warrior is laid. The statues in the tombs are often stylised, simple depictions of the royals interred, and Amálthëaa, depicted as a wild mare. The more horses and horse-riders laid about the dead noble, the more respected and powerful they were in life. The word, Ašva, is taken from the Ašvanian name for Amálthëaa, Ašvienia. They considered themselves her people.

After they were mostly destroyed by the forces of evil, Amálthëaa took pity on the Ašva, and bound them to the thing they loved the most, their horses. Together, they became what the Lumenorians call centaurs. They call themselves Žirgan; their land still is Zirgania. Very rare sights, now, the Žirgan, as they are now beings of magic, spend their time either on Enchantia or Zirgania, and exist now in small numbers, but, remain fierce, wild, competent, and dangerous Keltic people, as they have always been. It is now a sport to outsmart the fierce gryphons, when they come hunting for horse flesh.

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