Name: Serra
Age: 31
Birthday: 10 July
Gender: Female
Species: Centaur; Appaloosa
Category: Staff
Class: High School/College Level
Subject/Work: She teaches a wilderness survival class. She's *technically* no longer a ranger because it would cause a conflict in schedules, but she does it in her free time.
Appearance Description:
Eye color: Blue
Skin color: Fair, with hints of a tan. Her horse half is a dark brown, with splotches of white from her hips to her gaskins.
Hair: Ash Blonde. As a ranger she often kept it up in a tight ponytail; as a teacher, she either wears it in a looser pony, or allows it to fall free down her back. Recently she has begun to use flowers to decorate her hair.
Clothing style: As her horse side needs no coverage, most conventional forms of dress don't suit her. As a ranger, she kept her breasts wrapped up at all times; today, she only does this when she's out and about in the forests. In civilization, she keeps a blanket draped over her back, as well as whatever shirts she can find. The concept of a bra is still foreign to her.
Height: Roughly 5 feet from hoof to back, or 6'10" from hoof to head.
Weight: About 940 lbs
Etc: Wears glasses.
Personality Description: While most would label Serra as an outcast or outsider, much of that is largely due to her upbringing. She's worked with humans and other rangers in the past, but civilization - the chance to see the world they come from, is new to her. She can come off as rather strange because of this, often observing students and staff alike doing things that most wouldn't think twice over. She's friendly enough, but her manners are clearly forced if she is expected to be formal. She is awkward, obsesses over the most random little things, and gets skittish around anything she considers "advanced technology". However, she is earnest, reliable, and aspires to put her best hoof forward.
Species Abilities: Centaur Physiology
Being a Centaur has its own advantages over normal humans. The first of which being that she does have the lower half of a horse, and all the strengths that go with it. this includes things such as speed and strength, as well as having a much higher constitution than her human counterparts.
Speed
Being that her lower half is a horse, Serra is able to run at speeds that most humans will never achieve. While her top speed clocks in at around 55 miles an hour, she's not built for running on a straight track so much as maneuvering through shrubs and trees. For her, 15 mph is a brisk trot, 25 a canter, and 40 a gallop.
Strength
Serra's lower half is incredibly strong; aided by hundreds of pounds of muscle mass, she is able to carry almost 30% of her body weight safely on her back. She can push herself to carry up to twice that, however doing so puts great strain on her legs, and risks injury. Alternatively, if properly harnessed, she can pull objects that are a great deal heavier than she, up to 5000 lbs, if unassisted and hitched to a cart.
Senses
As a centaur, many of Serra's basic senses exceed that of humans. Her sense of hearing is very sophisticated, allowing her to pick up sounds that are further away, or at much higher or lower frequencies than a normal human can decipher. She is able to rotate and move her ears to better hear things without actually having to turn her head. Her sense of smell is almost three times as sensitive as a human, which can lead to irritation around certain people or things that have a distinct odor. Finally, her sense of taste is at the very least twice as accurate as a human, allowing her to either enjoy foods more or dislike things more. Her sense of sight, however, is failing her; her breed is particularly susceptible to ERU, a genetic issue linked to blindness with age, as well as night blindness. (She has 20/50 vision at this point in her life)
Hearty
Centaurs are not immortal or ageless. However, they do enjoy longer lives than humans (At most around 200 years), with much better health than the average human. Centaurs do have a very strong immune system and while not immune to illness, are incredibly resilient to it. They rarely become sick, and rarely develop life-threatening conditions such as cancer. (Though it can happen) They also have a higher level of endurance allowing them to push further than humans, or in many cases other species, in physical ways. They can work longer without tiring, and even without sleeping.
Powers:
Magic
While her species is not inherently known for possessing magical power, one advantage that serving in an official capacity as a teacher for Starlight Academy has offered Serra is access to tomes and arcane knowledge. For the most part, she considers these things a passing hobby rather than required reading, though she has picked up on a few spells useful for her.
Floramancy - Floramancy is a practice dedicated to the manipulation of plant matter. At its highest level, Floralists can instantly sprout trees, grow hedges in a flash to wall off enemies, and give life to the trees to assist them; as a fledgling hobbyist, Serra can, at best, make flowers grow, or cause nearby plants to turn in her direction. Of course, without viable soil, this magic is useless to her; after all, one cannot make plants grow out of the tiled, wooden, and stone floors of the academy.
Herbology
Arguably a form of alchemy, herbology stands out from its science and magic-rooted counterparts by using primarily plant matter. As a ranger, Serra was trained in what sorts of plants were dangerous and which were edible; to her, learning how to create remedies from plants seemed the next logical step. Aside from having to know the recipe, as well as have the time to create it, many strong potions make use of dangerous reagents, and so care must be exercised at all times.
Biography: Serra was born on the island, and has lived within the forests her entire life. While most beings native to the island often wonder what life is like on the other side of the waters, the centaurs of the island are, while prone to roaming and populating small pockets within the forests, relatively sedentary. They have the land, and it provides for them. Due to their outdoorsy lifestyle, many of the island centaurs grow up to be rangers, otherwise known as wardens. Their role on the island is to protect Manta Carlos from the dangers that lurk in the forests, but also to protect the forest and its inhabitants from those who live in the city. At a young age, Serra showed promise; at the age of thirteen, she could hunt, fish, gather, and farm - but it was around this time that the signs of ERU - Equine Recurrent Uveitis - began to surface. When she had heard the diagnosis, and learned the symptoms, Serra was, for a time, a broken mare; she feared the possibility of ever becoming a ranger full-time would be beyond her.
All, however, was not lost. It was around this time in her life, that news of a new tribe of centaur - one from the other side of the sea - reached the centaur's ears. While she would be unable to make the lifelong commitment that was expected of most rangers, Serra knew she could still do the right thing by putting her best hoof forward. As it was, this was her first time outside of the forests, her first time interacting with humans, and elves, and many of the other beings that called the island home. Honestly - Serra was a little frightened. Everything she had learned throughout her life would not help her in a social environment; if she were to prosper, she would have to learn their ways of life, and, in the case of the herd who had made their way overseas, possibly teach them what they needed to know about survival in the forests surrounding Manta Carlos. At first, things had been difficult - their customs were unfamiliar, almost alien; whereas her kind had always seen being ridden as just another way for centaurs to help others, these carried a sort of social fear against being ridden against their will. They shared the same pride; for a time Serra had believed pride to be the case, but it wasn't until she had asked that she had learned just how deep a personal experience they considered it to allow themselves to be ridden.
At the age of 27, Serra, now considered something of an ambassador between the humans and the centaur given how rarely they left their little pockets of territory, was approached by the school and offered a position; certain adventurous youths had been interested in a class involving "toughing it out" in the wild, and so the school was seeking someone willing to look after young adults while they camped and learned about plants, animals, the night sky, and various other lessons that nature could teach them. At the time, they had approached her asking if she would be willing to chaperone what the school had called an "extracurricular activity"; but, after it had become reasonably popular among the students, the school board made the decision to make Wilderness Survival an elective course, offering Serra a teaching position. By then, Serra, who had become impressed by the students and somewhat fascinated by the ways of civilization, was more than happy to accept the job.
Additional Information: About ERU - The disease Serra carries is genetic. Symptoms can be found here, but for the sake of roleplay, what this means is that her eyes will hurt from time to time, and that she has night-blindness.
Whereas the centaurs from the mainland consider being ridden a deeply personal experience, having lived side-by-side with bipeds for so long means that this connection with being ridden simply doesn't exist for Serra, culturally speaking. She'll let you ride depending on how well she likes a person, or will let them on if they're injured and can't walk on their own, but unlike the herd that had come to the island from Greece, it appears to be more of a taur-by-taur basis on just how they take to having someone on their back.
Centaur biology
-Much like horses, it seems centaurs only sleep lying down for REM sleep, which they need very little of. The rest of the time they go into a light sleep while standing or sitting from which they can wake up easily in case they get attacked and need to run. Also like horses, centaurs tendons and muscles possess the ability to "lock" to prevent fatigue while sleeping when they are standing or sitting upright.
-A centaur's average body temperature is 38 degrees.
-Has twice as many taste buds as the average human.
-Observing a centaur's ears is a reliable way to discern one's mood.
EDIT: Sorry that a lot of the biological features and species abilities are what's on Neo's profile, hers was the first of two centaur characters on the site, so she kinda set the precedent for centaur physiology.
Age: 31
Birthday: 10 July
Gender: Female
Species: Centaur; Appaloosa
Category: Staff
Class: High School/College Level
Subject/Work: She teaches a wilderness survival class. She's *technically* no longer a ranger because it would cause a conflict in schedules, but she does it in her free time.
Appearance Description:
Eye color: Blue
Skin color: Fair, with hints of a tan. Her horse half is a dark brown, with splotches of white from her hips to her gaskins.
Hair: Ash Blonde. As a ranger she often kept it up in a tight ponytail; as a teacher, she either wears it in a looser pony, or allows it to fall free down her back. Recently she has begun to use flowers to decorate her hair.
Clothing style: As her horse side needs no coverage, most conventional forms of dress don't suit her. As a ranger, she kept her breasts wrapped up at all times; today, she only does this when she's out and about in the forests. In civilization, she keeps a blanket draped over her back, as well as whatever shirts she can find. The concept of a bra is still foreign to her.
Height: Roughly 5 feet from hoof to back, or 6'10" from hoof to head.
Weight: About 940 lbs
Etc: Wears glasses.
Personality Description: While most would label Serra as an outcast or outsider, much of that is largely due to her upbringing. She's worked with humans and other rangers in the past, but civilization - the chance to see the world they come from, is new to her. She can come off as rather strange because of this, often observing students and staff alike doing things that most wouldn't think twice over. She's friendly enough, but her manners are clearly forced if she is expected to be formal. She is awkward, obsesses over the most random little things, and gets skittish around anything she considers "advanced technology". However, she is earnest, reliable, and aspires to put her best hoof forward.
Species Abilities: Centaur Physiology
Being a Centaur has its own advantages over normal humans. The first of which being that she does have the lower half of a horse, and all the strengths that go with it. this includes things such as speed and strength, as well as having a much higher constitution than her human counterparts.
Speed
Being that her lower half is a horse, Serra is able to run at speeds that most humans will never achieve. While her top speed clocks in at around 55 miles an hour, she's not built for running on a straight track so much as maneuvering through shrubs and trees. For her, 15 mph is a brisk trot, 25 a canter, and 40 a gallop.
Strength
Serra's lower half is incredibly strong; aided by hundreds of pounds of muscle mass, she is able to carry almost 30% of her body weight safely on her back. She can push herself to carry up to twice that, however doing so puts great strain on her legs, and risks injury. Alternatively, if properly harnessed, she can pull objects that are a great deal heavier than she, up to 5000 lbs, if unassisted and hitched to a cart.
Senses
As a centaur, many of Serra's basic senses exceed that of humans. Her sense of hearing is very sophisticated, allowing her to pick up sounds that are further away, or at much higher or lower frequencies than a normal human can decipher. She is able to rotate and move her ears to better hear things without actually having to turn her head. Her sense of smell is almost three times as sensitive as a human, which can lead to irritation around certain people or things that have a distinct odor. Finally, her sense of taste is at the very least twice as accurate as a human, allowing her to either enjoy foods more or dislike things more. Her sense of sight, however, is failing her; her breed is particularly susceptible to ERU, a genetic issue linked to blindness with age, as well as night blindness. (She has 20/50 vision at this point in her life)
Hearty
Centaurs are not immortal or ageless. However, they do enjoy longer lives than humans (At most around 200 years), with much better health than the average human. Centaurs do have a very strong immune system and while not immune to illness, are incredibly resilient to it. They rarely become sick, and rarely develop life-threatening conditions such as cancer. (Though it can happen) They also have a higher level of endurance allowing them to push further than humans, or in many cases other species, in physical ways. They can work longer without tiring, and even without sleeping.
Powers:
Magic
While her species is not inherently known for possessing magical power, one advantage that serving in an official capacity as a teacher for Starlight Academy has offered Serra is access to tomes and arcane knowledge. For the most part, she considers these things a passing hobby rather than required reading, though she has picked up on a few spells useful for her.
Floramancy - Floramancy is a practice dedicated to the manipulation of plant matter. At its highest level, Floralists can instantly sprout trees, grow hedges in a flash to wall off enemies, and give life to the trees to assist them; as a fledgling hobbyist, Serra can, at best, make flowers grow, or cause nearby plants to turn in her direction. Of course, without viable soil, this magic is useless to her; after all, one cannot make plants grow out of the tiled, wooden, and stone floors of the academy.
Herbology
Arguably a form of alchemy, herbology stands out from its science and magic-rooted counterparts by using primarily plant matter. As a ranger, Serra was trained in what sorts of plants were dangerous and which were edible; to her, learning how to create remedies from plants seemed the next logical step. Aside from having to know the recipe, as well as have the time to create it, many strong potions make use of dangerous reagents, and so care must be exercised at all times.
Biography: Serra was born on the island, and has lived within the forests her entire life. While most beings native to the island often wonder what life is like on the other side of the waters, the centaurs of the island are, while prone to roaming and populating small pockets within the forests, relatively sedentary. They have the land, and it provides for them. Due to their outdoorsy lifestyle, many of the island centaurs grow up to be rangers, otherwise known as wardens. Their role on the island is to protect Manta Carlos from the dangers that lurk in the forests, but also to protect the forest and its inhabitants from those who live in the city. At a young age, Serra showed promise; at the age of thirteen, she could hunt, fish, gather, and farm - but it was around this time that the signs of ERU - Equine Recurrent Uveitis - began to surface. When she had heard the diagnosis, and learned the symptoms, Serra was, for a time, a broken mare; she feared the possibility of ever becoming a ranger full-time would be beyond her.
All, however, was not lost. It was around this time in her life, that news of a new tribe of centaur - one from the other side of the sea - reached the centaur's ears. While she would be unable to make the lifelong commitment that was expected of most rangers, Serra knew she could still do the right thing by putting her best hoof forward. As it was, this was her first time outside of the forests, her first time interacting with humans, and elves, and many of the other beings that called the island home. Honestly - Serra was a little frightened. Everything she had learned throughout her life would not help her in a social environment; if she were to prosper, she would have to learn their ways of life, and, in the case of the herd who had made their way overseas, possibly teach them what they needed to know about survival in the forests surrounding Manta Carlos. At first, things had been difficult - their customs were unfamiliar, almost alien; whereas her kind had always seen being ridden as just another way for centaurs to help others, these carried a sort of social fear against being ridden against their will. They shared the same pride; for a time Serra had believed pride to be the case, but it wasn't until she had asked that she had learned just how deep a personal experience they considered it to allow themselves to be ridden.
At the age of 27, Serra, now considered something of an ambassador between the humans and the centaur given how rarely they left their little pockets of territory, was approached by the school and offered a position; certain adventurous youths had been interested in a class involving "toughing it out" in the wild, and so the school was seeking someone willing to look after young adults while they camped and learned about plants, animals, the night sky, and various other lessons that nature could teach them. At the time, they had approached her asking if she would be willing to chaperone what the school had called an "extracurricular activity"; but, after it had become reasonably popular among the students, the school board made the decision to make Wilderness Survival an elective course, offering Serra a teaching position. By then, Serra, who had become impressed by the students and somewhat fascinated by the ways of civilization, was more than happy to accept the job.
Additional Information: About ERU - The disease Serra carries is genetic. Symptoms can be found here, but for the sake of roleplay, what this means is that her eyes will hurt from time to time, and that she has night-blindness.
Whereas the centaurs from the mainland consider being ridden a deeply personal experience, having lived side-by-side with bipeds for so long means that this connection with being ridden simply doesn't exist for Serra, culturally speaking. She'll let you ride depending on how well she likes a person, or will let them on if they're injured and can't walk on their own, but unlike the herd that had come to the island from Greece, it appears to be more of a taur-by-taur basis on just how they take to having someone on their back.
Centaur biology
-Much like horses, it seems centaurs only sleep lying down for REM sleep, which they need very little of. The rest of the time they go into a light sleep while standing or sitting from which they can wake up easily in case they get attacked and need to run. Also like horses, centaurs tendons and muscles possess the ability to "lock" to prevent fatigue while sleeping when they are standing or sitting upright.
-A centaur's average body temperature is 38 degrees.
-Has twice as many taste buds as the average human.
-Observing a centaur's ears is a reliable way to discern one's mood.
EDIT: Sorry that a lot of the biological features and species abilities are what's on Neo's profile, hers was the first of two centaur characters on the site, so she kinda set the precedent for centaur physiology.
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