Centaur

Centaur
Faction/Affiliation	Dragon Isles: Maruuk Centaur, Primalists Kalimdor: Independent clans
Character classes	Hunter, Necromancer, Priest, Shaman, Sorcerer, Warrior
Racial capital	Dragon Isles: Maruukai Kalimdor: Maraudon, Shok'Thokar
Racial leader(s)	Dragon Isles: Khanam Matra Sarest Kalimdor: Numerous khans
Homeworld	Azeroth
Area(s)	Dragon Isles (Ohn'ahran Plains), Central Kalimdor (Desolace, Northern Barrens, Thousand Needles)
Language(s)	Common, Orcish
Organization(s)	Tribes and clans

The centaur (sometimes pluralized as centaurs) are a warlike humanoid race with human-like upper bodies and the lower bodies of horses. Two discrete centaur civilizations exist. The first, the Maruuk Centaur, date back to before the War of the Ancients and rule the Ohn'ahran Plains on the Dragon Isles, where they worship the wind god Ohn'ahra and hunt the wild game of the region. Although split into many different clans ruled by various khans, they share a single culture. The Maruuk's ancestors forged a pact with the green dragonflight, but were cut off from the rest of the world when the Dragon Isles were hidden after the Great Sundering.

Millennia later, a separate, more cruel and primitive centaur civilization was born on Kalimdor from the union of Zaetar and Theradras. These centaur roam the plains of Central Kalimdor (primarily Desolace and the Barrens) and are the mortal enemies of the tauren, whom they hunted for centuries until the arrival of the Horde. Although their clans have historically warred among themselves, Horde and Alliance efforts to unite the tribes against common foes have met with some success.

History

Origins

Dragon Isles

The earliest known centaur lived on ancient Kalimdor prior to the War of the Ancients. Their origin has not been explained.

Maruuk, co-founder of the Maruuk centaur.

When the Burning Legion invaded Azeroth, the ancient centaur clans fought and died until the hero Maruuk emerged and slaughtered the invaders. However, the other clan leaders feared Maruuk's strength and betrayed him, leading to him and his partner Teera rejecting the clans and setting out across Kalimdor in search of a new home. Many centaur were inspired by their honor and followed them, forming a new clan. Ohn'ahra, the Wild God of the Wind, guided the centaur on their journey until, after months of wandering, they reached what is now the Ohn'ahran Plains on the Dragon Isles. Maruuk died, and his people renamed themselves the Maruuk centaur in his honor.

The Emerald Gardens bordering the plains were already inhabited by the green dragonflight, who were initially hostile toward their new neighbors and fought with the centaur over territory. Teera—who had taken up leadership of the Maruuk—met the dragons' leader Merithra in battle, but they soon realized that they were evenly matched and instead allied with each other against hostile proto-dragons that threatened both of their peoples. Teera and Merithra then made a pact, promising that the Maruuk and the dragons would stay out of each others' way but come to the aid of the other in times of need, a vow symbolized by the Horn of Drusahl. Afterward, the centaur hunted the plains while the dragons tended the gardens. The green dragons left the Isles after the Great Sundering, leaving the Maruuk to develop their culture in isolation.

It is presumed that the other centaur clans that refused to follow Maruuk to the Dragon Isles had perished.

Kalimdor

Princess Theradras roaming the grave of Zaetar.

Millennia after the Sundering, a separate centaur civilization arose on Kalimdor as a result of the relationship between Zaetar, son of the Wild God Cenarius, and Princess Theradras, daughter of the Elemental Lord Therazane. 1,100 years BDP, tauren shaman accidentally awakened Theradras from her slumber beneath the plains of Mashan'she in western Kalimdor. She immediately drained Mashan'she's life energies to restore her power, turning the region into a barren desert later called Desolace. Zaetar emerged from the Emerald Dream to investigate this immense loss of life, but when he encountered Theradras, he fell in love with her and became her mate. From their forbidden union, the centaur of Kalimdor were born. As such, the race has shared ancestry with other descendants of Cenarius and have been called the "cursed cousins" of dryads. The first of Zaetar and Theradras' children were Kolk, Gelk, Magra, Maraudos, and Veng, who became the first five khans. The Cloven Hoof artifact is said to come from the time of the centaur's creation.

Centaur statuary in Maraudon.

Because of the unnaturalness of their parents' relationship, the centaur were born cursed, misshapen, and hateful. Upon seeing his children, Zaetar immediately realized his sin. He tried to connect with his offspring, but the centaur saw the disgust in their father's eyes. This drove them into a blind rage, and they lashed out and murdered him. A heartbroken Theradras harshly chastised them for their actions. Realizing that they had wounded their beloved mother, the centaur begged for forgiveness and promised to always revere their late father. Theradras entombed Zaetar's spirit in her lair, which the centaur named Maraudon and would forever treat as holy ground. The centaur quickly proliferated and spread out across Kalimdor, driving the tauren of Desolace from their homes and igniting a long and dark period of war between the two races. The centaur essentially had sole control of Desolace after the night elves left the region.

Rivalry with the tauren

For over a thousand years, the centaur and tauren were at war. Tauren mythology tells of how the centaur emerged like a plague from the "black lands of the west" and pushed the tauren out of their ancestral home of Mulgore, forcing them to forever roam the plains of the Barrens as nomads. The centaur ceaselessly terrorized central Kalimdor by raiding the settlements of other indigenous peoples, such as the quilboar. They hunted the tauren for sport and launched intermittent attacks on the latter race. This took a heavy toll on both sides, as the tauren made the centaur pay for every unprovoked attack. However, the tauren had no love for war and always opted to find a new home rather than throw their lives away whenever the horse-men appeared. As such, they lived in a constant state of upheaval, and a year of peace was always followed by a year of war.

Centaur Marauders in the Barrens during the Third War.

By the Third War, the centaur were threatening to drive the tauren to extinction. The tauren were saved by the arrival of the orcish Horde, as the tauren chieftain Cairne Bloodhoof and his Bloodhoof tribe befriended the Horde's Warchief Thrall. Their two peoples joined forces and their combined power crashed down on the centaur warbands, sending the horse-men limping out of the Barrens in defeat. This allowed the tauren to permanently settle in Mulgore, ending their existence as nomads. Most of the centaur retreated to their homeland of Desolace. The Horde harshly punished any centaur who defied their borders, which kept them in check for several years with some exceptions: during the invasion of Durotar, the Kolkar clan enslaved an orc village in Dustwallow Marsh, while another group led by the khan Khiragg threatened the tauren in Mulgore and kidnapped Cairne's son Baine until he was rescued by Rexxar.

World of Warcraft

This section concerns content related to the original World of Warcraft.

Kolkar aggressors in Durotar, as depicted in the TCG.

The respite created by the Horde's defeat of the centaur didn't last long. Princess Theradras, who loved the centaur, worried that the Horde's rise to power might eventually drive them to extinction. She acted to save her children by infusing them with her power, driving their warbands to storm out of Desolace and claim new territories. In Durotar, the Kolkar plotted to take over the orc lands. In the Barrens, new leaders rallied the disorganized Kolkar and turned them into a real threat against the Horde. Regthar Deathgate led Horde operations against them. In the Thousand Needles, the Galak increased their attacks on tauren caravans. Cliffwatcher Longhorn reported that they were more of an annoyance than a real threat, but that there were rumors of centaur clans uniting.

Centaur architecture in Desolace.

Thrall sent Horde adventurers to Desolace to handle the centaur threat. They quickly discovered that the centaur were slaughtering each other just as much as they were attacking outsiders. When they investigated further, they met Warug of the Magram clan, who told them of Theradras' recent actions and that Desolace had been corrupted. The Horde allied with the Magram—who held no loyalty to Theradras, unlike the other clans—and helped them suppress the other tribes in Desolace: the Kolkar, Gelkis, and Maraudine. The adventurers then entered Maraudon and defeated Theradras, ending the spreading corruption in Desolace and easing the centaur's violent bloodlust. This also freed the captive spirit of Zaetar, but he chose to remain in Maraudon since he believed that the centaur had need of their father, despite their crimes against him. With the Horde's blessing, Warug and the Magram became the rulers of the united centaur and led them to an age of tranquility. Yet none knew how long they would stay on the path of peace.

Separately, an exile called the Centaur Pariah wanted adventurers to help him craft an Amulet of Union, which would make him powerful enough to unite the centaur into one great tribe and reform them into being "as our ancestors wanted us to be".

At some point before the Cataclysm, a centaur warband attacked and burned down Camp Narache in Mulgore. The Earthen Ring rescued the camp's survivors and tried to put out the fire, but were forced to flee from the centaur after the elements refused to aid them. Soon after, the centaur were massacred by the rogue shaman Shotoa.

Bloodsworn

This section concerns content related to the Warcraft manga or comics.

Aratas rallying the centaur clans in Desolace.

In the wake of the Cataclysm, Maraudon saw the emergence of a powerful earth elemental who held Azeroth's mortal races responsible for the Cataclysm. He created a new, "pure" race of centaur called the perfect ones, free of the flaws of the "older breed", who would spread over the world and reclaim it from those who had "defiled" it. Their leader, the High Khan Aratas, united the Kolkar, Magram, Maraudine, Gelkis, and Galak tribes into a massive army in Desolace with the promise that he would usher in a new age in which the centaur would claim the lands that were rightfully theirs from the "mongrel" races and reign over Azeroth. The perfect ones discriminated against the older centaur by forbidding them from entering Maraudon and, in at least one case, trying to kill a member of the older breed who was deemed too weak to fit in Aratas' vision of a strong, "pure" race.

The centaur capitalized on the Cataclysm and began to attack Horde settlements all over Kalimdor, enslaving large numbers of orcs in the process, in order to keep the Horde distracted until Aratas could invade and destroy the Horde capitals of Thunder Bluff and Orgrimmar with slave-built siege weapons and the power of his elemental father. The Horde sent its newly-formed Garad'kra militia to counter the threat. They received help from the drifter Malgar and from the centaur outcast Dorthar, who informed them of Aratas' plans. Together they attacked Maraudon, defeated the perfect ones, and killed Aratas and his father, giving the Horde enough time to move their forces into position and break up the centaur army. Dorthar subsequently became the first centaur to join the Horde.

Cataclysm

This section concerns content related to Cataclysm.

The three khans Shodo, Leh'Prah, and Kammah in Shok'Thokar.

After the Cataclysm, the Kolkar continued to encroach on the Horde in the Northern Barrens. In the Thousand Needles, the Galak centaur survived the flooding of the region by moving to the Splithoof Heights, which happened to be rich in oil. The inhabitants of Fizzle & Pozzik's Speedbarge tried to trick the Galak into giving them pumping rights, then resorted to taking the oil and land by force after negotiations failed.

In Desolace, the Burning Blade cult and their demon masters pushed the Magram clan out of their home and renamed it Shok'Thokar. The Magram, in turn, defeated the Kolkar clan and took over their lands. The Kolkar leader Khan Leh'Prah escaped to Karnum's Glade to ask for help from adventurers. Leh'Prah had seen visions of the future and believed that centaur lands would be corrupted forever if the Burning Blade weren't stopped. Through shows of force, adventurers convinced Khan Kammah of the Magram and Khan Shodo of the Gelkis to join forces with Leh'Prah and the Kolkar against their common enemy. Together, the three clans attacked the Burning Blade at Shok'Thokar, and the three khans killed the pit lord Agogridon to win the day. Leh'Prah, Kammah, Shodo, and their clans then took up residence in the reclaimed Shok'Thokar as united "sons of Cenarion".

After the Argus Campaign, Magni Bronzebeard traveled to Desolace to warn the centaur about the world-soul's distress and the emergence of Azerite.

Dragonflight

This section concerns content related to Dragonflight.

Maruukai.

After the Dragon Isles reawakened, the Maruuk centaur of the Ohn'ahran Plains—who had been isolated since the Great Sundering—became embroiled in the conflict between the dragonflights and the Primalists. Shortly after the green dragonflight and their leader Merithra returned to their Emerald Gardens, Primalists led by Koroleth attacked the area in an attempt to reach the dragons' portal to the Emerald Dream. The dragons repelled them, and the Primalists resorted to recruiting the help of the centaur of Clan Nokhud and introducing them and their power-hungry khan, Balakar, to forbidden storm magic. The Primalists tried to recruit at least Clan Shikaar as well, but this was unsuccessful.

Adventurers traveled to the Ohn'ahran Plains and established diplomacy with the centaur so that they could cross their lands, reach the Emerald Gardens, and help Merithra and her flight empower the Emerald Oathstone. They befriended the Clan Shikaar and accompanied them to Maruukai for the Khural gathering, where the clans planned to discuss the dragons' return. The green flight itself sent an emissary, Gemisath, to the Khural to ask Khanam Matra Sarest to uphold her ancestor Teera's pact with the dragons by providing military aid against the Primalists. Sarest agreed to do so, but the gathering was disrupted by Balakar Khan and the Nokhud, who revealed their alliance with the Primalists, killed Gemisath, and launched an attack on Maruukai, starting off a war between them and the other clans. This was unlike any conflict the Maruuk had seen for generations. While Clan Ukhel and Clan Kaighan sided with Balakar, the other clans sided with Khanam Matra Sarest.

While Balakar marshaled his army to conquer the entirety of the Ohn'ahran Plains, Sarest planned to blow the Horn of Drusahl to answer the green dragons' call for an alliance. However, with the Nokhud's aid, the Primalists were able to capture Ohn'ahra herself. With Ohn'ahra as their captive, the Primalist and Nokhud were able to blow the horn in order to lure the green dragonflight into a trap. However they failed in their objective in killing Merithra and the other centaur were able to prove they had no part in Clan Nokhud's betrayal. Rallying together the green dragonflight and the centaur were able to thwart the Primalists and kill their leader, Koroleth.

With Koroleth's death, Balakar retreated to his stronghold with the captive Ohn'ahra, even as he had his raiders storm across the plains to wreak havoc, with the remaining Primalists in the region aiding him in his endeavors, and Clan Ukhel (one of the only centaur clans to have sided with him) using their necromantic magics to resurrect their ancestors Maruuk and Teera to serve as tools of war against their enemies. However as the centaur clashed against one another on the field, adventures struck out against Balakar's allies, defeating the Primalists, soothing the angered ancestors (who had swiftly killed the necromancer responsible for their rebirth), and ultimately invaded the stronghold, killing Balakar and freeing Ohn'ahra.

Appearance

A female and male Maruuk centaur sparring.

A centaur appears as a creature with a horse's body and legs and with a humanoid's torso, arms, and head. Their equine lower bodies give them great speed that is unmatched upon the plains, while their burly humanoid torsos give them incredible physical strength.

Kalimdorian centaur are considered very ugly by other races and are notorious for their stench. Bony protrusions and growths mar their every visage. They commonly adorn themselves with body paint of henna and thick dried mud, signifying their social role, rank, or the clan they hail from. Many of their khans have large tusks on the sides of their mouths, and the women always wear veils covering the lower part of their face.

The centaur of the Ohn'ahran Plains look somewhat more human- or elf-like with cleaner features. None of them have tusks, but some of them have a distinctly larger and heavier build, with shaggier fur and deeper voices.

Culture

Concept art of Maruuk architecture.

The Maruuk centaur of the Ohn'ahran Plains are a society of hunters, nomads, and storytellers. They are a proud and territorial people who do not suffer insult lightly. They are organized into many individual clans, led by chieftains known as khans. Though each clan has its own strengths and weaknesses, they share a single culture and all consider themselves Maruuk. Clans rise and fall in power, and it is commonplace for clans to seize territory and power from their rivals by force, but they maintain relative peace among themselves and with the neighboring green dragonflight. Each season, clans large and small gather in the city of Maruukai for the Khural, a time of truce and discussion during which they share resources and stories. The Maruuk frequently trade with the tuskarr, with whom they share many values and hobbies.

Barak Kodobane, a Kalimdorian centaur, in Hearthstone.

In contrast, the centaur of Kalimdor are nomadic marauders known for their brutality, savagery, and cruelty. According to Regthar Deathgate, most of them are "low, brutish creatures", and they cannot "focus their rage" as the orcs can. However, a few of them have the intelligence and vision required to lead. Centaur leadership relies on a core of disciplined warriors to keep the others in line and prevent them from killing each other out of jealousy, rage, and personal conflict. Their camps are often littered with important communications, but these can look more like barely-legible, angry scrawls than war plans. In battle, centaur tend to use simple tactics and attack their enemies head first. A great show of respect among centaur is smacking a fist on one's own chest. Like the centaur of the Ohn'ahran Plains, the horse-men of Kalimdor are organized into clans (or tribes) led by khans, but they are much more fractured than the Maruuk. Each clan has its own agenda, and the things they share are a hatred for their progenitors, a hatred for the tauren, and an all-consuming hatred for other centaur clans. The clans would be an unstoppable threat if united into a single force, but most of the time they instead bicker and war among themselves. Cliffwatcher Longhorn observed that "nothing could penetrate the pure hatred [the centaur] have... even of each other".

Centaur children are called "foals". They refer to other humanoid races as "two-foot" or "two-legs". Maruuk centaur wear horseshoes, and farriers are found in many of their settlements. The Maruuk have skilled weavers who make soft and elaborate rugs and quilts from argali wool and the vivid natural dyes found in the Ohn'ahran Plains.

Some Kalimdor centaur show fascination for advanced technology. When the goblin Salzhigh created a penguin squeak-toy, the centaur (who had never seen a penguin before) purchased them as idols and worshipped them at altars. Warug of the Magram clan considered target dummies and other gnomish inventions to be strange and entertaining.

Companions

A Shikaar hunter with an ohuna and bakar companion.

The Maruuk keep a variety of domesticated animals:

• Bakar serve as hunting companions and guard dogs.
• Ohuna, eagles descended from Ohn'ahra herself, serve as hunting companions. Their relationship to the centaur is transient and built on mutual respect: each spring, the ohuna choose a new centaur to hunt alongside, and each winter they return to their kin.
• Argali are domesticated for their milk and wool.
• Bruffalons are domesticated for their milk.
• Musken serve as beasts of burden that pull the clans' caravan wagons.
• Thunder lizards have in rare cases been known to bond with centaur and their close allies.

The Kalimdor clans use domesticated hyenas (often called "packhounds") as pets.

Cuisine

Centaur roasting a dead orc as food.

The Maruuk mainly eat game meat from the various wildlife of the Ohn'ahran Plains. They also eat fish, cheese and milk from argali and bruffalons, and sweets like tarts, puddings, and sliced honey plum with chilled cream. Centaur prefer their meat and fish roasted to the point of being charred black and drenched in so much spice that it numbs the tongue. Even foals have plenty of spice on their food. That said, the centaur of Clan Teerai can also enjoy a hearty fish stew like their Iskaara tuskarr neighbors. Some, but not all, tuskarr dislike centaur cooking, arguing that it dishonors the fish and that eating blackened fish with so much spice is akin to "eating ash".

Kalimdor's centaur hunt for meat whenever they are not at war. Excess meat is crudely dried and stored to allow them to fight for longer between hunts. Unlike the Maruuk, they are also cannibals who cook and eat humanoids they capture. They consider orc meat to be tastier than tauren.

Spirituality

Maruuk

A Maruuk shrine to Ohn'ahra.

The Maruuk worship the eagle spirit Ohn'ahra, the Windmother. She originally guided the Maruuk's ancestors to the Ohn'ahran Plains during the War of the Ancients, and has watched over them ever since. Foals with an innate connection to Ohn'ahra leave their clans to join the mystics of Clan Ohn'ir, who interpret her songs to advise the other centaur. Ohn'ahra does not speak in language but instead through the winds themselves, and the Ohn'ir are trained to feel her presence and interpret her messages. Windsong Rise is considered hallow ground for the Maruuk, being the place where their connection to the wind and Ohn'ahra is strongest. The Maruuk make a sharp distinction between "wind magic" and "storm magic". Storms are considered an affront to Ohn'ahra's gift and her most dire omen, and storm magic is therefore viewed as a sacrilege to her gift of winds.

The Maruuk believe that the spirits of dead centaur live with Ohn'ahra in the sky and run alongside her on the winds. When a mystic of Clan Ohn'ir dies, a sacred ohuna known as a Child of Ohn'ahra carries their spirit to Windsong Rise, were they may become one with the wind and sky. The ancestors always walk beside their living descendants, guiding and protecting them, to the point where the Khural is considered a gathering for not only the living Maruuk, but the dead as well. The Khural begins when Clan Teerai invite the ancestors to Maruukai by giving them an offering in the form of a meal. They intentionally overchar and overspice the food to ensure that the scent is strong enough to reach the spirits in the sky.

Maruuk tales are handed down through the generations through storytellers, a sacred role rooted in tradition. They tell these stories to pay respect to the ancestors and remind themselves of what's important.

Kalimdor

A centaur statue in the Wicked Tunnels of Maraudon.

Among Kalimdor's centaur, the females tend to use a dark, perverted form of shamanism, while magic use among males is quite rare. All Kalimdorian clans have practitioners of air magic, often called "stormers" or "windchasers". The Gelkis clan specializes in earth magic. The centaur view the tauren's traditions of shamanism and ties to nature as weak.

The centaur of Desolace consider the temple of Maraudon—the resting place of their father Zaetar—to be holy and protect it with their lives. It is used as a combination of ancient centaur burial grounds, as well as a primal temple dedicated to the elemental earth. Only spirits and the most sacred priests and priestesses are allowed to enter its halls. At least one centaur, Khan Shodo of the Gelkis, acknowledges the Earth Mother. The Galak of the Splithoof Heights worship an air elemental, Whrrrl.

The centaur claim that a white kodo is a harbinger of doom.

Marriage

The Maruuk practice betrothal. There are various traditions associated with marriage, but different individuals and clans seem to hold different views of them. Elder Odgerel believes that it's irrelevant if partners love each other and that it is more important to keep to tradition, which involves giving sweets to a matchmaker who will find a partner for the bachelor, an exchange of offerings between families, and many other ceremonies. Matchmaker Osila believes that true compatibility between lovers comes from seeking guidance from one of the ancestors and asking them to bless the relationship. According to Ohn Arasara, tradition suggests that the centaur making the proposal should gift sweets to their intended partner's family. These sweets are then shared with the rest of the clan. Tradition also dictates that the proposer should receive a blessing from both their own and their intended partner's clan before they make their proposal.

Clans

Maruuk

The banners of the major Maruuk clans. From left to right: Nokhud, Teerai, Shikaar, and Ohn'ir.

The Maruuk centaur of the Ohn'ahran Plains are split into many different clans, but there are four who hold the most power:

• Nokhud — A clan that values brute strength over all else. They are the newest clan to rise to power, and the one that maintains the largest military force. Led by Balakar Khan, the Nokhud allied with the Primalists and turned against the rest of the Maruuk. Their capital is Nokhudon Hold in the western highlands.
• Ohn'ir — A clan of mystics who hone a special connection to Ohn'ahra. Its members are initiated from the other clans and are spread throughout the plains, but they make their main home at the Ohn'iri Springs and other villages in the south. Led by Tigari Khan.
• Shikaar — The strongest hunters of the Maruuk. Their camps are spread throughout the plains, mainly in the eastern Shikaar Highlands. Led by Sansok Khan.
• Teerai — A clan that upholds the traditions of the Maruuk's ancestors and guides the other centaur according to their ways. They are led by the Khanam Matra (currently Khanam Matra Sarest), who serves as the cultural khan of all Maruuk. Their home is Teerakai in the southwestern plains.

In addition, there are various minor clans:

• Aylaag — A small clan of nomads who travel across the plains, regularly setting up and taking down camp wherever the wind guides them. Led by Hadari Khan.
• Kaighan — A small hostile clan found at the Kaighan Camp.
• Toghus — Formerly one of the most powerful clans, until they were defeated and replaced by Jhakan Khan of Clan Nokhud.
• Ukhel — A clan of necromancers who have sided with the Nokhud.

Kalimdor

A Kalimdorian centaur banner.

The centaur of Kalimdor are split into five clans or tribes, each corresponding to one of the original five khans born of Zaetar and Theradras.

• Galak — Founded by Veng and currently led by khans Ablinh and Blizh. Found in the Thousand Needles and formerly Mulgore. They formerly inhabited Splithoof Crag and Camp E'thok in the Thousand Needles, but moved to the Splithoof Heights after the Cataclysm.
• Gelkis — Founded by Gelk and currently led by Khan Shodo. Found in Gelkis Village in southwestern Desolace. They specialize in earth magic and were formerly mortal enemies of the Magram. They allied with the Kolkar and Magram to take back Shok'Thokar from the Burning Blade after the Cataclysm.
• Kolkar — Founded by Kolk and currently led by Khan Leh'Prah. Native to Desolace, but have spread to the oases of the Northern Barrens. They also formerly had a foothold in the Kolkar Crag in Durotar. After the Cataclysm, the Magram took over the Kolkar Village and turned it into the Magram Territory, but Khan Leh'Prah and the other Kolkar subsequently united with the Magram and Gelkis to take back Shok'Thokar from the Burning Blade.
• Magram — Founded by Magra and currently led by Khan Kammah. They formerly lived in the Magram Village (now Shok'Thokar) in southeastern Desolace and were mortal enemies of the Gelkis. Brutal and warlike, they were the only clan not loyal to Princess Theradras, and the Horde allied with them and their leader Warug to suppress the other tribes. After the Cataclysm, the Burning Blade pushed the Magram out of their lands, forcing them to take over the Kolkar's territory, but they later allied with the Kolkar and Gelkis to take back Shok'Thokar from the Burning Blade.
• Maraudine — Founded by Maraudos. Found in the Valley of Spears in Desolace, where they protect the entrance to Maraudon.

In addition, a faction called the Centaur Marauders appears in the Invasion of Kalimdor campaign in Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos, and an unnamed group appears in the Stonetalon Mountains in the mission Where Wyverns Dare.

Notable centaur

Maruuk

Name	Role	Clan	Status	Location
Maruuk	Hero-ancestor of the Maruuk	Maruuk	Deceased	Buried in Eternal Kurgans, Ohn'ahran Plains
Teera	The Guidemother, first matriarch of the Maruuk	Maruuk	Deceased	Buried in Eternal Kurgans, Ohn'ahran Plains
Khanam Matra Sarest	Khanam Matra of the Maruuk	Teerai	Alive	Maruukai, Ohn'ahran Plains
Khansguard Akato	Captain of the Khanam Matra's khansguard	Teerai	Alive	Maruukai, Ohn'ahran Plains
Balakar Khan	Khan of the Nokhud and ally of the Primalists	Nokhud	Killable	Nokhudon Hold, Nokhud Offensive
Hadari Khan	Khan of the Aylaag	Aylaag	Alive	Various, Ohn'ahran Plains
Sansok Khan	Khan of the Shikaar	Shikaar	Alive	Timberstep Outpost and Maruukai, Ohn'ahran Plains
Ohn Seshteng	Ohn'ir advisor to Clan Shikaar	Ohn'ir	Alive	Timberstep Outpost and Maruukai, Ohn'ahran Plains
Tigari Khan	Khan of the Ohn'ir	Ohn'ir	Alive	Maruukai, Ohn'ahran Plains
Scout Tomul	Shikaar scout	Shikaar	Alive	Timberstep Outpost and Maruukai, Ohn'ahran Plains

Kalimdor

Name	Role	Clan	Status	Location
Kolk	The First Khan	Kolkar	Undead	Wicked Tunnels, Desolace
Gelk	The Second Khan	Gelkis	Undead	Wicked Tunnels, Desolace
Magra	The Third Khan	Magram	Undead	Foulspore Pools, Desolace
Maraudos	The Fourth Khan	Maraudine	Undead	Wicked Grotto, Maraudon
Veng	The Fifth Khan	Galak	Undead	Foulspore Cavern, Maraudon
Khan Ablinh	Khan of the Galak	Galak	Alive	Splithoof Heights, Thousand Needles
Aratas	High Khan and leader of the perfect ones who united the clans	None	Deceased	Killed in Maraudon
Barak Kodobane	Kolkar leader in the Barrens	Kolkar	Killable	Forgotten Pools, Northern Barrens
Khan Blizh	Khan of the Galak	Galak	Alive	Splithoof Heights, Thousand Needles
Centaur Pariah	Exile who wanted to unite the Desolace clans	None	Alive	Southern Desolace
Dorthar	Member of the Garad'kra, first centaur to join the Horde	Unknown	Alive	Unknown
Khan Gragtor	Kolkar khan in Dustwallow Marsh during the invasion of Durotar	Kolkar	Deceased	Killed in Dustwallow Marsh
Hezrul Bloodmark	Main Kolkar leader in the Barrens	Kolkar	Killable	Lushwater Oasis, Northern Barrens
Khan Hratha	Khan of the Maraudine	Maraudine	Deceased	Formerly Valley of Spears, Desolace
Khan Kammah	Khan of the Magram	Magram	Alive	Shok'Thokar, Desolace
Khiragg	Leader of a warband in Mulgore during the invasion of Durotar	Unknown	Deceased	Killed in Mulgore
Warlord Krom'zar	Leader of Kolkar reinforcements from Desolace to the Barrens	Kolkar	Killable	Northern Barrens
Khan Leh'Prah	Kolkar khan who united the Desolace clans after the Cataclysm	Kolkar	Alive	Shok'Thokar, Desolace
The Nameless Prophet	Highest spiritual leader of any tribe	Unknown	Killable	Zaetar's Choice, Desolace
Khan Shodo	Khan of the Gelkis	Gelkis	Alive	Shok'Thokar, Desolace
Uthek the Wise	Gelkis shaman and spokeswoman	Gelkis	Unknown	Formerly Gelkis Village, Desolace
Verog the Dervish	Kolkar leader in the Barrens	Kolkar	Killable	Stagnant Oasis, Northern Barrens
Warug	Magram leader and spokesman who united the Desolace clans	Magram	Unknown	Formerly Magram Village, Desolace

In the RPG

This section contains information from the Warcraft RPG which is considered non-canon.

Centaur of the Krenka tribe in the Horde Player's Guide.

Centaurs are savage and brutal, and they often take prisoners. These prisoners are usually eaten. However, rumors tell of centaurs dragging humanoids of all sorts off to become slaves, forcing them to work in hardscrabble opal mines. Opals are used to make crude trinkets or are thrown into sacrificial offerings to the spirits. Young tauren have made something of a game out of this tradition, snatching away the centaur's offerings and leaving insulting totems in their place. They must be swift, lest they be caught by the centaur, who leave their gutted remains as a warning to others who would consider doing the same.

Filthy creatures, centaurs are always followed by swarms of flies, which are attracted by the centaur's repellent odor. Centaurs have no qualms about leaving piles of dung strewn about their encampments, and no concept of privacy.

A centaur on the cover of Lands of Mystery.

Each of the five tribes in Desolace had their own unique tribal color: black, brown, green, red, and yellow. Members used the colors to mark their weapons and their faces. These colors are literally the names of centaur tribes fathered by Zaetar, but likely refer to the five main centaur tribes (Kolkar, Magram, Maraudine, Gelkis, and Galak). The Red tribe for example lived in Spearhold.

Origin

A centaur fighting a tauren in World of Warcraft: The RPG.

"Long, ago, the kaldorei god Cenarius bore three children, the centaur, the dryad, and the keeper of the grove. However, one son, the centaur, grew to despise his beautiful siblings, then all other creatures of the world, and challenged Cenarius. The centaur believed that he was the strongest of the three children, and that Cenarius refused to love him and instead doted on his other children.

In embracing his hatred and savagery, he struck his father in blind rage, trying to force his father to love him above all other creatures. In retort, the god cursed the centaur, stripping him of his beauty and powers, leaving him only with his hatred and anger. The centaur fled in rage, and swore a blood feud on all the creatures of the world. He reserved most of his hatred for Cenarius' favored children, and thus the night elves drew his ire as well. We tauren too drew his anger, as he was jealous of our strength and power with the world, the same power he lost.

His children carry his anger, and destroy everything they touch, bearing their father's hatred of all things of the world.

Languages

Centaurs speak Low Common and Common. The Krenka clan speaks Krenkese and Low Common. A few centaurs learn the languages of their enemies, including Goblin, Orcish, Taur-ahe, and Zandali. Taur-ahe is learned as a secondary language, though a few centaur primarily speak Taur-ahe.

RPG Notes

• Temuejin, the Second Khan, controls Spearhold. He and his centaurs have claimed this ruined fortress as their own.
  • His tribe is referred as Red Tribe in Dungeons & Dragons: Warcraft: The Roleplaying Game.
• They can be barbarians and necromancers.

Notes and trivia

A rug made of centaur skin.

• One in-universe legend inaccurately claims that Kalimdor's centaur are the bastard children of Cenarius himself.
• The tauren claim that the centaur have always existed to scourge the land, even though, in truth, their history on Kalimdor only dates back 1,100 years.
  • This may be retroactively referring to the original centaur peoples, from whom the Maruuk descend.
• The centaur over-hunted giraffes for decades, but the species was saved from extinction by the tauren.
• Although centaur, tauren, and quilboar all hate each other, the three races come together to do trade at Flayers' Point in Desolace. But there is no love lost between them, and brawls erupt like clockwork every five minutes, earning the trading post the nickname "Slayers' Point".
• Members of the Horde sometimes skin centaur corpses and turn them into rugs. These can be seen as decorations even in areas where centaur otherwise aren't found, such as Lower Blackrock Spire or locations in Outland like Ango'rosh Stronghold.
• In addition to the normal tents and huts they are seen using elsewhere, many centaur settlements in Desolace formerly included imposing stone architecture. These stone structures were removed in Cataclysm (except for inside Maraudon), leaving only the tents.
• In the Warcraft III mission The Crossing, the forces of Garithos' Elite Guard include a squad of mercenary Centaur Khans.
• Centaur were originally planned to be a playable faction in Warcraft III.
• In the Pandaren Empire April Fools announcement for Warcraft III, the centaur were described as the mortal enemies of the pandaren.
• The standard Maruuk centaur models use vorkai animations. The bulkier variant uses magnataur animations.
  • Unlike other races that got model updates in Dragonflight such as dryads and gnolls, the centaur model was not retroactively applied to older centaur. Centaur NPCs added before Dragonflight continue to use the original model.

Inspiration

Centaurs are half-man, half-horse creatures from Greek mythology, known for their wild and untamed nature.

The culture of Warcraft's centaur is loosely based on that of Eurasian steppe peoples, such as the Mongols and Huns. This is evident in their use of the title "khan", of architecture that resembles yurts, the design of their armor, and—arguably—their extensive use of archery and storm-based shamanism.

Gallery

• World of Warcraft
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  A male centaur from Kalimdor.

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  A female from Kalimdor.

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  A male in light armor.

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  A male in heavy armor.

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  A khan.=

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  A male centaur from the Dragon Isles.

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  A female from the Dragon Isles.

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  A larger, hairier male from the Dragon Isles.

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  A larger, hairier female from the Dragon Isles.

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  A centaur war horn in the Valley of Spears.

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  Rock painting of quilboar fighting centaur.

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  A centaur skin in Lower Blackrock Spire.

• Warcraft III
• 

  Centaur models and portraits in Warcraft III.

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  Centaur portrait icon in Warcraft III.

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  Centaur Khan portrait icon in Warcraft III.

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  A squad of centaur khans in The Crossing.

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  Reign of Chaos concept art.

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  Reign of Chaos concept art.

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  Reign of Chaos concept art.

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  Reign of Chaos artwork.

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  A Centaur Archer in Reforged.

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  A Centaur archer portrait icon in Reforged.

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  A Centaur Drudge in Reforged.

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  A Centaur drudge portrait icon in Reforged.

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  A Centaur Impaler in Reforged.

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  A Centaur impaler portrait icon in Reforged.

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  A Centaur Outrunner in Reforged.

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  A Centaur outrunner portrait icon in Reforged.

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  A Centaur Sorcerer in Reforged.

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  A Centaur sorcerer portrait icon in Reforged.

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  A Centaur Khan in Reforged.

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  A Centaur Khan portrait icon in Reforged.

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  Loading screen art of a Khan in Reforged.

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  Warcraft III centaur concepts.

• Hearthstone
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  Hezrul Bloodmark

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  Khiragg

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  Injured Marauder

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  Knight of the Wild

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  Kolkar Pack Runner

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  Redeemed Pariah

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  Rimetongue

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  Soulsplitter

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  A centaur killed by a Barrens Scavenger.

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  A centaur in the Hearthstone: Forged in the Barrens cinematic trailer.

• Other
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  A centaur female in the Horde Player's Guide.

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  A risen centaur warrior in the Horde Player's Guide.

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  Centaur attacking Camp Narache in Shaman.

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  A centaur female in Shaman.

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  Counterattack! in the Trading Card Game.

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  Ambush in the TCG.

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  Centaur getting blasted by a Fire Nova Totem in the TCG.

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  Hezrul Bloodmark in Warcraft Arclight Rumble.