We see in the sylvari whispers level 28 story step that centaurs do indeed know that the risen are a threat – how they treat other dragon minions is unknown, the only other they’d interact with would be potentially destroyers, and icebrood, but we dont’ see any such interaction in-game. They are likely in a state like most of Tyria – they’re too far away from the Elder Dragons so they think that of them merely as a distant threat. The centaurs have much bigger concerns: such as having no land to really call their own any more (thanks to humanity and the drying of the Maguuma, and probably Jormag).
The war with humans hasn’t concluded yet. It’s a tug-o-war currently, supposedly centered in Harathi Hinterlands though there’s a line in the World Summit (finale of chapter 4 of Season 2) that suggests this tug-o-war is across all maps with centaurs in it. It isn’t very clear.
“What do you know about them?” Other than the questions above:
- They once lived in the lands now known as Kryta, specifically the northern parts by all indications. In 300 AE, they were displaced by the colonization by Elona, and spreading of Kryta. They’ve been at war with humanity since. There are three Tyrian tribes known: Modniir, Harathi, and Tamini. Until the past 50 years, the Modniir were living in the Shiverpeaks, the Harathi in the Maguuma, and Tamini were a nomad tribe that moved about.
- 250 years ago, during GW1, the war with the centaurs had calmed down, having not been shown in the game itself directly. During that time period, Modniir and Harathi attempted an alliance to renew their war but the initial negotiations were prevented by our PCs; similarly, around that time the modniir were mostly wiped out by humans and norn – supposedly “during this quest”: – it took them 200 years to reorganize, and subsequently they dominated the other two tribes (Harathi and Tamini) into their allegiance.
- Centaurs’ faith is based on the earth and soil, they hold a belief in a “nature spirit” – though the details of this aren’t exactly clear. Due to the newness of the sylvari, they are often mistaken as (lesser?) nature spirits, which is exploited in the aforementioned Whispers sylvari level 28 story step. This faith in the ground is why centaur spellcasters are always Earth Magic users.
- It should be noted that in recent years, due to the war and increased hostility of the centaurs via the alliance, the faith of most centaurs have lessened and turned into a more brutal belief system of sacrifices and combat – in-game, this is most seen in the Tamini and Modniir.
- Centaur government is mostly unknown, though the Modniir are currently led by a war council, the head of which is Ulgoth – it’s unclear whether Ulgoth is a name or title, as it is used in both cases, indicating a change of how it’s used halfway in development with the previous ways it was used being overlooked.
- The centaurs do use terms such as chieftain, though they are not the highest ranked it seems. Chieftains, to me, seem comparable to captains in a military. The highest ranked Harathi known is “Overlord”; there is no Tamini (that I know of) ranked higher than chieftain, though there are three leaders in Gendarran referred to as “Mogul” who lead the assaults in the area.
- The Modniir ensure the loyalty of the Tamini and Harathi through fear and pure strength. They force the Tamini to be the front-line soldiers, and the Harathi serve as the engineers of the army – one can compare the three tribes of Tamini, Harathi, and Modniir to the charr legions of Blood, Iron, and Flame respectively. The main use of fear the Modniir use is the form of their War Beasts – canine-like earth elementals that have been trained to feast on human flesh, and used as a threat to train to eating any flesh.
- Not all in the alliance are led through fear, though. There are Tamini who have expressed a certain admiration for the Modniir’s strength in battle, and claiming that if the Modniir were on the front lines, the war would be over before the other tribes got a chance at combat.
For more: http://wiki.guildwars2.com/wiki/Centaur
Dear ANet writers,
Stop treating GW2 as a single story. Each Season and expansion should be their own story.
As far as why they’re continuing to fight, we’re told it’s not so much about reclaiming ancestral territory as it is about finding new territory at all. The Modniir lands are now icebrood territory, the Maguuma Wastes presumably cannot sustain the Harathi’s numbers (they’re the largest group and the main bulk of centaur numbers), and something apparently prevents the Woodland Cascades from being a viable option. Kryta is the only place they have to go, and if they can get revenge while they’re at it, so much the better.
R.I.P., Old Man of Auld Red Wharf. Gone but never forgotten.
My suspicion regarding the war between the humans and centaurs currently is that the centaurs are losing – but this state of ‘losing’ is relative to the start of the Personal Story where the centaurs were literally at the gates of Divinity’s Reach and Nebo and Ascalon Settlement at least were holding out behind centaur lines. Nowadays, this situation has reversed – the main fighting is in the Hinterlands, but the centaurs are still holding out in several locations throughout Kryta.
The statement at the summit is, unfortunately, quite ambiguous. The centaurs being at Kryta’s gates could mean they’re at the gates of Divinity’s Reach again (I consider unlikely, since S2 started with a Seraph expedition to a fairly distant location over something that’s fairly trivial compared to centaurs at the capital), it could be referring to the gates of fortresses and towns in more exposed locations, or the ‘gates’ could be metaphorical ones, referring to possible invasion routes into Kryta such as the passes in the Hinterlands.
To those who think Scarlet hate means she’s succeeded as a villain:
People don’t hate Scarlet like Game of Thrones fans hate Joffrey.
They hate her the way Star Wars fans hate Jar Jar Binks.
Also consider that the Hinterlands are not the actual hinterlands of the centaur race. Just as we didnt see the full extent of charr in GW1, not their young ones, farmlands, agriculture or just general culture, we dont see much of the centaur either, other than their war- and slave camps.
Actually, it’s implied that we do, or rather that the war and slave camps are all that they have. Technically we don’t see any fields or forges there, but the camps in Cloven Hoof Camp are supposed to be the heart of their food and weapons production, for instance. The mine to the south of it is where they get much of their ores and lumber. Add to that that we’ve been told the centaurs have nowhere else to go, and I’m willing to bet that the Hinterlands are home to the majority of the Harathi and Modniir tribes. (The Tamini, as befits their role as scouts and skirmishers, seem to have the bulk of their numbers near the front lines in Queensdale and Gendarren.)
R.I.P., Old Man of Auld Red Wharf. Gone but never forgotten.
