I made us stop in our tracks after seeing a confrontation between centaurs. A male centaur with some face paint and very tribal clothing was trotting along when a female deliberately got in his way to stop him. He was surprised and reared up on his hindlegs. When he came down, he apologized. "You look too handsome to be out here alone. Where are you going?" she asked him. He said "I'm on a journey. I've been selected to be the next shaman of my tribe. It is important that I complete this journey to confirm my position." She smiled and said "You don't need to do that. You can help me start a new tribe instead." He took a step back. She took a step forward. "No way! I'm supposed to be a shaman. If I don't complete a journey and mindwalk with the ancestors with my purity intact, I won't be granted abilities." he protested. "That's alright. I mount you and pump my foals into you. They you can raise them to be even better shaman." she said with a predatory look. I looked at the 3 centaurs with me. I knew they fully lived out the tribal lifestyle. I asked them what a shaman was.
Since the 3 of them trusted me, I got the answer without reservation. Jeran said "A shaman is the spiritual leader of the tribe. They all commune with the Great Spirits to guide us in life as well as help the souls of fallen members reach the beyond after death." It seemed that they had some sort of religion here. That made some sense. As tribesmen they had to have beliefs that were different than humans. "What are shamans able to do though?" was my next question. Petras was the one to answer me now. "Besides being able to see the souls of the dead and getting them to the beyond!? Communing with the Great Spirits allows them to see the future. They also can heal wounds and make a tribe stronger or faster." That sounded cool. We could use that. Magic was something that people had spread rumors about the new worlds on the other end of the portals. I had not seen it here. Then again, maybe I was not in the places to see it. Exiles from tribes, poor commoners and minor nobles were not groups that screamed archmage. "Let's rescue him. We could use a shaman."
