Sarlo and Helena

In the land of Lodonia, where creatures of myth and legend roam free, none stand prouder or fiercer than the centaurs—a warrior race born of both man and beast. Bound by honor and instinct, they gallop across the open plains, guardians of the balance between the wild and the civilized. Among them is Sarlo, a brindle-coated centaur, his powerful equine hindquarters marked with dark stripes and scars of old battles, his human torso broad and weathered from years beneath the sun. Once a commander of his herd, Sarlo’s life changed forever when his mate perished giving birth to their only foal, Helena. Helena, a bright-eyed dapple-gray filly with silver-flecked hair and a spirit far too curious for her years, has seen six summers come and go. Her father has trained her well—small bow in hand, armor fitted to her young frame, and lessons in discipline and survival instilled through patience and love. Though young, Helena carries the spark of her lineage: pride, skill, and a dangerous curiosity about the world beyond the plains. The centaurs of Lodonia possess a rare gift—the ability to shift into a weaker, smaller human form—but most disdain the fragility of that existence. Sarlo himself rarely indulges it. Yet Helena, with her fascination for humankind, often gazes toward their villages, her heart pulled by questions her father cannot answer. Sarlo, ever watchful, does all he can to keep her close, knowing too well the dangers that dwell beyond the tall grass. For in Lodonia, even innocence must learn the way of the bow.