LRAB Page 63
Page 63
They only started screaming and running back when they noticed Levin, hiding behind the adult centaurs and secretly observing him.
Levin's gaze also constantly swept over the centaurs around him, observing their way of life.
Wizards and centaurs are both proud races, and this pride means that their understanding of each other remains superficial. Few wizards are willing to study centaurs in depth, just as wizards lack in-depth understanding of werewolves.
Therefore, everything Levin saw at this moment was quite mysterious, making him want to find out more.
Therefore, the lives of these centaurs were shrouded in mystery, and their way of life was very attractive to a wizard like Levin.
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Chapter 68 Stone Formation, another stone formation!
The Levin banquet didn't start so soon; before that, Ferenze took Levin on a tour of the centaur tribe.
The centaurs in the tribe were each doing their own work.
But when they saw Levin, everyone, whether they were weaving or drying herbs, even the centaurs who were about to go out, turned their attention to the boy.
Whether in his past life or this one, Levin has only ever seen male centaurs.
But in the tribe, he finally saw some female centaurs he had never seen before.
According to Levin's observations, these centaurs lived in a way similar to that of relatively primitive tribes:
Men were responsible for hunting, defending their homes, and patrolling their territory, while women were responsible for the relatively safer tasks of gathering, crafting, and food processing.
This also made Levin understand why he rarely saw female centaurs. The work in the Forbidden Forest was all done by male centaurs, so female centaurs naturally didn't need to show their faces in public.
As the name suggests, the upper body of the female centaur is naturally that of a human female.
Overall, compared to male centaurs, their figures appear more slender and delicate, but this does not prevent them from possessing muscular lines full of wild beauty, which is much stronger than that of human women.
Female centaurs typically have long hair, the color of which matches the color of their body hair. They like to braid their hair and tail hair into interesting braids, adorned with hairpins and bells—clearly wizard-style accessories. In short, in terms of aesthetics, they are quite similar to human women.
The only thing that surprised Levin was that these female centaurs also covered their upper bodies with clothing, which did not conform to the wizarding tradition that "centaurs do not wear clothes".
However, this is understandable, since centaurs have similar aesthetics to humans, they would naturally have similar feelings of shame.
Actually, the idea that centaurs don't wear clothes is ancient history.
No matter how proud and isolated the centaurs may be, they are, after all, an intelligent race and will inevitably interact with humans.
Communication leads to mutual influence.
As a smaller and culturally disadvantaged group, the centaurs were more or less influenced by human society.
The shamanic ornaments worn by female centaurs are a typical example.
While male centaurs are mostly naked, they would not refuse a feather ornament, a belt, a cloak, etc.
Levin could even see that some of the centaur guards were wearing armor.
As a guide, Ferenczek explained to Levin, "Our ancestors, and many conservative centaur tribes in Europe, considered wearing armor to be an act of cowardice... However, if it can reduce centaur casualties, then armor is useful."
"At least, when fighting eight-eyed spiders, these armors can protect against the damage from their venomous fangs."
"Actually, quite a few ponies have secretly become friends with some of the young wizards at your school. Your wizards' trinkets are very attractive to the young ponies," Ronan added at the opportune moment.
Speaking of this, Bain became somewhat displeased: "If it were the young hunters doing this, I would definitely make them take it off! In the Forbidden Forest, those clanging things will give away our location..."
They chatted idly as they strolled forward, passing through the scattered tents, until they reached the very heart of the tribe.
It was a spacious open space, in which stood the largest tent.
The tent was decorated with the most intricate paintings, and two horsemen always patrolled around it.
Levin guessed that the tent either belonged to the tribal chief or was an important gathering place for the entire tribe.
In front of the tent stood a huge stone array, with stones at least a meter high.
The stones in the stone circle appear to be randomly distributed, but upon closer inspection, it can be seen that they form approximately four to five concentric circles.
These concentric circles all have the tallest stone as their center, firmly protecting it in the middle.
Each stone here is decorated with different carvings, with the carvings on the central stone being particularly intricate.
Can I go there and take a look?
Levin points to the stone circle.
"This is our centaur tribe's totem, our place of worship, and our place for stargazing."
Ferenc introduced Levin as follows:
"But you are a person of destiny and a distinguished guest of the centaur tribe, so you are free to visit as you please."
"Thank you very much then," Levin said gratefully. "I won't do anything reckless."
After saying that, he patted Larry's neck, signaling the unicorn to wait for him outside, and then walked into the stone formation alone.
But he didn't come here out of curiosity.
Levin didn't even glance at the various stones with different patterns around him.
They walked straight toward the center of the stone formation.
Even as they approached the stone circle, Levin sensed the scholar's intense reaction to the moonstone.
It had reacted violently ever since it arrived at the centaur tribe.
As Levin approached the center of the formation, the energy flashes of the moonstones began to turn into high-frequency pulses.
Levin strongly suspected that the stone circles in the centaur tribe, like those in the Moonstone Gardens, were remnants of Druidism from the time of the Celtic ancestors.
It is at least related to Druidism.
There are many stone circles in the British Isles, the most famous of which is undoubtedly Stonehenge, also known as the Salisbury Stone Circle.
They are almost all products of the Celtic ancestors.
Levin suspects that Stonehenge is actually a Druidic ritual site.
It is even quite possible that the centaur race itself originated from Druidism or the forces of nature.
Levin's thinking is certainly not without reason.
He also remembered that there was a golden ratio anatomical diagram of centaurs in the Hogwarts library, modeled after Leonardo da Vinci's Vitruvian Man.
According to that anatomical diagram, the centaur's body was quite abnormal.
They not only have the chest cavity of a human, but also retain the abdominal cavity of a horse.
At the connection point in the middle, there is a thick supporting diaphragm that divides the space.
Compared to humans, centaurs have longer lungs and a more bloated digestive system.
It even retains the 12 pairs of ribs of a human, the 18 pairs of ribs of a horse, and two large hearts.
Such a biological structure could not possibly be a product of natural evolution; it could only be the result of postnatal shaping.
Considering that there are no gods in the Harry Potter world, and taking into account the habits of centaurs, it can only be the work of natural forces.
This is also evidenced in another world.
For example, in Jaina's home world, the centaurs are the descendants of Cenarius, the son of the forest demigod, and an earth elemental princess.
It is a combination of natural forces and the earth element.
Their centaur-like appearance is derived from their father's half-man, half-deer form.
The half-human, half-deer form is a typical characteristic of nature and divinity—the human half represents intellect, while the animal half represents the wildness of nature.
Perhaps the centaurs of this world are creations of the Druids?
Furthermore, the culture of the centaurs has deep connections with Druidism.
The three main expertise of centaurs are herbalism, astrology, and hunting.
Levin was unfamiliar with the Druidism of this world.
But as far as he knew, the Druids' power was usually divided into two main domains: the earth, representing plants and life force (the Earth Society), and the moon, representing stars and wildness (the Moon Society), which were closely related to the centaurs' expertise. No one would believe that the two were unrelated.
However, all of the above are just Levin's conjectures.
But today, he seems to have the opportunity to prove it all.
When Levin stood in front of the central megalith...
He immediately noticed a very obvious semi-circular indentation in the center of the stone.
Its size was exactly the same as the scholar's moonstone in his hand.
What a coincidence!
Levin, at least, doesn't believe that.
Looking at the dent in front of me, and then thinking about the moonstone in my bag,
Levin, as if possessed, took it out and shoved it into the dent.
The situation changed drastically the next moment!
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Chapter 69 Druid Legacy
The moment the scholar's moonstone was inserted into the dent, it emitted a silvery-blue light.
Centered on the moonstone, the patterns that had been dormant on the megalith for millennia awakened, shimmering with a silvery-blue light that quickly spread across the entire rock.
Next are the inner ring of stones surrounding the megalith.
Then comes the outer ring…
In less than five seconds, the entire stone formation began to glow and emit a series of buzzing sounds.
Such a huge reaction drew the attention of the entire centaur tribe.
"What did that little wizard do to our sacred artifacts?" Ben shouted angrily, rushing towards the stone circle to grab Levin, but was blocked by an invisible barrier.
Ronan was also very uneasy. The melancholy centaur paced back and forth, hoping it was a sign of fate, yet fearing the terrible consequences it might bring.
Most centaurs, like them, are curious, worried, and fearful about all of this.
Only Ferencze and Larri remained calm.
The little unicorn stared intently at the stone formation, its eyes shining as it looked at Levin, who stood upright in the center of the formation.