Honora Al-Amin

Born in a country far away where the desert winds blow and the great white glittering spires of sandstone rise above the dunes, Husniya's mother was second cousin to the king, giving her daughter a privileged status. Her father, however, was a well known and respected general and growing up in the man's shadow helped give the young noblewoman a sense of perspective. At the age of seven war came to her people from across the sands and so, at her father's insistence, she traveled with her mother to a new land where they would be safe from the worst of the fighting and bloodshed.

Husniya's new home was colder and decidedly wetter than what she had known growing up but she acclimated without too much trouble. No doubt her youth played into that, as her mother did not fare well in the wetter climate and succumbed to pneumonia three years after their arrival. Though by that time the war in her home land had ended, Husniya, or Honora as her new friends had titled her, chose to remain in her new home and her father, too busy to argue, allowed it. So it was that Honora grew up among those to whom she appeared exotic and foreign.

Of all the differences from her home land and her new home, the only one that really bothered her was the way in which they treated their humans. Most countries treated their humans as second class citizens as a matter of course. Their lack of magic and physical weakness have made them easy to trample underfoot by the majority of magical creatures in the world. Back home, however, they were servants and laborers. Creative and good with their hands, humans were able to work and support themselves even if most other creatures pitied and looked down on them their lack of magic. Indeed Honora had been good friends with several of the human children whose parents had served her parent's estate. In this new land, however, humans were not allowed to work or create. Their voices were silenced and their labor forced. It tore at Honora's heart every time she witnessed it, but what could she do?

At the age of eighteen the young centauress finally came of age and it seemed as if the time to return to her family and her home was upon her. Finding herself reluctant, however, having lived the last eleven years of her life in this colder climate, an alliance was forged. Husniya called Honora married Amar Al'Amin, another expatriate from her lands and the co-owner of a large centaur only race track along with his satyr business partner Grafal Lyct. The benefits of this marriage to both were obvious enough. Amar gained access to Honora's money and noble lineage and Honora gained the freedom to live where she wished and do as she pleased. While neither ever claimed to love the other, the centauress has always insisted that she liked her husband quite well. From near strangers the two remained good friends until the centaur's untimely and decidedly suspicious death five years later.

What many found even more suspicious was that instead of selling her half of Amar's horse racing business to his partner and stepping aside as a proper lady should, Honora chose not only to keep the track and racers but to take an active role in the day to day running of the sport! Most unlady-like. Naturally this gave rise to rumors that the centauress had murdered his husband to get a hold of his business, but no charges were ever brought against her. Within a few years those rumors faded into little better than juicy tidbits shared among newcomers to her social circle and then quickly forgot.

Little do most people suspect the true reason behind this decision though. For Honora knew the real reason her husband had been killed. The truth is that the centaur races were just a cover for a far greater and more dangerous business. The business of revolution. For several years human unrest had been growing stronger, especially in the major cities such as the one Lady Al-Amin called home. Uprisings are growing ever more common and escaped slaves run through the night seeking refuge. Unknown to the exceedingly racist and greedy Grafal Lyct who acts mostly as trainer and bookie, Amar, and now Honora, have never just raced centaurs. Each centaur they recruit needs to not only be fast and strong, but they must also be willing to run through the night for the resistance. Whether they are carrying important packages, messages or even transporting the occasional human outside the country's boundaries, Honora makes sure that she is doing everything she can to aid the struggle which is threatening to boil over into full on revolution very, very soon.