Capricon

Capricons are humanoid creatures that are half goat and half human, and who once resided in Capra on the east coast of Deltora, until the city was destroyed by Ruby dragons. In its place now stands Broome. After having been driven out of Capra by the Ruby dragons, the Capricons fled to the hills southwest of their city, now known as the Capricon Hills, and became critically endangered.

Capricons are sentient, sapient and intelligent.

History
In ancient times, the Capricons lived in a rose-pink city called Capra, which was located on Deltora's eastern coast. They thought their city was the greatest in the world. This vanity caused them to pursue anything they thought would make their city even grander. This led to them stealing Ruby Dragon eggs to suck dry and make into lanterns to hang from trees they had planted all around the city.

Three times the Ruby dragons came to the Capricons to demand that they stop the slaughter. But the Capricons were drunk on their vanity and pride. They refused to listen, so the dragons destroyed their city. What Capricons survived fled into the hills, and sometime later, the city of Broome was built upon Capra's ruins.

Once the Capricons had retreated to the hills, the people of Broome began leaving dishes of bread, fruit and vegetables about outside the city walls for the Capricons. The Capricons sneer at the dishes, but depend on them for their lives, as they do not hunt or farm.

Secrets of Deltora
Doran mentioned Capricons and how to speak to them in Secrets of Deltora.

Dragon's Nest
Rolf, the heir to the lordship of Capra, was a servant to the Shadow Lord and guardian of the Sister of the East. He pretended to be a sniveling coward to lure the companions to their deaths on many occasions. Thanks to his master's power, Rolf could change into a false dragon. He was eventually killed by Joyeu.

Anatomy
Capricons appear to be part human, part goat; their upper bodies are mostly human, save for a pair of small horns protruding from their heads, whilst their lower bodies are covered in thick fur and are goat-like. Their legs are tipped with delicate, pointed black hoofs instead of feet. They have blue eyes and their bodies are slender.

Society
Capricons keep to themselves and few people in Deltora have seen one, leading many people to believe they are now extinct or are merely a legend. Capricons are very proud creatures who have difficulty letting go of the past; they stay in the hills around Broome so that they can watch the illusion of Capra appear at sunset.

Despite the centuries since Capra's destruction, young Capricons are taught to love the city and mourn "what they have lost". For this reason, Capricons despise Broome and its inhabitants, regarding them as "demons who dance on the bones of Capra." They also view themselves as a superior race, as they will regard all humans with the same disgust and loathing as the people of Broome. This extends to other beings as well, as long as they are not of their kin. According to Doran the Dragonlover, if a person who is not a Capricon greets one, he or she will answer with rage and disgust and may spit at them or even throw stones.

Capricons do not farm or hunt for food.

Capricons have been shown to wear toga-like garments of cloth and also cloaks. Rolf wore a brown cloak, while a painting in Secrets of Deltora depicted a Capricon wearing a white toga-like garment just covering the upper body. It appears that their legs are usually not covered up.

Known Capricons

 * Rolf

Trivia

 * Capricons are named after the constellation Capricornus, which in Latin means "horned goat" and is commonly represented in the form of a sea-goat, a mythical creature in astrology that is half fish, half goat. In English Capricornus is usually written as "capricorn", which is close to the name of the Deltoran species.


 * The Capricons are based off of the satyr or faun of Greek and Roman mythology respectively, which are half human–half goat creatures. Like the Capricons in Deltora Quest, the faun appear human from the waist up aside from small horns growing out of their heads, and goat-like from the waist-down, however the satyr was originally depicted as human, with their direction in art changing later on to a half human–half goat being.