Mist and Shadows

The exact origin of the Minotaurs is unknown, although they have dwelt in the hill country of southern Aesvar, the western lands, for near as long as any can recall. Very early on they and the Maedari became allied, an arrangement that has endured and proven prosperous for both parties.

The Minotaurs started out as small clans scattered through the southern hills where they began the working of stone that made them renown. None could match their skill, and only the legendary Arduq surpassed it. The Minotaurs claim that they are merely craftsmen of stone while the Arduq are artisans. It was this stone work that first brought the Maedari and Minotaurs into contact. Early chiefs and High Kings hired Minotaur stone masons and sculptors to construct dwellings for them.

A number of Minotaur clans aided the Maedari during the time of the Chelosian sea raiders, and again during the war that led to the downfall of the High Kingdom. It was during this period they earned their reputation as fearsome warriors. When many Maedari fled southwards into the hills, they took refuge at first among the Minotaurs.

As the new Maedari nations took root and grew, so too did the Minotaurs. They no longer remained as hill-land clans, but spread out among the Maedari, building their cities and towns, and enclaves of Minotaurs could be found in all corners of the Maedari lands. The great University of Aenetan was considered their crowning work, until the establishment of the Maedari Commonwealth.

So integrated had they become in Maedari society that they became founding members of the Commonwealth, and the hill lands where they had originated from became a state within the Commonwealth, just as Iskaer, Vaeir, Haekar and Kiashia did. It was decided that a new capital would be built for the Commonwealth, and it was the Minotaurs who built it, a process which took decades. They built its Parliament House, the Citadel, the Music Hall and Theatre, and much more besides – schools and infirmaries, libraries and the docks. The capital of the Commonwealth was regarded as a work of art unsurpassed, except perhaps for the legendary hidden cities of the Arduq, yet even the Arduq praised the Minotaurs works.

In appearance, Minotaurs look as giant bull headed men, averaging at the two and a half metre mark for males and not much shorter for females. They are exceptionally strong, weighing as much as three humans, and their hides vary widely, from blacks to brows, reds and even whites, or dappled in various combinations.