Minotaur Species 121

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The minotaurs were created in the Demon Spawn War (8972 GE - 9493 GE) by the demon lord Baphomet. They were created in the labs of Tixargium as way to supplement his demon armies.

The beginning of minotaur civilization on Karterus began in the First Epoch. They were in the Imrabêl Valley, living in the same place they had been abandoned too after the Demon Spawn War. They eked out a pitiful existence of petty warlords fighting for each others land. Their civilization was stagnant, their population hardly grew - a lot of war, not much farming. Famines were a constant problem. Their fortunes changed for the better when early in the First Epoch, the Khazarkars and the Tragarans began to encroach upon their lands. The petty minotaur warlords turned to raiding the lands of their rich new neighbors. Some of these became large pitched battles and eventually wars as federations of minotaur warlords battled their neighbors desire for Imrabêl's mineral wealth and a river valley deemed perfect for farming. Imrabêl's minotaurs fought three wars with their neighbors. The last, the Third Imrabêl War, ended with minotaur enslavement to the First Khazarkar Empire.

During their four centuries of servitude, 414 - 796, their Khazarkar masters educated and civilized them to such an extent that they are now just as civilized as other humanoid races, but when it comes to warmongering they are more like the Githirmil than any other. The Khazarkar selectively bred the minotaurs with the idea of eradicating chaotic and bestial urgings. This breeding program, part of the Minotaur Cultural Edict (420 - 796), became the blueprint for the one the Khazarkars would apply to to their own people (c.f. Khazarkar Purity Edict).

The minotaurs of remained slaves until the Great Minotaur Revolt (785 - 796). After a decade of civil war, the slaves got their freedom. The minotaurs headed west into Azrik with one group going north to found Ilfongrak and the others south where they founded Bâlê.

The minotaurs of Karterus lost their ancestral language, Abyssal under the Minotaur Cultural Edict. Today, most minotaurs home to Karterus have Nidurrâb as their first language.

Minotaurs in their fourth or higher decade of age can produce deep bellowing sounds. These are often done as a sign of excitement or if a more sadden tone is made, grief.

Most of Ba'lith's minotaurs follow a cultural custom rather than a religious one, so they go home to be put to the pyre. Oddly enough, this isn't done in front of their family members, but in the presence of their rivals (the minotaurs claim this custom of burning their dead is a way of placating their enemies). This ancient practice dates from when they dwelled in the valley Imrabêl, a people savage and tribal. Enslaved by the First Khazarkar Empire, their Khazarkar masters tried to stop this burial practice as part of their Principle of Civilization, which is a nice name for making those you rule more like you.

- from the Godspawn Saga

The minotaurs of the continent Gorejun are a much different than those of Karterus. They are not as militant, tending towards law and goodly actions. They follow codes of combat, Bushido if you will, leading some to become holy warriors, monks, martial artists, and samurai. Unlike their eastern brothers, they still speak Abyssal.