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A Dissertation on the Minotaur
Related by Mnar Akurion

…And it came to pass that the forces of Despana were destroyed, and her dark keep Maelshyve was torn down around her by the fell magicks of the Faendryl, during the last battle of the Undead Wars. It was the end of the greatest war that had been waged since the Drakes banished the Ur-daemons to their home plane; two wars whose final battles were both fought on the dark plains of Rhoska-tor. In this final, dread battle many races had fought: Elves and Dwarves who laid siege to Maelshyve; the orcs and trolls who had fought in her defense; and humans, who died on both sides of the war.

--"The History of the Undead War" vol. 17
Jeruthis Nelbachyn s’Illistim, circa 1032

Like Jeruthis, many historians and scholars have overlooked one of the races that fought in the Undead Wars. Indeed, it is a race that has almost vanished in the past twenty thousand years, living in fearful exile deep beneath their mountain homes, praying to their dark Gods that they will go undiscovered for another day, and live that much longer. It is a race whose bestial minds keep the knowledge of generations - the Minotaurs.

The Minotaurs were once one of the great races of Elanthia, existing far to the south of Elanith. Many races lived in these lands, including ones common to us such as humans, giantkin, and sylphs, along with the Minotaurs and other more exotic peoples. It was from these lands that Despana originated, following some unknown urge to enter Rhoska-tor and discover the dark knowledge of the Book of Tormtor hidden inside. Minotaurs were first seen in Elanith as architects and engineers in the construction of Maelshyve, and later as soldiers in Despana’s army, fighting alongside the Undead.

Little is known about the civilization the Minotaurs left behind when they followed Despana into our lands, but much can be deduced by their artwork, which adorns the caves they now call home. Intricately life-like frescoes decorate the walls with the image of forests in springtime, while pools of water rest in carefully engineered aqueducts set into the floor. Clearly, the Minotaurs were a people who loved nature, perhaps as much as modern sylphs and dryads, who still call the forests their home. Everything in the subterranean caves of the Minotaurs hints at an ancient civilization, tenaciously preserved in council chambers and temples, and populated by a race trying to preserve its past.

Maelshyve and the modern history of the Minotaurs

The modern history of the Minotaurs, known by them as ‘The Fall,’ began some twenty thousand years ago, when thousands of their number marched north across the Great Waste in response to Despana’s Call. Shortly after she had reached the ruins of Rhoska-tor and discovered the magical work inside that fueled her powers, Despana sent messengers across the lands, promising riches and powers to those who would assemble beneath her standard. Although many humans answered Despana’s summons out of mere greed, many races—including trolls, orcs, and Minotaurs—joined her forces due to religious beliefs and prophesies.

The religious fanaticism that inspired most of the migrating Minotaurs can be traced back to a cult of V’tull that sprang into existence early in Minotaur civilization. This cult, which contributed greatly to the war-like tendencies of the Minotaurs, officially disappeared during a bloody internal war shortly before Despana’s birth. The final leader of the cult, Tarsis Gtu’ver, issued the following prophesy, immediately preceding his public execution:

"And there shall come one, borne of our lands but who shall leave us;
She will travel to the sacred home to the north, and there she shall assemble
The greatest army that ever has been, or shall ever be.
And with this army she will open the door into the world for a new power;
A force of life which is not; a being of death which cannot die.
She will destroy all, save those who flock to her;
And upon them shower the riches of darkness."

It would be two another generations after Tarsis' death before Despana made her trek northward, but his prophesy was still well recorded and familiar throughout the Minotaur empire. Although the renegade cult of V'tull had officially ceased to exist with its prophet's death, it experienced a great revival as news of Despana's arrival in Rhoska-tor reached her homeland. A short year later, when Despana issued her call for followers, it was the members of this cult who migrated northward.

The journey northward was not an easy one, extending well over a thousand miles across a vast inland desert known as The Great Waste, a stretch of grasslands north of the Waste, and finally through a thick sub-tropical jungle, past which they entered the southernmost section of the Elven Empire; land claimed by House Vaalor. Vaalor elves were--and still are--the most intolerant of the Elven houses, and it should come as no surprise that they viewed the Minotaur migration through their lands as an act of war by a hostile and inferior race. True to form, the Vaalor elves began preparing for an immediate counter-offensive with a long series of duels and political wrangling, to decide which noble family would be given the honor of eradicating the invaders. By the time a young nobleman from the Ilyari family finally set out with a taskforce--about a week later--the Minotaur herds were already beginning to cross into House Nalfein held territories, along the southern end of the Dragonspine Mountains (Author’s note: ironically, no Nalfein elves actually lived anywhere near this land; however, at the peak of the Elven Empire it was common for the Houses to claim lands far beyond their own reach, simply to appear larger on the maps). Commander Terin Ilyari was faced with two options at that point; he could either cease pursuit of the Minotaurs as they left Vaalor territory and return to Ta'Vaalor in failure, or he could follow them into Nalfein territory in a gross violation of Elven law. Perhaps predictably, Ilyari choose to continue after the Minotaurs.

He would never catch up with them. Aside from being a race of extraordinary constitution, the Minotaurs were not alone in their migration towards Rhoska-tor. All across the land bands of orcs, goblins, trolls, and ogres were forming and beginning their own trek in response to Despana's call. Minor battles erupted throughout the Elven empire as these marauding bands encountered Elven villages and cities, and the lagging Ilyari was soon recalled to Ta'Vaalor to aid in its defense.

Less than a month later the first Minotaurs began arriving at Rhoska-tor and the small city that had recently appeared under Despana's direction. The Minotaurs were welcomed as allies for their strength and intelligence and were immediately put to work on the construction of Maelshyve's foundation.

Maelshyve itself was huge; the foundation alone took four years to complete, and exhausted two granite quarries located in the nearby mountains. The deepest stone dungeons extended hundreds of yards beneath the blasted surface of Rhoska-tor and connected with the long-abandoned ora mines that had existed since the time of the Ur-daemons. Construction of the keep--the massive monolith of black stone that rose above the surface--took nearly twenty years of effort by the Minotaur architects, and was augmented in the final stages by powerful magicks used to lift stones thousands of feet into the air atop the highest spires.

For the Minotaurs, nearly a generation had passed in the construction of Maelshyve, and the small town of huts and barracks had expanded into a sordid city of a size rivaling those of the Elven empire. The younger Minotaurs, those raised at Maelshyve, were trained as soldiers by their parents and inducted into the worship of V'tull and other dark Gods. These Minotaurs, though small in number compared to the other races that served Despana during the Undead Wars, were among the fiercest of her soldiers.

Joining them on the field of battle were the creations of Despana--the first of the undead, fabricated from the corpses of those who had died during the construction of Maelshyve. The undead were new to the lands and thus feared by most who saw them, except for the Minotaurs, who embraced their existence as final proof that this was indeed Tarsis' prophesy coming to pass. There were few undead in her armies when Despana began her campaign through the Elven empire, but their ranks ballooned rapidly as the dead from both sides of the battlefield rose again to join her.

Foremost among the undead was the Arch-Lich Dharthiir, a human general who had taken his life so that he might serve Despana in death. Like many of the humans who joined Despana's armies, Dharthiir was desperate to hurt the Elves in any way he could, even if it meant joining such dubious allies as orcs, goblins, and Minotaurs. For years his armies chewed their way through the Elven empire, destroying every force sent against it and growing stronger after each battle. Dharthiir's finest moment, in what would be his final battle and the turning point of the war, came at Shadowguard as the undead armies began preparations to sack the largest city in the Elven empire, and the seat of House Vaalor.

In the battle for Ta'Vaalor, Dharthiir’s forces were met a bare twenty leagues south of Ta’Vaalor at the fortress-city Shadowguard, defended by the elite Sabrar squadron. For weeks hordes of undead poured across the fields and stormed the Elven position, followed by the few living soldiers left in Dharthiir’s army. The Minotaurs, the only race with remaining living members to form their own unit, were stationed at the rear of the battle, ready to enter the city once a breach was forced in the walls. The battle was little more than a bloody standstill for a fortnight, until the Vaalor elves--perhaps realizing that the armies of the undead were growing while their own ranks were diminishing--launched a brave but doomed counter-offensive, riding out from the protection of the city walls and attacking Dharthiir's position.

For the Minotaurs, this was the moment they'd been waiting for. With few elves left to defend the city, their engineers blasted several holes in the walls, though which the unoccupied portion of the undead could enter. Within hours Shadowguard was in flames, all of its inhabitants either dead or fled into the wilderness to the south. However, despite the overwhelming success of Despana's forces, it was the turning point of the war. Dharthiir was never seen after the battle, and many believe he was killed during the last stand of the Shadowguard unit as it sallied forth from the walls.

The Battle of Shadowguard was a turning point for the Elven Empire as well. Handed a crushing defeat at Ta'Vaalor, the remaining six Houses realized the only way to destroy Despana would be to act together rather than to continue with the disparate armies they had fielded to date. With a new spirit of unity the Elves combined their forces near the Vaalor border in preparation to attack the Undead armies--now led by a contingent of Minotaurs, pending Despana's appointment of a new general. Small elements of the two armies skirmished as they set in, but due to terrain and the coming nightfall, neither army moved in force against the other, preferring to wait for the day.

Daylight came, however, to show that where the massive Elven armies had camped the night before was now occupied by only a small holding force, designed to hamper Despana's movement. The rest of the Elven army, some 40,000 strong including human mercenaries and dwarven reinforcements, had stolen a march and were already several leagues towards their goal -- Maelshyve. The Minotaur-led armies of Despana immediately took off in pursuit, but were slowed by the remaining Elven contingent, under orders to slow them at any cost.

It was nearly a week before the undead crushed the last of the Elves and were able to begin following the main force, which by then was nearly halfway to Maelshyve. The Minotaurs--who numbered less than four thousand by that point in the war--were forced to make a difficult choice. The majority of the army would be unable to catch the Elves before they reached Maelshyve; only by leaving the undead elements behind and sustaining a forced march would the Minotaurs reach their new home in time for its defense.

With their extraordinary stamina and strength, the Minotaurs marched across the stretches of wasteland that had once been the territories of the Vaalor, and by pushing on during a final night they reached Maelshyve only a few hours after the Elven armies, which had assembled in a rough perimeter around the Keep and the city. The Elven line was thin enough that the Minotaurs were able to force their way through it and reform with the ranks of the undead and still-living soldiers who had been accumulating at Maelshyve during Dharthiir’s campaign across the Elven Empire. Despite reaching the safety of Maelshyve the situation was still bleak for the Minotaurs; Despana's forces were outnumbered by nearly three to one, and reinforcements for the Elven armies were arriving by the day. Despite the seeming hopelessness of their situation, the Minotaurs fortified their positions and waited for the Elven assault.

Details of the Battle of Maelshyve are sketchy at best, but several facts have emerged from Elven records of the time. The battle began well for the elves, whose superior numbers and magicks easily routed the undead defenders. The battle was almost won for the elves before the sun had even reached its zenith, when Despana released her latest creation -- the Banshees.

Banshees, the most powerful undead constructed by Despana (or by anyone since), were the tortured souls of captured Elven women who had been executed and bound to life after death. Driven insane by their agony, the only thing they hate more than their own wretched existence is the living, which they lust to consume. According to battlefield journals and recollections by survivors, only five banshees were released onto the battlefield, but these few either killed or incapacitated nearly half of the Elven army. The tides had seemingly turned in Despana's favor, when the Elves unleashed their own secrets.

The atrocities of the Faendryl elves during the Battle of Maelshyve have already been well documented. During the ensuing chaos as Despana's forces and Keep collapsed, a contingent of Minotaurs numbering less than 80 were able to escape into the nearby mountains, away from the attentions of the Elves. Fortunately for them, the Elves were occupied with the Faendryl at that point and ignored the survivors of Despana's army.

The surviving Minotaurs fled across the continent, hoping to find an area untouched by the ravages of the Undead war. Eventually they reached the rocky highlands near the Vornavian coast, and settled into the most isolated and unreachable area they could find, the Wehntoph mountain range. Fearful of retribution should their role in Despana's army ever come to light, they dug into the mountain, sending tunnels writhing through it in a complex labyrinth, designed to confound explorers. The Minotaur home itself, located in a vast honeycomb of chambers deep within the Wehntoph, was laboriously decorated with murals and frescoes of forested hills and glades, paintings of a home they would never see again. Epochs passed beneath the rocky mountain as the Minotaurs expanded their caverns, until approximately 2,000 years ago, when their engineers broke into a large, hollow chamber, not of their construction.

It was not the first time they had discovered ruins in their digging, but the massive stone buildings in the newly discovered cavern were the most complete and intact they had ever found. Tall structures carved from the bedrock of the mountain contained relics of another race -- books, utensils, furniture, and even skeletons of odd shapes and proportions. Broken weapons and armor were littered about the cavern, and in the middle of a courtyard located in the center of the ruins was a large charred patch of stone, riddled with cracks and fissures from intense heat. Scattered throughout the circle were drifting piles of ash and the burnt remains of more skeletons.

Everything in the cavern seemed old, even the stale air they chokingly breathed. However, despite the seeming ancientness of the place, the Minotaurs were cautious and ceased work on the rest of their tunnels, fearing that they were not alone beneath the mountain. Rather than continue to expand the Minotaurs abandoned the deepest of their caves, choosing instead to risk exposure to the outside world by living closer to the surface. As the centuries passed, the Minotaurs found themselves moving further out of the bowels of the mountain, pushed by a dread fear of whatever had lived in that deepest cavern. Occasionally one of their number would disappear while in the abandoned portions of the Minotaur caverns, fueling their belief that something lived deep within the mountain. Artisans who had spent lifetimes decorating the walls of the mountain with carvings of forests began turning to images of horror and battle, depicting their fears of the deep with hundreds of imagined enemies. Of those images, one began to prevail. Even today carvings of a race of lizard-men adorn the walls of the abandoned Minotaur holdings, displaying them with weapons and armor, and in combat with Minotaurs, driving them closer and closer to the surface.

Eventually, the Minotaurs feared to live in any but the shallowest of their caverns, often making their way out into the open in search of food. The world around them had changed during their millennia underground; the Elven Houses they had fought against in the Undead war had fallen from their high estate, and a new race of elves with dark skin and silver hair walked the lands. The uninhabited Vornavian coast they had fled to was now populated by frontier towns of the Human Empire, and most importantly a town had risen barely leagues away from their stronghold in the Wehntoph named Wehnimer’s Landing. The people of this town were intrepid explorers, and within only a century had begun to tame the wilds surrounding their city and sought to expand their boundaries. It is not surprising that soon people of this town had surmounted the hazardous peaks of the Wehntoph and begun exploring the self-same caves the Minotaurs called home. Although contact between the two peoples has been limited, it has been marred with extensive violence and a complete lack of dialogue which would seem to bode ill for future efforts to establish peaceful relations between these disparate races. Only time will tell if both the Minotaurs and the people of the Landing will be able to co-exist peacefully, or re-kindle the hostility of Despana’s era.

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