Endonym: Asteri
Minotaurs are native to the Islands of Minos, a grouping of atoll islands lying between Yludel and Etifea. Minotaurs are the half-man, half-bull spawn of Baphomet and as such, are savage and bestial. Minotaurs are a seafaring and conquest-driven race, and, as spawn of Baphomet, are the embodiment of discord. The seek to subjugate others not for power or wealth, but to destroy society, and revert the civilized races to their primal instincts.
Minotaurs worship the God of Discord and Ruin, Moloch; The Minotaurs have taken to modelling what civilization they do have after Moloch’s layer of the Abyss. Even the coral reefs surrounding their islands have been carved into labyrinthine channels, making navigation all but impossible for those who do not already know the pattern. By their very nature as children of Moloch, Minotaurs have an eidetic memory, a maze, to them, is merely a time sink, and attempting to trap on inside a maze is akin to sticking a Dwarf in a mountain. As a result of this gift of navigation, Minotaurs are excellent sailors, always able to find their way back to their home. Although this may be great for Minotaurs and their way of life, it has been a plague for other civilizations around the world; the Minotaurs have offered many a civilization to the Abyss through their destruction.
Cities are modelled into winding, seemingly-unending mazes, carved into mountain valleys in a descending funnel shape, typically with a great coliseum at the center, where Minotaurs can prove themselves through bloodshed and conquest, in hopes of being chosen to go out and wreak havoc on the world. Positions of power are determined by sheer strength, one Minotaur stands above the rest as their ruler, and does so until another comes along to challenge them, at which point they duel to the death. They have little use for money, opting instead to take resources by force, and take pleasure in the challenge of cities mobilizing forces against them. They care little for their fallen, the closest they come to a funeral is casting their dead overboard.
Minotaurs gather only the strongest for their missions of spreading havoc, strife, and chaos throughout the world, requiring those who wish to be chosen kill in the arena to prove their worth in battle. For this reason, it does take some time for them to gather the necessary numbers to set off for a excursion. The good news for Minotaurs, bad news for everyone else, is that they reproduce frequently and age quickly. Some Minotaurs are able to break the mold, and get away from a life of death, destruction, and chaos, that is, if they’re luck enough to escape the isles, and lucky enough to find a community that accepts them.