Minotaurs

Proud Warriors

A mighty race of the eastern highlands and caverns, Minotaurs are known for their fearsome presence and brutal strength. Their society is built on power and battle, following the strongest among them as clan leader. Minotaurs may be distinguished by their impressive horns. Those who have earned renown in battle and deed may decorate their horns with bronze plating, rune etching, or jewelry. As masters of martial combat, Minotaurs are very proficient with a wide range of weapons, but especially heavy and two-handed implements such as greatswords, mauls, greataxes, glaives, and halberds. They tend to dislike ranged combat as it doesn't satisfy their bloodlust. That said, they are known to make stellar tacticians and strategists, relegating such roles to those not of their kin when necessary. While their society may seem brutal to some, given the locales they have tended to call home, weakness was simply not an option.

Divergence

The origin of the Minotaurs is one shrouded in mystery and conflicting tales. Some say their ancestors worshipped a sibling dyad of bovine gods before some were led from the path by the demon lord Baphomet, giving them an unending pain and ravenous hunger, which fueled their anger. In truth, Minotaur is only the proper name of one group of their species. The group that bears that name is the one found primarily in the Underdark but also in some mountainous terrain in the eastern reaches of Daeruin. The Minotaurs are a fiercely warlike culture. Some settle while others roam in warbands who loot and pillage to survive among the cutthroat societies of the Night Elves and packs of monsters such as gnolls and mind flayers. Another society related to the Underdark Minotaurs is the less well-known Sarangay. Resembling water buffalo more than bulls, they have flatter features, prefer to live near water, and possess calmer dispositions. For the sake of simplicity and because it's not technically incorrect, Sarangay may simply go by Minotaur when dealing with other races. They make such excellent navigators, that many in eastern cultures carve the figurehead of a ship to resemble a bovine head to grant good luck on the seas.

Migration

In recent years, waves of plagues have been ravaging the Underdark Minotaurs and driving them from their traditional cavernous lands. One of the malignant afflictions is slow to notice and seemingly impossible to reverse. It causes the usual irritation Minotaurs naturally feel due to their connection with the demon lords to manifest as a soul rending sadness that cripples the heart, driving the afflicted to abandon all hope or succumb to grief. Many say this was a curse bestowed upon their people by the Night Elves given their recent history of war with the Minotaurs. Night Elven zealots of Anathexia utilize plague as a weapon of war. Whatever the cause, the wave of plagues and loss of their land has caused many Minotaurs to flee the Underdark, spreading throughout the highlands of Eastern Sol in Daeruin, Shanrao, and Vurturum, with mixed reactions from surface-dwelling locals. Their villages in the Underdark lay abandoned with little evidence of their inhabitation except eerily empty homes and the stray cracked horn, severed in anguish.