Minotaurs
Overview
While remarkably prolific across Ogygia, it is unknown where exactly minotaurs originated from, whether they were once bulls affected by Itharan aether, some distant relative of nymphs, or even the spawn of ancient titans. Either by intent or neglect, their history has been lost, and with it any idea of their place in the grand order of Ogygia.
Collectives of these large half-bull people, therefore, have placed great worth in the concept of the labyrinth as a metaphysical means of self-discovery. In some settlements, this is very literal, as the community builds and maintains a massive underground complex of twisting paths with a designated “center.” Once of age, a youth must go through the labyrinth alone, find the center of it, and emerge outside again, with the idea that the youth will have spent their solitude contemplating their life and the world around them, and by finding the center and returning, they will have determined who they are and what their path will be. Not all succeed: those who never emerge from the labyrinth are forever lost, both physically and spiritually. Some abandoned settlements still remain, their underground labyrinths the home of undying minotaurs who cannot rest until they find the path again.
by Iana Venge
Other communities, however, use much more metaphorical methods that do not put the youth at risk, either through single-path labyrinths or simple meditation and visualization. Whichever the case, the individual’s decision is always to be respected, even if that takes them far from home or turns them against their own kin.
