Minostal Overview

 

Long before the War of Ashes, the Empire of Azmartheon fought a relatively brief but fierce war against the Empire of Minostal to their southeast. The Minotaurs of Minostal were very warlike and expansionist. They sought to drive back the borders of Azmartheon, or, better yet, bring the mighty Dragonborn under their control. This conflict was called the War of Horns.

Minostal was defeated, and the Empire brought it into the fold of Azmartheon as a vassal state, trying to find a way to calm the minotaurs' fury. They sought to educate and elevate minotaur culture, and, for a time, they succeeded. The tyrants of Minostal gave way to a line of philosopher-kings who ruled their people wisely and well from the capital city of Tharkos. In time, Minostal was given more freedom and more rights, returned to its former glory as a kingdom.

But it was not to last. When the Tieflings of Falwyth attacked Azamrtheon and ignited the War of Ashes, a rebel minotaur leader known as Stamatis Zotikos attacked ancient Tharkos and slew the philosopher-king Eukleides Niklaos in the name of Baphomet. Although he was slain, one of his followers declared himself Emperor of Minostal. Azmartheon found itself beset on both sides in their war.

During The Rending, Minostal was harmed less than other parts of Keshwan. Tharkos, however, felt into ruin, and it is now sometimes called Thanatos instead, meaning Death. The seat of power is now the sea-port of Manakos, and the minotaurs largely hold to their savage ways. Some, however, still travel among the other races, and some are trying to rekindle the spark of their brief time of civilization and enlightenment.

The role of Minostal’s Emperor tends to be a lifelong position (although some Emperors have hastened along their predecessors’ passing.) When an Emperor dies, any citizen can vie to be the new ruler. The more powerful a minotaur in physical, magical, or clerical might, the more likely that they can claim the crown.

One of the things Minostal is now best known for are the Great Games of Minostal. These gladiatorial combats are tremendously popular with the populace, and some of Minostal’s “heroes” are warriors in the Games.

Type

Geopolitical, Empire