Hairy Minotaur
Explorer
Paquito's background
Paquito learned at an early age just how different he was from others of his own race. Born into slavery, Paquito heard all the stories about the minotaur's fall from power. He heard about the great migration spurred by the promise of wealth and power from the titans, many minotaurs tribes crossed the great sea to be in service to the titans. The minotaurs were given the task of policing the lesser races of humans, orcs, ogres, and giants. For hundreds of years the minotaurs faithfully upheld their end of the bargain, and they were paid handsomely for it.
Then the minotaurs awoke one morning finding the titans had abandoned them, no information, no warning. Unable to unlock the titan's own fortress and possessing no spellcasters themselves, Battalaxe the only bullord on the continent decided that the minotaurs would go on like there was nothing wrong. The slaves just required direction nothing more, and if the minotaurs kept up the charade of daily life, then the minotaurs could easily slide into the place of the titans until they came back. This charade went on for a few years, no race the wiser of the deception.
Then the elves and halflings returned from their hiding place, the minotaurs having had centuries of never having to fight against magic were ill prepared for the arcane onslaught the fey races brought against the minotaurs. This in turn incited the slave races to rebel as well. Soon the minotaurs were out numbered and facing extinction. Battalaxe turned on his own race and surrendered his company, and in exchange for his and his company's life, Battalaxe divulged the location of every minotaur safe place.
But, while Battalaxe may have secured a future for a select minotaurs, it was a brutal future, for the minotaurs became the slaves of those they had themselves enslaved. It has been thus for four generations of minotaur, the once brave Battalaxe revered as a great leader, brings about a look of disgust and a spit on the ground whenever a minotaur hears his name.
The tales of mazes, and bullords never ceased however, and the displaced minotaurs constantly strive to break their bonds and flee back to their ancestral homes. The freest a minotaur can become nowadays is to work the mines with the giants. Some minotaurs have had their freedom bought by stone giants who viewed the minotaur's woes far worse than their own.
The new "master" races made sure that after Battalaxe's death that no other minotaur would rise to the level of bullord again. They split the tribes and kept them warring amongst themselves each tribe was allowed to have a leader whose voice would speak for that tribe in matters of social-economic issues. The tribes adopted a glorified ritual of manhood, these were traditionally won by the best trained, who were often the tribe chief's sons or close advisor's sons. To the losers went death, the tribes way of thinning the herd so to speak. An unexpected (yet delighted as far as the elves and humans were concerned) result from the lack of a bullord was there were no spellcasters reared from minotaur ranks. Apparently only a bullord could sire a maze mage*, and without them minotaur magic died off on the continent.
Paquito however saw things a different way, he saw a race too arrogant to change, and too arrogant to accept any other way of fighting except for "charge in, hit what's still standing." Paquito was told early on by his "father" that he was not sired by him. Paquito's mother never spoke to Paquito about the accusations, she would always tell him "your father can't find his way out of his house when he's drunk, how do you expect him to remember any of his wives." and she would leave it at that.
On his tenth birthday, Paquito entered the test of manhood for a minotaur. Placed in a maze unknown to him and the other six participants that month, the juvenile minotaurs were instructed to race to the center of the maze, retrieve the greataxe hanging there and strike down the other six until there was only one. The prospective adult's families watched from above as the small minotaurs raced through the winding corridors and neared the center. Paquito who was already a little on the light side as far as physical attributes went, lagged behind the rest of the field. When he reached the center he found five dead or critically wounded minotaurs and the sixth one waiting for Paquito with a greataxe in his hands and blood in his eyes.
The other minotaur charged Paquito, who threw up his hands in protest. Paquito's heart raced and panic filled his head, his mother turned away unable to watch and his "father" cheered on the other child. Through the din of cheers, Paquito heard his mother crying and his "father" cheering for the wrong boy. Anger, hate, and spite roared up from a place Paquito didn't know he had. All that rage focused on the child charging Paquito and something flew from Paquito's hands and struck the charging opponent square in the face. The minotaur tripped and tumbled over himself, he landed near Paquito's feet and died there just as bewildered as Paquito.
The assembled minotaurs roared in protest, cries of "cheat" were thrown down at Paquito. An investigation ensued, however no thrown weapon was found, just a hole blasted into the other child's skull. Then the interrogations started, Paquito was kept from his family for weeks as the tribal leaders tried to get Paquito to admit to something he knew nothing about. After three weeks of repeated assaults on Paquito's sanity, he decided enough was enough. He demanded to be set free, and his request was denied as the interrogating minotaur pushed Paquito back into his chair. Rage filled Paquito's heart, and he focused he hate on the interrogator. The torches in the room dimmed to a smolder, as Paquito's eyes burned as coal in hell. Smoke, the stench of brimstone leaked out of Paquito's nostrils.
The once steel facades of the interrogator wither to that of a helpless baby, Paquito again demanded that he be set free and this time the interrogator couldn't oblige quick enough. Now free, Paquito realized that he would soon face a manhunt, he fled back to his home, where his mother held and cried with him, as his "father" called out to the guards. His father tore Paquito from his mother's arms and then began beating her, she yelled at Paquito to run. Paquito tried to ignite the same hate and rage that had served him before, but this time only fear erupted from his pores, as the guards knocked on the door. Paquito took a last look back at his mother, then fled his home and raced to the docks.
Paquito managed to bluff his way onto a ship by telling the crew he was a sound fisherman and arcane specialist. It wasn't until Paquito overheard two humans trying to figure out a map, Paquito walked over and read it to them. Unbeknownst to Paquito the map was written in magic which the human sailors could not read, Paquito did not know he had done anything spectacular and assumed it was his fabulous bluff that got him aboard the ship. For ten years Paquito sailed with the crew as they visited island after island, plundering the riches hidden on it, Paquito didn't care as long as they never returned "home".
Years went by, and Paquito was mostly relegated to the lower deck. Only visiting the surface when his "friends" thought it safest. Not wanting to get their meal ticket and guide to fame and fortunes killed, they kept Paquito well guarded and well fed. No longer enjoying the physical routines that kept his race strong and hardy, Paquito's physical growth was stunted, his metal capacities however now far exceeded even the must cunning of his former tribe members. In his spare time, Paquito learned to control the arcane energies within himself, and he mastered the most basic forms of magic.
Then one night while passing the city of Killdon, the ship was stuck in a thick fog and slammed into a reef. The ship's hold was ripped open and the ship's treasures spilled forth unto the reef. Paquito watched as sailors jumped into the water, trying to retrieve as much gold as possible. Then he saw the dark shapes in the water, strange water creatures with hideous faces rose up out of the water and began to slaughter all who had jumped. Then the dragon came, what at first appeared to be a huge turtle turned out to be a dragon in disguise as it's draconic head lashed out of the water and battered the ship with it's head, tearing rigging and masts down with one bite. The ship finally broke in two from the constant assault of the dragon turtle, and Paquito was thrown into the water.
He awoke then next morning laying face up on the beach of a large city, the sun blazing overhead, no other crew members in sight. He stood up and was met with a small contingent of armed spellswords, who cast hold person and brought him back to a gigantic structure in the center of town that reached taller than any building Paquito had ever seen. Paquito was led into a dark room, where his mind was probed by an unseen force. His memories were plucked one by one going back all through his childhood, back to a memory his had no knowledge of as the visage of a devilish minotaur stared back at whomever was looking through Paquito's mind. Paquito heard a bone chilling scream and all of his memories flooded back into him, along with those of the prober. Paquito "remembered" that he had a sorcerous arcane talent and that he was not a full blooded minotaur. Paquito "remembered" how to call forth the power within him and how to accept the new power that would be granted to him.
Paquito was allowed to go free from the place, he wandered this new city, begging for food from children by telling outlandish tales of his own deeds. To hear Paquito tell it, the dragon turtle bowed to his greatness and gave Paquito a lift to shore. Paquito then found his way to the temple of Umtala where the priests determined that while the minotaur was not evil, he definitely was not all good either. While Paquito did nothing suspicious while at the temple, Erna the head priestess of Umtala could feel the ever present infernal presence of Paquito's blood. Paquito enjoyed the temple, free food and the giants treated him as an oddity, which was better than a slave. Then these two peculiar giants and their entourage walked in.
* maze mages, and bullords are from Behemoth3's "Maze of the Minotaur" I recommend it!
Paquito learned at an early age just how different he was from others of his own race. Born into slavery, Paquito heard all the stories about the minotaur's fall from power. He heard about the great migration spurred by the promise of wealth and power from the titans, many minotaurs tribes crossed the great sea to be in service to the titans. The minotaurs were given the task of policing the lesser races of humans, orcs, ogres, and giants. For hundreds of years the minotaurs faithfully upheld their end of the bargain, and they were paid handsomely for it.
Then the minotaurs awoke one morning finding the titans had abandoned them, no information, no warning. Unable to unlock the titan's own fortress and possessing no spellcasters themselves, Battalaxe the only bullord on the continent decided that the minotaurs would go on like there was nothing wrong. The slaves just required direction nothing more, and if the minotaurs kept up the charade of daily life, then the minotaurs could easily slide into the place of the titans until they came back. This charade went on for a few years, no race the wiser of the deception.
Then the elves and halflings returned from their hiding place, the minotaurs having had centuries of never having to fight against magic were ill prepared for the arcane onslaught the fey races brought against the minotaurs. This in turn incited the slave races to rebel as well. Soon the minotaurs were out numbered and facing extinction. Battalaxe turned on his own race and surrendered his company, and in exchange for his and his company's life, Battalaxe divulged the location of every minotaur safe place.
But, while Battalaxe may have secured a future for a select minotaurs, it was a brutal future, for the minotaurs became the slaves of those they had themselves enslaved. It has been thus for four generations of minotaur, the once brave Battalaxe revered as a great leader, brings about a look of disgust and a spit on the ground whenever a minotaur hears his name.
The tales of mazes, and bullords never ceased however, and the displaced minotaurs constantly strive to break their bonds and flee back to their ancestral homes. The freest a minotaur can become nowadays is to work the mines with the giants. Some minotaurs have had their freedom bought by stone giants who viewed the minotaur's woes far worse than their own.
The new "master" races made sure that after Battalaxe's death that no other minotaur would rise to the level of bullord again. They split the tribes and kept them warring amongst themselves each tribe was allowed to have a leader whose voice would speak for that tribe in matters of social-economic issues. The tribes adopted a glorified ritual of manhood, these were traditionally won by the best trained, who were often the tribe chief's sons or close advisor's sons. To the losers went death, the tribes way of thinning the herd so to speak. An unexpected (yet delighted as far as the elves and humans were concerned) result from the lack of a bullord was there were no spellcasters reared from minotaur ranks. Apparently only a bullord could sire a maze mage*, and without them minotaur magic died off on the continent.
Paquito however saw things a different way, he saw a race too arrogant to change, and too arrogant to accept any other way of fighting except for "charge in, hit what's still standing." Paquito was told early on by his "father" that he was not sired by him. Paquito's mother never spoke to Paquito about the accusations, she would always tell him "your father can't find his way out of his house when he's drunk, how do you expect him to remember any of his wives." and she would leave it at that.
On his tenth birthday, Paquito entered the test of manhood for a minotaur. Placed in a maze unknown to him and the other six participants that month, the juvenile minotaurs were instructed to race to the center of the maze, retrieve the greataxe hanging there and strike down the other six until there was only one. The prospective adult's families watched from above as the small minotaurs raced through the winding corridors and neared the center. Paquito who was already a little on the light side as far as physical attributes went, lagged behind the rest of the field. When he reached the center he found five dead or critically wounded minotaurs and the sixth one waiting for Paquito with a greataxe in his hands and blood in his eyes.
The other minotaur charged Paquito, who threw up his hands in protest. Paquito's heart raced and panic filled his head, his mother turned away unable to watch and his "father" cheered on the other child. Through the din of cheers, Paquito heard his mother crying and his "father" cheering for the wrong boy. Anger, hate, and spite roared up from a place Paquito didn't know he had. All that rage focused on the child charging Paquito and something flew from Paquito's hands and struck the charging opponent square in the face. The minotaur tripped and tumbled over himself, he landed near Paquito's feet and died there just as bewildered as Paquito.
The assembled minotaurs roared in protest, cries of "cheat" were thrown down at Paquito. An investigation ensued, however no thrown weapon was found, just a hole blasted into the other child's skull. Then the interrogations started, Paquito was kept from his family for weeks as the tribal leaders tried to get Paquito to admit to something he knew nothing about. After three weeks of repeated assaults on Paquito's sanity, he decided enough was enough. He demanded to be set free, and his request was denied as the interrogating minotaur pushed Paquito back into his chair. Rage filled Paquito's heart, and he focused he hate on the interrogator. The torches in the room dimmed to a smolder, as Paquito's eyes burned as coal in hell. Smoke, the stench of brimstone leaked out of Paquito's nostrils.
The once steel facades of the interrogator wither to that of a helpless baby, Paquito again demanded that he be set free and this time the interrogator couldn't oblige quick enough. Now free, Paquito realized that he would soon face a manhunt, he fled back to his home, where his mother held and cried with him, as his "father" called out to the guards. His father tore Paquito from his mother's arms and then began beating her, she yelled at Paquito to run. Paquito tried to ignite the same hate and rage that had served him before, but this time only fear erupted from his pores, as the guards knocked on the door. Paquito took a last look back at his mother, then fled his home and raced to the docks.
Paquito managed to bluff his way onto a ship by telling the crew he was a sound fisherman and arcane specialist. It wasn't until Paquito overheard two humans trying to figure out a map, Paquito walked over and read it to them. Unbeknownst to Paquito the map was written in magic which the human sailors could not read, Paquito did not know he had done anything spectacular and assumed it was his fabulous bluff that got him aboard the ship. For ten years Paquito sailed with the crew as they visited island after island, plundering the riches hidden on it, Paquito didn't care as long as they never returned "home".
Years went by, and Paquito was mostly relegated to the lower deck. Only visiting the surface when his "friends" thought it safest. Not wanting to get their meal ticket and guide to fame and fortunes killed, they kept Paquito well guarded and well fed. No longer enjoying the physical routines that kept his race strong and hardy, Paquito's physical growth was stunted, his metal capacities however now far exceeded even the must cunning of his former tribe members. In his spare time, Paquito learned to control the arcane energies within himself, and he mastered the most basic forms of magic.
Then one night while passing the city of Killdon, the ship was stuck in a thick fog and slammed into a reef. The ship's hold was ripped open and the ship's treasures spilled forth unto the reef. Paquito watched as sailors jumped into the water, trying to retrieve as much gold as possible. Then he saw the dark shapes in the water, strange water creatures with hideous faces rose up out of the water and began to slaughter all who had jumped. Then the dragon came, what at first appeared to be a huge turtle turned out to be a dragon in disguise as it's draconic head lashed out of the water and battered the ship with it's head, tearing rigging and masts down with one bite. The ship finally broke in two from the constant assault of the dragon turtle, and Paquito was thrown into the water.
He awoke then next morning laying face up on the beach of a large city, the sun blazing overhead, no other crew members in sight. He stood up and was met with a small contingent of armed spellswords, who cast hold person and brought him back to a gigantic structure in the center of town that reached taller than any building Paquito had ever seen. Paquito was led into a dark room, where his mind was probed by an unseen force. His memories were plucked one by one going back all through his childhood, back to a memory his had no knowledge of as the visage of a devilish minotaur stared back at whomever was looking through Paquito's mind. Paquito heard a bone chilling scream and all of his memories flooded back into him, along with those of the prober. Paquito "remembered" that he had a sorcerous arcane talent and that he was not a full blooded minotaur. Paquito "remembered" how to call forth the power within him and how to accept the new power that would be granted to him.
Paquito was allowed to go free from the place, he wandered this new city, begging for food from children by telling outlandish tales of his own deeds. To hear Paquito tell it, the dragon turtle bowed to his greatness and gave Paquito a lift to shore. Paquito then found his way to the temple of Umtala where the priests determined that while the minotaur was not evil, he definitely was not all good either. While Paquito did nothing suspicious while at the temple, Erna the head priestess of Umtala could feel the ever present infernal presence of Paquito's blood. Paquito enjoyed the temple, free food and the giants treated him as an oddity, which was better than a slave. Then these two peculiar giants and their entourage walked in.
* maze mages, and bullords are from Behemoth3's "Maze of the Minotaur" I recommend it!