MINOTAURS AND BLOOD MAGIC
MINOTAURS AND BLOOD MAGIC
The minotaurs of the city of Azerath are some of the most feared beings walking Nerin Toth. Even the Knights of El Tomath in the neighboring city of Peregren show them respect. None are more proud and determined than the minotaurs.
Taken into slavery hundreds of years ago by the dwarves to work in saltpeter mines for gunpowder development, the minotaurs were betrayed by their fellow slaves, the ogres who continue to work with the dwarves even today, and they were forced to fight for their freedom. Many minotaurs died in that battle, and today they still hold contempt and anger toward the dwarves and ogres alike. Like most minotaur, they are tall, some reaching even 8 feet in height, strong, and have a very no-nonsense attitude.
As if their stature and willingness to die for their cause didn't make them fearsome in battle enough, minotaurs are the only ones known to use the only craft of magic banned by the Mage Academy of Port Skell, BLOOD MAGIC. All minotaurs are taught the way of the blood from an early age and it is rare to find one of mature adulthood who doesn't use it.
They prefer axes above all other weapons and the society of Azerath is home to nearly all minotaurs in Nerin Toth. Rarely will one find a minotaur not living in the military society.
The blood magic they use is considered beyond evil, and wizards everywhere are taught to never use it and to kill any who do. No wizard has ever slain a minotaur. Every single one who has ever tried has been killed. The minotaurs do not teach blood magic to outsiders and use it in battle freely.
Some of the more common spells of blood magic include Walk of the Blood, a spell that allows a minotaur to teleport at full size into the bloodstream of an unaware victim causing them to explode; Weeping of the Blood, a spell that causes the victim to begin sweating their own blood, and Sight of the Blood, a spell that allows them a form of clairvoyance through the blood of others, allowing them to see, smell, hear, and feel whatever the subject does.
To face a blood magic using minotaur in battle is to face death itself.
The closest allies of the minotaurs of Azerath are the Knights of El Tomath and this relationship is precarious at best.