The Pasitaurs

With their home on the Arranean island of Nisi, the powerful Pasitaurs are known as steady warriors the world over. They are not numerous, and have never spread beyond their island which is fertile but dry. Worshippers of the god Siedon, they no longer pray to the rest of the pantheon Siedon was once a part of, leaving the sea god as the only survivor of a once broad pantheon.

Pasitaurs stand out among a crowd. Powerfully built, often with ox-like horns or cloven hooves and always with a tufted tail, they are impossible to mistake.

## Origins

The Minotaur, the first of the race of Pasitaurs, was the offspring of a Nisian queen and a divinely-sent bull.

Minois, the oldest child of the King of the isle of Nisi, faced competition for the throne. He prayed to Siedon for a sign of favour, and soon a perfectly white bull walked out of the water and into Minois’ fields. This sign of the god’s favour brought the islanders behind him, and he was crowned king. Rather than sacrifice the perfect bull to Siedon, he kept it for breeding and sacrificed instead the former pride of his herds.

As punishment for the hubris of her husband, Siedon caused Minois’ wife Pasifae to fall desperately in love with the bull, and soon she fell pregnant. At the birth of her child, her husband and midwives were horrified to find that the baby had the head and tail of a bull, with cloven hooves for feet. Rather than her husband’s child, she had conceived with the white bull. Pasifae loved the baby dearly, but everyone else considered him a monster. He became known as the Minotaur, bearing his official father’s name at the behest of the priests to remind people that disrespect of the gods has serious consequences.

As the Minotaur grew (and he grew rapidly), he was confined to a set of rooms in the palace, attended by only priests. As the offspring of a divine bull and a human woman, once he was weaned he had difficulty in finding sustenance. Eventually his mother brought him some of the flesh from the sacrificial animals, and found that he could eat that.

But that led to the next great tragedy. Being told he was eating the flesh of the sacrifices, it became rumoured that he was an eater of human flesh. The rumours grew so strong they were accepted as fact, and King Minois (happy to have an excuse to be rid of his wife’s bastard) caused the greatest Nisian architect to design a labyrinth beneath his palace. This was completed in the Minotaur’s ninth year, and on his tenth birthday he was imprisoned there. At ten, he was bigger and stronger than most full-grown men.

Nisi was at that time the centre of an empire, with tribute being sent by subject states. One of those was the city-state of Kefala. As part of their tribute, following an attempted rebellion, King Minois demanded that they send fourteen beautiful young people every seven years, to be sacrificed to the Minotaur. The dreadful roaring that ensued after each was shut in the labyrinth convinced people that the evil Minotaur was eating them alive.

The Minotaur, though an angry, sullen, and lonely man, was not a cannibal. Through the years of his imprisonment, his mother and some priests of Siedon ensued he remained fed (secretly, thus giving rise to rumours that he lived despite having no food) and had occasional human interaction. They told him what was going to happen, and he came up with a plan. Though he could not fit out through any gap in the labyrinth, there were some underground streams where those less bulky might fit.

When each sacrifice was shut in the maze, the Minotaur spoke to them for a while, and then bellowed whilst they screamed. Then, at night some days later, he led them to the underground stream and bade them go. The Kefalans, being young and healthy, squeezed their way along the airless passage and out to freedom. In a way, being sacrificed to the Minotaur was a ticket to a new life. A new life of poverty, but not a death to the priests’ knives.

After twenty-one years, a Kefalan hero came to Nisi, to relieve the burden of tribute. He coerced King Minois into letting him go armed into the labyrinth, and, after a fight, slew the Minotaur.

Pasifae, weeping over her lost child, wandered to the edge of the cliffs and stood looking out to sea. There, forty-two Kefalans heard her crying. They led her into their simple home and tried to comfort her. When she learnt who they were, and how her son had saved them, her tears dried and she grew enraged.

Calling down a curse on those who knew the Minotaur’s mercy but who had not told of it, she rushed out of the house and into the sea, never to be seen again. But from that day forward, the children in that Kefalan community were born half-human and half-ox, so they knew the same pain and worry that Pasifae had.

## Government

Nisi is a republic, modelled on the Kefalan one of their ancestry but very much smaller. The Pasitaurs are in the majority on the island, but any inhabitant can stand for election. Forty Councillors are elected for life, and the Voskos is elected from those forty to lead for a ten-year term after which they cannot be re-elected.

Currently the Voskos is a Pasitaur called Aristos, and the Councillors are thirty five Pasitaurs and five humans. The High Priests of Siedon also have a voice and voting rights in government.

There is a Nisian army and navy, and the general and admiral have a voice in government but no voting rights. The Nisian empire faded two millennia ago and it is barely remembered.

## Culture

Pasitaurs are slow to anger. Patience is very much a virtue amongst them. Although Siedon is a sea-god, Pasitaurs and Nisians in general will pray to him in all circumstances. Not all are priests or even faithful, but Siedon is the only god they will follow, and they believe he protects them.

Pasitaurs are smiths and masons rather than jewellers and illustrators. Their architecture is very impressive, and the maze under the old Imperial Palace still exists as a holy site. All Pasitaurs have spent at least one night alone in the labyrinth without a light, and most will have wandered about and explored during this rite of passage – their sense of direction appears to be incredibly strong. They are thus in demand as master masons and builders, and some spend long years abroad. For some reason though, no Pasitaurs have ever had children away from the island. Pregnancies do not seem to progress – so pregnant women do not leave the island (imagine staying 7 months pregnant indefinitely).

Fishing is held in quite high regard by the Pasitaurs, but they are also farmers. They live in villages and small towns of very well-built houses and plenty of public architecture such as bath houses and amphitheatres, and their seat of government is near the old Imperial Palace. They even have a school of architecture, though many other races find the workload too heavy.

Disguise magic does not work when cast on Pasitaurs. No matter how high level the spell, they do not change in appearance. They also cannot persuade people not to notice what they are. They are not really a magical people – learning elemental spells does not come easily to them, and totemic magic is impossible (spiritual magic and totemic magic do not reside in the same person).

Their dress is simple and old-fashioned. Every day dress is similar to that worn everywhere, tunic reaching to between mid-thigh and mid-calf with or without trousers, but on special occasions they will wear wrapped garments that leave their arms bare, similar to what was worn in Kefala when their ancestors were sent to be sacrificed on Nisi.