House Minotos - House Minotos Stands Alone: In the wake of the Donatos War, distrust impeded High King Danial's efforts to bring Adrastapol up to technological parity with the rest of the Imperium of Man. With so many Knights slain on Donatos Primus, the High King realised that Adrastapol needed to improve its own defences.Ever the traditionalists, many of the High King's decrees were met with discomfort by House Minotos, which feared that improving the living conditions of their serfs and relying on large armies of infantry as part of a Planetary Defence Force might diminish the social prestige and tactical efficiency of their Nobles. Seeing the High King's decrees as a disguised means to deprive House Minotos of its heritage and sap its strength, Grandmarshal Kurt only paid lip-service to the High King's vision, allocating only a scant minimum of resources to the effort to keep the High King happy.While House Draconis and House Pegasson invested much of their resources and fortune to expand their household's serf-based infantry armies, in particular their air forces and orbital defence capabilities, House Minotos focused its efforts on regaining its strength and replacing the Knight losses of the Donatos War. Even when the Knights of Adrastapol marched to war on other worlds, House Minotos only contributed the barest minimum of forces, claiming that such was all they could spare.Despite several diplomatic visits by the High King himself, Kurt Tan Minotos would not be swayed, which left House Minotos woefully unprepared when the Orks of WAAAGH! Killfist invaded Adrastapol. Lacking the orbital batteries and aerial defences of Pegasson and Draconis, the Minothane territories suffered harshly, the Orks of Warlord Gorgrok Killfist landing in the southern regions of Adrastapol's main continent controlled by the Minotos.Against the great mass of Orks and the terrible war machines they deployed, even the might of the Minotos Knights failed. The House was defeated repeatedly, including at the Battle of the Chasm, the Defence of Hallanspoint and during the Ironfields Charge.Trapped in its ancestral home, the Iron Maze, beleaguered by Greenskins, House Minotos bravely fought on but knew it was doomed. As the Orks sacked and burned the city of Minosaal, located at the very gates of the Iron Maze, Grandmarshal Kurt Tan Minotos refused to call for aid. The Minotos Knights fought bravely, bleeding the Orks for every road, every yard, every section of the wall they took, but all with no hope of victory.It was then that a relief force of House Pegasson arrived to turn the tide of battle. Thanks to this aid, House Minotos' valiant last stand turned into a resounding Imperial victory. Humbled by the assistance of House Pegasson and the return of the Knight of Ashes, a Freeblade who had interrupted his hunt for his mother, a Chaos witch, to return and save his homeworld, Grandmarshal Kurt finally saw the errors of his ways and made amends for his past misconduct.He pledged himself and every able-bodied Minotos Knight to the fight against the Orks, joining House Pegasson in its race to break the siege of the Draconspire where High King Danial Tan Draconis bravely held out against Killfist's personal horde. Having found an ally in the Knight of Ashes, Grandmarshal Kurt was content to play the role of military commander of House Minotos, a role that suited him far more than that of ruler.Driven by his shame and hate of the Greenskins, the Knights of House Minotos fought bravely, but even their might proved insufficient to break through the fortifications of Northrise Battery, an Imperial position now held by the Orks' super-heavy elements. Although House Minotos destroyed several Ork Stompaz and countless lesser foes, it was only with reinforcements from House Draconis that the battle was won.