Settlements and Sites of the Four City-States #332

Settlements and Sites of the Four City-States #332 

November 29th, 2023 

• Number: 332 

• Name: Deep Dive of Subjects of Interest: Of the Accounting by Mister Zariya Savindy, Scholar, as Requested by the Arcane Guild - Part 3 

• Location: Across the hills and dales of the City-State of Taodeas 

• Population (approx.): 1279 (Tuton Labyrinth) 

• Brief: Zariya’s duties as census-taker involve interacting with all manner of people of Kin both familiar and quite unfamiliar, from ordinary and extraordinary places with commonplace and unique magical abilities. Several hundred years ago, by magical methods unique to this Kin, a Maze (community) of Minotaurs, fleeing some from unspoken foe, navigated an extra-planar labyrinth between worlds to arrive on Aenwyld in the Tuton Maug. By other similar magical methods, the Minotaurs remained concealed within and under the hills until they chose to reveal themselves to the Arcane Guild about a hundred years ago. After years of discussion and with the Guild at their side, the elders of the Maze finally revealed themselves to the authorities of the City-State five decades ago. A small number of members of the Maze have attempted to integrate into Taodean society with varying results. Upon Zariya’s arrival in Crossroads, he is contacted by a local Minotaur magician, Loonas, who is concerned about pressure from the United Tribal Forces (UTF) to provide Taodeas with the secrets to magics of the Minotaurs. 

• Loonas Rockhorn, 45, male Minotaur, is a mage with illusion and labyrinth magic. He is tall, around nine feet, and has a muscular, hairy body. His hair is dark brown with highlights and tips that are yellow. His piercing eyes are coal-black and just a bit mischievous. His horns range in color from dark brown to stark white. Loonas likes to wear long leather pants and a vest dyed dark green. Even though most minotaurs use axes, Loonas prefers broadswords and wields a pair of them.  

• Loonas is a rarity in Minotaur society, a person who can fight well and use magic. He learned to fight from the time he could hold a dagger. At thirteen, his ability to use labyrinth magic manifested and his parents sent him away to the Arcane Guild to refine his ability to cast spells. The labyrinth magic allows him to create mazes on the fly. His current job is working for the Taodean government and figuring out the most productive way to use his ability. The government hopes to use the ability for war, but Loonas is still deciding. 

• Loonas lives with his mate, Oesdra, 40, female Minotaur, in a large house in Crossroads. They have one child, Serou, 5, who is the apple of their eye. Oesdra spends time taking care of Serou, but she also works as a bank teller at the National Bank of the Guilds, Crossroads branch. Loonas and Oesdra do a double date night with their friends, Astebur and Erata Rockroar, Minotaurs. 

• Zariya meets with Loonas and the local Guildmaster and enjoys a spirited and satisfactory discussion for all parties present. The Guildmaster agrees to help Loonas keep the UTF at arm’s length, leveraging the Guild’s long-standing neutrality with respect to politically driven uses of magic by nation-states, while Zariya will bring the matter to the attention of Guild liaison with the UTF when next at their headquarters. Intrigued by their nature, Zariya requests a boon of Loonas and, in thanks for his promise of assistance, receives unique directions enchanted on to a letter of introduction so that he might travel to the Maze and not find himself and Jorgenson back where they started. 

• Geography: The Tuton Labyrinth is somewhere in the western Tuton Maug. Current Guild intelligence suggests it is east of the Crossroads (#54), north of the source of the Red River (#260) and near the Vanishing Stones (#56). Overflights by the Airwardens of the UTF have been unable to spot their community which the Arcane Guild believes, and Zariya later confirms, numbers over 1,000 inhabitants.