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Minotaur Cosmology

Page history last edited by API administrator user 14 years, 7 months ago

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Minotaur Cosmology

 


 

Introduction

 

The universe as understood by the Minotaur, as described in several source materials, is very cyclical in nature, much like the movements of the nomadic Minotaur themselves. The three cycles of the universe correspond to those of Minotaur life: The Great Unknowing (the equivalent of the calving season), The Remembering (equivalent of mating season) and The Forgetting (equivalent of the wandering season).

 

It is nearly impossible to estimate the duration or times that mark the beginning or end of these eras, due to the fact that all source materials find Minotaur during the period of The Forgettening, when they have long since discarded the keeping of time. However, certain events in the timeline give an approximation of when these eras took place.

 

The Unknowing

 

The story of the great unknowing is told by Bull-Chief Grorr in Tales of Yorn:

 

In the times unknown that none remember, the Growing Darkness covered all things, enveloping all of the Great Plain. But in the fertile nothingness of the Plain, below the roots of Darkness, there was born a single seed, that consumed the darkness, revealing The Light. This seed grazed the darkness, and grew into Myyr the Unknown. Myyr grew to be a great giant, grazing the Growing Darkness that covered the Great Plain.

 

But Myyr was all alone in the Great Plain, and full of sorrow, died in order to give birth to all things. Myyr lay down dead upon the plains, and immediately the Growing Darkness sought to grow over the corpse, but before it could Myyr's right eye became Huuuu'll the Light-Herder who walked the grazed Great Plain, and the left became Muuu'uuuun the Dark-Herder who wandered through the tall fronds of the Growing Darkness. And from the body of Myyr grew Gaia, the Earth.

 

Gaia was luminous and beautiful, and she ate the Growing Darkness and gave birth to many children, the Sky Herd. Her bright children would from then on move across the Great Plain, led by the Dark-Herder to graze the growing darkness that would give way to light so that the Light-Herder might walk there and beam down his love upon his sister Gaia. One day, he witnessed a great miracle, for Gaia eventually gave birth to the Mighty Taur.

 

The details, which are already fuzzy, get a bit fuzzier here. It isn't completely clear if there was already life upon the earth before she gave birth to Taur. In EL:MtF, it states:

 

For once Gaia's mane was gray and flat, shrouded in mist and shadow whether the eyes of light or dark shone upon her.

 

However, it is unclear whether or not this was before Taur, as it is usually said that "Gaia and Taur gave birth to all things," which most have taken to believe that Taur's coupling with his mother resulted in all life upon the earth. But (of course) the Minotaur believe that they alone understand the ways of the earth and her son/husband, and that they are the closest in form, thought, and spirit to their parents.

 

The Remembering

  • From the appearance of Timenes to approx -28,243

 

The Minotaur wandered and grazed peacefully upon the skin of the earth for quite some time, living each cycle of the earth much as the last, needing not... well, anything else really. The Minotaur were the most precious of Gaia and Taur's children, much to the resentment of one of their other children, the semi-powerful demigod, Mmmm'ooo'grrr the Dogbull. This Dog-bull-god-creature walked among the Minotaur, and promised them a great gift. He promised to give to them the most treasured knowledge of their parents, if only they would accept. The innocent Minotaur, of course, accepted his proposal.

 

The Dogbull gave the Minotaur memory. It diminished the Minotaur's oneness with Gaia, as none of the other life around them had it, nor needed it. They lost their ability to speak to the grass, and the water, and the trees. Memory spread to the other land-walkers, and the earth was changed forever. This began the age of The Remembering, wherin the minds of the earthwalkers became filled with the many names that they vainly invented for all which should rightly only be known as Gaia, and thus the children of the earth lost their connection with her.

 

Mighty Taur was furious with the Dogbull for tainting his innocent children. He sacrificed many of the Sky Herd and crafted their bones into his mighty Skyhammer, with which he smote the Dogbull. The Dogbull's body was destroyed, and was consumed by the Growing Darkness like so much fertilizer. But the Dogbull's spirit would persist, haunting the foul Dog-Things of the earth and constantly setting them against the Minotaur, the favorite children of Gaia and Taur.

 

The Mighty Taur knew that his children would need help against the vile servants of the Dogbull, and he gave voice to one of his sons who had been minimally corrupted by that foulest gift of memory. The calf was orphaned by one of the Sky Herd that fell to earth, striking his mother dead, and wandered the Plains of the world for many years in a haze of forgetfulness.

 

Taur spoke directly to this calf, and instructed him again in the ways of the earth, the true unknowable and unremembered ways of the universe, and to see all things as they truly were. This was the first Minotaur Shaman, who Taur named Muu'kuuzh. He would spread his teachings to his fellow Minotaur, and usher in a new age of the world.

 

The Forgettening

 

The teachings of Muu'kuuzh spread throughout the mighty herds, of which there arose seven. With every generation, the Minotaur grew closer and closer to the their Earth Mother, slowly forgetting the knowledge which had corrupted them. As the ages passed, they began to forget their old hatreds, the names of the other races of the world, concepts of mathematics and metaphysics... and even time itself.

 

So, too, grew the numbers of Minotaur Shaman, who were born bearing the marks of forgetfulness granted unto them by Mighty Taur. And one day a Shaman was born who shook the very world to its knees.

 

Luuu'uugh'eeeegh seemed born for shamanic greatness, as evidenced by his abominable appearance. He was born with pale horns horned, pure white mane, pink eyes, and shockingly short stature. He quickly became adept in even the most obscure of shamanistic rites and powers... but he guarded a dark secret: Memory.

 

The little white bull discovered that he was different even from his fellow Shamans. He thought them completely stupid and backwards. He vowed to bring an end to the forgetfulness of his people, and became convinced that the only way to do so would be to eradicate all of the Minotaur Shamans from the plains of the world.

 

The other Shamans became aware of the plan of Luuu'uugh'eeeegh, and alerted their greatest warriors who were most pure and dull of mind. Unfortunately, they had no idea how far the dwarfed albino was willing to go in order to complete his plan.

 

Luuu'uugh'eeeegh entered a deep trance, and summoned from the heavens of the distant past one of Taur's Own Sons to smite an ancestor of Muu'kuuzh before his birth, and again when he was just a young calf. In a Terminator-esque twist of fate, the little Shaman not only failed to destroy his enemy, but ensured his place in history.

 

Meanwhile, the great warriors of the Minotaur assailed Luuu'uugh'eeegh, who was still deep in a trance. The little shaman's power was so great, that their weapons were of no avail, and they died one by one breaking themselves against his great power. Finally, Fuuuu'uuuug, chieftain of the Dog-Killer Herd pulled a gigantic Oak from the ground and made ready to smash Luuu'uugh'eeeegh with it.

 

The shaman, roused by this shocking display of ignorance, summoned another of Taur's Celestial Calves to smash his assailant. Unfortunately for him, he was destroyed by the massive tree before his ambitious call for aid would do him any good. Still, he did manage to give the world a right good smashing, which even the Minotaur will admit is still quite impressive.

 

Though many of the details of this era were lost through the continued practice of "Spiritual Forgettening", the Brown Spirit Log which smashed Luuu'uugh'eeeegh would remain a sacred totem of the Dog Killer Herd until the end of days.

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