Tauruspace

Satellites

• Nanna-sin

History of the Tauran Empire

Nearly four hundred years ago in the the crystal sphere known as Krynnspace the gods hurled a giant asteroid at the planet Krynn in retaliation for the arrogance of that planet's most powerful group, the Istaran Empire. This event, called the Cataclysm, has been more fully detailed in the chronicles and histories of that sphere, but one unnoticed event at the time had a profound impact on the history of the Tauruspace and its most habitable planet, Geb.

A band of minotaurs (then a minor race on Krynn), field slaves of the Istaran Empire, used the chaos of this event to escape their former masters, just as many others did. Journeying overland they slowly increased their numbers until over two hundred minotaurs were marching behind their leader, Dargas Dar-Mithka. Dargas was an old but strong bull minotaur, descended in a direct line from the legendary Mithas. Through hunger and storms he led his band as the planet reeled from the effects of the god's anger. One night he was met by a tall, blue giant who somehow came alone into his tent without disturbing the guards. Introducing himself as an "Arcane", he outline an astounding deal to the minotaur. He would provide five flying ships and the knowledge of how to sail them, which Dargas and his band would be able to use to escape the horrors of the world of Krynn. Then, the arcane added, he would lead Dargas' band to a new world, one where minotaurs were one of the dominant races. In return all the Arcane wanted freedom from all taxes and trade restrictions in any nation founded by Dargas and his group or their descendants. Of course, this freedom was to be guaranteed for eternity and would apply to all arcane.

It took some proof and convincing but Dargas eventually agreed. The Arcane was true to his word, Dargas band was given 5 ships, their workings were explained and the arcane himself navigated their route from Krynnspace to Tauruspace. He led the band, as promised to the world of Geb. Landing on the Terthian continent near the mouth of the planet's largest river he left them to fend for themselves.

Dargas and his band soon found that the Arcane had spoken the truth, Geb held only two sentient species: humans and minotaurs. The humans were at an early stage of civilization. Many still lived in small tribal bands, but along the worlds great river basins small city states had begun to emerge. These were dominated by the priesthood's of the four original deities found in this sphere; Geb, Utu, Ahto, and Girru. The minotaurs were savages, different in many ways from the Krynnish minotaurs. The most striking physical difference between the two was the cloven hooves of the Geban minotaurs (the Krynnish minotaurs have std humanoid feet). despite this difference the two different races soon discovered they could breed. Dargas began collecting every native minotaur he could get his hands on, by the time he died he had firmly established the future capital city of Dargia and laid the foundations for the empire to come.

Over the next five centuries the Tauran empire steadily expanded on the planet, the various human city states were no match for the combination of minotaur soldiers and a spelljamming navy. Today all the urban centres of both the northern continents are under the control of the Empire. The Southern continent is much more wild, here imperial outposts must vie with human tribesmen. The humans of the northern continents are either subjects (read "slaves") of the Empire or outlaws. It is impossible, of course, for the Tauran Empire to control every square inch of the northern continents but those whose oppose them, or simply claim independence are restricted to the wilderness and desolate regions.

Government and Society

Within Tauruspace there is only one government which can be spoken of - The Tauran Empire. In reality there is no other openly organised society within the sphere, and the Tauran Empire claims the entire sphere as its domain.

The Empire is ruled by an Emperor, who must be a minotaur (of course) of senatorial rank. The position is far from secure, any minotaur of Senatorial rank can, if he follows the proper protocols, challenge the emperor to a duel in the arena. This rarely occurs, protocol demands that the challenger have earned a certain number of honours as a military commander, and hold a series of political offices proving his worthiness mentally and spiritually before having a chance to prove it physically in battle against the current emperor. While the Senate controls the awarding of military honours, the Emperor controls the appointments which provide the opportunities to win these honours. Unless the Emperor is inept, then, he can easily control who will be in a position to legally challenge him. It has become a tradition for Emperors to groom their successor (usually their son or other male relative) for years, when they are on their deathbed they appoint their successor to the last position needed to properly challenge for the throne. Their successor then gives the old Emperor an honourable death in the Arena while earning the Imperial crown. In this way powerful family dynasties have emerged, though if the Emperor dies early chaos can erupt as the Senate "runs" things until a new Emperor can fight his bloody path through Senatorial politics and the arena.

The Senate is composed of male minotaurs descended from the original 200 or so colonists who followed Dargas dar Mithak, provided, of course, they meet the requisite property ownership and military service obligations. The Senate works in many ways like the Senate of Rome, in our world.

The Tauran Empire is divided into classes. At the top of the rung is the Senatorial class. Note that not all members of the Senatorial class are Senators, though all Senators are members of the Senatorial class. It is very difficult to enter this group, except through heredity. the Emperor has the power to add one to it, yet this has only been used twice in the history of the Empire. There are both Geban and krynnish minotaurs in this group.

The second rung in the class system is held by those minotaurs not descended from the original Krynnish colonists. By far the larger group, it is composed entirely of Geban minotaurs. The fortunes of this class very widely, some are on the verge of starvation, while others are rich merchants with more wealth then many Senators. Most are the everyday minotaurs seen on the Empires streets, craftsmen and soldiers.

The third rung is that of the Freemen, non-enslaved humans. This group is the larger of the human groups, and includes the human craftsmen and traders who make their way through the Empire. The one benefit they enjoy within the Empire is the freedom from slavery. It is important to remember that human and minotaur populations are nearly equal on Geb.

The final wretched group are the slaves, often mining or agricultural slaves who live short lives whose monotony is only broken by routine "breeding" breaks. By Tauran law a slave's children are slaves as well, the large number of Freemen in the Empire and the lack of easily available sources of slaves within the sphere encourage breeding.

The Military

The Tauran Empires might rests on two distinct institutions, the Imperial Army and the Imperial Navy. Both are essential to the well being and expansion of the Empire. Only minotaurs are allowed with either service, though human auxiliaries are sometimes employed.

Imperial Army

The Imperial army contains 30 Legions and 50 Cohorts. Each legion and Cohort is numbered. The 1st Legion is the Imperial Guard, responsible for provided guards for the palace and other grounds of the capital. The 2nd and 3rd Legions are the Senatorial Guard, the provide security for the Senate building, and body guards for Senators when they leave the capital. The Cohorts are comprised of the human warriors used by the miniatures as skirmishers and auxiliary troops, they are commanded by minotaur officers.

In the field, each legion always has at least one cohort attached to it. In addition, Legates usually request a contingent of priests from the Temple of their choice. These will be priests of Geb, Utu, Girru, or Sargonnas. The legions are usually scattered across the two continents, garrisoned in cities and small towns.

The army is commanded directly by the Emperor, who issues orders to his Field Marshals and Legates as needed. Because of the politics involved, the vast distances their forces cover, and the self-sufficiency of the Legion, individual Legates have a great deal of independence.

The Legion
Each legion is comprised of:
1 Legate [the commander]
2-12 Tribunes
10 Centuries
10 heavy Ballistae
50 Pack Mules

Each Century is comprised of:
1 Centurion
2 Secundoi (singular Secundus)
48 Legionaries

The Cohort
Each Cohort is comprised of:
1 Tribune (commander)
1 Centurion (minotaur)
2 Secundoi (human)
100 Psiloi (human)

Field Marshals (Common Characteristic): Field Marshals command the Tauran armies, they will control multiple legions and cohorts, sometimes commanding all the forces on a planet or continent. Because Field Marshal rank is one of the prerequisites for challenging the Emperor to a duel, the Emperor carefully controls who gets this position. There are only a half dozen or so Field Marshals in the Imperial Army.

Legate: Always a minotaur, often of Senatorial Rank. One must have served as a Tribune before being promoted to this rank. Legates command the Legions, many officers end at this rank. A typical Legate is [LN or LE Minotaur M Fighter 8-12]. They wear a bronze breastplate, a purple cloak, and carry a bronze mace as a symbol of there authority. Their armor is usually decorated with small green wreaths representing awards for valor and service.

Tribune: Always a minotaur, this is the position many young Senatorial minotaurs hold to qualify for the Senate. Tribunes are officers, but are usually less experienced then their Centurion underlings since they are appointed by the Legate. A Tribune is required to serve at least 2 years as a legionnaire, so all have at least some military training. Many Senators have their sons assigned to the Senatorial Guard legions so they will not be absent from the capital. A typical tribune is [LN or LE Minotaur male Fighter 2-7]. They wear a bronzeplate and a grey cloak. They are not permitted to carry a mace of authority and have fewer green wreaths then the Legates.

Centurion: The centurion is the backbone of the legion. He commands the century, and has at least ten years as a legionnaire and secundus. He wears the standard partial chain, and carries the standard shortsword and javelins, but he also wears a gold neck torc proclaiming his rank. A typical centurion is [LN or LE Minotaur male Fighter 6-10]. Most centurions follow the Myrmidon kit.

Secundus: The Secundus is the centurion's second, a centurion in training. He wears the standard chain, and carries the standard shortsword and javelins, but he also wears a silver neck torc. The first secundus of the first century of the legion is know as the Optimiate and carries the legion's standard (a silver bull, with the legions number and awards listed on a cloth beneath it). A typical secundus is [LN or LE Minotaur male Fighter 3-7].

This is also the highest rank a human can obtain, though a human secundus is always outranked by a minotaur secundus. A typical human secundus is [LE hm F2-4]

Legionnaire: The primary foot soldier, wearing partial chain and carrying a large body shield, a shortsword, a dagger, and at least three javelins. All legionaries are well trained with their weapons, and with the legion's heavy ballistae, so any unit in legion can crew those weapons. Most are [LN or LE minotaur male Fighter 1-3]

Psiloi: The lowest rank, reserved for humans. Psiloi wear no armor but carry small shields, daggers, and either a sling or a short bow and the appropriate ammunition. Most are [LN or LE hm F1].

Imperial Navy

There are really two branches of the Imperial Navy, the nautical navy charged with safeguarding the waterways of Geb, and the spelljamming navy which patrols the sphere. The spelljamming fleet is by far the most prestigious, and the two fleets are organized differently enough to be considered as separate entities.

The Navy maintains the fiction that this isn't true, however. Potential minotaur recruits for both train together at the Naval Academy, where seamanship, navigation, and other needed skills are taught. the creme of the academy crop, however, are always sent to the Spelljammer Fleet.

The Imperial Navy is run by a council of seven Grand Admirals, who relay the Emperor's orders to the Fleet Admirals and ship captains.