March of the Minotaur

March of the Minotaur is the first book in the Legends of Ararui series.

Plot
In the beginning, Eeeb Striker, a young boy the age of twelve, is told to choose his job. That job he will carry out for the rest of his life, and so this is a very big opportunity for himself and a few others who are also turning twelve. Eeeb declares that he wishes to be a ranger, to go to distant lands and explore. Previously, the Baron had rejected another young boy who wanted to be a ranger. However, now the Baron accepts Eeeb.

There was a huge uproar because the other boy did not get to be a Ranger. The Baron was acting very mysterious.

So Eeeb accepted his fate, and the Baron announced it. Lots of people cheered, and some bellowed out his insanity or his courage. Recent rumors have been moving around the kingdom lately, but the Baron just passes them as "made-up" or "stupid".

However, Eeeb is sent to train with another senior Ranger known as Isildus Cartaman. Cartaman is a friendly bloke who knows a lot about spying and using a bow and arrows (a ranger's standered weapon). Eeeb loves the new job, however the rumors start to get worse and more believable.

Soon, Eeeb has already mastered the basics. So it is time for his first Assignment given to him directly by the Baron himself. Eeeb must go to the Ruins of the Old City, in the far-off Eastwood, and gather intelligence of whether the long-lost feared foe has actually awaken.

The chapters from here on flick between Eeeb's journey, and a trio of three's journey of finding a group of renegade Dark Elves. In the first trio chapter they are discussing the hunt with the Baron, just after Eeeb was given his message. They talk of tactics, supplies and money and where the Enemies might be.

So Eeeb gathers his supplies and leaves the Fief, travelling to the Eastwood where canibilistic Wood Elves live. However, a while through his journey, a party of horse-men come up. One is another ranger, younger then Cartaman and more experianced, another is a Knight with a short beard and the last is an unknown thief in black robes and hood. However, the ranger says he can be trusted.

They tell Eeeb of the gathering threat. Trolls and Orcs have been confirmed, attacking the Border as a distraction for a group of Dark Elves to slip by the defenses by climbing over the walls in the dead of night, while it was pouring down with rain and storm. The three are hunting down the Dark Elven group, knowing they can and will cause immediate danger to the Kingdom, which could mean another war.

From here the chapters just stay within the four peopled group of party-members.

The trio follow Eeeb for a while, since rumours say the Dark Elves fled into the Eastwood anyway, in search of a powerful weapon. Little did the group know was that the weapon hunted was actually the beast Eeeb was sent to find.

They get to the Eastwood, and are immediantly captured by feral Wood Elves. However, the Ranger slips away unseen and Eeeb, the Knight and the Rogue are taken into captive, ready to be feasted upon when a mighty roar came from the valley below, screams of terror, the clang of Metal on Flesh and stone smashing.

The Ranger manages to free Eeeb and the others and they look down the valley, where a huge beast is fighting the group of Dark Elves. The beast is a Minotaur, a giant one with massive fists. The Dark Elves were shooting their bows but not harming the giant monster.

Realising the danger of the now-loose beast, the trio warns Eeeb to report IMMEDIANTLY back to the Baron while the rest of them find any Dark Elven survivors and trail the monster.

Now from here, the chapters revert back to their trio then Eeeb way.

So Eeeb goes off, meeting trouble on the way.

A small group of five Dark Elves rendevising at a crossroad which Eeeb had to go through. He is captured and tortured.

Meanwhile, the trio find the monster sleeping in the forest close by the Castle Celiac, where the Baron was and where Eeeb was heading. The trio slip out and begin to return to the Castle, where they meet Eeeb's torturers and a fight breaks out.

Now it is again a chapter with both Eeeb and the trio in it.

They return to the Castle, and warn the Baron of the coming danger, but only too late. Before the men could arm themselves, the Minotaur comes charging out of the nearby forest. It was huge, as large as 4.3 meters and as strong as ten times the average man. The Castle goes to battle stations, arming weapons, mounted crossbows, and manage to defeat the beast.

Eeeb and the trio are rewarded for their troubles and their skill, pride and courage. Eeeb is rewarded with a new bow. The Bow of a Thousand Winds, which needed no arrows to cast. The wind behind the bow is magically formed into a tight circle, and when the bow is released the wind spins off into the direction of the enemy, magically, and so enforcing it's power and strength. The wind can tear through forests and trees and also has freezing enchantments on it.

Eeeb adores his new bow. The trio each get something else. Only when a messanger storms through into the King's throne hall, telling him of the deadly news.

The Enemy's plan had been successful. While the trio were hunting down the Minotaur and the Dark Elves, elven ships ported outside the great city Ardanis. Dark Elves were always adept at making diversions and cunning tricks...

So it wasn't very suprising when the King was captured.

Trivia
- The Minotaur is based on Greek mythology, a huge half-bull half-human beast.