Arachne

Arachne are a species born from a curse, similar to Wendigos. Unlike Wendigos, however, is the fact that the bloodline of every single one of their species can be traced back to the original spider, Arachne herself, Passing through the female line alone.

Arachne was gifted in the art of weaving. Not only were her finished products beautiful to look at, but the very act of her weaving was a sight to behold. Nymphs were said to abandon their frolicking to come observe Arachne practice her magic. So remarkable were her works that observers often commented that she must have been trained by the very patron goddess of weaving herself. Arachne scoffed at this. She was disgusted at being placed in an inferior place to the goddess and proclaimed that the goddess could not do better than her. Athena (individual believed to be the Goddess of, among other things, weaving) was quite perturbed at Arachne's bold claim, but she decided to give the young woman a chance to redeem herself. She came to Arachne disguised as an old woman and warned her to be careful not to offend the gods, lest she incur their wrath. But Arachne told the old woman to save her breath. She welcomed a contest with Athena, and, if she lost, would suffer whatever punishment the goddess deemed necessary. The goddess accepted the challenge and revealed her true form. The nymphs who had come to watch Arachne's weaving shrunk back in fear, but Arachne stood her shaky ground. She had made a claim, and she was sticking to it. So the contest began, the mortal at her loom, the goddess at hers. A beautiful scene developed from the threads. The bystanders marveled at the goddess' work. Arachne, for her part, created a tapestry so exquisite even the goddess herself was forced to admit that Arachne's work was flawless.Angered at Arachne's challenge, as well as the presumptuousness of her choice of subjects,The goddess tore the tapestry to pieces and destroyed the loom. Then she touched Arachne's forehead, making sure that she felt full guilt for her actions. Arachne was ashamed, but the guilt was far too deep for her poor, mortal mind. Depressed, she hanged herself.Taking pity on Arachne. She most likely did not expect that Arachne would commit suicide. She brought her back to life, but not as a human. By sprinkling her with the juices of aconite, Athena transformed the woman into a spider, her and her descendants to forever hang from threads and to be great weavers.

This species has the ability to change forms at will. They have two forms, Human form, and Spider form. In human form, they appear as normal humans. In Spider form, they still appear as normal Humans from the waist up. However, from the waist down, their bodies become massive spiders, with the Human part of their body protruding from where the spider's head would be.

Arachne have many interesting abilities. Many of them are venomous to a degree, with the higher ranks being downright toxic. They also have the ability create webs in Spider form. The webs that they create are strong, stronger than steel weight for weight. Also in Spider from, they can walk up walls. However, they are incapable of climbing upside down in this way, due to their rather large size.

Lifespan - 45 to 60 years

Compared to other non-Human species, Arachne live rather short lives. This could be something to do with their spidery aspect, or perhaps with the conditions that they have been forced to live under. However, it can be seen that their reproductive capabilities balance this.

Size - 4.5 to 6.5 feet / 6 to 9 feet

Arachne have two separate forms, Human form, and Spider form. In Human form, they follow the same general size characteristics as Humans. In Spider form, everything from their waist down becomes a massive spider, with their body protruding from where the head would be. In Spider form, the largest individuals have been recorded at 9 feet tall.

Diet - Carnivorous

As with the spiders that they are derived from, Arachne are strictly carnivorous. In Human form, they eat the same as Humans, by biting and chewing. In Arachne form, it is a bit more morbid. They inject their bundled prey with enzymes that break down their insides, but not their skin, creating a slurry for the Arachne to slurp up as they please. It can take about 5 hours for a victim's insides to fully break down.

Strengths

In Arachne form, Arachne are fast, and strong. They are rather resistant to magic. In addition to this, the webbing that they produce is very strong, and their venom is dangerous as well.

Weaknesses

Arachne have problems with agility, being unable to turn sharp corners effectively when moving quickly. Also, their nests tend to be rather large, meaning that they are not all that hard to track down. In addition, fire seems to be a weakness of their's, they fear it, something similar between most cursed species.

Reproduction - 60% Female 50% Male

While this may seem odd, the Female Arachne may store up to 10 different samples of male reproductive fluid, to use at a later time. They can mate with most other species successfully the resulting offspring will be Arachne. As the result of egg laying similar to that of a normal spiders by weaving silk egg-cases, each of which may contain around 4-6 eggs. Females care for their young, for example by carrying them around or by sharing food with them.

Males of the species unlike the female can only mate successfully with Humans and their own kind. Males seem to have the short end of the straw in things, often being consumed after mating by Arachne females, and their rather low importance in the reproduction of the species. However, it has been found that the males can produce a pheromone that is attractive to females of any species. At the very least, it seems that it can get them a date.

Death

There is speak of the realm of Erebus which is the misty and gloomy abode of the dead, where all mortals are said to go. Yet again, this information is found in old stories and tales. Whether it is true or not is... unconfirmed.

Ranks

Rank E - Spiderling - Young Arachne with minor abilities in transformation often not transforming at all because of the pain associated with it. Not usually over aggressive. They might bite if grabbed, but other than for defense they do not attack. Their venom only causing slight dizziness so they can escape.

Rank C - Orb Weaver- Their webs are often sophisticated having had sufficient time to practice their skills, use of their venom is limited at most causing nausea and fatigue.

Rank B - Tarantula - Most individuals at this rank have acquired a pet of sorts, a small spider that they can use to spy on opponents. Venom causes vomiting and can be treated with anti-venom effects can vary from 2-4 hours un-treated. Known to create nests of webs, where they hide away their prey and sleep.

Rank A - Recluse - Possessing exceptional strength. Their venom can cause severe nausea and dizziness, even causing their victim to quite often lose the contents of its stomach after about a minute and if untreated the wound may fester. They are cunning, often having small, virtually invisible threads that spread far out from their nest, often as far as 100 yards, which alert them to prey in the area.

Rank S - Black Widow - Male spiders can produce the toxins to help with their own hunting, but they can make such a diluted version that they’re not harmful to most people. Females, on the other hand don't have the ability to dilute the toxin having only the evolved super concentrated venom that can kill a person within minutes. They are fast, and strong. There are cases where the females are found to have cultivated a small colony of oversized spiders, which can be deadly to the Widow's prey and enemies.