Aranea

Aranea are a species of large, sapient jumping spiders. All aranea possess innate telepathic powers, which they use as their primary method of communication and self-defense. They are native to the continent of Altazia , where they tend to make home in the shallower sections of the Dungeon next to human communities. They naturally congregate into small tribes (called *webs*) that maintain influence over a particular territory, and usually exist in a form of symbiosis with the local human communities; in particular, serious threats are usually neutralized with the help of humans. They rarely make their presence known to the humans at large, however, preferring instead to interact with a select few individuals and use their mental powers to make sure their trust is not misplaced. If their existence is exposed and their webs threatened, the aranea simply pack up and leave for greener pastures.

## Aranean culture

Aranea are often prejudiced against non-psychics, often calling them "flickerminds". To them, being non-psychic is comparable to being fundamentally crippled. They don't think of mentally attacking non-psychic people as wrong, and they only hold back from innecessary hostilities against a non-enemy if the person in question is a fellow psychic.

Aranean names are actually concepts and ideas instead of words, which causes their translations to be rather long-winded.

Aranean society is all-female. The males are not considered "real aranea" because they are sub-sapient, as well as smaller. The males generally stay inside their territories, and aren't usually seen by outsiders.

Aranea don't eat humans, mostly because they would be too hard to hunt and there's almost always easier prey around. This doesn't mean that they aren't known to kill humans on occassion, but it's usually for reasons other than feeding. They generally feed on rats and stray dogs.

It is common for aranea to settle in major cities and to have trade relationships with humans, although there are webs who do not possess trade relationships with any human settlements. They often sell their silk and knowledge in exchange for manufactered goods which they cannot produce themselves due to their lack of hands.

They do not consider reading the surface thoughts of non-psychics an act of invading another's privacy, and tend to be informed of current human events by that method.

In big webs, like the one underneath Cyoria, it is not necessary for all members to know and be able to speak in human language.

At least in Cyoria's web, aranea seem to go through a maturation ceremony once they are nine years old and after that are considered adults.

Aranea tend to spin their web to make complicated structures like walls and bridges. They prefer to hunt on the surface, but mostly make their settlements underground.

## Aranean biology and appereance

Aranea range from 40-50 cm in length, about the size of an adult human’s torso. Appropriately for what is essentially a larger jumping spider, they possess impressive jumping ability and great reflexes. Also like regular jumping spiders, they possess two large, forward-facing, pitch-black eyes that give them excellent vision. This is supported by three pairs of smaller eyes that give them fuzzier 360 degrees vision. They need at least a little bit of light to see, and can't see in complete darkness. They also have a pair of giant fangs, probably capable of piercing a human skull with ease.
An ability to sense vibrations through their feet also plays a large role in their perception of the world, as does their ability to ‘taste’ things they are touching with their leg hairs. Most aranea are black in coloration, but brown hues and various patterns are not unheard of, and some have even lost all pigmentation and become white (albinism).

Aranea exhibit extreme sexual dimorphism. Males are much smaller than females, and subsapient. Contrary to what one may think, this does not cause the aranea to look down on males from other species. That said, most aranea are deeply prejudiced against non-psychic individuals, viewing them as fundamentally crippled and thus looking down on them as “flickerminds”.

Aranea grow up to sexual maturity in only two years, but they are not considered proper adults until they are six years old or so. They can live up to 45 years under ideal conditions, and 55 year-old araneas are considered 'ancient'.

## History and expansion

Aranea were originally a species that struggled to survive, being relatively weak in body and lacking tool-making capabilities that most sapient species rely on to thrive. Their mental abilities, though impressive, were often insufficient against the world’s various monstrous denizens. Worse, their habit of making their homes in the shallower portions of the Dungeon often caused them to clash with the local species of underground humans – the morlocks.

When the Ikosians started arriving on Altazia, they unintentionally helped the aranea by shattering morlock civilizations, getting rid of their main competitor. Since the Ikosians didn’t live underground and ventured into the Dungeon only in a limited fashion, the shallow Dungeon was effectively given over to the aranea, who enthusiastically staked out their claim. The Ikosians then proceeded to slowly push back and eradicate the most dangerous magical monsters out of their territory, which also helped aranea, who even helped the Ikosians sometimes by alerting humans to hidden monster nests and other common threats. Finally, the Ikosians also brought with them their particular brand of magic, which was both very powerful and versatile… and surprisingly easy to adjust to aranean purposes.

The aranean web beneath Cyoria was the first web to translate human magics into something suitable for an aranea, and they took advantage of their newfound power to rapidly expand throughout the continent, assimilating, coopting and eradicating the less magical webs. Though the resulting new webs were still independent, their common origin resulted in them all sharing a relatively similar identity, which has been a major boon for the aranean species.

The current matriarch of the web beneath Cyoria is Spear of Resolve Striking Straight at the Heart of the Matter. The web under Cyoria is the most prosperous, being the center of the aranean magical revolution, and therefore the surrounding webs are often eager to try and take over the territory.

## Known magic

Aranea have their own method of spell formula called webcraft. Webcraft is inspired on Ikosian spell formula, but it's very complex and would require years of study to comprehend it, even for a mage well versed in spell formula. They also possess magic rituals but because of anatomic differences they need to be adapted before they can be used by humans (and human magic rituals need to be severely adapted for aranean use, as well).

## References

1. ↑ chapter 19
2. ↑ chapter 25
3. ↑ chapter 26