Weavers

**Weavers** are a species of intelligent hominid-like arachnid (or arachnid-like) creatures whose population is distributed in a diaspora across Inecuria. If the Weavers ever had an indigenous language, culture or religion, it has since been lost, for all Weavers are assimilated into their host nations. They are most prominently found in Onshitama, but their populations can be found to some extent in every single country of Inecuria; even the Theysmarel, who typically attack trespassers on sight, appear to welcome them into their home.

The similarities between Weavers and arachnids - specifically spiders - has led several peoples of Inecuria to conclude that they literally are a mix of man and spider. Given that ancient Titans had a habit of creating species on relatively petty whims - often merely to satisfy their own curiosity - this may not be far from the truth of their origin. The most famous myth concerning their origin comes from Asarebas, which states that the race was created after Jaliette, the goddess of weaving, was forced by the goddess Eralise to marry a spider as punishment for having an affair with Eralise's husband, Louemand Everking.

Weavers exhibit extreme sexual dimorphism, to such an extent those unfamiliar with the race often mistake the males and females as being from separate species. Although many facets of Weaver physiology are implausible, it is their dimorphism more than anything that has convinced most scholars that the race is magical in origin, as the likelihood of such a state of affairs arising through natural evolution is miniscule.

Male Weavers are substantially larger and stronger than their female counterparts, and generally have a more animalistic and arachnid-like appearance than the humanoid-shaped females. They are also notably less intelligent, but appear to be more emotionally developed. Males also cannot create the famously strong and comfortable silk from which the name of the species derives; this is entirely the domain of females.

## Females

The females are humanoid in appearance, standing between 5'6" and 5'10", and are similar in appearance to a Cisen, sometimes being mistaken for them by those who have little or no experience with Cisens. The entire body except for the head is covered in a segmented exoskeleton (which is in addition to an internal skeleton) made of black lustrous chitin, the gaps between the plates of chitin revealing black flesh underneath. The plates of their exoskeleton are faintly reminiscent of plate armour, their forearms and shoulders in particular resembling gauntlets and pauldrons.

Weaver females have somewhat humanlike heads, with dark grey skin (and often black freckles), and hair that varies between jet black and platinum white. They possess four eyes much like the males, but all four are forward facing, and the second smaller set of eyes is above and outwards from the first large set. Both sets are somewhat slanted, with black sclerae and amber irides. Much like the Cisens, they have antennae atop their forehead, which act to detect smell in addition to the nose, and also have some capability of picking up electrical signals. Their teeth are a little sharper than those of Humans, and their canines are longer, particularly in the top set of teeth.

Their hands end in long pointed fingers, each of which contains a retractable spinneret, from which the Weavers take their name. The silk of Weavers is produced within the body, but transported to the fingers. Unlike the silk of spiders, Weaver silk is not particularly sticky, but it is even stronger compared to its mass, and a little brighter in colour. Weavers often made - and still do make - an absolute fortune producing fabrics and garments from their silk, and a large majority of them are tailors. As well as clothes, Weaver silk is excellent for use in gambeson and other padding, and for making ropes.

After the females have their eggs fertilised by the males, they are incubated within the body for about 1 week and then laid, where they take approximately 7 further weeks to hatch. A female usually lays between four and six eggs at a time, only one or two of which will be females, and when they are laid they about twice as large as chicken eggs. The eggs are slightly transparent, with weak, soft shells for the first few days after being laid, and the shell continues to grow in size during this time, hardening and becoming grey and transluscent as it does. The eggs are laid approximately once a month regardless of whether they have been fertilised or not. Unfertilised eggs are entirely transparent and very soft, and the size of marbles. This process can cause temporary hormonal imbalances, but this lasts for merely a day or two and comes with no pain, unlike the often exceedingly uncomfortable menstruation period of hominid females.

The females live for around 80 years, the oldest on record living to 92. They grow to maturity after approximately 20 years. Unlike the males, they do not go into heat, and are capable of breeding at any time - however, also unlike the males, they appear to take no pleasure in the act of breeding and only seek it out when they desire children. Although some scholars speculate that this is merely because they are for the most part repulsed by the males of their own species, intimate relations between Weaver females and other races have been recorded, and by all accounts these also consistently confirm that Weaver females take no pleasure from sex.

The average IQ of the females is approximately 102, just above the Humans in the Empire, although inferior to the Cisens and Elfkin.

## Males

The diminutive males are arachnoid in appearance, roughly equivalent in size to a wolf. Their body is segmented into two parts, the cephalothorax and the abdomen, much like a spider is. This body is held up by eight legs, which (compared to most spiders) are short in proportion to their size. Their brain and lungs is contained within their cephalothorax, and the other organs are within the abdomen. In place of where a spinneret might be found on a spider (at the end of the abdomen) is their reproductive organ. Their body is covered in black segmented plates of tough chitin, which is normally matte but grows lustrous when the male is ready to mate. The males see through two sets of eyes - two large front-facing ones and two small ones facing sideways. They possess a weak paralysing venom, which is strong enough to immobilise their prey for up to five minutes, but amongst large creatures - i.e. people - this typically causes nothing more than muscle cramp.

The males are beast-like not only phyiscally, but mentally. Their intelligence is comparable to that of a dog, and they generally share the same concerns of eating, playing and mating.

The males live for 25-30 years, reaching maturity after 7-8 years. Every four years after reaching maturity, the males will be in heat and ready to mate for about two weeks. If the male cannot find a Weaver female willing to copulate with them, they will grow desperate enough that they will begin mating with females regardless of whether they are willing or not.

The males are often treated as pests by the females of their own species, overwhelmingly treated with disdain or even hatred. It is likely that the females would not tolerate their existence at all if they were not necessary to continue the species, an act which the females take no pleasure in, as they seemingly do not find the males physically attractive whatsoever, and compared to the males they have a negligible sex drive.