Weavers (The Web Walkers)

Weavers are a spider that is insidiously intelligent, fully thinking and aware. These spiders have made a hobby of watching the world grow and evolve. Being an arachnid they have been around for millions of years. Being small and unable to make most if any of the tools or inventions, the other new races have. They have watched the emergence of the new races who think themselves alone or in control of the world. The Weavers watched and waited, living among the treetops quite happily watching and waiting for a chance to create a larger place in the world. Being highly predatory the Weavers noticed a tribe among the others that seemed to thrive on their savagery. The Skree-Gore were one of the few who kept to nature’s path, the strong survive by out competing the others or outwitting them.

The Skree-Gore were watched for generations of Weavers which isn’t that long as they only have lives lasting five years or less. Watched and slowly investigated closely, the Weavers were unnoticed to the Skree-Gore. They like all so called higher races thought nothing of a spider as intelligent, arrogance born of ignorance. Being warm bloods they had no clue there were other forms of intelligences, it never occurred to them. Weavers preferred it that way too, as they didn’t like the fact these so called newcomers grabbed the world right from under them.

The Skree-Gore were different, they still had the spark of ancient nature. The spark that has and will carry them far, and with the Weavers they will be risen to new heights. Only the legends of old will be any match for the dangers and strength of the Skree-Gore. It took several tries to initiate contact, a few deaths were involved. Weavers don’t consider the death of one to be an act of violence, for death is everywhere. Weavers themselves were death in eight legged form, they would cannibalize their own young or weak. It took a trick that Weavers used primarily for hunting flying prey to get their attention. Having the ability to generate scents with a gland under their abdomen, an inventive spider used his scent to catch the Skree-Gore’s attention.

Copying their musk scent was easy as Weavers change their attraction scent at will for different type of prey. Intrigued the Skree-Gore came closer and sniffed, one spider reached out. Reaching out the spider tapped with his legs on the guard hairs. Skree-Gore feel with their guard hairs and the sensation was startling. Looking at the few spiders on a quickly woven web they stood up on their hind legs and waved their arms as if signaling. Soon the two were communicating, the Skree-Gore thought this was marvelous. A species that did not invoke the instinctual desire to kill and destroy it on sight. Using the webs and the Skree-Gore using their hairs to be signaled or told things from key patterns on the web. Weavers also use visual signals and scent to communicate with the Skree-Gore. Now the Weavers have left the trees other then the few who decided to stay, most live life now with the Skree-Gore deep in the tunnels and caves.

Being a arachnid the Weavers had been around for so long they have literally watched the brainless animals rise to intelligence. The event is part of their racial memories. Weavers learn from several methods, one being instinct, another being lifetime, and finally from genetic memories. Once ever few years depending on the heat the spiders will breed a massive amount of spiderlings much more then normal. The spiderlings will rise up and leave the tunnels and caves seeking out the other clans burrows and nests. Finding their way by scent which rises up from the dens like a beacon. Upon arrival they will find their way down meeting several adults who promptly eat them. Many of the spiderlings die in this way but some make it to the females webs mating.

The adults who eat the spiderlings are not only feeding but their bodies are incorporating the DNA from the spiderlings. This gives the spiders a unique ability vertebrates could never possess, they actually learn from the feeding. The spiderlings suicidal actions are to give their nest’s knowledge to the other nests. The spiderlings born from the mating will have fragments of the new knowledge within them and the adults will teach them after they get big enough to stop looking like prey.

Spiderlings stay away from the adults for the most part unless it’s a mass feeding. They spend their time along the walls and cracks of the tunnels and caves. Some ride in the fur of Skree-Gore and see the world but also risk crushing, being left behind multitudes of deaths. Those that return tho have brilliant stories to share with the spiders in the caves.

Weaver Appearance: Weavers look just like other arachnids except they have a humanoid like head, with a lower jaw set much like a terrestrial creature. This look almost gives them a face, the lower jaw is equipped with razor sharp blades for teeth. Venom from the Weavers causes delirium and convulsions, Weavers lacking the traditional fangs of the arachnid use their jaw blades. The blades when biting are coated with it’s virulent venom as the saliva is constantly flowing when eating or attacking.

Young spiderlings are black with a mottled grey which makes them very hard to see in the darkness of the tunnels and caves. The webbing of spiderlings is a pure red, the Skree-Gore call it blood-silk.

Young adult Weavers are black but now turning a reddish hue which brightens with age. Webbing from older spiders lose the bloodred coloring and grows black as their carapace turns red.

Adult Weavers are deep red in appearance, only their legs and head stay black. The webbing is a coal black at this age and quite strong and Skree-Gore use it for many uses including medicinal.

Size: Spiderlings are anywhere from,1cm to 2in in size. (At this size people never see anything but a bug)

Young Adults are between 2.5in to 6in in size. (People don’t ever normally see these as they hide in the tunnels of the Skree-Gore.)

Adults are between 6in to 12in (These are the wise adults and the most wicked, people don’t even know of them)

Webs are strung along the ceilings and crevasse in the caves and tunnels. Staying out of the main footpath areas as the Skree-Gore would demolish them, they place them in the sides away from the danger. The opening of Skree-Gore tunnels are where spiderlings venture to see the sun and the world. Spiderlings are throughout the tunnels but stay away from the deeper areas as the adults will pick off any unaware spiderling as a snack.

The Weavers have been communicating with the Skree-Gore for quite some time, the Shaman and his acolytes are the only ones who can easily talk to the Weavers. It’s all a matter of watching and listening and most do not have the patience.

Through this communication they both learned their origins and the beliefs of the other. Skree-Gore have been influenced by the Weavers as they might of calmed down as a species if there was not a small voice at their ear urging them on to feed.

Weavers have become spoiled, they feed on the remains of the Skree-Gore kills, chewing off chunks of flesh with their bizarre human like teeth. The spiderlings regularly feed on the blood and gore embedded in the Skree-Gore fur and jaws. A regular site is a Skree-Gore Yawning wide and letting a mass of spiderlings climb over them to feed on the blood and gore. Spiderlings will litterally be falling over themselves to feed falling out of the mouth and fighting for position.

The Skree-Gore bone pit is regularly crawling with Weavers picking the scraps off of a new kill. Acting as a cleanup crew the spiders help in this way and many others. The silks are used for weaving and given freely once the spiders are done with it. The webs are not used for prey much anymore and are more for traffic to and fro. Skree-Gore use the silks for making their few cloth items, bags, ropes, bindings, bandages and so many more uses. The venom is also taken from willing spiders. The method is simple, the spiders simple apply it to the web marked for the purpose and the Skree-Gore roll their arrow tips into it.

The venom being non lethal slows down a target or enslavement, people who are taken often go mad when among the Skree-Gore and the Weavers as the spiders take great delight in torturing the poor souls dragged down to the nest.

The connection between the two has been going on for so long the Skree-Gore would be hurting if the Weavers suddenly vanished. The Weavers too would be just as badly hindered, their being fed and not hunting has made them lose some the the skills they once used daily.

---

Communication: Talking between spiders has several ways to do so. One is semaphore where a spider taps out a message on the webs. This has the advantage of being received by all who are in range and can feel the vibrations. This would be the equivalent of a person yelling.

Another form of communication is scent, using their scent glands they send out a basic message. This lacks any form of detailed information only things like, Danger, Food, Help, Attack are about the only messages sent this way. It is a means to communicate with each other without the webs, and Skree-Gore can detect this signal as well with their excellent noses.

The final way to communicate and to send a great deal of information is using the webs, they will deposit special silk anointed with their saliva. Having the ability to take in knowledge from DNA they eat the silk and gradually learn from the other, it’s like giving memories to someone else. An alien idea to vertebrates, so alien no one would believe it. This method however preserves the memories of their ancestors letting them live within the minds of the living generation. The feelings, the knowledge all are within the Spider’s brains.

This however makes their thinking very much alien to normal, humanoid thinking. The spiders think as if they have seen the world and know the patterns of life. Inside their minds they have seen far and wide, however the world changes and they have left the outside to live among the Skree-Gore. Now they take in new outside knowledge from the spiderlings who return from their travels on the Skree-Gore. The Shamans also share knowledge freely with the spiders and the spiders in turn share fragments of their ancient knowledge.

Society: Weaver society is nothing like traditional so called societies. Since they don’t have to hunt they spend much of their time motionless reliving the memories within them. It takes time and genuine effort to realize the meaning among the huge jumble of memories.

The Spiderlings are the more active seeking out new ideas or experiences. Many venture out with the Skree-Gore as well as outside the burrows and tunnels. Taking in the world and it’s views. Many climb nearby trees and survey the land. Being creatures of patience they watch and learn.

Combat: Weavers rarely engage in open combat as they have the Skree-Gore around and any threat will be swiftly destroyed and devoured. When forced to fight the spiders will emit a pheromone that mean “Help assistance!”. The stronger the scent the more help is needed and received, nearby Weavers will flock to the source and join the assault.

Biting with venom and retreating to let it take effect. The venom affects the nervous system, making the target delirious and begin to convulse. This is when they swarm biting and chewing of chunks of flesh with there human like jaws and chewing. The Saliva is venomous and further incapacitates the prey.

Territory: The Weavers are everywhere the Skree-Gore are, lurking among the shadow. There are also the wanderers who have a desire to see more then a cave. These ones wander far and wide, however they don’t last long as they are alone and small. Adults know danger is out in the open, getting to be an adult is a feat in itself.

There are also treetop Weavers but their whereabouts are unknown


Weavers ©

Artist NOTE:
This was fun as hell to draw.