#arachna of the dark woods

[hellsite-smp]

Tumblrcraft Origin List

Human [○○○]

A Human's fate is more open then most

Notable changes: None

Wood elf [●○○]

Wood elves are a wise long-lived race who live in harmony with the earth. They are quick with a sword and bow and can out wit their enemies while among the trees

Notable changes: + Ranged bonuses, speed = Stealthy, vegetarian - Melee damage, defense

Alfiq [●○○]

Alfiq are a cunning species of anthropomorphic felines with sharp claws and excellent agility. Their roads often lead to warm sands.

Notable changes: + Unarmed bonus, unique movement = Carnivore - Defense

Gremlin [●○○]

Gremlins tend to find more treasure where they look. Their small size leaves them vulnerable in combat

Notable changes: + Luck, speed = Small (92cm/3'3'') - Health, defenses

Arachnae [●●○]

A grotesque amalgamation of spider and human, with venomous fangs and bristled feet yet with the ability to walk upright and wield weaponry

Notable changes: + poison crowd control, wall climbing = Carnivore - Hunger, armor

Incubus [●●○]

Incubi are evil servants of a dark power. They are powerful in their own realm but in exchange for this they have given up their soul

Notable changes: + Nether bonuses = Fire-based - Damaged by water, weaker in overworld

Dwarf [●●○]

Dwarves are piratical, stocky and prideful. They excel at mining and living underground but struggle with the daylight

Notable changes: + Mining, caving = Short (102cm/3'7'') - Sun sensitive, can't swim

High elf [●●○]

High elves are nutritiously arrogant though undeniably talented. Elemental magics course strongly through their blood, though they are weaker with weaponry

Notable changes: + Magic, unique abilities - Physical damage, defense

Fae [●●○]

fae are short magical winged humanoids, regarded as spirits of nature and said to haunt forests and lead travelers astray. They are equal parts magic and trickster

Notable changes: + Hovering, magic = Short (1022cm/4'0'') - Loved by mobs, defense

Pixie [●●○]

Often considered harbingers of good fortune, but also tricky, untrustworthy agents of mischief. Pixies are whimsical and very, very small

Notable changes: + Unique flight, odd = Short (22cm/9'') - Defense, reputation

Siren [●●○]

Sirens are said to be a type of merfolk. They have an ensnaring aura and irresistible beauty is said to be the downfall of many foolish sailors

Notable changes: + Water-based, utility = Weaker on land - Vulnerable to fire

Yeti [●●○]

Thick furred beasts from frosty woods, a Yeti's dominion over ice allows them to freeze foes but they are especially vulnerable to fiery attacks

Notable changes: + Frost based, tanky = Massive (203cm/6'8'') - Heat sensitive

Snail [●●○]

A slimy specimen creeping about unusual places

Notable changes: + Wall climbing, projectiles = eat anything - Sun weakness, heat weakness

Banshee [●●●]

Banshees are anguished spirits whose cries can shatter glass and drive people into madness. In myth their presence is often considered an omen of death

Notable changes: + Flight support, phasing - Defense, extreme changes

Gorgon [●●●]

Gorgons are cursed creatures who where once human, with hair made of snakes and a haunting gaze said to petrify those who witness it

Notable changes: + Poison damage & immunity, crowd control - Hydrophobic, unique weaknesses

Moon elf [●●●]

Mysterious ethereal beings who are not of this world. Moon elves are named not by their homeland but for the only thing their victims can see before their end

Notable changes: + Dagger damage, dexterity = Stealthy, doesn't sleep - Defense

Revenant [●●●]

Revenants are misfortunate souls who died gruesome and painful deaths but returned to life. As a result they became obsessed with manipulating life and death in other creatures

Notable changes: + Summons, Illager friendly = Undead, complex - Reputation, living interactions

Ogre [●●●]

Ogres are a large, short-tempered and brutish sub species of Orc. Their lumbering size and limited intelligence is made up for by their raw strength

Notable changes: + Axe bonuses, defense = Massive (268cm/9'5'') - Hunger, speed

Plauge Victim [●●●]

Disease-ridden half-dead creatures who can no longer be called human, cursed and trapped in eternal suffering as result of a strange magical illness

Notable changes: + Withering = Unique play style, undead - Defense, reputation, difficult

Shroomling [●●●]

Just a mushroom lad doing their best to spread their spores

Notable changes: + Invisibility, fire immunity, light weight = Small - Hydrophobia, fragile, weak

Mushling [●●●]

Just a fungus boi with dark intentions

Notable changes: + Darkvision, light weight = Small - Dehydration, heat weakness, fragile

Sharkling [●●●]

A species of shark people

Notable changes: + Water-based = Tall, carnivore - Dehydration

Snail [●●●]

A humble garden snail

Notable changes: + Wall climbing, protection = Herbivore - Slow

[bog-mist]

Tumblrcraft SMP Origin's list

Human [○○○]

A Human's fate is more open then most

Notable changes: None

Wood elf [●○○]

Wood elves are a wise long-lived race who live in harmony with the earth. They are quick with a sword and bow and can out wit their enemies while among the trees

Notable changes: + Ranged bonuses, speed = Stealthy, vegetarian - Melee damage, defense

Alfiq [●○○]

Alfiq are a cunning species of anthropomorphic felines with sharp claws and excellent agility. Their roads often lead to warm sands.

Notable changes: + Unarmed bonus, unique movement = Carnivore - Defense

Goblin [●○○]

Goblins tend to find more treasure where they look. Their small size leaves them vulnerable in combat

Notable changes: + Luck, speed = Small (92cm/3'3'') - Health, defenses

Arachnae [●●○]

A grotesque amalgamation of spider and human, with venomous fangs and bristled feet yet with the ability to walk upright and wield weaponry

Notable changes: + poison crowd control, wall climbing = Carnivore - Hunger, armor

Incubus [●●○]

Incubi are evil servants of a dark power. They are powerful in their own realm but in exchange for this they have given up their soul

Notable changes: + Nether bonuses = Fire-based - Damaged by water, weaker in overworld

Dwarf [●●○]

Dwarves are piratical, stocky and prideful. They excel at mining and living underground but struggle with the daylight

Notable changes: + Mining, caving = Short (102cm/3'7'') - Sun sensitive, can't swim

High elf [●●○]

High elves are nutritiously arrogant though undeniably talented. Elemental magics course strongly through their blood, though they are weaker with weaponry

Notable changes: + Magic, unique abilities - Physical damage, defense

Fae [●●○]

fae are short magical winged humanoids, regarded as spirits of nature and said to haunt forests and lead travelers astray. They are equal parts magic and trickster

Notable changes: + Hovering, magic = Short (1022cm/4'0'') - Loved by mobs, defense

Pixie [●●○]

Often considered harbingers of good fortune, but also tricky, untrustworthy agents of mischief. Pixies are whimsical and very, very small

Notable changes: + Unique flight, odd = Short (22cm/9'') - Defense, reputation

Siren [●●○]

Sirens are said to be a type of merfolk. They have an ensnaring aura and irresistible beauty is said to be the downfall of many foolish sailors

Notable changes: + Water-based, utility = Weaker on land - Vulnerable to fire

Yeti [●●○]

Thick furred beasts from frosty woods, a Yeti's dominion over ice allows them to freeze foes but they are especially vulnerable to fiery attacks

Notable changes: + Frost based, tanky = Massive (203cm/6'8'') - Heat sensitive

Snail [●●○]

A slimy specimen creeping about unusual places

Notable changes: + Wall climbing, projectiles = eat anything - Sun weakness, heat weakness

Banshee [●●●]

Notable changes: + Flight support, phasing - Defense, extreme changes read origin description before choosing

Gorgon [●●●]

Gorgons are cursed creatures who where once human, with hair made of snakes and a haunting gaze said to petrify those who witness it

Notable changes: + Poison damage & immunity, crowd control - Hydrophobic, unique weaknesses

Moon elf [●●●]

Mysterious ethereal beings who are not of this world. Moon elves are named not by their homeland but for the only thing their victims can see before their end

Notable changes: + Dagger damage, dexterity = Stealthy, doesn't sleep - Defense

Revenant [●●●]

Revenants are misfortunate souls who died gruesome and painful deaths but returned to life. As a result they became obsessed with manipulating life and death in other creatures

Notable changes: + Summons, Illager friendly = Undead, complex - Reputation, living interactions

Ogre [●●●]

Ogres are a large, short-tempered and brutish sub species of Orc. Their lumbering size and limited intelligence is made up for by their raw strength

Notable changes: + Axe bonuses, defense = Massive (268cm/9'5'') - Hunger, speed

Plauge Victim [●●●]

Disease-ridden half-dead creatures who can no longer be called human, cursed and trapped in eternal suffering as result of a strange magical illness

Notable changes: + Withering = Unique play style, undead - Defense, reputation, difficult

Shroomling [●●●]

Just a mushroom lad doing their best to spread their spores

Notable changes: + Invisibility, fire immunity, light weight = Small - Hydrophobia, fragile, weak

Mushling [●●●]

Just a fungus boi with dark intentions

Notable changes: + Darkvision, light weight = Small - Dehydration, heat weakness, fragile

Sharkling [●●●]

A species of shark people

Notable changes: + Water-based = Tall, carnivore - Dehydration

Snail [●●●]

A humble garden snail

Notable changes: + Wall climbing, protection = Herbivore - Slow

[thesimsters-stories]

Arachna of the Dark Woods for @momoception‘s Bachelor Challenge ♥

Arachna was born as the eighth and youngest daughter of two of the most powerful mages of the Clan of the Dark Woods. Her Clan was repudiated from the Magic Society many centuries ago, because they were suspected of practicing the so-called "black magic". Since then, they can't access the Magic Realm, and to avoid a war they were, in fact, confined to the woods of Glimmerbrook with the (pretextual) office of Guardians of the Dark Woods. They have lived a rural and tribal life since then, and none of them has ever left their woods... or rather, none of them has ever made it alive (they were instantly killed by the Magic Society). But why does the Magic Society fear them that much? Because the members of the Clan of the Dark Woods are, in fact, born with a strong affinity for the dark arts... and Arachna herself is proof of it.

Arachna is a shape-shifter witch. It's a pretty rare, powerful and dark ability that is said to show up once every ten generations. Her animal form is the one of a spider. When transmuting to this form, Arachna's magical powers, especially the offensive spells, increase significantly, so much that she's quickly become one of her Clan's main weapon in battle (usually against errant vampires or other renegades mages who want to take over their territory). With all the benefits also come some risks: if she doesn't reverse to her human form in a quite short timespan, her beastly part will start to take over. She won't have control over her attacks, that will become more destructive and possibly self-harming, and she also won't be able to recognize her enemies from her allies. On top of that, the poisonous toxin that she uses for her attacks will start to spread all over her body, resulting in a paralysis that could last up to a week.

Arachna and the witches of her Clan aren't immortal, but their lifespan is longer than the one of a normal human because of the magic that runs through their veins (the most longeval usually make it to 250/300 years old). Being a "fresh" 70 years old, it's time for Arachna to find a partner. It's not unusual for the mages of her Clan to marry a human: by doing that, their descendants will have stronger genetic heritage while still passing down the ability to use magic (80% of the newborns are indeed mages).

FACTS: • Arachna's Clan is normally not allowed to leave Glimmerbrook's woods; the Magic Society has made an exception for her though, in case she gets selected for the show, on the condition that she won't use any sort of even remotely black magic (of course shape-shifting is strictly prohibited) • Every spider of the Dark Woods is basically her familiar; she also has the ability to see from a spider's perspective sacrificing one of her eyes' sight for a short amount of time • Poisonous potions are, obviously, her thing; she uses her own poison to make them • In addition to her powerful magic, she's also very intelligent and strategic; that's why everyone thinks she'll be soon appointed General of the Dark Woods' Army • Being a self-sufficient and isolated community, the members of the Dark Woods' Clan don't have the same ethical values as the "normal" society; their culture could seem cruel to others, since their most important value is the survival of the species, and they'd do anything for it • For the same reason, Arachna doesn't know what it means to be kind and considerate of other people's feelings, that's why she could be considered a little too blunt by others; the bright side? She'll always tell you what she thinks, without any filter • Loves her Clan, her people and her Woods with all her heart, and would do anything to protect them • There's a big downside about being in a relationship with Arachna: her kiss is poisonous • Sure, she can make an antidote that makes people immune to her poison for 24h... not a single minute more though, so be careful! • Before celebrating the wedding, her chosen groom (Andrew, hopefully!) will necessary have to go through a special ritual: on a clear night, at midnight, the spouses will have to share a kiss in front of the whole Clan. If the groom dies, it means he wasn't the right one. If he survives the poison, then he'll be immune to it for the rest of his life and acquires the right to become Arachna's husband. The wedding will be celebrated immediatly after the ritual, under the moonlight • She's happy with her life, but she'd like to fall in love; she also wants to have at least five children with someone who will love everything about her, even the things that most men would find creepy/disgusting... Could Andrew be the one?

Sorry this is so long! Hope you’ll like my weird bb ♥                                              ―  Moon ☾

P.S: I’ve made a “cerimonial” outfit for her (the one shown in the third picture) but it’s not meant to be used during Rose Ceremonies and stuff lol I just felt like making it! Just a side note in case she gets selected, thank you ♥

P.P.S: I swear she looks a bit less weird in-game lmao ReShade makes her look half (if not fully) dead, sorry haha

[kisuminight]

Questions

Post-series, slight book elements. Hunter isn’t that much of an idiot, but he’s not that brave, either. A list of questions compiled over the course of the series and some musings about Hunter’s past before the Inner World.

Third Person POV, Hunter-centric, stream of consciousness. Notes at the end.

~~~

Hunter had a lot of questions that he left unasked. Not his usual questions, about things in the Inner World that Grandfather’s journal hadn’t elaborated on (and a surprising amount of that concerned the Spider Riders, which was odd, considering the things Brade had said).

(Brade had mentioned a lot of things not in Grandfather’s journal, stories Hunter wished he could’ve asked Grandfather about. Could’ve asked why he’d never spoken of them, asked why Grandfather ever left the Inner World in the first place. There were so many things he didn’t understand.)

No, these questions were the ones that started as idle musings, before the thoughts pushed them into blossoming introspection. Maybe Igneous and Corona and Venus and Shadow always accused him of needing to think more, sometimes, but he did try.

Though his relationship with Shadow had gotten much better since the very beginning. These days most of the snark was because they had fun doing it; like sparring practive but with words and barbs that never meant to hurt.

That relationship was one of his questions, actually. Like why the manacle always felt like the sun dappling through leaves when Shadow was In, or the way he always knew where the Spider was like the scent of magnolia on the breeze. These days, Shadow was easier to read than Corona, despite that definitely being the opposite, that first day.

Maybe Igneous would know? Flame never talked, but they worked so well together all the same. And they were the oldest of the Spider Riders, though Lumen or Sparkle might know something too because of that whole history thing; King Arachna and Arachna Power and—

Where had he been going with that?

Right. Igneous was the oldest Spider Rider. Except for Brade, who was a ghost. And that was his second question, because what happened to all the older Spider Riders? Even Igneous had only just turned nineteen. Brade had been older than Grandfather—like, his great-grandfather’s age. So, what happened to—well, not Brade’s group, but yes Brade’s group because Grandfather had been a Spider Rider at the same time, but he would’ve been Hunter’s age (probably, Hunter wasn’t the best at math). So that meant Grandfather’s group, except Grandfather died (and didn’t even get to come back as a ghost; so unfair) which meant is should be his Mom’s group, or at least her age, and Queen Elma said she was expecting adults.

No, wait, the word he should be using is generations.

Agh! Not the point!

Okay, so if there were only eight Spider Riders per generation—no, Corona said eight total because otherwise Brade wouldn’t count—where were the ones who’d been Spider Riders before them?

Right, Mantid.

But then, how had the manacles survived, been found again? After all, his had just appeared and Shadow thought he’d stolen it (and that had been the most hurtful thing Hunter ever had said to him, despite some of the really vicious arguments with Shadow since then; he didn’t really know why, just that there’d been something small and wondering and then just pained, hurt enough to start keening like it’d never be happy again).

Had Grandfather brough his manacle with him when he’d left the Inner World? His Spider? What had happened to them? Was this Grandfather’s manacle, was there any way to tell? Each one seemed to have different colors, but did those colors change with the Rider? After all, Corona sometimes talked about being chosen.

Hunter wasn’t sure what to think of that. Lumen and Ebony he could see, with the Prince thing and all. Him, though? He meant, just, it was pretty great that he and Shadow could even use the Oracle Keys, but that was Aqune and Corona, too! Mostly them, even. Why had he even been picked from Earth?

That was the really big, important question. Not that he didn’t love the Inner World, had been obsessed with finding it ever since Mom threw Grandfather’s worlds in his face alongside grow up, stop dreaming, you’ll never have a future for yourself if you don’t give up on your silly fantasies!

He hadn’t been unhappy to leave, but she was his Mom and he missed her, for all that the thought of never seeing her again didn’t claw open a gaping abyss in his chest like it had when he’d heard about Grandfather.

So, had the Oracle brought him to the Inner World because he didn’t have much he’d miss? Because of Grandfather? And if so, why had She brought Grandfather to the Inner World? Or even Mantid?

Not that Mantid looked much like he came from Earth in the end. Well, maybe if he’d been youkai or something. But youkai were just fairytales!

That’s what Mom said about the Inner World, too.

“Hey. You’re being pretty quiet.” Hunter didn’t need to open his eyes to know that Shadow stretched out next to the bedside table, felt comfortable and content with maybe the slightest smudge of lingering worry from the thing with the Rainfire last week, but he did anyway.

In the weak, green evening lighting, Shadow more than lived up to his name. Dark and mirror-bright broth with a betraying sense of calm stillness. They fought for fun these days, and even at the worst neither one of them had ever truly tried to be hurtful. They would’ve wrecked themselves, shattered apart like an unstoppable force meeting an immovable object otherwise.

“Just thinking.” Shadow would understand. The certainty of it almost frightened Hunter.

“Don’t hurt yourself.” Don’t dwell on the things that will hurt you, the truths that must be acknowledged but stab at your soul all the same until all you bleed is misery. Or something like that anyway, though probably less poetically.

“Why would I, bug?” They’re just thoughts. And questions I’m not brave enough to ask.

One more: why Shadow? It was new and scary and wrong and right all at once, within minutes of meeting each other. Thank you, but why?

~~~

Notes:

A lot of these are my own questions. One of the big ones is why Mantid didn’t track down and destroy the manacles while searching for the Oracle Keys to get rid of future opposition (and given that it was a war, some of those Spider Riders must have died at his/his generals’ hands, which would put a manacle right in their grasp). This is where I got the whole manacles-are-blessings bit that shows up in Rainfire.

It’s interesting to note that if Hunter was supposed to be 13~ (in Japan) or 11~ (in US) years old, then he probably wouldn’t do very well coming back to Earth if he stayed in the Inner World for any length of time, because of advancing technology. They wouldn’t have had cell phones or laptops (or if they did they would’ve been very basic and much larger and clunkier), back then, and just over 10 years later we have smart phones and tablets and wi-fi when someone who lives that close to the woods probably only had dial-up internet, if at all. At least it would’ve made adjusting to the Inner World much easier.

[kisuminight]

Rainfire

Sometimes you remember something you watched when you were a kid and then you go look it up. And then you get ideas.

This story addresses the idea that never gets covered in the Spider Riders anime that the Inner World might (and probably does) have very different diseases. And Hunter, being Earthen, has no immunity to them.

Third Person POV, centered on Igneous. Adds a couple book elements and headcannons. Notes at the end.

~~~

“Oh, and Igneous? Sparkle won’t be able to make it to your afternoon training session today. Rainfire.” The way the Prince waved away gathering concerns with a smile and half-lidded eyes was all-too indicative of his own. Even if this method of informing the other Spider Riders was mostly an excuse to dodge his paperwork again.

Still, “It’s not exactly bad news.” Everyone knew that if you didn’t catch Rainfire young, it got much worse the older you were. In fact, “The Princess is almost a little overdue, isn���t she? How’s Hotarla doing?” His manacle felt warm on his wrist; a dry, soothing heat over his pulse point, Flame’s warm regard. They hadn’t been chosen yet when Igneous himself fell ill, but they’d already been friends; Flame had been nearly as worried as Slate, more so, even.

“Hotarla’s dealing better than Uncle Hop.” The protective fury and duty-born anger faded from that name long ago. It helped that Grasshop had always been hard to hate, even immediately after he’d defected. “Part of it is how Rainfire interacts with Insectors. Apparently, it’s inverted for them.”

Oh. Igneous thought about what it might mean if Rainfire struck the young hardest, and even Flame’s reassurance couldn’t ease the sudden chill. The Princess suddenly seemed much to young. “Aqune and Potia are in Insector territory at the moment; they would come if we called.

Most Insectors trusted the pair more than the other fourteen. Understandable, given the generations-long war, ut it still rankled. Spider Riders were supposed to be heroes, after all.

“No, it’s fine. Textbook Rainfire, right down to the crystal formation. I’m just glad she didn’t come down before…” Mantid. The name still felt cold on everybody’s tongues. Irregular, the way nobody knew how to say it now, and tangled up in unprocessable emotions.

“I’ll see if I can reschedule with Corona and Hunter. If they’re determined to be battle partners, they’ll need to learn teamwork with Shadow and Venus instead of just as part of their own pair.” Not that Hunter and Shadow did particularly well off the battlefield, given the arguing (even if it had lost that edge of cruelty as time wore on). Today had been surprisingly quiet.

“Hey! I heard our names mentioned?” Corona, greeting them with her left hand leading and manacle gem shining in a subtle indicator of Venus’ presence to the observant.

“Training session, this afternoon. Hunter and Shadow, too. Do you know where they are?” Probably not in the castle.

“He and Princess Sparkle were supposed to be doing something this morning.” That didn’t sound particularly likely.

But Corona’s manacle flashed in the shadow of her wrist, and Venus projected to the group, “He pestered Shadow into helping him wake up. He was very serious about helping Sparkle and Hotarla.”

But, “The Princess is down with Rainfire. She couldn’t have met Hunter this morning,” Igneous protested.

“He wouldn’t have slept through breakfast, and he wouldn’t have missed breakfast if he was awake.” The Prince’s smile turned wry and more than a little amused. “Well, I’m sure you’ll solve this mystery; I’ve got to go check on Sparkle.” Amazing how he could make Sparkle sound like Grasshop, who’s going to panic and maybe accidentally set the room on fire.

Corona shook her head, eyes pensive and deep after they waved the Prince off. “Now I’m worried. Neither of us have heard from Shadow, either.”

Igneous curled his fingers across his manacle, and offered a quick prayer to the Oracle fro patience. “Alright. We should use their room as a starting point, just for organizational purposes.” Flame’s opinions weighted on him, unsaid as they were, and Igneous felt the smile touch his lips under his spider’s approval.

So, Hunter and Shadow’s room: located a couple floors up and three hallways over. Rather than climb six flights of stairs (and also because they were, perhaps a little, worried), “Flame, Spider Out!” The jump to get him on Flame’s back slipped away from his memories, more habit than conscious act. Igneous held out a hand to Corona, catching her as she, too, leaped aboard.

Flame waited patient as a stone, for both riders to settle in their stances before he leaped, balcony to balcony in the clear, open space King Arachna III deliberately designed into the architecture, leaving more room and load-bearing capacity for the sake of the Arachnian Kingdom’s Battle Spider allies.

Dismounting at the floor they wanted, Igneous took a minute to lean into Flame in a stoic, silent geture of trust and gratitude. “Flame, Spider In.”

“Thank you, Flame,” Corona added, her manacle glowing in a manner that suggested Venus privately asking her Rider to rely on her, next time.

At a brisk walk, Igneous and Corona set out. Three hallways over put them near the outer wall, all the doors leading into large-windowed rooms. Hunter and Shadow’s  was near the end of the hall, if not quite the corner room. Next to Magma and Brutus’ if Igneous remembered correctly, though that pair had taken off to check on the harbours, now that peace seemed to be settling over the land with the war declared at an end and the embargo on the Insectors lifted.

Unsurprisingly, the door was closed. Corona knocked lightly. “Hunter, Shadow? Are you two in there?” Not entirely expecting a response, she tried the doorknob. Locked.

“Corona?” Shadow’s voice through the wood, but thin and thread with something Igneous couldn’t quite place. “Can you come in? Please?”

Wrong. Utterly wrong, in the way that would’ve sent Igneous into a panic if they’d still been fighting, under constant threat of something that could completely corrupt the mind (Mantid had never used a mask on more than Aqune and Portia, thank the Oracle). Sent him into a panic anyway because even for Corona and Venus, Shadow never used that word, never uttered it in a way more begging than confident.

Lips pursed, Igneous motioned Corona out of the way. He didn’t ask about the lock; as good a companion as a Battle Spider could be, they mostly got through locked doors by smashing them down. Besides, Shadow hadn’t mentioned it, meaning he had enough faith that they could get around it anyway. Fortunately, Igneous trained his skill with locks enough to subvert all the ones in the Palace.

Maybe Igneous would bother the Prince less about paperwork if he’d at least fill out the forms to increase his own security.

Kneeling, he examined the lock. A standard type three, nothing too special. Corona brushed a hand across Igneous’ shoulder as he retrieved his lock picks from his boot. “We’ll go around by the window.” Slipping into an unused room, he heard her call Venus even as he managed to get the first pin to click.

Second.

Fourth.

Sixth, and Igneous nearly threw the door open in his haste. Oracle, he was worried enough to spend the rest of the day lecturing the pair, never mind afternoon training with Corona and Hunter—

Hunter.

So admittedly a lot of the angriest thoughts had focused on Hunter. They hadn’t heard his voice and he’d just remembered the windows in this room couldn’t fit a fully grown Battle Spider, as evidenced by the way Corona had to vault into the room, leaving Venus hovering outside—some of the really dark ones accused Hunter of leaving Shadow in a room he couldn’t easily exit, the sort of childish disregard some of their arguments inevitable devolved to. But it hadn’t prepared him for this.

Hunter lay in bed, face flushed nearly as red as his hair and brow sweaty. He’d kicked the blanket off so they could see the golden droplets of crystal that had formed dancing patterns across his skin, deceptively beautiful. The most dangerous were an almost-collar spiking up about his throat and a heavy scale-like pattern putting far too much pressure on his ankle for safety’s sake.

“I thought we could deal with it. It’s just Rainfire, but then I realized something was wrong and I couldn’t call for help or get out.” Too quiet. Quiet and exhausted and not like Shadow at all. Igneous didn’t know what to do, how he could make this better. You couldn’t fight disease with a lance.

“It can’t be Rainfire. He’s too old for Rainfire.” Intellectually, Igneous knew it did happen. Those were usually the fatal cases. “Why didn’t he get it until this late?”

“Earthen,” Corona breathed like a revelation and a doom curse in one. “What if they don’t have Rainfire? What if they don’t have anything we have?” Meaning Hunter might not have any vaccinations, not even for the truly deadly diseases like Corpse Script or Weblung.

It was hard to even wrap his head around it. Corpse Script? Sure, fine, that one only had a case or two per year. But Rainfire? How could anywhere not have Rainfire? The crystal sickness was practically inevitable.

“What are you talking about? It’s Rainfire, I can’t think of anything more harmless.” Well, at least Shadow was starting to sound like himself again, if with more of an edge than usual.

“The crystal sickness is different for humans,” Venus scolded gently. “Do you have anything to keep the crystal projections from blocking his airways?”

“They’re not too tough in spikes like that; I can break them off without harm.” Thrown full-on into her task, Corona pulled out a clean cloth probably meant for cleaning weapons. She wrapped it around the points of the not-collar, steadily pulling away to try and remove the crystal from Hunter’s skin.

With tired determination, Igneous let Flame anchor him in their hearthfire as he dove into the still-gowing web of the current generation of Spider Riders. There was Brade-and-Dagger, a hollow gaping hole, Lumen-and-Ebony whirling gears-inside-gears, the currently-dim sun of Sparkle-and-Hotarla, Corona-and-Venus’ deep ocean of conviction, Magma-and-Brutus’ mountain-strong determination far away, and father still the mirror-and-ice palace of, “Aqune.”

Call initiated, he brought his manacle closer to his face and tried to ignore how Hunter-and-Shadow’s riotous jungle of a presence had felt more faded and threadbare than the presence of Brade-and-Dagger who were both gh—alternately present by the grace and thoughtfulness of the Oracle.

“Igneous,” Aqune responded promptly. “Is there something wrong at the castle? Any Spider Rider issues?” Igneous liked Aqune despite their history; always professional, he couldn’t help but liken her to the training master he and Slate had shared when they first joined the Arachnian Knights. Portia, too, reminded him of Flame, though she had less of a temper.

“Not quite. How much to do know about Rainfire in humans? We’ve got a fairly serious case.” One advantage of the manacle connection—enemies couldn’t listen in, or even see the picture of light and movement that formed on the manacle’s surface. Not that Buguese was an enemy, exactly, but his entire demeanor, while honorable, left him harder to trust than Grasshop’s goofy sincerity and joy with the Princess or Portia and Aqune’s own acceptance of their actions under the mask.

“Not so much about humans, but I’m sure you’ve guessed that some of Mantid’s policies meant we’ve had serious before.” Right. Because the lack of the Oracle Sun meant more inhospitable weather and less food, on top of a lack of medicinal herbs and vaccines being a primarily human export. That sounded uncomfortably close to a breeding ground for epidemics and plagues.

Igneous leaned on Flame’s solid presence in his manacle. “No, I hadn’t guessed.” He felt an oncoming headache; at least Hunter and Shadow weren’t totally responsible for it, this time. “I—look, sorry, right now we need help with Hunter. But when you get back, I’ll help you corner the Prince for some talks on policy.” Much, much needed talks on policy.

Wait. The Prince had said something before, something about—“Grasshop. Is he going to come down with something, too?” Because that would be a great omen for their budding peace.

“No. He’s had Rainfire before, and he’s Big Four.” Because Mantid wouldn’t want to lose one of his top four generals to something preventable, right. “So, first rule of Rainfire: keep the airways clear.”

“Corona’s on that already.”

“Okay. Next, keep them hydrated. Try water flavored with fruit, thin soup, or broth. Rainfire sucks the body dry.” Listening to Aqune’s voice list all of the things he could do, ways he could help, eased something inside him, the feral, snarling thing that lived in the deepest corner of his mind and so rarely rose to something louder than a hum—and only when helpless, like that first time facing Stags with Corona and nearly watching both she and Venus die, or when Insector Commander Scarab had laid hands on both the Prince and the Princess.

“And lastly, you can crack the crystal with hammer and chisel if necessary, but always hit from the side, and never straight down, and only with a denser cloth in place from the other side to protect from possible shrapnel.”

“Thank you, Aqune. I think we’ll be able to handle it from here.” He let a wry smile creep onto his face, chasing away what he knew to be a grim, worried frown. “Why is Hunter always the troublesome one?” More background than proper attention, Igneous heard Shadow huff out an almost-laugh.

“Talent,” Aqune returned, equally dry. “We’ll be back by tomorrow, in any case. Good luck. The Oracle is with you, that a chosen bond not be cut so soon.”

“Safe travels.” The connection cut, and Igneous hopped that we only meant Aqune and Portia. Even if—when Hunter got better, Igneous didn’t trust that he wouldn’t be too frazzled not to act snippy at Buguese.

“Do we really get another case of divine intervention?” Skeptic, but hopeful, and Igneous turned with Shadow to look at Corona.

“Um, maybe?” Corona paused to press a hand to her heart, closing her eyes. “Not a big one, like with the Oracle Keys, but it feels like the standard blessing that you receive when a manacle chooses you.”

“There’s a blessing?” Shadow sounded lost and a little embarrassed.

“Yes? There are plenty of Spider-Human pairings, but the manacles are the Oracle’s blessing to the ones she favors. They’re why we can transforms, and they help speed up our healing after and during battle, just a little.” She smiled and shook her head, pinning them both with her gaze. “I forget you and Hunter don’t necessarily know these things.”

“I suppose that means you and Hunter will be sitting history lessons with the Princess and Hotarla from now on.” Igneous sighed, forcing his body to relax. They would be able to attend those lessons. They would.

“I’ll go fetch the things Aqune recommended. Will you and Flame sit with them?” Igneous bit down his protest. If he felt useless in this situation, how much more so did Corona feel?

“Go ahead.” Igneous scanned the room, looking for a chair he could move to Hunter’s bedside. He couldn’t call Flame out in such a small space; the room barely fit three humans and a Battle Spider as it was. Yet, the presence of his partner eased some of the longing. “Bring some ice if they have any in the kitchens.”

Corona stepped out the window to Venus, and together they disappeared downwards. Climbing down the side of the building always sped up movements more than taking the stairs and hallways inside—normally Igneous didn’t allow such a thing, but this was something of a minor emergency.

“Don’t worry so much,” Igneous told Shadow as he scooted the chair across the room and tried not to make it more reassurance for himself. “He’s strong. Do you honestly think he can’t deal with a little Rainfire?”

“Venus said they’re different, though.”

“A lot of things are, it seems.” Igneous reflected on the tidbits the Prince had dropped, Aqune’s frank admission of things that shouldn’t have been a surprise if he’d bothered to think, and Shadow’s own startlement. “And while the lack of knowledge about them is understandable, it is not acceptable. Tell me how Battle Spiders view Rainfire.”

There was a stilted feel to Shadow’s legs as he thought; Igneous may not be able to read Shadow’s every thought in the microcosm of body language as Hunter would eventually and had previously shown signs of, but he thought the Spider might’ve taken too much chastisement out of a simple request for more knowledge.

“Shadow, I’m angrier with myself more than anyone else. I am an Arachnian Knight and a Spider Rider. Not knowing such crucial details about our greatest allies is an inexcusable failing on my part, not yours.” No, for all that Shadow was older than Venus, he seemed much less experienced with humans than his battle partner.

Tense mandibles relaxed. “…Rainfire isn’t rare, but it’s not common, either. I’ve never heard of any Battle Spider dying from it, but the legends say that only the strongest even get it. Proof from the Oracle that they are the strongest.” Hesitating, Shadow’s voice seemed to linger over his next thought. “I had it, once.”

Ah. “It’s not your fault Hunter is sick. He most likely got it from the Princess.” Or the Princess had gotten it from him. They’d both been out in that nasty storm last week; this shouldn’t have come as a surprise at all. “Rainfire is a little different with humans. You can only catch it once, and it tends to be milder the younger you are. For all our fussing, Hunter is still thirteen and otherwise healthy. It’s safest for him to catch it now.”

Igneous just wished that they’d been prepared for it.

“We’re back,” Venus announced as she used her webbing to help Corona maneuver—had they stolen the entire pot of broth from the kitchen? “It’s vegetable, carrot, sunpeas, and vinenut.”

“I hope you left some for the Princess.” Not much of a joke, but not as bleak as he’d thought it would come out. “Did you bring any dishware, too?”

“Right here. And the hammer and chisel.” Corona lifted a package of three half-bowls and some towels with suspicious lumps, bound up with spider silk. “I’ve got some bread, too. Can you believe it’s past lunch already?” Was it? He hadn’t been monitoring the time, just the heavy oppression of Shadow’s mood and the liquid flow-freeze of Rainfire’s signature crystal.

Rising, Igneous left the chair to Corona. Taking a towel from the pack of them after a short fight with Venus’ webbing, he unwrapped the plain stone mason’s wooden-hafted hammer and iron chisel. Carefully, he eased the edge of the towel underneath the edge of the crystal formation around Hunter’s left ankle; there was still a little space to wiggle the whole thing into position, but not much. Not enough.

They needed to get this off, now.

Ankles were important parts of footwork, and without good footwork, a Spider Rider was crippled. So, mindful of Aqune’s warnings, Igneous placed the chisel at a forty-five-degree angle. The fell of cool, lifeless metal felt very different from the sunlight-and-hope of his lance. Worried, Igneous switched hands. Flame felt Igneous’ fussing and stirred in the manacle; the outpouring of gentle warmth increased, suffusing his skin, and it felt better. Not right, just better.

Picking up the hammer in his other hand, he touched the head to the chisel. Then he pulled back slightly and tried to swing as gently as he could. Metal met metal, but the chisel only chimed softly off the crystal despite the vibration ringing up his arms. Too gentle.

Igneous swung a second time, worrying that it was too hard even as a crack in the crystal opened up with a sound like an Insector machine’s cannon. Hands almost numb, he set down hammer and chisel to pry at the crack with his fingers until he could pull away whole chunks. Held up to the light, they sparkled; beautiful and potentially deadly.

Would Hunter know the tradition of keeping a piece to mark your survival? Probably not. And the Earthen boy had learned to fit in well enough that learning what he knew, and what he was clueless about could no longer be divined with a simple look at his face.

Suddenly more exhausted than he’d ever been before, Igneous accepted a miniature loaf of bread and a half bowl of the broth from Corona. He had to set it on his knees to keep his trembling hands from spilling it all over the floor. Even dipping the bread into the broth didn’t provoke his appetite, and the bite he took anyway tasted like ash on his tongue.

“So now all we have is monitoring duty.” Hurry up and wait. It grated on his need for solutions now just as much as it had when his and Slate’s training master had first thrown the phrase in his face.

“Shadow, Venus, and I can stay, if you want to go train.” Corona’s offer was genuine and well-meant, as always, but Igneous didn’t need the sharp temperature flare from his manacle to know she’d annoyed them both.

“We’ll stay.” Curt, just a little, and disappointed. But he’d curled back the jagged edge of his temper to keep from snapping at her.

“Okay,” Corona accepted, and that was that.

The light from the Oracle Sun shifted the sky’s hues as the day wore on. Hunter continued to sleep (typical, but better than awake and hallucinating), but his fever fluctuated up and down. Despite proving he had the capability to enter and leave manacle space at will, Shadow stayed out. Venus, too, perched outside the window like a friendly, soothing guardian. Corona and Igneous switched places fairly often, and occasionally paced when the tension spiraled too high. Twice more, the hammer and chisel were necessary.

Only when the oracle sun had gone deep purple and the sky a velvety black, fading to green not dissimilar form Brutus’ coloring around the city and the distant horizon-lights made by watch lanterns did something finally change.

Igneous had lit the candles and was contemplating finding a firepot to re-heat the broth and provide additional warmth when Hunter stirred. A low moan started it, followed by a shiver that turned into a full-body shudder as he struggled awake.

“Wh—Corona? Igneous?” Hunter blinked hazy green eyes at them, slowly resolving towards clarity. “Sparkle! Shadow, why didn’t you wake me—”

“He tried.” Igneous leaned against the wall and allowed his shoulders to drift downwards into something less likely to be considered confrontational.

“Huh?” His gaze drifted to the window, past Venus’ silhouette. “That’s not morning, is it? Why’s it so late?”

“Both you and Princess Sparkle caught Rainfire. You’ve been sick all day.” Corona reached out, squeezing one of his hands in her own. “We’ve been really worried. Here, let me help you.”

“Sick? Why am I covered in this stuff?” With more active participation, the crystal began crumbling away in larger sections. “Is this like an Inner World cold or something?”

“No. You only get Rainfire once in your life.” Colds were the bane of every Arachnian Knight and Spider Rider—or just anyone who wanted to do anything productive. It was hard to do anything with a stuffed up nose and only able to get three words out between coughs and sneezes.

“So like chicken pox then?” Presumably. Hunter would know Earthen diseases better than anyone else. “Can’t you get vaccinated for it? Ah, vaccines—”

“We have them. And you’re getting them. But Rainfire has always been the one big exception.” Igneous sighed, straightening up to roll his shoulders. “You should get some more sleep, hunter. Tomorrow is a free day for you, Shadow, the Princess, and Hotarla. You can reschedule your training for a later date.”

With a short, cordial nod, Igneous stepped out of the room. He closed the door behind him and leaned on the frame, bringing his left wrist up to rest the manacle on his forehead.

“What was that about?” He heard Hunter hiss, despite the closed door. “I thought we were getting along better than that!”

“Igneous always acts like that after you’ve really worried him, is all. It’s second stage after the fussing.” Corona sounded a breath away from giggling. “You should’ve seen him after my first official mission as a Spider Rider. Right, Venus?”

“Even that wasn’t as pad as this, today. He picked the lock, you know.”

“Igneous can pick locks?”

“Yes? I mean, he doesn’t normally carry them because they don’t carry through the transformation.” More soft laughter. “Usually he just uses them to get into Prince Lumen’s study to wrap a blanket around him when he falls asleep doing paperwork.”

“Huh. And Sparkle and I, we’ll be okay? I’m kina dory we missed our training session.”

“You’ll be fine with just a bit more rest.”

“Of course Rainfire can’t keep you down. You’re as tenacious as kudzu.”

“Hey, bug! I didn’t explain that reference so you could use it on me!”

As Hunter and Shadow started arguing, Igneous let a little laugh of his own escape him. Everything would be all right. His team would be alright. At true ease for the first time since this morning, Igneous left to find his own bed. After all, he and Flame would need to be well-rested if them wanted to wrangle the Prince tomorrow instead of letting him slack off to hover around Sparkle, twice as attentive as he’d denied this morning.

~~~

Notes:

Rainfire is a little like chicken pox (childhood disease, can only get it once). It causes mild paralysis when you have it, which is why Hunter wakes up when the disease runs it’s course. Like with sleep paralysis, if you wake up/open your eyes while paralyzed, you may hallucinate something nightmarish preventing you from moving.

I always found it interesting that Igneous is the only Spider Rider who has military training. Yes, Corona and Venus have training, but Igneous is specifically also an Arachnian Knight. He’d be trained to be strong and patient, even though we can see (in the episode with the play), that he does have a bit of a temper/high strung personality. I think this training would also make him accept Aqune and Portia; they were only doing their duty until they weren’t, but that is mind control and not their fault.

In the books, the Spiders were telepathic. I’m incorporating this a little bit, but less outright telepathy and more Igneous and Flame don’t talk because they know each other so well that they don’t need to talk.

All the manacle stuff is head cannon. This includes the idea that when Spiders speak from inside the manacle, they can pick and choose whether it’s just their Rider who hears them, or everyone else, too (based on a bit of information that Ebony is supposed to be surprisingly chatty with Lumen, and yet we only ever hear him speak 2-3 times at all).

I also wanted to explore how the manacles could “call” each other, and I used that to do more of the Spider Riders have a profound bond with their spiders bit. This is also where the “only another Spider Rider can hear this call,” because they didn’t really seem to be afraid of using it, even when there might be (and rightly should have been, given that they were at war) enemies/spies around.

The bit about Shadow being older than Venus but less experienced with people is because he seems experienced with the Inner World (certainly more so than Hunter), but he’s been off fighting Insectors, and probably didn’t hang out around villages much.

I wish we’d seen more Spiders than the ones who had Riders. Otherwise, how else would people have even known in the first place that a spider-human pair = Spider Rider way back in the beginning of history? So I headcannon that spider-human pairings aren’t rare, but Spider Riders are (only being eight) and that makes them special (preserving main cast importance). The bit about blessings/healing--it’s a shounen with a bunch of magical girl overtones. How else could they have survived some of the faintly ridiculous things that happened?