Chapter Ninety-Four

Chapter Ninety-Four

Your minds are all made up, then? asks Teemo of the aranea triumvirate, and the three spiderladies all nod. Folarn speaks first.

Not just ours, but all of us in this Enclave. My fellow tarantulas are no stranger to difficult fights, and we understand the desire to protect. But we must have the room to grow to become better protectors.This chapter made its debut appearance via N0v3lB1n.

Norloke speaks next. The weavers are also in agreement. We all appreciate the intricate and robust web youve created, but we must have the space to create our own, to hone our own craft.

Vernew speaks last, looking the most nervous of the three. The hunters need to be spiderkin. Your Weave is glorious, but there is even more to see and experience outside! We need to see it, and hopefully help you integrate it, Weaver.

Teemo sighs at the three, mimicking my own reaction. I dont doubt their conviction, and theyre not wrong about needing room to grow, space to learn, and wonders to see. I just wish theyd delay until after the scythemaws. But theyre all resolute in this, and not just the triumvirate. I can feel the anticipation in the other aranea. They know the scythemaws will be trouble, but they want to be able to stand on their own feet to face it.

Thedeim respects your decision, even if he disagrees with it. Its still yours to make, not his. Youll be doing the ceremony soon, then? The three nod, and this time Norloke speaks first.

I believe Aranya will be by shortly after sunset to officiate.

Vernew speaks quickly after her, not-quite able to hide her excitement. Elder Larx said hed be showing up, too!

My Voice cant help but chuckle a bit at that. I think Tiny wants to come and watch, also. The Boss says hes going to have Rocky and Fluffles watching the entrances, so all of you can be present.

And if Tiny will be down to watch the ceremony, too, that should be security handled, hopefully. I cant imagine anything overwhelming those three quicker than the enclave could evacuate. Well, I can imagine a few things, but none that actually would fit down there.

I have Teemo give out the posts before letting him do his thing, which hell be doing with Thing, looks like. The two are both interested in the bag of holding. I think Teemo is finally starting to understand how it works, so he and Thing are working hard to replicate the enchantment.

I idly watch them to pass the time, and soon Aranya awakens and does her morning (dusk?) routine. She even invites Yvonne to come, but she politely declines, to nobodys surprise. My kobold meets up with Larx, and soon everyone is gathered in the enclave.

Much like with the ratlings-turned-ratkin, Aranya starts everything off once everyone is ready. Aranea! You have had a difficult journey to this point, but you have persevered to reach the culmination! Lord Thedeim has given you the opportunity to be more than just denizens, and you have worked hard to achieve that! Lord Thedeim smiles at your efforts, and offers you the protections he can while you prepare to truly become dwellers.

It is a dangerous path to walk, but a fruitful one. Lord Thedeim provides as he can, but there is an entire world out there to explore and discover, friends and enemies alike to meet. Hes not made a secret of this, but you still continue, braving the strange and the new. There will be difficulties, but there will be opportunities as well. I know you can and will face them as they come, and will be able to find the benefits hidden in the hardships, and will weave a strong tapestry that Lord Thedeim will be proud of.

She steps aside, letting the triumvirate of Folarn, Vernew, and Norloke take the attention of all gathered. Vernew speaks first, though she gives Tiny a bow before she starts. The Weaver of Threads was so strange for us at the start. Even with time and the progress of the bars blurring our memories, we all remember the strange designs he had for us all. Hunt the invaders, guide and challenge the delvers. Grow ourselves.

Norloke stands and gives Tiny a bow. We wove traps for the invaders. We wove secrets for the Weaver of Threads. We made signs, we helped guide the flow of delvers, all to help, putting our clumsy strings where we thought they could help, and watched how they were integrated with graceful ease.

Folarn stands and gives Tiny a bow. We have protected the core from the very start. The Reader of the Web and Guardian is a testament to how seriously we take that responsibility. Now we will protect not only that, but ourselves, and those outside. We all know of the looming threat of the scythemaws. Instead of cower, we will face them without the benefit of the cycle of the Weaver.

If our threads will be sheared, so be it. But we face that danger with the full knowledge of it. We may watch it pass beneath us from our webs, we may descend and pluck our prey from the hordes. But whatever we do, it shall be by our will. We will always hear the advice of the Weaver of Threads, but it is not forced upon us. We will strive and struggle, and though our web may be tattered by wind and foes, we will rebuild. We are spiderkin! Beautiful as our webs may be, our people are what supports us, not silk. We are far stronger.

With that, the bars wink out. After a pregnant pause, the spiderkin all roar with applause and begin the celebration. Aranya and Larx stay and mingle, and Tiny continues to watch as well. I can feel him tapping into his fate affinity, and a few concepts pass through the bond to me. This was something important, and not just for my new spiderkin. Its like its a new spoke in a web, a new anchor point to be built on.