Adult Female
Name: unnamed
Species: Osseo Arachnid
Birthday: Friday, September 6, 2024
Owner: boxel
Element: Void
When one hears distorted screaming or chittering laughter from a dark place, it is possible that an osseo arachnid is responsible. These creatures prefer to be left alone in poorly lit, abandoned places, and even at the Keep they will find a lonely corner to spin their web and hide. This results in them learning many varieties of screams when an unsuspecting student stumbles upon them. Despite their appearance and frightening tendency to mimic sounds of fear, they are considered harmless, and even helpful in cases where they can be coaxed to repeat things as evidence, as their creator initially willed. Their tendency to hide in places where not many people go often puts them as witnesses to many crimes, and their mimicry can often be the only evidence. As a result, they are often used in trials around the world, and they seem very willing to participate.
Ages ago, a magi was murdered, and only a spider witnessed it. Driven by grief and a need to find the killer, the magi's wife turned to darkness, and used magic to transform the spider into a twisted, bony caricature that would be driven to speak of what it saw. This created the osseo arachnid. Osseo arachnids are hard to find, as they are driven to gather in places where humans once lived but live no longer. They are often found in abandoned houses, old buildings, ruins, or in cemeteries. People who stumble upon them often run in fear when they see what appears to be a human skull skittering about on bony fingers. These spiders are expert mimics - they will repeat words and phrases that they hear, their voices distorted and rough, and they will also repeat laughter and screams, scaring away people and predators who find them. These creatures will often echo learned phrases back and forth to one another, and on dark nights many an explorer has claimed to hear resounding screaming, crying, and chattering from a place thought long abandoned. It isn't known if this is pure mimicry or if the spiders are actually communicating with these sounds. Sometimes, a spider will say a phrase that no one remembers saying or teaching it. While it is likely that they heard it from another of their kind, some suspect the magi who created them was successful, and the creatures still remember the murder their spider ancestor heard.
Sprite art: Xenomorph/Tekla (adult) | Description: Raneth