Editing Kingdoms: The Web of Harmonies

[[Kingdoms: Main Page]] -> [[Kingdoms: The Web of Harmonies]]

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=Dreamform: The Web of Harmonies=

In this jungle domain, the canopy is thick with webs. Though primitive humans and other lesser creatures scuttle below, it is the predatory spiders who rule this realm. Spiders of every size are found in this place, from those that would sit comfortably on the head of a pin to those that are the size of elephants. They vary in intelligence too, some are as smart (or smarter than) humans, while some have little more than base instinct.

Though it might not be obvious to a human onlooker, the spiders maintain a complex and ancient civilisation. The purpose of this civilisation is centred around the ''Great Song'', or the ''Web of Harmonies'', a constant music of chittering mouths, clacking teeth and scuttling legs that covers the jungle as a continuous drone. The Song is the sign of the Spider's dominance, and marks the domain of ''Arachnos, the Ebon Monarch''...
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=The Dominant Actors of the Court=
==KING: Arachnos, The Ebon Monarch==

Twice the height of a man, and several times the mass, Arachnos could be considered monstrous. To his subjects, however, he is a thing of beauty, with his flawless black carrapace and perfect form that shows all that is good and right about the arachnid form. To them, he is an avatar of the universal spider deity, and rules by nothing less than divine mandate. They applaud his ruthlessness, his predatory instincts and his talents at stealth and deception. They marvel at the webs he weaves, both those literal and metaphorical. True, the human denizens of the kingdom seek to overthrow the Ebon Monarch, but the true citizens of the realm, the spider-folk, are truly devoted to him. Can there be any doubt that Arachnos is the rightful ruler of Arcadia?

* '''Suggested Boons:''' Inspires Devotion;
* '''Suggested Drawbacks:''' Internal Dissent;
* '''Suggested Traits:''' None.
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==KNIGHT: Taleros, the Sword-Mouthed==

Almost as large as the King himself, though marred with the brown-mottlings of the lower castes Taleros is nonetheless an exceptional warrior. The power of his mandibles is spoken of across the Kingdom, and it is well known that Arachnos considers Taleros to be his personal champion, highest amongst all in his esteem.

* '''Suggested Boons:''' None;
* '''Suggested Drawbacks:''' None;
* '''Suggested Traits:''' None;
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==BISHOP: Umbrak, the Invisible==

Born of a near-extinct breed from the Southern Jungles, Umbrak has the rare and uncanny ability to shift his colouration to camouflage himself near perfectly. This, combined with a cunning and incisive mind, makes him one of the kingdom's most feared agents.

* '''Suggested Boons:''' Escape Artist; Master Spy;
* '''Suggested Drawbacks:''' Inferior Intrigue; Coward;
* '''Suggested Traits:''' None;
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==ROOK: Eserius, the Centre of the Web==

Eserius is a small and unimposing spider, no larger than a wolf, but one possessed of great intelligence. Through engineering and ingenuity he has found ways to tap into the jungle-spanning webs, and to listen in on just about anything that happens within the Kingdom. This information he gathers and hoards, and when his King demands it, places in service of the realm.

* '''Suggested Boons:''' 
* '''Suggested Drawbacks:''' 
* '''Suggested Traits:''' 
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=The Shadow Actors of the Court=
==QUEEN: Ellyria, the Crystal Spider==

Ellyria's home was a very different place. Back in the ''Panoplies of Light'' there was no music, nor even any sound. As an entity of floating energy, Ellyria moved through the clouds of light in silence, unaware that sound could even exist.

She was then told that she was to be dispatched to be a Queen in a distant kingdom, and that she would need to be contained in a solid form to do so. Her elders crafted her a body out of crystal, eight legged and strangely graceful. She shuddered at the thought of being trapped inside such a thing, but knew that she must do so.

Since arriving at the ''Web of Harmonies'' she has found it both strange and alluring. Strange, because of the aspects of solidity, of flesh and blood and of the visceral causing her to feel revulsion. Alluring, because of the beauty of the harmonies themselves, and the way that the interacting sounds move through her new body, and make her feel happy and complete in a way that she never even new existed. Though still an alien in an alien land, she has grown to love the Web of Harmonies, and is beginning to know it as ''home''. Also, while both her King and her new subjects find her silent movement and shining form unnatural and odd, they too are growing to accept her as ''Queen'', as instinct and fate play their part to entrench her in their psyches.

Ellyria still retains some of her old nature - she is able to manipulate light (what little of it there is in this realm, compared to her home) and can craft illusory images or beams of burning power. She is often surprised when others refer to this as sorcery - it is a natural ability for her people.

* '''Suggested Boons:''' None;
* '''Suggested Drawbacks:''' None;
* '''Suggested Traits:''' Sorcery Style (Control Light);
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==KNIGHT: Simeon, the Advocate==

Though no larger than a man's hand, Simeon knows that potency in war is less about size, and more about the tactical application of force. He realises, for example, that almost all of the arachnid biomass of the Web of Harmonies is comprised of spiders even smaller than himself. Singly they may be weak, but combined and coordinated they are mighty. Simeon takes it as a point of pride that he is an advocate for the nameless multitudes. Though the masses may not have as great intellects or physical strength, he realises that they are the true power of the Kingdom...

* '''Suggested Boons:''' Grand Strategist;
* '''Suggested Drawbacks:''' Inferior Warcraft;
* '''Suggested Traits:''' None;
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==BISHOP: Treyt, the Choirmaster==
The Web of Harmonies develops organically and naturally, through the movements and activities of every spider. For Treyt, this is only a fraction of their potential. Treyt has realised that if he can "tune" the web of harmonies, he can achieve great things. With the right noises in the right places, he can change the nature of the kingdom. This understanding of sound and large scale linguistics also makes Treyt and intuitive manipulator and propagandist - he sees that the principles of his work can be reinterpreted and reapplied to shape the enemy Kingdom as well...

* '''Suggested Boons:''' None;
* '''Suggested Drawbacks:''' None;
* '''Suggested Traits:''' None;
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==ROOK: Entarun, the Architect==

Entarun is another small spider, no larger than a house dog, but he makes up for his lack of strength with his cunning. Under Entarun's supervision, pit-traps, web-snares and other defences have been scattered across the jungle realm. With properly coordinated troops under his command Entarun is expert at drawning enemy forces into these traps, making him an exceptionally effective defender of the kingdom.

* '''Suggested Boons:''' Castellan;
* '''Suggested Drawbacks:''' Guileless;
* '''Suggested Traits:''' None;
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=The Eight Armies=

* '''The Broken Blades Choir''' - War-spiders in heavy chitin armour that always fight to the last. ''(High quality; Expensive;)''
* '''The Scuttling Choir''' - Stealthy night-creepers, near-invisible in darkness. ''(Stealth; Ineffective defenders;)''
* '''The Endless Choir''' - A multitude of tiny spiders, powerful because of numbers. ''(We are Legion;)''
* '''The Rabid Choir''' - Diseased and insane spiders that froth at the mouth. ''(Berserker; Hungry;)''
* '''The Venomfang Choir''' - Exceptionally poisonous bite. ''(Poisonous; Low Quality;)''
* '''The Ensnaring Choir''' - Web and trap builders that protect the palace. ''(Home Guard; Ieffective attackers;)''
* '''The Deepswimmer Choir''' - Amphibious spiders, equally at home on land or at sea. ''(Versatile; Complex; Naval;)''
* '''The Skysong Choir''' - Gliders and leapers that operate above the canopy. ''(Flyer; Low Quality;)''

''Italic text above represents suggested Descriptors.''

[[Category:Kingdoms|The Web of Harmonies]]