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...

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. Can there be any doubt that Arachnos is the rightful ruler of Arcadia?

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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KNIGHT: Simeon, the Swarm-Lord

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BISHOP: Treyt, the Choirmaster

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ROOK: Entarun, the Architect

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The Eight Armies

• The Broken Blades Choir - Fluff. (Descriptors;)
• The Scuttling Choir - Fluff. (Descriptors;)
• The Endless Choir - Fluff. (Descriptors;)
• The Weaving Choir - Fluff. (Descriptors;)
• The Venomfang Choir - Fluff. (Descriptors;)
• The Ensnaring Choir - Fluff. (Descriptors;)
• The Deepswimmer Choir - Fluff. (Descriptors;)
• The Skysong Choir - Fluff. (Descriptors;)

Italic text above represents suggested Descriptors.