Attercops

The Attercops are a confederation of Kubeleya tribes who share similar cultural customs and industry, living both in the mountains and grasslands of North-Central Albanos, though some tribes such as the Lycosid and Sulyafuj live further North or South.

They are united by the common worship of Khelekeras matriarchal culture, and heavy focus on hunting and raiding. While most tribes are semi-nomadic, many have made permanent settlements around the Gannwyll Gwydd.

Some of the main tribes who are identified as part of the Attercop culture are as follows:

Dolomedes - "The Wily Ones" - Typically live in lowlands and marshes, expert fishers and catchers, often used as mercenaries for other tribes. Are the most hospitable to foreigners and easiest to get along with, but are known for speaking in superlatives and being boastful. They are often involved in Heavy Metal due to their proximity to mining communities, and have a higher tolerance for contaminated water and heavy metal poisoning due to this. They do not practice widespread agriculture despite being very close with the Gannwyll Gwydd who do, and it causes a lot of tension. Their symbol is a fishing spider.

Phoneutria - "The Murderesses" - Live in the outskirts of forests and valleys, pastoralists with a strong hunting cult. Known for their medical and plant knowledge. They are almost always on the brink of war with someone, and are awful diplomats. Friendly outside of politics, but have a very strict religious culture. They are typically involved with Citron magic, which informs a lot of their healing practices. Their healers are known as Hooded Mothers and common in outside communities, as the Holy Union of the Cross-vein Ore lists them as approved Humourists. Their symbol is a giant wandering spider.

Latrodectes - "The Biting Thieves" - Are permanently settled in the more extreme climates of the border between Rhudd and Hagathorna, their home being the Hlenga Forest. They are self-governing clans who do not have an internationally recognized central leader - they view the Godsibb Raum as an incarnation of Khelekeras and call her their Queen. Their culture often mingles with their Gannwyll Gwydd neighbours, with whom they have a decent relationship. Hence, they use Flint the most out of the Attercop tribes, and are considered one of the "civilized" tribes. Their symbol is a black widow spider.

Sulyafuj - "Those Who Hide From The Sun" - The Sulyafuj, known also as the sun-spider people, live in Sealtland and prefer dry, arid climates. They are pastoralists and resourceful scavengers with a warrior elite. They are very involved in Heavy Metal and Brine magic, particularly turning lead into silver and mining evaporite. They are known to have the best irrigation systems and are nocturnal. Many folks are intimidated by them, but they are by large only aggressive if provoked. Their symbol is a solifugae.

Amblysi - "The Clubbed Ones" - The Amblysi live in the Spynes, typically in caves. They are large game hunters, known to take down Forest Calcatrix and the occasional Godsibb. They are named after their use of bludgeoning weapons, with which they are unrivalled on the battlefield. They Amblysi have a fanatic hero cult around Khelekeras' consort Goermagog, and are the only Attercop people who elect a King as leader. They organize themselves in small tribal communities with no central ruler. Many Amblysi are sympathetic to the Gannwyll due to their worship of Goermagog's son Belh, and can rarely be counted upon to help other Attercop tribes resist them. They are most heavily involved with Heavy Metal and Brimstone magic. Their symbol is a whip spider.

Agriopa - "The Silver Ones" - The Agriopa live in unincorporated tribal communities around the Spynes and Hlenga Forest. They have selectively bred themselves to have highly reflective hair, which appears silver ad feathery in the light. They are also experts at weaving and often contruct elaborate traps using nets made of their reflective hair. They also practice amputation at a much higher rate than other folk but are also very good with prosthetics, which they make using wood, sometimes from Aliruna. They produce extremely quick, agile hunters and warriors who are fantastic at improvisation and pain tolerance. They mainly work with Citron and Brimstone. Their symbol is an orb-weaving spider.

Lycosid - "The Wolves" - The Lycosid are the Northernmost tribe of Attercops who live in the Krummholz. Their unique environment has bred a culture that is very ruthless for the sake of survival. They practice infanticide and decimation in times of strife to control the population. They have distinct castes and gender roles for members who are fertile and those who are not, and are highly matriarchal. They are opportunistic scavengers and ambush hunters. They live in an area that is abundant in Flint, so those who do leave the tribe often try to assimilate into Gannwyll Gwydd culture. Their symbol is a wolf spider.

Atraxida - "The Terrifying Ones" - The Atraxida are one of the Southernmost tribes along with the Sulyafuj. They are the least socialized of the tribes, but run a large underground trade network. Only males typically rise to the surface for long periods of time. They also live much longer than the other tribes, hinting that they might be Udenskyos affected, and thus Posthuman, similar to the Odonata. They are extremely advanced in Heavy Metal use due to the toxic environments which would eventually fall under the rule of Ankou, they also frequently employ Korrigan. The Sulyafuj are the only people who can communicate with them properly, as their language has barely evolved due to their long lives. They had alliances with the Heno, but a war with Kaer-Is over the use of oil sands destroyed their once sizeable population and pushed them further underground. They are the makers of the Maddok pen, and may even have been part of the formation of the Maddoks. Their symbol is a tunnel-web spider.