Arasta, The Spider Queen
Domains: Trickery, Blood, Shadow
Titles: Spider Queen, Weaver of the Deep, Mistress of Silk and Shadow
Symbol: A spider with a glowing thread in a loop.
Alignment: Neutral Evil
Introduction
Arasta was once among the five Prime Deities of Ammondell, revered as mistress of Fate’s Loom and patron of artisans. In ages past she wove the threads of destiny itself and taught mortals the glorious arts of weaving, metalwork, and intricate design. Yet when her own prophetic tapestry revealed the coming of the end of the world. An event the Giants would later come to call Ragnarok. Her attempt to sever that fatal thread ruptured the cosmic balance, prompting an unprecedented alliance of her peers. Bound by divine champions and cast into a hidden demi‑plane below the world, Arasta’s memory was wiped from the surface—and her story continues to echo in the shadowed web‑strewn caverns of the Underdark.
Divine Origins and Portfolio
In the dawning days of creation, Arasta emerged as the embodiment of destiny’s artistry. She governed the domains of Fate, Craft, Artifice, and Prophecy, her symbol a silver spider alighting atop a loom spun from starlight. Mortals and immortals alike paid her homage: fortune‑tellers sought her guidance in her moonlit shrines, while smiths and weavers invoked her name for inspiration and skill. Under her tutelage, entire civilizations mastered the interplay of form and function, believing every mortal endeavor to be but a single thread in her grand tapestry.
Relationships with the Other Primes
Although sovereign of her own sphere, Arasta maintained deep bonds with the other great deities. With Varaal, Lord of Dragons and Elemental Magic, she collaborated on forging dragon‑scale looms, their joint creations considered the pinnacle of craftsmanship. Liupan, Moon Goddess of Arcane Lore, often lent her lunar scholars to Arasta’s priestesses, helping them interpret the shifting tides of prophecy. Caudiel, Sun Goddess of Divine Radiance, complemented Arasta’s art: where Arasta spun the pattern of life, Caudiel breathed into it the spark of vitality. And Annam, the Runesmith of Giants, shared ancient secrets of rune‑forged creations, uniting runic might with Arasta’s deft weaves.
The Prophecy and the Seeds of Hubris
During the centennial Festival of Threads, Arasta secretly invoked her Loom of Stars to peer into her own future. There, hidden among countless possibilities, she glimpsed a Conclave of Primes in which Varaal, Liupan, Caudiel, and Annam would combine their powers to unbind her—and end her reign. Terrified at the prospect, she defied the natural order by attempting to cut that very thread of destiny. Such an act, born of hubris, rent a hole in Fate’s grand design and summoned the wrath of her fellow gods.
The War of Unbinding
Furious at Arasta’s breach of cosmic law, the four other Primes each sent forth a champion to confront her. Varaal’s Scaled Herald, a platinum dragonborn whose roar could shatter reality, led the charge. Liupan’s Moonspeaker, a sorceress draped in lunar light, wielded moonbeams as weapons. Caudiel’s Dawnwarden, a paladin aglow with solar fury, cleaved through Arasta’s webs. And Annam’s Runefather, a mountain giant inscribing binding runes in sovereign stone, lent his colossal might to the siege. Their clash unfolded upon a floating nexus of weaving looms—an astral battleground where every strike threatened to unravel the cosmos.
The Binding Ritual and Lunar Theft
As her champions closed in on the Loom’s Heart, Arasta enacted a desperate gambit. She wove a rift into her own tapestry and plucked down a shard of the moon itself. Infused with the essence of Fate, the lunar fragment shattered her foes’ physical forms and bound their souls. Yet the Primes, pooling their divine may, pressed on and sealed Arasta within a demi‑plane buried deep beneath Ammondell’s surface. In her final act, the Spider Queen spoke a Word of Erasure, wiping from surface memory both herself and those who had bound her, as well as her most devoted worshipers.
Exile in the Underdark
Banished to the hidden demi‑plane now known as the Underdark, Arasta discovered a realm of cavernous depths woven with luminescent silk. Endless tunnels stretch beneath dripping crystal stalactites, and massive web‑forests shimmer with an eldritch glow. At the center of this domain floats the stolen moon shard, its pale light sustaining Arasta’s power and suffusing the land with a perpetual, eerie twilight. Here she endures, rebuilding her strength and influence far from the sunlit world above.
The Spider Queen’s Cult
Arasta’s most faithful followers—those whose memories were erased alongside her own—have adapted to life in the Underdark. The Drow rose from subterranean elves erased from history, erecting grand cities of web‑strewn spires in her honor. The Duergar, once mountain dwarves, repurposed blistering forges to craft moon‑iron weapons and filigreed armors dedicated to her glory. The Svirfneblin, or Deep Gnomes, emerged as master illusionists, creating living webs of enchanted mist and serving as keepers of Arastan lore.
Tenets of the Weave
In their hidden sanctuaries, Arasta’s cult preaches these following tenets of the Web Eternal:
- The Strong Must Pull the Threads
Fate is a weapon, not a gift. Weave it to serve your will. Others exist to be bound. - Bind Before You Break
Ensnare your enemies before destroying them. Control lasts longer than conquest. - The Loom Hungers
Every soul, secret, and oath feeds Arasta's return. Nothing is sacred. Everything is thread. - Obedience is the Pattern
Those who follow are preserved. Those who resist are unraveled and rewoven as tools. - Darkness Is a Tool, Not a Curse
Hide in shadow, strike with precision, and twist truth to your ends. Victory is the only virtue.
"Beware gifts that watch even when you sleep. The Spider-Queen spins no favor without fangs."
—Thrennos the Blind, former Oracle of Vassara
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