Arachnowyrm

"There are few things not even the Witch Hunters dare to go toe to toe with. The blasted spider dragon though, hell... I can't even blame them for avoiding it."
-Graham von Lucard

"It's just a massive spoder, just avoid it's toxic spit, bladelike knees an' webbin' arse, an' go crush it alreadeh!"
-Dragan the Dwarf

Basic Information

Anatomy

This nightmarish beast has eight legs like a spider. All covered in pitch black carpace, as dark as night and with a shine like polished steel. With the soft meat and muscle tissue underneath it's exoskeleton, the Arachnowyrm is capable of taking direct hits of cannonballs and still shake them off, as the hard plate pushes against cushioning flesh that absorbs the force.
To make this all the worse, the creature has it's two front legs be twice as tall as the rest, while shaped like a jumping spiders. Something which allows it to swiftly gain or lose height depending on the foe at hand. The rest remain normal but with balls for joints in the kneecaps, allowing the being to spin like crazy with it's knees sharp and powerfull enough to cut a man through heavy plate into clean halves. Worse yet, this spinning attack can be performed whenever the creature leaps, but still it always lands with it's face towards it's prey.
The body of this creature, while large as a dragons, or three warhorses of width and nine of them length - looks exactly like that of a black widow spider. The one difference being that a couple of large hanging wyvern wings are built into the back of the creature, akin to most beetles. This allows the creature to easily take flight, to the point it can easily body a far larger dragon by flying in intricate, rapidly changing patterns and spin it's cleavers for legs around them. While mid air.

Genetics and Reproduction

While it's unkown exactly how this creature reproduces, it does lay eggs which grow for a total of five long years, before they hatch into some mutated form of wolf sized spider. Though these ones are more akin to the usual adventurer threat and by no means carry the same significant danger as it's mother. Nobody has come close enough and lived to make any indepth research on this phenomen though.

Ecology and Habitats

This monster resides within the mountains of Gothangela and prey's both on dragons, larger animals like bears or sometimes whales. Sometimes it even attacks humans skyships and feast on it's inhabitants, through attacks on intelligent species is still a rare happening as it could easily be slain by powerfull warmachina, if civilization ever decides that it wishes to eradicate the pest. Hence, the creature often hides within caves and tunnels. Make no mistake though, it will eat anyone as long as the coast is clear.

Biological Cycle

Though some spiders require to molt out of their old carpace, which is often a process that might end up fatal, the Arachnowyrm has left no traces or sign that it requires to perform this shedding on it's own. Likely, this is because the creature has already reached it's full size. Something which can turn out to be both a good and ill omen.

Additional Information

Average Intelligence

Though this creature lacks the ability to communicate and is likely lacking social intelligence, it still outsmarts most people in hunting. It's able to utilize both camouflague within the darkness, even with it's vast size, hide on mountain walls and then strike airships down with a single leaping attack, by taking out the balloons while remaining outside of the firing radius of the crew onboard. A feat other dragons are incapable of due to their lack of agility.

Perception and Sensory Capabilities

To make it worse than it already is, this being can easily smell people from up to ten miles away. It's sixteen eyes are also capable of everything from infrared sight to seeing within a 300 degree angle, making sneaking up on it near but not impossible, as it can catch prey through walls as well as determine by heat where the vital organs are. It wont hesitate to pounce either, as the blindspot on it's back combined with a complete lack of hearing makes it aggressive to the point it'd kill for fun.

Origin/Ancestry

The depths of Seltûn'zolise

Lifespan

Unkown, though reading into myths and histories mean to say it's over thousands of years old.

Average Height

7m

Average Weight

1400kg

Average Length

12m

Discovered by

Dragan the Dwarf