Damhain

Deep in the woodlands of the east, and in the forest of Dubh in particular, exists a reclusive people that is seldom seen by the Imperials that supposedly rule the land they inhabit. In actual fact, they are so rarely seen that many doubt whether they are even real. Yet the Damhain are there, and they are considered to be Imperial citizens, though it is likely that they are as unaware of that as folks are about them. There is a standing clause in the Imperial Laws that if one of the Damhain wishes to exit their hiding places and enter into the Empire in full, then they are welcome to do so. While the law has its origin in the early years of the Empire’s existence, having been established by Leopold when he took possession of Eschrimae, it has only been put to practice on a handful of occasions. People that live close to Damhain-infested forests know them well enough, but as these people mostly being illiterate Boerjh most Imperials consider tales of the creature superstition. The few cases of Empire integrated Damhain often soon spiral into conspiratorial stories of great illusionists or virtuoso puppet masters.
This reaction is not completely unjustified, given the appearance of the Damhain. With the body of a spider, usually at the size of a large dog or small wolf, their forward-most legs extends before them in an arm like fashion, and ends in three membranous protrusions, one of which is opposite of the other two and slightly shorter, creating some mimicry of a hand. Even more disturbing are their faces, which are reminiscent of a human’s, if the skin had been pulled so tight that the face was always making a cruel grimace. This effect is only enhanced by their eight, completely black, eyes, and their mandible-framed mouths that are nonetheless capable of making human speech, albeit in a high-pitch, almost whining, tone. Completing the display is silk like, white hair that extends from not only their head, but often down their bodies as well. Commonly kept long, it gives the Damhain an almost wraith-like appearance. Rarely, a Damhain is able to grow a beard, though it never extends past their chin. The colouration of their bulbous bodies is always nearly black, with hues of either green, red or purple, though their faces are stark white - so much so that the white of a Damhain’s hair always seems a little dirty when compared to their faces.
Awfully little is known of Damhain society, as even those few Imperial Damhain that exist are highly enigmatic and do not like to discuss where they came from - and drawing a ‘wild’ Damhain into a conversation is near impossible - which has always proven a great frustration for Questioneers that wish to study them. What information is known streams mainly from anthropological studies of abandoned Damhain settlements, as no inhabited dwelling of the odd creatures has ever been found. Usually, the entrance into their ‘towns’, if one was to call them such, is through the inside of a hollowed out tree, large enough to comfortably fit a Damhain but awkward to impossible for a human. Excavations have shown that beneath the ground, vast tunnel networks are built, supported by a surprisingly intricate system of web and stonework that keep them from collapsing in on themselves. At a central location between these tunnels is a vast chamber, presumably natural, although alcoves have been worked into its walls. Little furniture tends to remain in these places, but remnants of wooden furniture, pottery and ivory has been found, showing that the Damhain has at least a rudimentary understanding of crafts - although no metal has ever been found. Beyond the central chamber there is always at least one closeby chamber that hosts either an underground stream or a well, as well as chambers filled with bones and what scholars believe to be waste material. Their most odd piece of architecture is another constant, in that there are always eight chambers that correct in straight lines to the central chamber, but are a significant distance away from it. They are always small, capable of comfortable hosting maybe two Damhain, with roots permeating the roofs. It is believed that these lesser chambers make up some kind of reversed, underground watchtower and play a part in how the Damhain always seem to know to keep away when there are humans or dangerous animals around, though this is more assumption than fact.
At least to the scholars that study them, all non-Imperial Damhain seem to act rather similarly. If confronted with a human, they will first let out a loud, chirping noise, and if approached, they will quickly escape, moving through tree branches at a remarkable speed. Those that manage to keep the creatures calm enough to engage them in conversation can often be given advice as to how to get out of the forest as quickly as possible, which has made many rural inhabitants the idea that the Damhain are a helpful people, but which the Questioneers think is more indicative of the spider-like beings wanting to be left alone. While the Damhain are evidently carnivorous, given the bones they keep, scholars tend to lean more towards them being scavengers than hunters, though they are capable of making webs and probably supplement their diet with insects and birds caught in their nets. While it takes some effort to tear through an untreated Damhain web, they break under enough strain and are not dangerous to humans. That said, the Damhain has some method of refining their webs into truly dense silk, soft enough to be luxurious, while firm enough to prove effective against a blade or spear. Why the Damhain create silk and what they do with it is another unknown, as while it is considered immensely valuable they do not engage in trade except in near unique circumstances, and always on their own terms.
In the modern Empire, only one Imperial Damhain is known to exist. Calling himself Magnificent, he lives in Khaluhmn and, oddly, has joined the coin-priests. Together with his bodyguard, a brutishly large Iridescent with a single, curled horn, he runs a very successful shop which is lodged into the side of one of the eastern mountains. There, he sells all manners of ‘curiosities’, as he calls them, raging from rare books and fine jewelry to particularly fine (according to him) pebbles and rags - as well as, naturally, Damhain-silk. Though he only produces about a batch of silk a cycle, and at much effort according to himself, he is nonetheless the Empire’s number one supplier of the material. It is believed that he might well earn himself a Mark of Merit at the next Great Tallying.
Being such a reclusive species, it is unlikely that the Damhain has even noticed the existence of New Leopold or the conflict that is brewing in the north. That said, there are suspicions that some of the forest located Retreats of the east have been deeply infiltrated by the Ordo Non. While the Court as a large believe this is an attempt at swaying the remaining Boerjh traditionalists to the Truists side, there are Questioneers that note that those same Retreats are built in forests with known Damhain presence.