Clutchguard

The Arachnitha, while fierce predators all, are not warmongers. To this end, all of their armed forces are focused on keeping their respective Burrow-Home safe and none have ever committed to hostile action against other sovereign entitities without prior provocation. These forces, referred collectively to as the Clutchguard, make up the bulk of the military power of the Arachnitha.

Homeguard

The primary purpose of the Clutchguard is, as their name suggests, to guard the clutches of eggs held in the incubation chambers of the Burrow-Homes. This specific task has evolved into a more general purpose defense role over time, with Clutchguards being the first response force to outside threats.

Clutchguard members undergo rigorous training, beginning from adolescence, in both individual combat and cooperative tactics. Arachnithan society values discipline and precision, and this ethos is reflected in the Clutchguard's operations. Combat drills often incorporate live challenges within carefully constructed mazes, designed to simulate real-world scenarios such as an intruder invasion or environmental collapse.
The training process also emphasizes the use of natural advantages, including their species' inherent abilities such as web-weaving, venom usage, and climbing on unorthodox surfaces. Recruits are taught to adapt these skills for both combat and strategic purposes, such as creating barriers or ambush points within the Burrow-Homes and beyond.

Structure and Organization

The Clutchguard of any given burrow-home is, most often, divided into distinct cadres, each specialized in a particular aspect of defense. At the heart of their home are the Brood Sentinels, who oversee the protection of incubation chambers and ensure the safety of unhatched clutches. These guardians are renowned for their unshakable resolve and have been selectively bred to be the toughest, deadliest warriors the Arachnitha produce.
Supporting the Sentinels are the Tunnel Runners, an agile and highly mobile division tasked with patrolling the sprawling network of underground passages that connect the Arachnithan territories. Tunnel Runners act as scouts and messengers, ensuring swift communication and early detection of threats.

Their expertise in navigation and rapid response makes them an indispensable part of the Clutchguard's defensive strategy, and they are vital in setting up and maintaining nodes and lines of the Gossamer Dispatch.
Lastly, the Plainswatch, stationed in elevated outposts on the surface, close to the entry points to the Burrow-Homes, who monitor surface-level activity.

Members of the Plainswatch are trained in recoinnassance and possess a keen awareness of surface dynamics, both political and racial, making them adept at spotting and neutralizing potential incursions or intervening on impending incidents before they breach their subterranean sanctuaries.

Selective Breeding

The Arachnitha, being a primal yet highly structured society, have integrated selective breeding into their societal framework to enhance traits advantageous for the Clutchguard's duties. This practice is guided by both practical considerations and a deeply ingrained respect for the continuity of their species.

Selective breeding efforts focus on amplifying traits that align with the specialized roles within the Clutchguard. These traits are observed, tested, and cataloged over generations to identify lineage strengths. Key traits for each cadre of the Clutchguard include:

Brood Sentinels: Exceptional carapace durability, venom potency, and significantly heightened loyalty towards the burrow-home.

Tunnel Runners: Enhanced agility, acute sensory perception especially in low-light conditions, and speed in confined spaces.

Plainswatch: Superior visual acuity, less threatening physical morphology, and resistance to environmental extremes such as heat or wind.

Members of the Clutchguard displaying these traits to an exemplary degree are carefully matched with others of complementary strengths during the breeding cycles.

Brood Trials

The process of refinement does not end with birth. Hatchlings undergo Brood Trials, a series of challenges designed to assess their potential in various roles. These trials help identify latent traits that may not have been apparent in their lineage, allowing the Clutchguard to continuously adapt and improve their selective breeding strategies. Hatchlings demonstrating unique abilities may be marked as future breeding candidates to preserve and enhance these traits.

While the other species that inhabit Nascindor alongside the Arachnitha view what is essentially a eugenics program with mistrust and disapproval, they cannot argue with the results.

"For Brood and Clutch"

Type

Security

Overall training Level

Professional

Assumed Veterancy

Experienced

by Midjourney

_{A Brood Sentinel of the Duskwidows. Note the bulkier physique, armor-like chitinous outer plating and enlarged pedipalps, features not present in the average Duskwidow specimen.}