Wandering Huntsmen

Underneath the dry plains of the Mourning Plateau, there are criss-crossing tunnels that all lead to Yng'zheb, the burrow-home of the Wandering Huntsmen, a people of Arachnitha known for their near mythical agility and hunting skills.

History

The Wandering Huntsmen are thought to be the oldest of the Arachnithan peoples, those who were forced to leave the Great Forest after the Godfall caused its corruption. They then settled underneath the adjacent Mourning Plateau, hunting the arid steppe for anything they could find.

It did not take long for the Pale Men to follow suit, and the two peoples quickly came to an understanding; the lands above the surface would be the domain of men, while everything under it belonged to the Wandering Huntsmen. This was the order of things for many decades, and the Huntsmen still maintain amicable relations with the Pale Men to this day.

Physical Attributes

Wandering Huntsmen resemble, as their name implies, the huntsman spider and are generally speaking much smaller than their other Arachnithan cousins. But this smaller stature is exactly what lends them their legendary speed and agility.

A Wandering Huntsman scout can scurry across the plains of the Mourning Plateau at speeds in excess of over seventy miles per hour and can jump distances of over a hundred feet, double or even triple that if they have a running start.

The Huntsmen also have impeccable camouflage adapted to their arid home. When stationary, they can blend in with the gnarled vegetation and trees that dot the plateau, almost vanishing in front of one's eyes.

Webbing

While the Wandering Huntsmen are capable of spinning webbing, they do not generally make use of it other than maintaining the Gossamer Dispatch nodes that are located in their territories, as well as spinning the odd Masquerade for purposes of diplomatic visitations or other social venues.

This also means that the Huntsmen do not actually spin nests for themselves nor do they trap prey in webs, preferring instead to actively hunt their prey down. Yng'zheb is markedly less covered in webbing than the other burrow-homes, and resembles a series of underground caves more than a nest of spiders to the layperson.

Culture & Practices

To the Huntsmen, nothing is more important than personal freedom. There are no overbearing rules or regulations that govern Yng'zheb, each Huntsman being completely free to decide what to do with their lives as long as they somehow contribute to the burrow-home's prosperity.

Most do this by hunting, bringing food to the young and the infirm, but there are also those who choose to become what the Huntsmen call "Travelers". These individuals strike out from the burrow-home and the Mourning Plateau at large, into the wider world where they spend time with other species and others of their kin, accumulating experiences and knowledge with which they will return after a decade or two, sharing what they have learned with their brood. These travelers are highly respected and the return of one is always cause for celebration.

The similarities of this practice to the Journeying of the Pale Men is perhaps an indicator of shared cultural heritage more than anything else.

The Huntsmen have also been granted a rare privilege by the Church of Resounding Truth, as they have the permission to enter and hunt in the Black Forest, the Seeker patrols having been instructed to let the Arachnitha through. This most unusual permission has been granted with the condition that the Huntsmen relay information about the parts of the forest they hunt in to the Seekers, as well as kill any Hatelings they come across that they can be reasonably expected to kill.

The Huntsmen have accepted these conditions with glee, as there is no more challenging prey to hunt than the abominable nightmares of the Adversary.

People

It would be amiss to characterize the Huntsmen as simply excellent hunters, even though they most definitely are that. But when not on the hunt, the Huntsmen are jovial, sarcastic and fun-loving individuals who will not let an opportunity for a practical joke slip them by. They also delight in the fact that their outward appearance frightens some people, especially humans, and they love to give these people a fright. All in good fun, of course, there's no malice in these jokes, at least none intended.

A family unit of the Huntsmen consists usually of a male and female who bond for life in a ceremony not unlike the Oath of Bonding. Any offspring borne of such a union reach maturity remarkably fast and do not really need parental care except during gestation within the egg-sacs.

A Huntsman is the kind of friend that everyone wishes they had more of, unperturbed by the burdens of life and living in the moment. Just be sure not to give him or her opportunities to jest on your expense, or you just might find yourself a laughing stock.

Look fangs, two-leg.

Sharp-sharp.

–A Wandering Huntsman displaying her chelicerae to a Seeker on patrol

by Midjourney

_{A Wandering Huntsman seeking shelter from the midday sun during a hunt on the surface.}

by Midjourney

_{Due to being smaller than the average Arachnitha, the Wandering Huntsmen are not without natural predators.}