Arachants

The Arachant people originally developed on the planet Yanar, the 6th planet in the Tandao system. Once a verdant planet covered in forests and mountainous regions, now it is a planet covered in sprawling interconnected cities called the Grand Web. One thing that has stayed constant throughout the species' development is the great oceans of poisonous gases that cover the majority of the planet.

History

The Arachants are descended from a species that share many similarities with Spiders that are found on the human worlds. Originally a more vicious and flighty species they have tempered their aggressive base tendencies and refocused themselves into the worship of the crystal web and the development of technology.

Anatomy and Biology

Unlike the arachnid species of other planets, Arachants have ten legs and ten eyes. The rest of their body make up is much the same. Three separate body parts; the head, the thorax and the abdomen. A head with sharp, sometimes venomous, mandibles and fangs. An abdomen with spinnerets that create a strong and flexible silk. At full height they stand at an average height of just over seven feet with the tallest of them being closer to nine feet.
Their eyes come in 3 categories. The first set of 6 eyes can see much like humans. They can see colour, track moving prey well and generally require at least a low level of light to function properly. Next they have 2 eyes that only see in black and white but at a much higher range and detail level than the other 8 in their heads. The last two see only in the infrared range and are exceptionally heat sensitive, being able to see body heat from the smallest of creatures and detect tiny fluctuations in heat changes.
Thier bodies are covered in a coat of thick hairs that are sensitive to changes in air pressure and movement. Naturally these hairs range from black to white with browns of all shades being common as well. Recently the act of dying patterns into the body hairs in garish colours have taken off with the new generation.
They live for around one hundred and fifty galactic years. Gaining adulthood at around thirty years old. Once this happens they will have mating cycles that happen every 5 to 6 years. Before they started creating settlements these mating cycles would cause they to hunt out mates in the wild for short periods as they were solitary animals. When they do reproduce, they create a clutch of 3 to 7 infant arachantlings. In today’s Arachant society, many individuals mate only for fun during their cycles and will only reproduce once or twice in a lifetime. As they grow, they will shed their skin repeatedly. In the far past, they would consume this shed skin for nutrients and to avoid leaving a trace. That instinct still exists but has been altered somewhat with the consuming of one’s skin being a high intimate act and only done with close partners, sometimes taking on an erotic undertone.

Ecology and Diet

Culture and Social