“Your minds are all made up, then?” asks Teemo of the aranea triumvirate, and the three spiderladies all nod. Folarn speaks first.

“Not just ours, but all of us in this Enclave. My fellow tarantulas are no stranger to difficult fights, and we understand the desire to protect. But we must have the room to grow to become better protectors.”

Norloke speaks next. “The weavers are also in agreement. We all appreciate the intricate and robust web you’ve created, but we must have the space to create our own, to hone our own craft.”

Vernew speaks last, looking the most nervous of the three. “The hunters need to be spiderkin. Your Weave is glorious, but there is even more to see and experience outside! We need to see it, and hopefully help you integrate it, Weaver.”

Teemo sighs at the three, mimicking my own reaction. I don’t doubt their conviction, and they’re not wrong about needing room to grow, space to learn, and wonders to see. I just wish they’d delay until after the scythemaws. But they’re all resolute in this, and not just the triumvirate. I can feel the anticipation in the other aranea. They know the scythemaws will be trouble, but they want to be able to stand on their own feet to face it.

“Thedeim respects your decision, even if he disagrees with it. It’s still yours to make, not his. You’ll be doing the ceremony soon, then?” The three nod, and this time Norloke speaks first.

“I believe Aranya will be by shortly after sunset to officiate.”

Vernew speaks quickly after her, not-quite able to hide her excitement. “Elder Larx said he’d be showing up, too!”

My Voice can’t help but chuckle a bit at that. “I think Tiny wants to come and watch, also. The Boss says he’s going to have Rocky and Fluffles watching the entrances, so all of you can be present.”

Folarn smiles and bows slightly at that. “We thank the Weaver for that. My warriors would never shirk their duties… but nobody wants to be left out of this.”

The final confirmation made and prep done, Teemo takes his leave. It’s not going to be too long until sunset, so there’s not a whole lot I can do before the ceremony. I wonder if that was part of the point of them wanting to do it quickly. Not so much that they worry I might try to stop them, but more to try to minimize my worry, kinda ripping the bandage off.

I go ahead and focus in on Rocky and Fluffles as they spar, and can’t help but admire the progress the two have made. My zombie boxer is a force to be reckoned with. He hasn’t been working on expanding his affinities since gaining kinetic, and has instead been focusing on honing his control with them. I think he saw Fluffle’s progress and identified a hole in his own training.

Part of that hole is his magical defenses. The few spars that Fluffles has won against Rocky was when my wingnoodle would just grab him in telekinesis and Rocky would have to tap out. Getting his own kinetic affinity has helped him to be able to parry Fluffles’ invisible grabbers. I think Rocky is starting to apply some fire concepts to his kinetic defense, too, because I can see something a lot like ash, but made of mana, when he parries. I’m not sure how else to describe it.

It’s a really good way to spend the kinetic energy that’s trying to get him, too. All the potential goes into the ‘ash’ that just fades into nothingness, without letting the energy actually impact Rocky. It makes me think of the ablative tiling on the space shuttle. He’s got a long way to go before he hits that kind of efficiency, but he’s got the concept now.

And for his offense, he’s working hard on antipode. I’m surprised he has that idea, but I guess it must have slipped through the bond at some point. I probably shouldn’t be surprised he’s picked that up. Luca and Nadia’s Antipode spells are too cool for me to not think about them when I see him practicing. He hasn’t been able to make it click yet, but I know he’ll figure it out eventually.

As for Fluffles, my quatl has been progressing incredibly well with his kinetic control. I can feel him examining the mana ash in the moments in their sparring that he can spare, trying to figure out how it works. He hasn’t managed to wrap his head around fire or ice yet. In fact, I think he’s going to be getting wind before those two.

I can feel him brushing up against the concept to let him expand his telekinesis into wind affinity. He can feel the air with his wings, knows he can push against it to fly, he just hasn’t put together that he can grab the air with his telekinesis. I mean, it might not be how to expand into wind affinity, but something about the idea just feels right.

I’m not sure which of them I should put facing the underswamps. There still haven’t been any scythemaws wandering on the shore, but the expeditions are starting to see heads breaching the surface. I don’t know which of the two fighting scions would be better suited to stopping a potential incursion. Fluffles still has the raw power advantage, but Rocky is simply the better fighter.

Actually… I shouldn’t think about who would be the best fighter for it, but who can get there quicker if they’re not stationed facing the swamps. In that light, the choice is easy: Rocky will be facing the potential path of the scythemaws during the ceremony. If anything happens, Fluffles should be able to cross through the enclave much faster than Rocky could.

And if Tiny will be down to watch the ceremony, too, that should be security handled, hopefully. I can’t imagine anything overwhelming those three quicker than the enclave could evacuate. Well, I can imagine a few things, but none that actually would fit down there.

I have Teemo give out the posts before letting him do his thing, which he’ll be doing with Thing, looks like. The two are both interested in the bag of holding. I think Teemo is finally starting to understand how it works, so he and Thing are working hard to replicate the enchantment.

I idly watch them to pass the time, and soon Aranya awakens and does her morning (dusk?) routine. She even invites Yvonne to come, but she politely declines, to nobody’s surprise. My kobold meets up with Larx, and soon everyone is gathered in the enclave.

Much like with the ratlings-turned-ratkin, Aranya starts everything off once everyone is ready. “Aranea! You have had a difficult journey to this point, but you have persevered to reach the culmination! Lord Thedeim has given you the opportunity to be more than just denizens, and you have worked hard to achieve that! Lord Thedeim smiles at your efforts, and offers you the protections he can while you prepare to truly become dwellers.

“It is a dangerous path to walk, but a fruitful one. Lord Thedeim provides as he can, but there is an entire world out there to explore and discover, friends and enemies alike to meet. He’s not made a secret of this, but you still continue, braving the strange and the new. There will be difficulties, but there will be opportunities as well. I know you can and will face them as they come, and will be able to find the benefits hidden in the hardships, and will weave a strong tapestry that Lord Thedeim will be proud of.”

She steps aside, letting the triumvirate of Folarn, Vernew, and Norloke take the attention of all gathered. Vernew speaks first, though she gives Tiny a bow before she starts. “The Weaver of Threads was so strange for us at the start. Even with time and the progress of the bars blurring our memories, we all remember the strange designs he had for us all. Hunt the invaders, guide and challenge the delvers. Grow ourselves.”

Norloke stands and gives Tiny a bow. “We wove traps for the invaders. We wove secrets for the Weaver of Threads. We made signs, we helped guide the flow of delvers, all to help, putting our clumsy strings where we thought they could help, and watched how they were integrated with graceful ease.”

Folarn stands and gives Tiny a bow. “We have protected the core from the very start. The Reader of the Web and Guardian is a testament to how seriously we take that responsibility. Now we will protect not only that, but ourselves, and those outside. We all know of the looming threat of the scythemaws. Instead of cower, we will face them without the benefit of the cycle of the Weaver.

“If our threads will be sheared, so be it. But we face that danger with the full knowledge of it. We may watch it pass beneath us from our webs, we may descend and pluck our prey from the hordes. But whatever we do, it shall be by our will. We will always hear the advice of the Weaver of Threads, but it is not forced upon us. We will strive and struggle, and though our web may be tattered by wind and foes, we will rebuild. We are spiderkin! Beautiful as our webs may be, our people are what supports us, not silk. We are far stronger.”

With that, the bars wink out. After a pregnant pause, the spiderkin all roar with applause and begin the celebration. Aranya and Larx stay and mingle, and Tiny continues to watch as well. I can feel him tapping into his fate affinity, and a few concepts pass through the bond to me. This was something important, and not just for my new spiderkin. It’s like it’s a new spoke in a web, a new anchor point to be built on.