Arachnasa (Art by Eleonora "Noura" Abdrakhmanova)
Arachnasa, also known as the Queen Mother or the Mother Spider, is the matriarch of the Ananasi.
Description[]
Unlike most therianthropes, Ananasi are ruled by a single matriarchal figure that being Arachnasa who is revered as a demigoddess since she stands as the physical avatar of Ananke. It is unknown what requirements are needed to become a Queen Mother as it is never fully explained in detail even by Arachnasa herself.
Arachnasa stands between the threshold of man and beast. In her case she is both human and spider yet more spider than human. She has the lower half of a spider complete with the abdomen and thrax yet the upper half of a human from the torso to the head. Moset variations of Mother Spiders vary from time to time.
Arachnasa is also the one who created the various roles for Ananasi to carry out and are managed by her children who assign the Ananasi with said roles in order to combat the various forces that threaten the Great Web. Her children are comprised of the Keeper, the Seamstress, and the Patternmaker, each having key roles in assisting Ananasi to combat the forces of darkness:
- The Keeper is the one who determines if an Ananasi is worthy of their powers by having them combat the chaotic forces that seep out from Níðhöggr's thrashing.
- The Seamstress is the one who sows the kind of abilities that would be carried over into the next Ananasi and determines which threat they are more suited to fight.
- The Patternmaker is the one who makes complex patterns on the Ananasi's being thus raising their ranks and strength to see if they are ready to face off against Atlach-Nacha's daughters and the Spiders of Leng.
Overview[]
In legend, Ananke the primordial deity who weaves the web of destiny for all things in creation chooses one that can act as her physical avatar in the material plane. According to Arachnasa herself, her imagery was woven into the tapestries by the Moirai and her functions would be written down by the Norns for Ananke to grant her the honor of being her avatar weaving said image and function into reality. Their former lives and even their original names are taken away and all become Arachnasa. It is a heavy weighted responsibility and burden that only the most steely willed can endure.
Throughout the ages only females can be a Mother Spider and one is born every few millennia or so. Arachnasa, as the Mother Spider, is the one who sends out her spiderlings to bestow a human who is worthy enough of Ananke's gifts. She also imbues said power within the Ananasi themselves should they so choose to bring a mortal into their fold so long as they are willing to fight the forces of darkness alongside them.
Since she is so vital to the Ananasi she is quite well hidden in the most secluded region of the planet with no one not even the most trusted of her soldiers have any concrete knowledge of her whereabouts. This is largely due to the fear their enemies could use her against them such as they once did during the Beast Wars. Even Corvaxes and Werebats are not fully aware of her location though some believe she is in the deepest recesses of the Congo or Amazon rainforest.