Threndrir

The most elite of the Srisian guard, the threndrir ride massive winged beasts and are directly linked via webbing to the Prophetess of the Spider. They are considered the "most free" of all the people of Srisia except the leaders of the church and empire.

Srisian Guard

The threndrir all begin as members of the Srisian guard who show aptitude for warfare, freedom from conscience and constriction, and a willingness to emulate the Spider or the empire or both. They are recruited subtly, tested over and over again, questioned without their knowing it, and nudged with exquisite care to become a threndrir.

Webbing

The threndrir are eventually invited to test their abilities openly, asked if they wish to become a threndrir by recruiting officers. If they say no, they are later poisoned subtly. This almost never happens, as recruiters are very skilled. When someone accepts, they are taken into one of the spider warrens of Srisia and told to sleep there over night. If they balk at this, they are encouraged to go in until they do, then they are eaten by spiders. Most willingly enter and find themselves wrapped in finest spiderweb in the morning when they wake up. Most find this to be an honor, given the Srisian culture, and remove it with care to save for something special.

When they step out of the warren, their recruiter takes the webs and re-wraps them, using it to bind their arms and legs and to blindfold them for an initiation ceremony. They are then taken back into the warren and bound to a great web. They webbing will absorb into them and wrap around their mind, soul, and heart, but when they awaken, they will feel themselves to be free.

In truth, the Prophetess has placed her power over them and subtly manipulates them for the rest of their lives.

Training

Once they are initiated, they are celebrated by the other threndrir for three days, then enter training. They train in combat, strategy, politics, religion, and more, and by the end of their three-week training period, they have been thoroughly indoctrinated even more so than the typical Srisian guard. Then, they begin training on their flying steeds. At first, they use retired steeds from dead threndrir to get used to it, but after another three-week period, they are ready to return to the spider warrens and earn their own mount.

Mounts

Their mounts hatch from giant spiderweb eggs but are winged beasts called kappumamu. The kappumamu are about 12' long plus a 9' long tail. They have a wingspan of 24' and their bodies weigh just under a ton. Their wings are made of thick yellow feathers and strong enough to bludgeon a foe at power +12/+9 if flapped at full strength. Their tails end in a stinger that contains poison of power 15, and their heads are elongated (think xenomorph) with a crest on the back that forms a sharp, double-point. They have eight huge, spider-like eyes, and a vast beak with a few dozen rows of teeth. Their tongues are whip-like protrusions. Other than their wings, they are covered in soft white feathers that are actually spidersilk. Their flesh beneath it is palest white, and their eyes are always a burning red hue. Their four legs end in sharp talons.

In order to earn a mount, a threndrir must enter the spider warrens at night with an offering to the spiders. The traditional offering is the threndrir's best friend, stabbed in the back, but anyone relatively close to them will do. If they do not have the freedom from conscience to kill someone close to them, they may offer someone whose value comes from being an important person, or someone culturally taboo, or someone more powerful than they are. Whoever it is, it must be someone who proves the threndrir's ruthlessness, cunning, and power. If the spiders do not accept the sacrifice, the threndrir will be eaten (and then the sacrifice). If they do accept the sacrifice, the sacrifice will be eaten before the threndrir's eyes, and then the spiders will spin an "egg" of webbing and venom. By morning, the egg will hatch and a young kappumamu will emerge.

For the next six months, the threndrir will raise the kappumamu, tend it, train it, and then begin training to ride it when it is large enough. Kappumamu eat only fresh meat, so the threndrir must either make connections with someone who can provide this or find a way to provide it themselves.

Mental Connection

The threndrir share a mental web that they believe is decentralized but is actually in the control of the Prophetess. They exchange information through it in combat and share thoughts as they please, but they keep a tight lock on their thoughts otherwise. The Prophetess, however, knows all. Mostly, they use it to coordinate during battles.

Treachery

Anyone whose ambitions or conscience lead them to even think about betraying Srisia, the Prophetess, or the Spider God is culled quickly because the Prophetess senses their betrayal coming, but internal treacheries - that is, backstabbing for better rank or power within the Srisian military - is subtly encouraged. It is considered all part of making sure only the strongest survive.

Powers

Both the threndrir themselves and their mount are granted special powers as they train.

Threndrir Powers

• Mind-webbing: threndrir can spit from their mouths a webbing similar to that of the spiders of Srisia. They wrap it around all of their weapons so that anyone they wound can be mentally influenced via the webbing in the following rounds. This gives the threndrir an extra action each round if they choose to manipulate a target (but it can only be used for this). Signals are very subtle, faint references to death in battle to unnerve the target or quiet reminders of distrust for an ally or some other direct but subtly delivered message.
• Soulburning: threndrir can ignite the webbing around their weapons with mundane fire to create gossamer flames that harm the soul of targets at power 15.
• Heartlacing: a threndrir can tie a string of their webbing to a projectile weapon and use it to wound a target. The target is then grappled or harpooned and caught at the end of this roped weapon, which will then begin draining their emotions to empower the threndrir's next attack. The threndrir rolls WIL vs. target WIL to steal emotional energy. The success rate determines how much they steal (NS +1, SS +2, ES +3, Tie +/-0, EF -3, SF -2, NF -1).
• Venom: threndrir have spider venom in their webbing that has a power of 15, if they choose to enact it with a hissed whisper at the start of the round. The may not trigger it any other time except the start of the round or right before battle.
• White gating: threndrir can spin a circle of webbing and ignite it into gossamer flames, then incant a summoning spell to gate in up to 6 inferior threndrir, Srisian guards, younger kappumamu, or various infernal creatures to serve them. This effect takes two rounds (spin and ignite, then incantation).
• Word of command: threndrir have a single word of command from ancient Srisian that they can invoke once per year. It will cause up to 3 targets who hear it to have to obey for up to 3 rounds, 2 targets for a total fo 9 rounds (4 for one target, 5 for the other), or a single target up to 9 rounds. The word is spoken, then it is a WIL vs. WIL contest.
• Gossamer lightning: a threndrir can completely empty their webbing reserves and unleash an ignited strand of spiderweb that becomes an infernal bolt of chain lightning that hits all targets within the chain (up to 10 targets) at power 20. If they do this, it will take a year and a day to regain their webbing reserves. It slowly builds over the year, but any use before a full refill will cause permanent loss of that used before the refill is done.

Kappumamu Powers

• Screeching: the kappumamu have a grating voice that will drain the will of those not imbued with gossamer light at power 13.
• Stinger venom: their stinger has a +6/+6 damage roll and a venom of power 15 that causes all internal systems to shutdown.
• Acid breath: their saliva is highly caustic and burns as an acid at power 17. They can spit it in a stream over 40' in front of them (and much further from above). They can spray it out in a 5' cloud that will dissipate within 10' of them, burning at power 10.
• Stained talons: after they have killed more than 10 innocents or offered 5 people to the spider warren, their talons stain with the blood of these victims and cause soul damage at power 15 on top of the +6/+6 damage they have.
• Shell: kappumamu are techncially empty shells made of gossamer light. They are bloodless, and thus, wounds cause no penalty to them. They do need to be stitched up afterward to prevent them from falling apart, however.
• Unraveling: a kappumamu can unravel themselves into strands of gossamer light to travel almost instantly to the side of their threndrir or to return to the spider warren at will, upwards of three times per week.

Kappumamu often grab victims and then drop them into or near a spider warren as a tribute to their forebears.

Inventory

The main equipment of a threndrir are their weapons and armor:

Lances

Their lances, if not covered in webs, are long spikes of zaqqum, so they cause soul damage at power 8 when used. They are light enough to be used as throwing weapons as well, and they are often webbed over.

Swords

Their swords are broadswords made of boreanic and silver. If they draw blood (flesh wound), they gain +1 for the next round, with +2 more for each level of success. Failure has no effect. This is not cumulative - they lose the bonus the following round. However, if they maim (exceptional wound and exceptional hit, but not exceptional stun), they gain +7 for three rounds, and if they instant kill (triple exceptional), they get +7 for the whole battle. They are often webbed over.

Ropes

Their ropes are made of webbing and are used to capture foes or to use the heartlacing power as described above. They are gossamer light made into finest silk.

Shields

Their shields are made of quicktitanium crafted by a schmied. They capture weapons that strike them and weaken those they can't capture. If they hold the weapon and then it is captured back, the weapon will be influenceable by the threndrir in the same manner as an opponent's mind. The shields repel celestial attacks.

Armor

The armor of the threndrir is made from the hide of terrible monsters and the mother-of-pearl chain mail the monsters have. It makes the threndrir intimidating to behold, gives them +10/+10 defense, and allows them to repel celestial energies directed at them. The armor also amplifies their venom by +6 if it has been cut by enemy blade.

Boots

Their boots are made from the skin of slaves, slaughtered personally by the threndrir, then tanned by esoteric means. The boots are said to allow them to deflect certain powers, but in truth, they ensnare the threndrir if they try to run from the Prophetess.

Societal Role

The threndrir are elite warriors who serve the Prophetess directly. They are unknowing slaves who have high social status in the empire and are seen as paragons of liberty and self-reliance, when in fact, everything they are comes from the infernal might of the Prophetess and the slaves she devours. They are exalted and respected as warriors the world over - and feared for their power in battle. In other countries where their victims have power, they are forbidden and outlawed and rightly seen as war criminals, slavers, and bringers of atrocity.

Skills

Their skills are that of elite warriors and politicians:

• Tactics
• Strategy
• Armor care
• Weapon care
• Survival
• Politics
• Manipulation
• Terrorization
• Torture
• Slave command
• Battle command
• Mount care
• Navigation
• Knots

Stats

Modifiers from base of nation/species:

PRO +7
ATH +7
STR +5
AWA +6
WIL +6
STH +3
PRS +4