Foreword
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When the Lady Viravain descended upon the First World, She set about creating
myriad creatures whose descendants now roam on, above, and under our land.
While some of Her circle aspired to create large and ferocious beasts, She
instead preferred the smaller, subtler animals. Though She was best known for
creating Brother Raven, one of the relatively few species that became Awakened
Spirits, Viravain also had a fondness for the tiniest of creatures: the
butterflies, the insects, and of course, the spiders. It soon came to pass that
some of Lady Viravain's greatest teachings were imparted upon these mysterious
creatures.

Purpose
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Lady Viravain loved all of Her creations, but to Her insects she did not impart
much individual wisdom or cunning. She preferred instead to let their great
numbers develop a collective mind of its own, allowing hives to thrive where
other beasts could not. This worked well for the most part, but if a group of
insects became too successful in their efforts, there was little that could be
done about mitigating their propagation.

As a clutch of freshly-hatched caterpillars set to work devouring Her favorite
rose bush, She realized that the Basin would benefit from a predator capable of
gently weeding out the weak and careless in each hive. She had already created
a few of birds for this purpose, but had long before realized that too many of
the larger creatures would only further upset Nature's balance, and that a
softer touch was always a better solution.

Perception
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Casting Her gaze upon the ground, Lady Viravain plucked up a wayward ant, or
perhaps a termite beetle, and slowly pulled the thorax between Her nimble
fingers until it stretched to form a fourth set of legs, and the head fused to
its enlarging abdomen. She blessed upon it a measure of intelligence, and
smiled as the tiny being began to address Her with a single voice, instead of
the collective voice of the Hive through which her smaller creations had taken
to contacting Her.

"Woe is me," said the newly-formed spider, "for though You have granted me a
sense of identity greater than my kin, I am nearly blind without their scent
markings to guide me, and lost without the decrees of the Queen!"

"Silly little one, do not fear thus." stated the Lady of the Summer Song
plainly. "You will soon be joined with more like yourself, but you are
dependent upon no decree but your own. You think you are blind because you see
too much."

As Lady Viravain said these last words, the newly-made spider began to
understand; its faceted eyes, so used to taking in a wide scope with very little
focus, cracked and divided, arranging themselves on its face in a circle of
eight. The spider could now see the world with clearer focus, and it could peer
through many of the illusions that the prior lack of focus had wrought. It also
noticed that its sense of smell was no longer attuned to the specific scented
commands broadcast by its former Queen, but instead took in the smells of the
world around it, predators and prey alike.

The young Goddess smiled as the blessings dawned upon Her newest creation. "You
see, small one, when you cease to take the world at face value, when you attune
to its subtleties, when you rely on your own wisdom instead of edict and
hearsay, when you stop looking and start SEEING, all that you desire shall be
made manifest."

Beauty
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Soon Lady Viravain had created a multitude of spiders, of varying shapes and
sizes, out of the insects She had readily at hand, and some that She created
from scratch. The spiders, having been borne of social species, quickly took
note of one another, but their newfound sight led to a panic amongst them. They
took note of their swollen abdomens, their fearsome mandibles, and their
bizarrely-placed eyes.

"Woe are we, for we can now see the ugliness of the world around us, and see
how ugly we are! How are we ever to fulfill Your wishes when all of the world's
creatures will run in fear from us?"

"My young things," sighed Viravain, "you are the epitome of beauty, through
your cunning and craftiness. You have had the power all along to craft
wondrous, beautiful creations, a power not unlike My own."

One of the more inquisitive spiders took note of its spinneret, heretofore only
used in feeble attempts to shoot its silk at approaching insects. "Of what use
are these things behind us, O Mother? Is there some measure of beauty in the
sticky strands we can create?"

The Lady of the Summer Song pretended not to hear Her young creation's words,
instead taking to weaving garlands of roses together, Her slender fingers deftly
dodging the thorns. The majority of Her children despaired, but one of the
elders watched in fascination. After some time, the spider ascended a tree
trunk, fastened a line of silk to it, and began trailing his silk along the
branches, weaving a crude framework of the threads. Eventually a wayward fly
happened across the trap, entangling itself within. The spider's kin gave a cry
of glee as they emulated her work, harvesting enough food to ensure their
survival. As the night wore on, the spiders developed more elaborate and
sophisticated webs to ensnare all manner of insects.

The spiders bowed their heads with reverence, and said, "Truly, dear Mother, we
are beautiful. Through our works, we shall glorify Your exquisite beauty."

Lady Viravain reciprocated with an impish grin that slowly melted into
seriousness as She replied, "And forget not the lesson of patience, that with
the right preparation, one's goals will surely fall into place by themselves."

Power
-------------

The spiders were content with their gifts of perception and beauty for a time,
but they quickly noted that their webs, no matter how well-crafted, did little
to defend them from the larger and more powerful beings of the forest. Not a
day went by where they did not lose a large number of their kind to hungry birds
and rodents, and once more beseeched their Mother for guidance.

"Woe are we, for we cannot hope to defend ourselves against these enormous
monsters! Though we create things of utmost beauty, we are so easily caught and
eaten."

The Lady Viravain pondered for a moment, wondering why Her most important gift
to the spiders had not yet been discovered.

"Tell Me, dear spider, have you tried biting these creatures before they bite
you?"

The spider's mandibles were agape in shock.

"But...we are so small, there is no chance that we could bite such things to
dea-"

As he spoke, a bird swooped down to grab the spider in its beak, but the spider
managed to jump aside. With no time to think, and only Lady Viravain's gentle
voice echoing in his mind, he bit into the bird's leg with the full force of its
mandibles. The bird was irked, yet completely unfazed.

"As expected," cried a despondent brother, "he cannot hope to bite such a thing
to death!"

Lady Viravain smiled softly, watching the bird attempt to fly away for another
attempt at a swoop. It gained some height, but soon after found no strength in
its wings. The spiders gave out a collective gasp as they watched it plummet to
the ground, slowly dying of their comrade's venom.

The spiders gasped their tiny gasps at this newfound understanding of their
place in the world. They soon realized that even if they die before their
poison sets in, their brethren would soon become synonymous with fear.

Lady Viravain knew that at last that Her creations were complete.

"My dear creatures, you have power within you unlike any the Basin has seen
before, one that has naught to do with size or strength, but of courage and
deception! Go forth and instill fear into your predators and prey alike, for
you are My children, and I shall always watch over you."

Conclusion
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Thus, dear listeners, ever heed the melodious voice of the Lady of Summer Song,
for just as She has imparted the spiders with perception, beauty, and power, so
has she done with Glomdoring. May our glorious Commune live by Her wisdom.