Kumori

“Oh what a tangled web we weave, when first we practice to deceive.”

Among the Khaganate in the east it is said that the Mother Goddess created the world. Her first thought created the light of a brilliant sun and her first breath cooled the molten rock to become the earth though still it was bereft of life and this made her sad. Her tears created the oceans which divided the lands from the sea. The mixing of water and earth created life and for the first time the world breathed and she was not alone anymore. Where there is life, there is death and thus Entropy forced its way into the cosmos that mother had created, ravaging the beauty that she had begot. The Mother was angry but this was the way of things and she was not strong enough to fight her sister Entropy.

As she wrapped herself in her arms she felt comforted and those thoughts created the other gods and goddesses but they did not worship her even if they loved her and that was what she craved most, to be worshipped. One of the goddesses, Anansa, was a masterful weaver and came to the Mother with a solution to her problems. If Mother could steal away the powers of Fate from her sister she could use them in her tapestry of Creation - a bulwark against Entropy.

Time has lost the tale on how she managed to do so but the Great Weaver is a cunning thing and once she has drawn something into her web there is no escape. With the power of her tapestry she gave birth to her children, the Kumori, and gifted them with her cunning and long lives that defy Entropy, much to her chagrin. As the oldest race in the world they view themselves as the keepers of the tapestry they have named the Weave. It is the balance of all things, the source of life and magic itself some say even though the latter has been disproved through studies at the Royal University of Canaan. Magic comes from Aetherium brought into the world during the Third Cataclysm but the ability for the Races of Men to use magic comes from the Weave as it has been woven into their destiny.

The children of Anansa have many advantages of spiders; they exude pheromones which make them extremely alluring and more easily able to attract mates, they are capable of supernaturally spinning webs and many of them possess poisonous glands. With their unique physiology they are unable to eat solid food and must consume their nutrients through blood, their elongated fangs can extend even more so much like the pedipalps of their spider kin. Some of them have learned how to metabolize this blood and to draw from it, the mystical powers they are feared for - enhanced speed, agility, and the ability to move about practically unseen and unheard. For these reasons they pride themselves as the ultimate hunters and in fact many of them join the Order of Silence and are some of the most fearsome assassins in the Empire.

Perhaps due to their reputation as blood drinkers or their impressive physical abilities they have been persecuted many times throughout history. A fact that has left the oldest among them slightly embittered and distrustful of the other Races of Men. Though they are strict, honorable people who are wise enough to understand that it does the Empire no good to hang onto ancient grudges. In this era, under the Empress they happen to be quite respected for their continued service to the throne and are, on average, viewed akin to Imperial Knights. It is said that within the Khaganate are secret enclaves where the most promising are trained to become covert operatives and assassins for the feudal lords within their nation-state.

Though they are very long lived, the birth rate of the Kumori leaves a great deal to be desired. Their births are always in pairs, making twins a cultural norm and sole births very unusual and oft unheard of -- especially in this age. Such children are viewed as harbingers of fate and are always taken to be raised in the enclaves.

Sobriquets: Weavers, Spiderlings, Webspinners (derogatory)

Appearance: Physical appearance of the Kumori is a varied thing but most usually they tend to have very long white hair that resembles strands of webbing in the light that they keep bound out of their face with hair sticks and/or ribbons. They are a slight people with slender forms and short stature, though most average five and a half feet at least. Their skin is pale, very pale but it is surprisingly resilient to sunlight and does not redden or tan, even under the harsh sun of Sotheria or the Demon Wastes. The Kumori like to use red face paint to create solid red dots, sometimes with lines connecting a few of them and often paint their lips the same shade of red. Naturally gifted with long, dark lashes they don’t ever really wear eye makeup as they lack the epicanthic fold commonly seen among the other races. It’s also said that some of the women have hourglass shaped birthmarks on their backs, a sure sign of the Great Weaver’s blessing.