O, What A Tangled Web We Weave [Introduction]

Gentile, golden eyes watched silently, flickering from side-to-side, the ant-like beings that meandered below them. A soft, rumbling purr emitted in the air, which had grabbed the attention of many the spirits that wandered by. They observed the loving look those gold-stoned eyes gave to the people who moved through their lives below. Whispered words of meaningless gossip filled the low-leveled essence of the air, soft and quiet, like a gentle buzzing. These eyes did not budge toward the murderous evil that those other spirits rambled to each other in the silence. They kept themselves pinpointed on beings that she cared so much for, despite having never once interacted with them. Beautiful creatures, like the hatchlings that crawled around at her feet, where she sat in her throne; she loved them so.

"Aranea?" came a gruff voice behind her, and the eyes fluttered away from the humans to look at the Celestial King. "How much do you love those creatures on Earthland? Enough that you would like to go down to them, yes?"

"I only love admiring them from afar, my king," she answered him, crossing her legs over each other, "like how they admire me from afar."

"Are you certain that's true, Aranea? I've been hearing from the grapevine that all you do is watch these hopeless creatures."

"It is not true, your highness. . . I dearly love them, as much as I love my hatchlings and spiderlings who crawl at my feet. I would greatly love to go there to them, but I do not belong in the world for very long and it saddens me."

"You doubt my powers then. . . Aranea, I grant you access to that world on your own accord, but know your limits." With that being said, the Celestial Spirit King had moved away from the spider constellation and left her on her own.

Her eyes widened as he left her to reside on her throne, the golden irises bright and illuminating in the darkness. She glanced down at her hands and thought for a moment, the possibilities of interacting with the Earthlanders there. "Yes, I do love them so. . ." Aranea murmured to herself, a smile gracing her lips as her hands started to fade and soon, all of her.


One by one, each of her limbs glimmered into view, until all of her had been summoned into the world of humans and monsters. The celestial spirit glanced around at these foreign objects, beings, and places, golden eyes viewing everything possible. She stood in Mountain Village, in the center of the lovely, peaceful town, stretching of her twelve limbs of her body. First it was the legs that wriggled and writhed on her back, reaching each one individually forward, until they felt lax. Then she raised her arms above her head and gave a yawn, followed by a cracking of her spine, and lastly the stretching of her legs.

"This isn't so bad," the woman stated, a smile on her face when her eyes took in the shops and the people. . . then the huge castle beyond. They settled calmly, but wide-eyed, on the Midi-styled structure, her arms posed above her still in their stretch.

Aranea's arms dropped to her sides and she was compelled to walk toward the massive building, eyes unblinking. As time passed by, her feet carried her closer, one of the spider legs reaching out toward the concrete of the base. She stopped at the steps of the castle, head lifted, so that she was able to stare up and take in the actual size. Amazement had taken over her and she stepped onto the first of the stairs leading up, making her way to the top. Her heels clacked against each of the stone steps, clack, clack, clack, clack, until she stood on the first level. Darting around, taking everything in again, Aranea's slit eyes wondered what kind of person or people lived here. Was this the home that she so lovingly watched over from her place in the stars or was this another place within?

Clack, clack, clack. A clawed hand moved out in front of her and pushed open the elegant doors of the samurai castle. They swung open with a loud creak, easily grabbing the attention of those that were in the tavern of the guild.