Book One – Chapter 8

Increasingly disturbed by sensory deprivation, Midnight realised she might as well make noise. She considered to run her claws across the wall, to tear out rocks and hurl them into the webs. The ground was unnaturally spotless and smooth, but the uneven surface of the walls was etched with promising cracks. If nothing else, she would clear a path. If the trappers wanted to contain her, they would eventually have to reveal themselves. If they interpreted her actions as disorientation or panic, they might see an opportunity to attack. Even if they chose not to react, Midnight could use the tumult to localise them.

Midnight knew that beasts who melted seamlessly into the shadows could still betray their existence through their Sayra, a phenomenon known as sound shadow. Her training at Emery Thurm had unveiled these sound shadows not as audible occurrences, but as the opposite — as areas of muted ambient noise. Sayra could only be spotted through sound. They were imperfections where incoming sound shifted in volume or, with inexperienced midnight stalkers, met an abrupt hush. Where disturbances reverberated, and echoes betrayed their own discordance, beasts hid within the shadows. Midnight was skilled in discerning these auditory subtleties in the same way that she had learned to reduce the anomalies caused by her own Sayra. Her plan unfolded — to clear a path while revealing distortions and deviations of sound.

However, sometimes the grand stages of strategy simply collapsed into the chaos of coincidence. As Midnight threw her claws into the wall, she touched upon a grand arachnomorph camouflaged as rock.

The Rockshade Weaver, an arachnomorph of formidable stature, possesses a flexible, elongated body that may grow to surpass the size of a pathera. With mandibles poised for lethality, legs nullifying vibrations, and a light-absorbing carapace, this subterranean terror has adapted to navigate darkness with unmatched prowess. It operates in absolute silence, exhibiting sinuous movements that coalesce with sensory acuity beyond even Midnight’s keen instincts.

Mastery in stone mimicry renders the Rockshade Weaver indistinguishable from the surfaces it inhabits. Its exoskeleton replicates the colours and textures of adjacent rocks, thus crafting impeccable camouflage. Disguised, it remains motionless until the opportune moment to strike its unsuspecting prey. The weaver’s predatory arsenal comprises intricate web structures and a venomous bite inducing paralysing torment.