The Luminous Draknel
The Luminous Draknel is a bioluminescent arachnid which resides in deep underground caves and caverns throughout Elvara.
Derived from the Ancient Mathidoni term meaning 'Fire Needle', the Draknel survives in the harshest of underground conditions.
Morphology
Living for up to 2 years, the Draknel ranges in size from 5-30cm, though the females are the largest of the species.
Its body is divided in to 3 segments. The head section, containing its two serrated pincers, a mouth, and up to 16 eyes; the abdomen, which contains the main body and its 8 legs; and the tail section, which splits into 3 distinct appendages, each with venomous stings at the tip.
The middle tail, usually the largest of the three, can shoot venom out in a jet stream, in order to warn, or indeed blind, a persistent enemy.
The creature glows luminous green or blue in complete darkness.
Biology
The Draknel live in large matriarchal colonies. They are cannibalistic creatures, with the female of the species trapping and consuming the male directly after mating but before laying her thousands of eggs. In desperate times, they are known to eat their own (many) young or even the weakest females of the colony. Due to the harshness of its habitat, the abdomen of the Draknel is adept at spinning silky webs like a spider. Though Draknel webs are larger and thicker than the webs of their fellow arachnid cousins, they are also bioluminescent, appearing to glow green in the darkness of their underground environment. These webs attract various insects, and invertebrate creatures, which are drawn to the light. The Draknel is not a picky eater, and therefore, when not eating its own family, it will sustain itself on any creature caught in its web.Venom
When threatened, the Draknel raises its pincers and tail in a fighting posture in order to warn off predators. Its sting-induced venom serves as a means to paralyse prey and attackers quickly. Though the Draknel's venom only incapacitates smaller creatures, it can poison Elvaran people causing extreme pain, numbness and swelling. In large amounts the venom can cause difficulty in breathing, nausea/vomiting, accelerated heart rate, drooling and thrashing. Nevertheless, Draknel Venom is a valuable commodity, particularly in the Dwarven settlement of Ironheim where it is used to treat Prospector's Fever.
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