I know you're probably thinking,what the fuck is an Arachne? Or,if you're a mythological and supernatural nerd,you're probably thinking,eeww,Arachne,as in the cursed mother of all spiders?
If your reaction is the first,well good for you. You're not yet too deep in this shit. Go,shut off this chapter forget about it,the top dog of our....species may not come and find you.
If you're reaction is the second,well first of all,Screw you! Yes,I am a monster,deal with it!
I am the badass bitch that laid the trillions of eggs that later on hatch to give you people arachnophobia.
I am damn proud of that.
I am the mother of all spiders. Jumping spiders,Wolf spiders,tarantulas,black widow spiders,you name them,all of them descended from me.
My children have connected expansively in nearly the whole world,and they are eternally linked to me. Their memories are my memories,which is how I was able to work the spell on how to turn myself to fully human.
Anyway,back to the fact that I'm a monster. If for some reason,your reaction was the first and you decided not to stop reading,well,I tried to warn you.
If you don't know who I am,well,my story begins nearly two thousand years ago. I told you,I don't remember how long it is. It's hard to keep track of days when you're in an underground cavern.
I was once the prettiest and most talented girl in my village. I used to live with my grandmother,my mom had died when she gave birth to me and my dad,well no one knew who he was,except from my grandmother,who never told me no matter how many times I asked.
All she used to say was" Heed my words Praktiko,never go close to the ocean"
Whenever I asked why,she would give me one of her grandma glares and the subject would melt from my mind.
So,to keep from wondering about my heritage I decided to take on the family business. Weaving.
There was a reason my nana called me praktiko. Its Greek for the 'handy one'.
I was a loner from my childhood,I never enjoyed being social. Not because the other kids avoided me ,but because I didn't want to be around them. Their way of thinking was not my way of thinking. While they played around in the mud I was busy intertwining threads and differentiating colors.
I had focused so much on my weaving,that when I reached adolescence,while they were busy giving each other smooches,I was getting paid in boat loads to make people clothes.
Based on how much money was flowing in,I got a little bit too cocky. People told me to always thank Athena,the goddess of weaving among other things,but I told them I didn't get any blessing from no goddess.
I had worked hard to get to where I was and I wasn't going to give credit to some war goddess who didn't deserve it. Basically that got me a one on one audience with the same goddess,which then led to the greatest weaving contest of all time.
Arachne,the orphan weaver VS Athena,the goddess of war craft,wisdom,trickery and weaving.
The referee was the same goddess,which should paint a clear picture of just how fair the contest was. She wove pictures depicting the greatest feats the gods have ever done.
Hermes slaying the one hundred giant Argus,Poseidon building the entire wall of Troy while being just a mere mortal,Zeus defeating Typhon,the biggest,baddest most terrible monster ever,among other things.
I did the opposite. I weaved the worst traits of the gods,starting with how Athena cursed her high priestess,Medusa into a gorgon,how Zeus unleashed his divine form on Semele and burnt her to ashes,how Hera cursed the innocent nymph,Echo to always repeat what others said,how Aphrodite made Psyche go through hardships even though she was pregnant,among other things.
When we were done,Athena herself couldn't decide who was the winner. So what did she do?
She chose to focus on how I had 'soiled' the honor of the gods with my weave. And the fellow villagers I made classic robes for joined her in lynching me.
When they were done,Athena turned me into a spider,the first spider ever, so that I could keep on weaving and weaving.
That was my eternal curse.
I was punished for being on the same level in something as a deity.
That basically made my reception to the apparently hot and humanoid hound of Hades a little bit too cold,even for me.
I mean I rarely show my fangs,even to supernaturals who attacked me. But this damn goodlooking boy scout? I made a perfect exception.
Despite the fact that my eyes were predatory and my fangs could be seen through my lips,full of extremely potent venom,Cerberus,or Charon...whatever works for you...chose to smile.
And it was a very thought provoking smile might I add.
"There she is,the scourge of Athena's legacy" he said.
You'll understand why I jumped on him the second he said that,right?
A furious high pitched shriek erupted from my throat making the glasses and electric bulbs shatter as I lunged for his useless self.
His response was brutal yet simple. With speed I have never seen even the fastest of vampires reach,he sidestepped,making me cleanly miss his tall form.
Then he grasped at my neck,his talons digging into my flesh. I choked on them as blood from my jugular began to pool on his hand.
And as if that Wasn't enough,he proceeded to slam me to my locker,face first. The forceful impact and the fact that I accidentally bit my tongue made blood erupt from my mouth and nose.
"Nice try Weaver" he said,his breath insanely hot against my skin." But we both know,that if I wished it,you wouldn't have lasted this long"
What hurt more than the sudden wounds was the fact that he was right. I could never beat him. For crying out,this was the supernatural that is in charge of keeping the worst of us in our cages in hell. You don't get such a job if you're a weakling.
"Lucky for you,I didn't come here to kill you. I need your help" he said turning me to face him,while also slamming my back to my now bloodied locker. I mean seriously,was that even necessary?
"Ni..nic..e way. o..of as..asking for ..it" I croaked as the tendons from my severed muscles reattached themselves. He smiled again,this time in what looked like pity.
"To be fair,I would have asked nicely if you hadn't attacked me" He said.
Motherf*cker! He openly provoked me!
But I decided not to say that,lest I get another three-second ass whooping.
"Help with what?" I asked massaging my throat.
"I need you to find for me three separate things for me. The covenants feather, Aiodenus' helmet and the strap of Hecate." he said.
Okay,I may have heard of those three things somewhere,but why he would want the three of them baffled me to no end.
"Why do you want them?" I asked.
"Don't ask questions,just do it" he growled.
"Okay,what do I get in return?" I asked.
"Its what you don't get in return?" he said,his eyes turning to pure lava. Terrible images of what the monsters in hell went through ran through my mind,all of them accompanied by the pain,anguish and horror that resounds in the dark fiery pit." you don't get to go there"
And with that,the hound turned and left me there,in the ground,my body terribly frozen from what I had just seen. He snapped his fingers as he walked away.
The heavy magic that had been flowing in the hallway suddenly disappeared,and with it any damage that had happened when I jumped at him.
The hallway was suddenly full of students,talking and laughing as if the worst herald of Hades hadn't just been here,and he hadn't just blackmailed me to find three stupid artifacts for him.