Pain was the first sensation she recognised. It was piercing, enveloping every part of her existence. She couldn't remember what had happened, only that the world she knew had shattered in an instant. Now, as she slowly opened her eyes, she realised nothing was as it should be.
At first, her vision was blurred, but as it cleared, she saw large, multi-eyed faces staring at her from every corner. Her heart pounded as she realised these faces belonged to gigantic spiders, and she... she was one of them. Her body, now long and covered in a shiny black exoskeleton, felt alien and terrifying.
In shock, she tried to flee, but her new body's movements were clumsy and uncertain. However, as her survival instinct overpowered her fear, she began to intuitively move her many legs, squeezing through the dense webs that filled the dark nest. The rustling leaves and the sounds of the night forest greeted her as she finally emerged outside.
The forest was dense, humid, and filled with unfamiliar sounds. Guided by a vague sense that she needed to find something to survive, she started to traverse the woodland depths. With each step, her new body became more obedient, and she grew increasingly desperate to find even a shadow of her former humanity.
Who am I? she wondered, her thoughts fragmented and disoriented. Memories of her previous life were like wisps of smoke, elusive and fragmented. She remembered living in a world of concrete and steel, of bustling streets and towering buildings. Faces of people she once knew flashed before her eyes, but their names and relationships were lost in the fog of her mind. This fragmented knowledge gave her a unique perspective, a sense of alienation from this new, primitive world she found herself in.
As days turned into weeks, she faced countless hardships. Her new body required sustenance that she was unfamiliar with. The forest was a perilous place, filled with predators that saw her as both threat and prey. She had to learn to spin webs to catch food, a task that initially seemed impossible with her clumsy movements.
One night, as she attempted to hunt, she encountered a creature far more dangerous than any spider. It was a massive wolf, its eyes glowing menacingly in the moonlight. The beast lunged at her, and in a frantic struggle, she managed to ensnare it in her web, but not without sustaining deep wounds from its claws. The pain was excruciating, and she spent days hiding in a crevice, nursing her injuries and fighting off infection with her newfound knowledge of herbs.
The nights were the worst. The darkness brought with it memories of her old life, of warm beds and soft lights. Now, she shivered in the cold, damp forest, her spider body providing little comfort. She remembered the comfort of human touch, the sound of voices, the feeling of safety. Here, every rustle in the leaves, every distant howl, was a reminder of her vulnerability.
She soon realised she was not only seen as a monster by the creatures of the forest, but also by other humanoids she encountered. One fateful day, she stumbled upon a small camp of travellers. Hungry and desperate, she approached them, hoping for a scrap of food or a moment of compassion. Instead, she was met with screams of terror and violence.
"Monster!" they shouted, throwing rocks and brandishing weapons. "Kill it before it devours us all!"
She tried to explain, to show she meant no harm, but her attempts were met with more aggression. She barely escaped with her life, hiding in the shadows, nursing new wounds and a shattered spirit. The rejection stung more than the physical pain, reinforcing her isolation.
Another encounter was even worse. While foraging for food near a small village, she was spotted by a group of hunters. They gave chase, determined to kill the "beast" that had invaded their territory. Arrows whizzed past her, and she narrowly avoided a trap laid out for her. The hunters were relentless, shouting curses and threats as they pursued her through the forest.
I must survive. I must find a way, she thought to herself. The cruelty of the humanoids was a stark reminder of her monstrous form. She was not welcome in their world as long as she remained a spider.
After what felt like an eternity of hardship, her fortune changed. While traversing a particularly dense part of the forest, she stumbled upon ruins of an ancient temple. Weakened and desperate, she crawled into the decaying structure, seeking shelter.
Inside the temple, under a layer of moss and leaves, she discovered something extraordinary — an ancient artefact. It was a small stone amulet adorned with strange runes that seemed to pulse with mysterious energy. Desperation and hope intertwined as she reached out to touch it.
When her many legs brushed against the amulet, a stream of warmth flowed through her spider body, and a brilliant light enveloped her, transforming her form. The sensation was overwhelming, a mixture of pain and relief, as her exoskeleton cracked and fell away, revealing soft, human skin beneath.
As she transformed, the runes on the amulet seemed to whisper a name: Iktomi. The name echoed in her mind, bringing a sense of identity and purpose. She recalled fragments of knowledge about Iktomi from her previous life — a trickster figure from Lakota mythology, embodying both cleverness and mischief.
When the glow faded, she stood on two, now human, legs. Her body was warm and soft again, though the memory of the spider shell still lingered in her mind. The amulet, now hanging around her neck, was the key to this new power — a power that allowed her to assume a human form.
Standing in the shadow of the ancient temple, she knew this was only the beginning of her journey. Now, as a human with the memory of a monster, she had to learn to live in this new, fantastical world that had so brutally embraced her. She glanced back at the forest, the place of her rebirth and suffering, and then forward, towards the unknown future. A spark of hope ignited within her — a hope for a new life, and perhaps, a chance to find others like her, to build a new life in this strange land.