The Dreamweaver.
Now, this little atrocity is a creature of my own creation. At least I'm fairly certain it is.
We had the Shade, then the Golem, and now, leading into the encounter with Tala, I wanted a different type of nuisance.
I had enough fun with the big and belligerent types, so I thought it would be best to move towards the feisty little monstrosities. Enter the dreamweaver.
I knew I wanted to throw a line that lent itself to Khora's past life, specifically her mother, Kassandra, and maybe even a bit more backstory for the Norva. I also knew that Lucian had experienced a sort of 'dream-sequence,' and that Richard would experience similar in the following chapter. I thought, "Why not give Khora one of her own?"
It couldn't be through magic sickness, which was how it had been for Lucian, or general illness, how it would be for Richard, so I needed an outside force to spark the instance.
Thus, a monster with hallucinogenic venom was brought up to bat. (Pun intended)
I liked the idea of a bat-like creature, one that could swoop around in the darkness quickly, quietly, all while being quite deadly.
I couldn't simply make it a venomous bat, though, because... no?
So, I thought, why not splice things up.
I gave it spider-features and started looking for a monster name that I thought would fit the world. There were a few options, and I think two-thirds of them had the word 'dream' in them, but ultimately I settled on dreamweaver, and I am quite glad I chose to do so.
If by now I can't remember the other contenders, then they were not at all worth consideration.
Besides the story elements that I would need a path to, I also thought thematically the dreamweaver was an excellent fit.
They encountered the monster, a vicious and incorrigible thing, on the final stretch before reaching Tala, who they wished would grant them an extraordinary gift to defeat their enemies. It was fitting that the dreamweaver is a creature that ensnares its prey with a fantasy and kills them shortly after that.
Much like a later development...
Happy hunting!
The Ranger
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