Vurkik Republic

Government Type: Republic

Current Leaders:

Population:

Economic Type:

Species Demographics: 97% aranea, 3% other (any intillegent spider)

Capitol:

Nominal Alignment: LG

“To hide from the world would be to live a lie.  To work from secret though…  That insures the work is finished.”

- Striver philosophy

Not all of the aranea that returned to their destroyed homeland were content to live in the shadow of their former glory.  Some began to dive into the depths, in search of sunken treasures from the past.  As the divers grew in skill they found that they could weave watertight silk bubbles that could sustain them for several hours beneath the waves.  The aranea became proficient with the sea, and were able to extract all the necessities of life from it.

Eventually their silken diving suits turned into diving bells, and then into full scale dwellings.  Now the Vurkik aranea live almost entirely beneath the sea.  They attach spacious silk tents to the shallow sea floor and then fill them with air.  The topsides of the tents are then camouflaged with all manner of sea life, including coral.  The oldest of the tent dwellings have actually been covered by living, growing, coral reefs.

Over the years the Vurkik have actually been able to reclaim a portion of their past.  Their underwater dwellings are quite advanced and are able to support large and growing communities.  In recent years the industrious spider folk have begun to expand their influence beyond the borders of their submerged kingdom.  They have infiltrated many aranean tribes on the surface, and through them have managed to place agents throughout much of the world.  Only recently have the learned of the existence of Krik’t’krk and many of the Vurkik actively work against them in the world.

Vurkik Silk Domes

For the Vurkik, living beneath the waves is a way of life.  Their cities consist of many silk bubbles anchored to the seabed and filled with air, all of them connected by silk tunnels.  By necessity, these underwater abodes are always built near the surface, and their highest points always have access to the air above… at least during low tide.  It is at these times that the bubbles are opened and fresh air is cycled throughout the communities.

Many of the domes are camouflaged with native sea life, including the fire coral that grows in the area.  In fact the Vurkik encourage the coral to grow over their domes, providing them with a hard outer covering and increased safety.  If at all possible their communities are built between real coral reefs in order to provide protection from any ships that may pass too closely by.

Vurkik Silk Ships

The ships of the Vurkik are constructed entirely from a waterproof silk stretched over a light wooden frame.  As the Vurkik are a secretive people, most of the time the silks of the hull are dyed a deep color of blue to provide camouflage against the backdrop of the ocean, while any silks used for sails are dyed to match the color of the sky.

In addition to being camouflaged, the Vurkik ships are constructed to be easily disassembled.  Aranean crews are adept at assembling and disassembling their vessels, even in the middle of the sea, and often do so to avoid detection when vessels of other countries come into view.  After disassembly the crews hide beneath the silk until the crisis is averted.  In the warmer Blood Seas this tactic works well, however in colder waters the aranea need magic in order to survive the temperatures.