The Trees of Aranea: Guide to Broodwings (Fantribe)

Environment

I've mentioned in my "add ons" chapter that were giant worms in the wasteland part of Aranea, and I want to elaborate on that. As well as add a few other things.

SandSwallowers, those giant worms in the sand, used to eat all sorts of animals that roamed in the forests of Aranea before the sickness. They can eat anything, like bones, fur, eyes, claws, anything, so that they can make the most of their meals. This especially comes in handy with the fact that the lush forests are now mostly open desert, and sandswallowers really need all the nutrients they can get. So, they have a special type of skin that allows them to pull in nutrients from the soil, like scraps of bones from previous predators' meals. As well as the seeds that the broodwings are trying to plant, that's another reason why basically nothing can grow, besides the fact that the sickness had affected all life in the wasteland.

In the last bits of the forest, there is a tiny corner that houses enormous pitcher plants, bigger than dragons.

(Size comparison of the plant to the wof dragons. Also the art of the dragons is not mine, not sure who the orginal artist is though).

These giant pitcher plants feed on animals that roamed the last forest on Aranea, and will eat pretty much anything that can fit in their traps. They work pretty much the same way regular ones work, with the lure and the trap for insects, except it's more potent so it works on larger creatures. Like dragons. Just like the sandswallowers, they need all the food they can get, so they evolved to catch more food and therefore grow more.

Most broodwings stay as far away from the giants as they possibly can, all except for one web: The Fearless Web. Broodwings of this web site been living pretty much right next door to the pitcher plants ever since Vibrant granted broodwings the ability to spin silk. Over time, they have mastered how to use the pitcher plants to their advantage.

Since food is so scarce and everyone is fighting over every little scrap, it helps to have someone do all the food gathering for you. Broodwings from The Fearless Web have learned that when a pitcher plant catches something, that animal cannot get out no matter what. So, every once in a while when the web needs food again, Queen Longjaw, sends out a party of broodwings, probably her guards or broodwings training to be guards, to go to the local pitcher plants. Then, those broodwings let one into the pitcher plant while the others keep watch for predators.

(Because I'm dumb, the diagram above doesn't have the dragons drawn to the correct scale. Everything else is fine though, just ignore the scale please, thanks)

 The broodwing that will go in spins a long thread of silk on their way up to the pitcher's rim. Another broodwing or maybe a few will then hold onto the thread that's still outside to keep it still for when the diving broodwing comes back up. They have to use the silk because it is incredibly hard to fly out of a giant pitcher plant. With the water there is no where to gain momentum and lift off, so they use the silk as a rope. They also use it as a safety line. If the diving broodwing starts to drown, they should shake the silk violently to alert the others so they can help them. Which is another reason why at least one other broodwing must be holding onto the other end of the thread at all times.

The diving broodwing will swim all the way down to the bottom of the pitcher plant where dead animals sank and bring to the surface where they are brought to The Fearless Web system where, just like ants, the food is distributed all around the web. Nobody gose hungry, not even the old or the weak.