New Atlantis

Chapter 2

Circa 2109

It has been a few days since we decided to write down everything. I decided to inform my wife of what I wished to do in order to perhaps transcribe our history the only way I could. She mentioned that she had felt a vile wind as we walked back home that day. The feelings that we both felt, we believed that it had to do with my mother appearing. In our species, when one passes on and leaves us, their spirit is often reborn in the next liter of children born to one of the princesses of any given tribe. 

Our daughter had been one such spirit. Samantha had more wisdom than her years and her gifts and abilities pushed that even further. The problem with her abilities however were the simple fact that even though she took both colors of the tribes of her mother and me, she could easily see the ones waiting to be reborn. In some cases, like my mother who chose not to return to us as most queens had done in the past, should not have appeared to anyone unless there was some unforeseen cataclysm was soon to happen. Most came soon after a vision or a spirit appeared but whatever was to come, we hoped that it would wait for quite a long time. 

Every morning remains the same, Samantha has taken quite well to the fyramercha. They seem to love her. The Joro bugs, a favorite food species of the jorogumo, have matured and are making their way as usual to the breeding grounds that we created for them in the final days of summer. The multiple colors always helped our artists in the fact that the parts the wild jorogumos could not digest were used as paint.

Many of the wild species have begun to appear in the city. I believe they sense the same thing that Saerinia and myself do. I fear something dangerous is coming to our quiet city. Every wing and tribe have begun to earn even more of most species we once feared. The Jorogumo for example. Humanoid spiders that can be demon-like when they feed, or human if they wish to blend in unnoticed. I have learned by having so many close how they breed and reproduce. Their ranks, their favorite foods. Pure cooked meat mostly, however a few have taken to the Joro bugs for nourishment. When a female gives birth, her back splits to allow the baby to be born. Their children cannot morph and are demon like spiders with very sharp legs that can only eat perfectly cooked beef. The fact of their legs came at a price, many nights with bleeding arms as the little ones are very social and with them so close the babies and their mothers often come and sit with my family. I believe that most all these species showing know that our end is coming. Like all creatures of this planet including humans, we wish to spend time with friends and family and even go as far as encroaching on others’ land to show that we need social touch so to speak. The pack leaders of the jorogumo that have come to spend time with us, are quickly becoming close friends. Our home is often lively which the little one’s laughter and teaching Samantha about their kind. I have learned quite a lot just standing in the doorway watching them to make sure no one gets hurt. Many years has my species feared these gentle spiders and I have come to see that fear should have never happened. They have opened our eyes to quite a lot including new advances to corral the fyramercha with simple webbing and silk constructs that keep the little fireballs calm and healthy. The webbing absorbs the heat from our pets and retracts it back onto them in order to help them stay warm in any type of weather. The silk bowls that they have formed for us tend to keep the fiery hot stones that we feed them at the right temperature as well. Through our new friends, the solar panels no longer need to use sunlight alone as the web is one of the strongest conductors we have ever constructed. 

We have now had to construct a new better environment for the elders and their new children, it saddens me a little to know that whatever will hit us most likely will end our lives and them with us. The children will never get the chance to fully grow up. I have made it a habit to add more and more to our already big house to accommodate the jorogumo tribe that chose our small family to live with in what I believe will be our final days. More and more webbing has gone up in their area and I can’t help but think just maybe a few might survive. The fyramercha seem to trust them just as much as we do, which is a good thing as their small species relies on pure trust in order to not burn whoever wishes to be near them. Saerinia chose them specifically for the trust in her as she always loved creatures that no one wished to see as a genuine pet or species to raise.