(note: The picture is not of Verdant Spider, but rather, of someone known only as “the weaver.” But, it helps picture what she possibly looked like. Also note, Strands-of-Glowing-Dawn often looks like this when she goes to class and has time to properly prepare in the morning)

Verdant Spider is an Anadi from Nurvatcha, a nation composed almost entirely of Anadi. She was known for her bakery skills and heavily focused her energy and time on helping others. One of her biggest legacies is the “service requirement” at the Magaambya.

One day, a man from a jungle village was in a field searching for flowers for herbs when he saw a spider. The man was so caught off-guard that he let out a terrible scream and frightened a gazelle. A man from another tribe was hunting at the time and let loose an arrow at the gazelle. But, the gazelle had already run off. The arrow struck true on the man from the jungle village, killing him instantly. His son, who was collecting fruit nearby, saw his father killed by an arrow from the other tribe and ran back to tell his elders.

Soon, there were calls for revenge. The two tribes had both elected leaders that were filled with pride and refused to back down or take responsibility. Verdant Spider was traveling through the area with a group of refugees. She knew that if fighting happened, the refugees would be hurt or even killed. For days, the Verdant Spider pleaded with the leaders. “Please, this was an accident. Sometimes, bad things happen to good people and sometimes nobody is responsible.” But, the leaders had hearts made of stone and refused to listen. So, Verdant Spider came up with a plan. Using her spider silk and her mastery of illusion magic, she traveled to each tribe disguised as a member of the other. She approached the leaders and chastised them, calling them puffed up lions with the hearts of chickens, afraid of true combat. She then told them to prepare themselves for battle the following day and left.

The drums for war were struck. The horns blared. The armies marched. They each stood in the blistering heat, waiting for their opponent to make their move. But, no moves would be made as the two tribes were in two completely different fields, for Verdant Spider had lied to them. Enraged at this betrayal, the two armies went home to search for Verdant Spider for making them look like fools. They would not find her, for she had already left with the refugees before the sun rose. But, they would find in each of their council tents, a single cup that appeared as chipped and broken when admired from afar, but appeared as beautiful purple stone laced with gold. Next to the cups was a single note with the phrase, “Not all things are as they appear.”

Teacher Tahenkot takes a rather controversial view on this story and claims it was “watered down.” Namely, the juxtaposition between the harsh words of criticism and the cup with the softer words does not make a lot of sense nor does the timeline make sense as to when she would have placed the cup. While she could have placed the cups during her accusations, surely someone would have noticed. Instead, Teacher Tahenkot believes the armies were lied to, but they fought. She believes Verdant Spider purposefully sparked the attacks (that would have happened anyways) to show the folly of these tribes as well as provide a cover for her refugees to escape. Verdant Spider, she points out, was one of the kinder members of the Ten Magic Warriors, but that was only to those in need of service. She was particularly vindictive towards those in power who threatened peace and stability of those less fortunate.