Cryx Spiders: The Frozen Broods of the North

Silent. Patient. Unrelenting. The Cryx Spiders are the phantoms of winter, creatures of ice and time, lurking in the glacial wastes, ice caverns, and frozen peaks of Anuheim. Unlike their forest-dwelling cousins, the Atzul, the Cryx Spiders are not constantly active—instead, they spend most of their existence in deep dormancy, frozen beneath the ice, waiting for the winter moons to rise before they awaken to hunt.

While rare, Cryx Spiders are feared across the northern territories, and their broods are remembered for centuries, even when they have long since vanished beneath the frost. Their hunting cycles and strange hibernation patterns make them unpredictable, leading to myths of entire caves filled with spiders frozen in time, waiting for the world to warm once more.

Atzul Anatomy & Adaptations

Cryx Spiders are massive compared to typical arachnids, with an average leg span of four to five feet, while a Cryx Queen can grow to over twelve feet wide. Their bodies are not purely organic—instead, their exoskeletons are infused with crystalline formations, making them resemble living ice sculptures, jagged and translucent.

Crystalline Chitin – Their exoskeleton is partially mineralized, acting as a natural armor that is resistant to extreme cold and bladed weapons.

Dormant Adaptation – Cryx Spiders can hibernate for decades, their bodies freezing solid, their metabolisms nearly ceasing entirely.

Iceborne Camouflage – Their glass-like bodies blend seamlessly with their environment, making them nearly invisible against snow and ice.

Sub-Zero Venom – Their bite injects a venom that flash-freezes blood, immobilizing prey in moments. The toxin also prevents decomposition, preserving victims as long-term food sources.

Sled-Hunting Behavior – Unlike Atzul Spiders, which cocoon prey in webbing, Cryx Spiders will drag frozen prey across the ice on web-crafted sleds, their spindly legs allowing them to move swiftly over snow and slick terrain.

Brood Structure & Hunting Cycles

Cryx Spiders follow a brood-based structure similar to their Atzul relatives, but their behavior is less aggressive and more cyclic. They spend most of their lives in stasis, awakening to feed, build their nests, reproduce and to hunt when the winter moons are full to raid and replenish their food stores.

The Cryx Brood Queen

The largest and most ancient spider in the brood, she rarely leaves the nest.

Instead of hunting, she relies on her brood to bring her sustenance.

The Queen is not immortal, but her long dormancy means she can live for centuries, growing larger with every cycle.

If the Queen dies, the brood fractures, and the surviving Cryx scatter, attempting to form new broods elsewhere.

The Hunters

The most active members of the brood, these Cryx Spiders awaken seasonally and travel long distances in search of prey.

Their instincts are tied to the full moons, meaning their raiding patterns are predictable to those who study them.

They prefer to ambush prey along frozen rivers, mountain passes, and well-traveled winter paths, waiting for the moment a creature crosses their path.

The Nestweavers

These Cryx Spiders remain close to the hive, expanding tunnels and fortifying the brood’s crystalline nests.

Their silk is laced with crystalline formations, creating frozen web structures that reinforce the hive against collapse.

They also preserve captured prey, freezing them in webbing to ensure food supplies last through long dormancy cycles.

Cryx Broods & Hunting Grounds

Cryx Spiders are highly territorial, and their broods tend to form deep within frozen wastelands where food is scarce but competition is even rarer.

Ice Caves & Glacial Tunnels

The most common Cryx nests are hidden within ancient ice formations, where they can remain frozen in place for decades at a time.

Travelers who stumble upon these caves often report bizarre ice formations, only to realize too late that they are standing among Cryx husks, waiting to awaken.

The Frozen Peaks

Some broods establish nests high in the mountains, emerging only to descend upon valley settlements below when winter strikes.

These Cryx are even less active than their lower-altitude kin, sometimes remaining in hibernation for generations.

The Ice-Raiders

Most Cryx broods are more aggressive, abandoning long-term hibernation and migrating during winter’s peak to hunt.

These are the most feared broods, as they travel great distances, attacking isolated villages, lone travelers, and even weakened monsters in the snow.

Encounters & Survival Strategies

Few creatures survive a direct encounter with Cryx Spiders, but some methods have been proven effective in fending them off:

Fire & Heat – Cryx Spiders are very vulnerable to sudden temperature shifts, making torches and fire magic their greatest weakness.

Avoiding Full Moons – The safest time to travel in Cryx territory is during a new moon, when they are least active.

Frozen Corpses as Distractions – Some hunters carry frozen animal carcasses, which can be left behind to divert Cryx raiders.

the Cryx Brood Expansion

Cryx Spiders are an ancient threat, one that will never truly be eradicated. Their ability to hibernate for decades means that even if a brood disappears, they may not truly be gone—only waiting. As climate and seasons shift, long-dormant broods may awaken unexpectedly, bringing horror to those who had forgotten their existence.

Some scholars believe Cryx Spiders are growing more active, possibly due to changes in the land or unusual magical shifts in the north. If true, this could mean that long-frozen Cryx broods are beginning to stir, their hunting cycles returning after centuries of silence.

And if that is the case, then the north will soon know fear once more.

Their patience is endless. Their hunger is not.