Arach

Arach are large arachnids that dwell in the caves underneath Opal territory.

History
Arach lived in the caverns under Deltora since before the Pirran people fled from the Shadow Lord's invasion of their homeland. Upon their arrival, they used their magic to illuminate the caverns, forcing the Arach to flee deeper into the caverns to hide from the light.

A small group of Arach managed to return to the Isle of Auron after the dome was created. They were drawn by the warmth of the dome and made the coast of the island their domain, attacking anything that came too close.

The Isle of Illusion
Lief, Barda, and Jasmine encountered two Arach when their boat drifted too close to the island and tripped their webs. The Arach destroyed the boat, but the companions were able to escape on giant eels summoned by Penn.

Later, after the companions disrupted the dome, the Arach fled to the centre of the island to escape the light being released from the dome. They nested around the glass statue of Auron, and a very large Arach killed the one holding the dome aloft. This caused the spell to disperse, and as light flooded the cavern the Arach were forced  to return to their caves.

Anatomy
Arach appear as bloated spiders larger than a fully grown man with black, spiny legs and gleaming, red eyes.

Behaviour
Arach are brutal, yet social creatures. They make their nests in dark, warm places, which they cover in their webs. These webs are incredibly thin, as the companions never noticed them when investigating the shoreline of the Isle of Auron. When a web is triggered, any nearby Arach comes swarming to catch the potential prey.

Arach are unable to withstand bright light and prefer to live in darkness. When the dome disappeared all the surviving Arach fled to the dark caves.

Habitat
Arach dwell within the caves near the Isle of Auron underneath Opal territory in Deltora.

Diet
Arach are carnivorous creatures that eat almost any kind of meat, including human.

Trivia

 * The name 'Arach' is likely to have derived from the term 'arachnid'.