Along Came a Spider
Within the Isleweaver variant of Duviri, 15 fragments can be found. 3 are hidden in Teshin's cave, 3 are on Thrax's Island, 3 are on Scholar's Landing, 3 are in the Fragmented boss arena, and 3 are in the Undercroft loading screen islands. They tell a story about Neci Rusalka, split across five 'threads'.
THE FIRST THREAD
Once Upon A Time… there was a little girl. An envious little girl, who watched as the whole world had more than she did. All the nice things, all the expensive things. And so she took what she didn't have.
And along came a spider who told her that everyone in the world would always have more than she did. But the spider said he could eat it all up for her.
But she clung to her favourite toy and filled her life with family and told the spider to GO! AWAY!
THE SECOND THREAD
Once Upon A Time… there was a little girl. A frightened little girl, who ran and hid and was so afraid of everything around her. But most of all, she was afraid to die.
And along came a spider who told her that everything we love in this world withers and dies. But the spider said he could eat it all up for her.
But she hid her fear away in the arms of strangers and told the spider to GO! AWAY!
THE THIRD THREAD
Once Upon A Time… there was a little girl. A sad little girl, who watched as the world went wrong. Watched as people fought. As people lied. A sad little girl who watched as her parents grew farther and farther apart.
And along came a spider who told her that everything in the world always ended in sadness. But the spider said he could eat it all up for her.
But she turned away from the sadness and filled her life with faith and told the spider to GO! AWAY!
THE FOURTH THREAD
Once Upon A Time… there was a little girl. A joyful little girl, whose life was filled with meaning and happiness. She filled her world with dolls on strings and made them dance.
And along came a spider who told her that everything was a lie, and all her happiness was a shallow pane of glass. But the spider said he could eat it all up for her.
But she turned away from the joy and filled her life with war and told the spider to GO! AWAY!
THE LAST THREAD
Once Upon A Time… there was a little girl. An angry little girl, whose life was filled with fury and rage. She hurt and maimed and was hurt and maimed in return.
And along came a spider who told her that everything in the world always ended in anger. But the spider said he could eat it all up for her.
But she turned away… and realised she had nothing else to fill her life with.
The spider smiled… and he ate her all up.
Bodies
Also hidden across Isleweaver are three corpses: those of Loid, Minerva, and Velimir. Examining them brings up a 'page' of lore. Loid is found at the top of Scholar's Landing, Minerva is found in an alcove on the back of Scholar's Landing, and Velimir is found at the base of one of Scholar's Landing's satellite islands.
Loid
Sprawled on the ground lay a pathetic figure. It was clearly dead, but seemed as if it might start whining again at any moment.
The Queen of Duviri laughed. "I had such a beautiful ending planned for that one. But he saved me the effort."
"How?" demanded the Orphan.
"He died of a broken heart, waiting for a man who would never come back. A man who was secretly glad to be rid of his whining, clinging presence."
"But love!" the Orphan cried, feeling their last hope shrivel and die within them. "Surely the power of love…."
The Queen rested her splendid claw on the Orphan's shoulder. A look that might have been pity crossed her face.
"The forefathers of your forefathers looked into the shining heart of an atom, scribbled their clever equations, and ripped it apart. Did they spare a thought for the age-old love between proton and neutron? Or did they only think of the bountiful energy they could harvest?"
Minerva
The woman was clearly dead. The Orphan thought at first she was just another of the dead Duviri people. But she wore no mask, and her body had the usual dull human symmetry and proportions.
"What killed her?" the Orphan asked.
"I did, of course," answered the Queen of Duviri.
"Why?"
"Why not?"
A strange idea came into the Orphan's mind. The Queen knew at once that the Glory was at work within them, just as it worked within her, but she held her peace.
"She was your mother, wasn't she?"
"As much as a mother as I ever had," the Queen said. The Glory quickly swallowed down the human weakness that rose in her like bile. "She would be so proud."
"So… why?"
The Queen shrugged. "Maybe I want to find out what it feels like to kill your parents? You kids made it look like fun."
"Fun," echoed the Orphan hollowly.
"Baby spiders always eat the mother," said the Queen with an exquisite grin. "They need to. They wouldn't get strong otherwise. One day you'll learn the lesson, kiddo."
Velimir
"The adults turned on us. Did you do that?"
"The parents turned on you," the Queen corrected them graciously, prompted by the Glory that enveloped her. "The rest of the adults were spared. At first."
The Orphan snarled up at her. "You can't bear it, can you? Anything good, anything wholesome, even the bond between a parent and child! You corrupt it all!"
"Oh, you think so?"
The Queen led the Orphan to the lonely remains of a human male. The Orphan felt an instinctive pang of sorrow. This cold meat had been a father once. No doubt about it.
The Glory filled the Queen and she spoke. "No parent ever really believes they did a good enough job. Especially this lump. Every bad choice their kids make is a judgement on them. Their love holds them to a standard they can't meet."
"Stop."
"I don't corrupt their love. I don't have to. It was broken when I found it."
"STOP!"
The Queen took a deep, nostalgic drag on her Efervon inhaler. Lungs that were no longer lungs spasmed in austere delight.
"The same crack runs through everything, kiddo," she explained. "You want to deny it, that's on you."