Dwarves, Chityra and the Rivengroth
The Dwarves are extinct. In the first few thousands of years of their existence, they built a vast underground empire. Their underground cities were a thing of wonder, even the tunnels connecting the cities underneath Kanturas' surface were a thing of beauty. All of these tunnels and cities, now called the Riven Way or the Rivengroth (by the Elves), are infested with the arthropodal spawn of Dezdite (Demi Deity) the Chityra. Long ago, Dezdite created the Chityra in his own image, but Elu, sensing malice in Dezdite refused to grant the spark of life. Dezdite, in his anger, did a rite of transference, killed all the Dwarves and used their spark to spark his Chityra to life.
Appearance of the Dwarves
The humanoid Dwarves were short, stocky and strong. They had dark as well as light skin colors and dark as well as light hair colors.
Appearance of the Chityra
The Chityra are sleek eight-legged creatures with a colored exoskeleton. The color of the exoskeleton differs per tribe. There is much intraspecific variation. Soldier Chityra have large claws and chelicerae (jaws), Nurse Chityra have prehensile appendages. Worker Chityra are a combination between Nurse and Soldier Chityra. Chityra queens are significantly larger, are intelligent and have wings.
Soldiers
Soldier Chityra shrink with age, this usually means the smaller and older the soldier is, the higher its rank. Soldier Chityra can spit venom as well as inject venom with their jaws. The older a Chityra Soldier gets, the more potent its venom.
Chityra Communication and Behavior
Chityra communicate telepathically. The queen is the brain of the operation. If a Worker or a Soldier loses communication with the queen, it will finish its current task and return to the hive. If a queen dies, the hive dies if it doesn't quickly elect a Nurse to become the new queen. Sometimes foreign queens will assert dominance over a hive with a dead queen.