The Trebuchet is a variant of the Arbalest and one of the most commonly used ranged weapons by the Aesoteric. It is completely biological, being an Aesoteric organism in of itself. The weapon uses fermented agony to fire tormented souls; stored in a humanoid skull, which itself is stored in a translucent blue sack on top of the weapon. It fires its demented ammunition salvos in quick bursts of nine.

The front end of the weapon has four claws which are normally spread apart, but can contract together to focus the weapon’s energy when it is charged, allowing it to fire a beam of tortured souls. The weapon features a vaguely insectile appearance. The Trebuchet has distal appendages resembling an arthropod’s cerci. The skull inside the weapon’s fiery aura changes from blue to orange when the weapon is fired. 

The ventral regions of the weapon are covered in pinkish flesh, while the dorsal regions have plates of thick bluish chitin, which grow downwards and encase the sides of the weapon. The weapon is fired via pulling of an arachnoid appendage near the back of the weapon, which is analogous to a trigger. 

History

The Trebuchet is as ancient as the Aesoteric themselves, being one of the first castes to be used as a ranged weapon. Its sentience is debatable, but it can still latch onto the arm of an Aesoteric organism for use in combat. The Trebuchet was used in every major Aesoteric war, and has been greatly improved compared to its original strains. It was used most heavily in the first and second Mantid Wars before the creation of gauss weaponry.