Harpies
A harpy about to catch an unfortunate explorer... Picture by Gamera1985 from his Deviantart gallery
Harpies are half women half bird creatures that have wings instead of arms and claws instead of feet. Some of them have feathers on parts of their body as well, though this varies a lot from one species to another. Felaryan harpies are usually about 80 feet tall but shorter races also exist. Harpies are all female, mating with males from other species to reproduce. A harpy baby inherits a small amount of genetic material from her father, which goes into trait and features that don't alter her physiology as a member of her mother's species.
Harpies are voracious and one of the top predators in the skies of Felarya. Preferring to fly over mountains and plains, they have excellent vision and hearing, and can spot prey from extremely far away. They are known to be a bit cruel towards their prey when hunting in groups, often playing games with their food involving dropping and catching. Being without hands, harpies are extremely agile with their mouth and tongue. Unlike when in a group, a lone harpy is cautious. When confronted with a large group of humans, she will usually just swoop down on them with a wide open mouth, snatch one or two, and then fly off to find a quiet place to digest her meal.
Harpies from many different worlds are known for their bad tempers and their sarcastic and mocking retorts, and Felaryan harpies are no different. They are prone to anger and often quarrel amongst themselves. They despise sphinxes, which they see as little more than a bunch of full-of-themselves and self-righteous morons, and have fought several wars with them.
Contents
Harpy Language
Most harpies have the curious habit of punctuating their sentences with threats and insults. The curious part is that they normally don't mean it at all, it's just traditional for them to use insults, and it would seem odd or even impolite if they didn't. The only time they skip this custom is if they are in a hurry or if they have something very important to say.
For example, if a harpy wanted to say: "I wish to speak to your sister", she would add a threat, like: "Let me see your sister or face my wrath!" If the other harpy wanted to reply: "She's not here." then she might actually say: "Insolent fool! My sister has more important matters to deal with than speaking to the likes of you!"
Upon hearing that exchange you might conclude that the two harpies are on the verge of killing each other, but that's not the case at all. The tone of the sentence gives subtle information about its real meaning. Some harpies are known to use extremely sophisticated insults with almost all the real information being in the tone of the insult rather than the actual words. Needless to say this habit contributes a lot to their reputation as being very rude in the eyes of other races. Aul Ne'kmu'm is a well know Harpiologist who dedicated years to decipher this language and its true meaning. Here are some of his observations.
Known harpies
A trio of harpies playing with their latest catch. Picture by RMSephy from his Deviantart gallery
Demon Harpies
This species of harpy is blood red in color from head to claws, the stereotypical color of demons, hence their name. Demon harpies don't actually have any demon blood in them though, nor do they live in Hell. They can mostly be found in the Jungle of perils. They are easily the most dangerous species of harpies in Felarya, as they are extremely fast, much more aggressive than the common harpy, and their feathers can become as hard as steel in seconds while remaining very light, making for a very efficient improvised shield. As if that wasn't enough, demon harpies are good spell-caster with a powerful magic focusing on curses and the temporary disabling of their target.
Rock Harpies
Rock harpies are mostly found in the Great rocky fields. They are quite similar to common harpies, except they are usually slightly larger, have beige-orange colored feathers, stronger claws and are well versed in wind magic. Their magic is what makes them especially scary; for example, if a traveler tries to hide in a rocky crevice the rock harpy can just place her mouth over the opening and vacuum out what is inside.
"Nice catch! Keep it up or I'll skin you alive!" Picture by Zephrania from her Deviantart gallery
Golden Harpies
This rare species of harpies possess shiny golden skin, golden or bronze feathers, blond hair, and astounding beauty that often matches a succubus's. They are usually very greedy and attracted to shiny things. The seasoned treasure hunter knows that if they catch a glimpse of a golden harpy, chances are high there is valuable treasure nearby.
Golden harpies are naturally fond of jewels and gems, and they love to wear bracelets, amulets, earrings, and other trinkets. They are vain and take great care of their body, literally spending hours washing their face, combing their hair, polishing their claws, and lustering their feathers, often drawing sarcastic comments from less meticulous species of harpies.
A human caught by a golden harpy has a small chance to escape if they can bribe the harpy, usually with shiny treasure of some short. There's only a small chance of success however, as golden harpies are cunning, mischievous, and firmly convinced that eating humans is healthy for them and good for their figure.
Seagull Harpies
A species of roughly human-sized harpies, living mostly around beaches, coastal areas, and various islands of the Topazial sea. They are mostly harmless to humans, but posses very loud voices and a very crude language, even by harpy standards! The way they speak is reminiscent of how pirates speak.
They are scavengers, often sneaking off with a novice fisherman's catch if he isn't on the look out. Some of these harpies however, have been hired by people to carry goods and other things across seas and they generally get the job done well. Seagull Harpies are one of the best long distance fliers in Felarya, and they're very fast, able to swiftly navigate through the air above the sea, though they are a tasty prize for mermaids and other creatures below the waves.
Wrath Maidens
An extremely rare species of harpies that have been spotted a few times near the eastern coast of the continent. They are believed to come either from an isolated island, or from a far away continent over the sea.
Wrath maidens are a sight to behold: they are huge, with majestic black and dark blue feathers, and often wear splendid jewels or crowns. Spotting one is seen as a very bad omen however, and each time their presence is mentioned in ancient tales, trouble soon followed. Little is known about them but when you are in the same area as a wrath maiden, you will become grumpy and irritable. When in her vicinity, your bad mood turns into rage. This anger is not directed toward the maiden but more toward any companions, or nearby creatures. An army would literally tear itself apart simply from being close to one of these harpies.
They are definitely very dangerous, as no creatures can totally resist their aura. Even other harpies are afraid of them. They seem to take immense pleasure in sowing discord and some mages have theorized that they actually feed on it.
Lamina Harpies
These harpies can only be found in the Lamina mountains and are one of the smaller species of harpies in Felarya, being only 40 feet tall. Their appearance is similar to normal harpies, except that their feathers and human hair are usually jet black or dark brown in color, and their claws are bright red and extremely sharp. Their human skin tends towards darker tones than other harpies. Lamina harpies are excellent fliers, and very few other species can match their speed, agility, and grace when it comes to flight. Their small and lithe bodies allow them to perform aerial acrobatic maneuvers with the utmost of ease. Lamina harpies, however, are one of the more cocky and arrogant species of harpies, and they have a large amount of pride in their aerial abilities.
They are fearsome fighters and the sharpness of their claws, combined with their speed, makes them incredibly dangerous. They usually travel in groups of four, and when in battle, they perform high speed strikes at near blinding speeds, fast enough that most of the time their opponents can't keep up with their movements. Lamina harpies are very social creatures and like to have an audience. They will even perform little aerial shows for adventurers before they swoop down to gobble them up.
While they do eat humanoids, they primarily eat the fruits that grow on the shrubs at the higher altitudes of Lamina. These fruits provide tons of energy and are very healthy as well. In fact, some Lamina harpies enjoy these fruits even more than they enjoy a nice little human. When the storm season comes, they move down to lower altitudes and switch their diet from fruit to the animals in the region. Humans are more prone to being eaten when the storm season comes.
Trochili
These are the smallest species of harpies in Felarya. They possess the wings of a hummingbird, which allow them to hover in midair, beating their wings at about eighty times a second for lift. They can fly backwards as well, which grants them excellent maneuverability. Although they can zip around to escape danger, their wings give off a telltale humming noise, which might alert predators to their presence.
Much of their diet consists of starkala bugs and the nectar of flowers, which they lap up with their very long tongues. They have a very high metabolism rate, and most of their efforts go to finding food to fuel their buzzing wings.
Because of their minuscule size, Trochili are typically very shy, hiding whenever they aren’t flying. But when it comes time to mate, they will seek out any member of the tiny races - Neeras, Efrii or Tomthumbs - using their agility to cut them off from escape, then using their long, sinuous tongues to take away their will to escape, since Trochili are rather fragile and are very lightweight, and couldn't hope to hold even a small tiny by force. Coincidentally, they can be easily mistaken for small fairies with their zipping flight, as well as their buzzing wings, but this illusion lasts only a split-second. Like tinies, Trochili tend to wind up as prey for many other species, but they are very adept at escape, making complex maneuvers to evade airworthy predators.
Language among hummingbird harpies is, like the beating of their wings, very, very fast. Their language seems to consist of hurried insults, along with jerky movements, and then a sudden departure. One can only assume that they reach the ends of their arguments many times faster than other harpies, as their time is precious and finding food takes precedence over socializing. While Trochili usually don’t congregate for any length of time, they will gather in certain areas rich in food, and definitely in areas where potential mates are abundant. Although this can put them in the same area as a neko looking for tinies as well... and nekos love hummingbird harpies, considering them a hard-to-catch, sweet delicacy !
Banshees
Banshees are a species of harpy that seem to have branched off from all other harpy species a long time ago. Unlike their birdlike cousins they are more related to bats, with long, pointy bat ears on top of their head, large webbed bat wings, and feet with toes bending the other way to allow them to hang upside down when sleeping in trees or caves. They are usually around 65-75 feet tall with tan or dark brown skin, ears, and wings. While they love the darkness of Evernight forest, banshees sometimes dwell outside of it, and some rare specimens have been seen as far away as the Ascarlin mountains.
Much like normal bats, banshees have poor eyesight and use a sort of sonar to help them find their way and locate prey in darkness. They constantly emit little clicking sounds that are known to damage nearby electronic machinery. Their name come from their main weapon which is a powerful sonic wave that can be focused at prey, paralyzing it for a short amount of time, just long enough for the banshee to swoop down and grab it. The method is not unlike that used by crystal mermaids, albeit less damaging for organisms, and much more devastating against electronic devices.
Banshees are very social creatures and rarely live alone. All of them know each other and they usually gather in large numbers in huge caves or giant trees. They don't put nearly as many threats and insults into their speech as do other harpy species, which tends to give them a nicer reputation among other races.
Sledgewyvers
Also referred to as "hammer-heads", sledgewyvers are distant cousins of harpies. Physically, their traits look more reptilian than avian, tough scales being where feathers would, and their wings are draconic. Jutting from their forehead is a sky-blue bone plate, which forms a sort of natural helmet, incredibly hard and resistant. Sledgewyver possess many weapons. First is their powerful rending talons, capable of piercing and tearing through natural armor, and of course, their bony helm. It can pulverize rock and twist metal, and it's virtually indestructible. Lastly, they are adept at ice magic, concentrating while exhaling to launch an ice spear or to create an engulfing, freezing blast which can imprison several targets in ice blocks. They also use this frigid breath to keep their eggs at proper temperatures. Oddly, the eggs have to be kept very cold for their incubation to be successful. As such, they tend to the egg by exhaling intensely chilly breath onto it. The shell is highly coveted for its excellent resistance to cold.
Sledgewyvers live primarily in the colder regions such as Imoreith Tundra, but venture out of them during the mating season. They return to hatch their eggs and raise their chicks, the icy environment giving them an overall better advantage. As one could guess, they are formidable hunters- if it isn't enough that they can fly, their powerful legs and counterbalancing tail used as a rudder allow them to pursue their prey on the ground swiftly for short distances if they need to. Though sledgewyvers commonly live in groups, they rather prefer to hunt alone. Often their behavior is rather arrogant, as they always look for an occasion to prove their superiority to others, especially those in their group, with a good headbutt.
They have a rather sinister reputation among males of other species. Sledgewyvers rarely leave their territory, and it is strongly discouraged for a potential mate to risk crossing their path by entering it. When the mating season arrives, they first search nearby, and then other areas if they don't at first find a suitable mate. Once they have spotted the victim, they knock him out with a violent headbutt and bring him to a place where they won't be disturbed. It isn't uncommon for the poor sap to wake up with a severe headache, a huge bump on the head and his genitals out in the open. Because of these tendencies, sledgewyvers aren't adept at forming solid, serious relationships with a partner. Some of them do successfully find consensual lovers however, though it is rare.
Credits goes to Daimo for the Lamina harpies, to Shaman for the Sledgewyvers, and to Fish for the Trochili. Banshees and seagull harpies belongs to Melancholy-Melody13.
