Harpy

Known History

Beginnings

A species perhaps more notorious than dragonkind, harpies span the breadth of Veltrona and her skies in their many, many tribes. Gifted with aerial flight, they range far and wide, gliding and swooping gracefully amongst sky beasts, flying islands, air ships, and anything else that dares to enter their domain. Capricious and delighting in fun, be it bloody confrontations, elaborate games, or bountiful feasts, harpies are as much domineering as they are hedonistic, and care little for those who cross them.   Due to their sheer diversity and range across Veltrona, a comprehensive harpy history is difficult to piece together. The clearest details paint stories as far back as around 9,000 years, but they're known to have existed for far longer than that. Draconic records show harpies earlier than most other monsterkind, ranking them in the upper echelons of the oldest still-living species. A fact often met with disbelieving eyes and suspicious looks, particularly from the mortal peoples.   In respect to these difficulties, many scholars followed with broad-strokes that captured most of the earliest harpy history. That is to say, they were generally a highly tribal and migratory species that often moved around preferred continental regions. Very confrontational, harpies eagerly established themselves in local environments as a dominant force. It oft brought them into strife with nature as much as people, though the sole exception to which was the Relentless Herds and Packs. The harpies actively avoided such deadly beasts and were perhaps the main reason why they migrated in the first place. For everyone else, this was where the belligerent, war-like, hedonistic, and other unsavory aspects of harpy reputation began.   Being more willing to act than consider repercussions, harpy hotheadedness and bravado run wing-in-wing with arrogance and foolishness. Frustratingly to most others, they can succeed—or at least evade punishment—with incredible skill, and so never quite teach them the consequences of their actions. Still, they're not without some conscience, and over the ages, harpies gradually clued into the ways of the other peoples they tormented. In fact, acts of empathy and kindness did the most to attract them, as they're a lonesome species who only ever had their own tribes to rely upon.   The nebusah, tokyau, humanity, and helunae are notable front runners who, at least in their own records, extended many helping (paw)hands to struggling harpy tribes. Having mistressed the ways of the veltron in much greater skill, their bountiful agriculture saved many from miserable deaths during famines. Though they could be called many things, harpies recognized their own versions of honor and kinship, and so such acts were respected by them.   Of course, their belligerency changed from hostility toward tribal friendliness, though many people struggled to tell the two apart. Time, work, and a lot of partying helped bring many tribes into the worldly ways of their neighbors. In a sense, they became the ground to which contextualized why the harpies flew in the sky. Everyone needed a home to return to, and perhaps migration wasn't needed so much anymore.    

The Skies and the Veltron

As the sedentary harpy tribes settled (in part or full) with their new friendly neighbors, the migratory ones continued on with their traditional ways. While some kicked up a fuss about such a change in ways, the newfound opportunities for trade, goods, and other things won over everyone else. Though limited by weight, harpies of all kinds could bring certain goods to-or-from far away lands, and even places otherwise very isolated. The fact they could transport messages or knowledge with ease, speed, and safety also meant communication rapidly increased.   It's difficult to overstate what an impact that singular detail had on Veltrona. Harpies delivering letters, orders, messages, books, and anything else that 'communicated' lifted the fog of distance and uncertainty for many civilizations. By their wings was friendships made, love born, hatred ignited, and many more things. While sometimes easily overlooked, for most, harpies are synonymous with bringers of fortune (or misfortune), tidings, and the will of the Heavens. A reputation they themselves deliberately garnered, for it afforded them great political power across the world.   It is around this time that most historical records about harpies tend to solidify. While usually under the wing of their sedentary neighbors, the various tribes established their own distinct histories as well. Songkeeping, the most common form of story telling and history among harpies, was mass-translated onto paper, corded knots, and other media in greater weight and scope. The wealthiest tribes even secured the likes of dragon torzei, creating their own 'lineage archives' to store their proud traditions within. Mixing truth, superstition, and belief together, the veracity of these earliest records remains a point of contention. In the end, whether real or not, everything held significance and deep meaning to the tribes.   Most historians also note that the migratory tribes picked up on using dragon torzei around this same time period. For harpies, who see dragons as their natural competition, using such technology always carried a stigma. Yet, even they couldn't ignore the value such lightweight record keeping presented, especially when given by the claws of other harpies than dragons. On the other hand, as nearly every migratory tribe is protective of its own affairs, there's little known about their torzei or the information they may contain.    

Unlanded Nations

At the point most recorded history truly began capturing the harpy tribes across Veltrona, various civilizations had emerged. There were the sedentary tribes, either having assimilated or established their own local regions, that most knew and often met. The migratory tribes, growing in both size and capability, developed into massive flocks. In fact, their populations often vastly exceeded that of other migratory civilizations, to such an extent they were difficult to fully account for.   These 'unlanded nations' represented currents of great power throughout the world. With nearly every profession imaginable in their flight, such services could be bought and sold for whatever needs or wants they had. Combined with a capable military force that fought in nearly unmatchable asymmetric warfare, and the balance of power in many regions could change literally over night. While thankfully not eager to contract their mercenaries out, the fact remained that any of these unlanded nations entering a war massively shifted the tides.   As was more often the case, hostilities usually died down—or at least, halted—when harpies migrated through. While the main forces of a tribe may not deign to do anything, those looking for glory, spoils of battle, or simply wanting to cause a ruckus, certainly aren't shy. If one wasn't careful on treating such visitors, or dared start something 'fun' without them around, they would soon be swallowed in a tide of excited feathers and sharp talons.   Just as the winds brought with them great change, so too did the migrating harpies. What sort of change, as many dreaded or hoped for, was never quite what they expected.    

Age of the Imperium

For harpykind, dragons have always been their rivals—albeit a one-sided relationship, as dragons usually didn't care about them. Of all dragons, wyverns in particular rankled their feathers the most, for both often sought to occupy the same sort of living space. When the Imperium began, Imperious, ever veltron-bound herself, despised those who used flight against her. To such ends, she ordered many harpies brought to heel or killed, most under the auspice of her favored slave, Bloodwing.   Word spread quickly among the harpy tribes as conflict broke out on a scale even they had never seen before. Though prideful, the harpies who survived had no compulsions about seeking aide far and wide to confront the Imperium and its growing menace. The bonds of kinship are a chain that can transcend time and place, and so many other tribes became drawn in. With them came more, and even the veltron peoples who might not have a stake in such a conflict also participated. Most historians consider the harpy tribes' call to arms (or talons, as it were) the first significant moment of the worldwide conflict against the Imperium.   Perhaps if they hadn't, many more lands and its peoples would've been felled by Imperious' evil ambitions. Some even argue she might've even succeeded in her planetary conquest. There are those detractors, of course, who downplay the harpies' significance here, but even dragons bestow a begrudging respect in this instance.   The centuries-long conflict saw uncountable scores of harpies slain in battle against dragons and slaves of the Imperium. Entire tribes vanished in the carnage, galvanizing the survivors, and ever escalating the conflict. Harpies, with their very rare natural ability of flight, were a keystone species in battling dragons throughout the skies. To such ends many others supported them with fine weapons, specialized magics, and anything they needed to fight such formidable foes. For all the mixed reputation harpies may have had, no one begrudged them anymore with their unrelenting sacrifices in the war.   Sadly, their struggles had only begun.    

Empty Skies and Prak's Salvation

When the Imperium came to a violent and sudden end from the World Gate explosion, harpies would be one of the most devastated species by the following Great Darkness. As ash, dust, and debris filled the skies of Veltrona and plunged the world into darkness, harpies were forced to the ground in order to survive. In such hostile conditions, sickness and disease became rampant among their tribes, and they lacked the infrastructure to weather such a nightmare. Most people did, and so the struggle to survive became perilous.   Those with veltron-bound allies were often the most fortunate, and found some manner of refuge in their friends' sturdy homes. Even then, lack of flight proved debilitating to harpy health, and physical exercise regimens only went so far. For a species used to the breadth of the skies, even the most spacious of interior houses became claustrophobic with alarming swiftness. Still, between that or certain death, many struggled to survive under such hardships.   On the other side, the unlanded nations faced imminent extinction. With their traditional ways impossible anymore, and lacking infrastructure access, they could only scrape by with what few safe, if dwindling, areas they could find. Scarcity brought conflict with each other as much as the veltron peoples. Ailments and failing health brought disease and plague. Depression and doomsaying wore down their spirits, especially as the years dragged on and darkness reigned.   There were those who did what they could and still died out. Others sought a means of escape, pursuing doorways to Heavenly Realms and fleeing Veltrona entirely. Those that survived the most, however, turned their eyes upward to where Prak yet remained. A place often considered the ancestral home of harpies, it was also fiercely protected by those who lived their entire lives upon its floating islands. With little other choice, however, many tribes began their migration to Prak.   The details of what happened are somewhat difficult to verify, even among the harpy songstresses. The World Gate explosion ejected incredible amounts of new land into Prak, seemingly creating entire islands and continental masses in the skies. While the Prak tribes were uncertain of what to do with such new and raw land, the migratory tribes' arrival soon painted a direction. Initially unwilling to open conflict, the Prak tribes set the refugees on the new islands. However, resources were still a premium in Prak, and even they weren't entirely unaffected by the devastating explosion. War inevitably broke out among the various tribes in Prak, coming and going as powers shifted and balances changed.   By all accounts from the war with the Imperium, the World Gate explosion, and the ensuing aftermath, nearly eighty-percent of the harpy species died or disappeared. A once incredibly prolific people had been reduced to struggling, scattered survivors and shattered tribes.    

Calm After the Storm

When the Great Darkness finally cleared and Veltrona's vibrancy returned, the harpies who remained saw a sky they could fly once more within. Their return to such was slow and painful, for the Great Darkness had worn down much of them and smothered their pride. It would be the infectious desire for adventure, glory, and newfound reclamation, that spurred them on. As harpies ever did, they weathered the storm, survived the tempest, and continued on with their lives. Slowly at first, but over the generations, they grew with resplendent prominence.   The Prak tribes, having intermingled and melded with the migratory tribes of old, faced a more interesting conundrum. There were those who wished to reignite their traditional ways and fly across the world once more. Many others, having adapted to life in Prak as it was, were more content with the status quo. In the end, where there is difference, there are those going their own ways. Many harpies descended from Prak, recreating old tribes (in name, if nothing else) and fashioning new ones.   Even more surprisingly was the fact some tribes, if few in number, survived the Great Darkness outright. These scarred and changed survivors, hardened by the unimaginable cruelties they endured, stood very differently from all other harpy tribes. Isolationist to an extent, and somewhat xenophobic, they looked to their own for strength, and saw the brightly-lit world as ripe for their unbound growth.   Despite everything, the harpies survived, and two thousand years since the skies returned, have once-more filled it with their boisterous cries, thumping wings, and rambunctious fun-having. Time healed all wounds, and though they were different than their forbears, they remained as they always had and would: free and unbound.      

Biology

Anatomy and Physiology

Harpies are sexually dimorphic humanoids with a head, torso, two arm-wings, widened hips, and two digitigrade legs that end in four-toed feet arranged in an Y-like pattern, known as anisodactyl footing. Alternatively, their feet may be arranged in an X-like pattern, also known as zygodactyl footing, depending on their ancestry. In general, females are taller and larger in size, have enlarged breasts, slightly more pronounced hip structure, with 'sharp' feathers and vibrant coloration patterns. Males emphasize lithe, athletic physiques with shorter heights, and 'fluffy' feathers with complex coloration patterns.   Harpies are covered head-to-knee in a variety of feathers: the wing feathers upon their arms and backsides, the tail feathers extending out from just above their buttocks, the down feathers covering the torso's frontside as well as interior-facing thighs and upper arms, the contour feathers that cover the down feathers in a protective shell, and so on. Many harpy variants are denoted by their differing concentrations and arrangements of their complex feathering arrangements. The face is especially notable as it tends to have the finest types of feathers that are as aerodynamic as they are visually attractive. Only hybrid harpies, or those suffering from disease, have any direct skin exposure.   Their heads have two structurally angled eyes, a pronounced nose and ridge, a wide mouth, and dual-structured ears with pointed tips. Their overall facial state can be considered fierce or sharp, possessing a natural predatory demeanor that accentuates fearsome expressions while making their kinder ones a bit awkward. Their equivalent to 'head hair' tends to be longer, larger, and more pronounced feathers that grow in a very artful, visually captivating, and attractive manner. Unlike many other species, harpies have some control over the fine muscles on their skull, allowing them to move and gesture with their head feathers. This forms an important part of their emotive expressions and communication, and they're amused by 'still-heads' like humans who can't do it.   Their ears are notable as there is the base, human-like structure and the smaller 'flange' that rests in front of it. This flange acts like a protective shield to their ears during flight, and can press the entire ear against their head in order to reduce air drag. These two structures have a limited range of motion, but form an important emotive component to harpy expressions.   The arms of harpies are large, wide wings capable of sustaining and propelling them through flight itself. These specialized limbs have almost no tactile dexterity, save what little and gentle force can be exerted by the feathers or bones of the arms themselves.   The legs of harpies are divided at the knees: the upper thigh covered in feathers, while the knee and below is covered in robust, layered scales. These band-like scales offer strong protection to the lower leg and foot while maintaining flexibility. The feet themselves vary between ground-walking or perch-hugging, and generally affect the grounded mobility of a harpy. Regardless of either, their toes are capped by long, curved talons, ideal for capturing and rending prey with fearsome efficiency. Unlike their nearest comparison, wyverns, their feet are specialized very specifically, and as such have very poor dexterous manipulation. They require specific training in order to use them for tools of any kind.   Above the buttocks is a special muscle group from which the harpy's tail grows from. The feathers here are, similar to the head, largely decorative in nature, but some are quasi-functional. The true size and scope of their tail varies among harpy variants, but it is used as part of their emotive communications. In most cases, if not used for social signaling, the tail helps for balance when standing or walking, and slight aerial control during flight.    

Appearance

From birth to death, harpies are visually stunning beings, possessed of fantastic colors, patterns, and displays with incredible variety. As much an adaptation to their environment as it for social communication, their feathers can sport almost anything under the sun on them. Such is what creates the visual fingerprint that speaks of a harpy's ancestry, where they're from, and how they might be.   The outer most feathers often carry the patterns on them directly, growing and displaying prominent features like false eyes, colorful gradients, complex camouflage, and so on. These feathers then coincide with the interior ones, which usually form a complimentary role of some manner. The exact balance between the two varies greatly among harpy variants, but it is a fairly consistent relationship. The head feathers—what others might call their hair—usually take on a distinctive, individualistic appearance so as to distinguish them from the other feathers on the body.   One such example would be snow harpies who, often living within forests, have brown, black, and gray-speckled outer feathers that function as natural camouflage. However, their head feathers may take on complimentary or contrasting colors that distinguishes them. So it goes, hunting parties usually don a type of paint in order to conceal their head feathers.   Another example are the fearsome crystalline harpies, who live in crysium-dense locales. Their feathers exhibit vivid colors and even a partially crystalline nature, giving them luster and reflectiveness others can only dream of. Eschewing camouflage, their patterns are all about presence and power, enhancing their predatory demeanor even further.    

Natural Abilities

Avian Adaptations – Harpies, though lightweight and less dense than other species, are surprisingly durable and capable aerial combatants. Their monstrous ancestry lends them a strength beyond many others in their peer group, making them formidable.   Superior Vision – Harpy eyesight is rather incredible and, with a mild telescoping ability, can see for miles around with high resolution and fidelity.   Superior Hearing – Harpy hearing is remarkably well-adapted toward detecting most forms of sound, and can even overcome the issues of high-speed flight.   Efficient Magic – Utilizing magic for untold generations has left harpies with an instinctual sense of mana efficiency. They waste far less in achieving similar results to other species, and can usually conduct magic much faster as well. However, this has no effect on their actual magical aptitude or skill, which is about as average as every other species.   Singing Voices – The fine control and projection of their voices lets harpies speak and sing in splendorous (or ear shattering) ways. In part, their voices can reach for miles around and pierce through windy conditions during flight. While they can often hear each other just fine, other species with the same (or worse/better) hearing might have opinions on it.    

Diet

Principally carnivorous, harpies also subsist on various fruits, nuts, berries, and mushrooms, while avoiding any leafy greens or heavily fibrous plant matter. Excellent huntresses and scavengers, an adult harpy is a veteran of finding all sorts of edible things from the wilds of Veltrona. Those who learn to cook are especially revered, as it is both a difficult thing to do and in massive demand.   Raw meat, while edible, is not nearly as good as a properly marinated or seasoned roast, and the mere thought of such a meal is a powerful motivator to harpies. The advent of fried foods in particular became very popular among their cultures, even though most of them cannot operate a fryer whatsoever. Experts at preservation techniques, edible snacks, and many forms thereof of convenient to carry and lightweight supplies, harpies are never far from something to munch on.   While freely gluttonous, harpies do ritualize their meals, and prefer the orderly sit down time where possible. As much a social event as it is a form of demonstration, they exhibit mannerisms, culture, and refinement (by their standards) when they eat and converse. Posturing is an important aspect to their inter-tribal relations, and no one would pass up on the opportunity to show off. Still, it's a fine line between simply eating, showboating, and going overboard entirely.    

Life Cycle

Newborn harpies are generally born as squawking messes with special down feathers covering them. These feathers will insulate and protect them as tiny little fluff balls until puberty begins, when they shed and more permanent feathers begin growing in. Lacking any flight capability and having very poor ground mobility, infant harpies usually stay in communal nesting areas where designated caretakers tend to and protect them while parents are away.   With age comes mobility, and maturing infants begin ambling and hopping around the ground. Insatiably curious, they explore their surroundings, swarm their elders, and perilously contemplate flying off cliffs they can't fly from yet. At this time period, children eagerly distinguish themselves and begin their myriad dreams of flying high, swooping swiftly, and learning the ways their parents or tribe expect of them.   In general, young are kept well-guarded until puberty sets in and the permanent feathers begin. At such a stage, limited degrees of flight become possible, and so the first (harrowing) lessons begin. Lacking physical strength or experience, adolescent harpies cannot necessarily handle Veltrona's strong wings or dangerous storms yet. With flight comes responsibility and expectation, and so training to handle the many challenges the young harpy will come to face. Once a few early trials are passed, adolescent harpies are given their own lodgings and the freedom to fly as they wish (or can).   Adulthood is marked by the last of the permanent feathers setting in and physical maturation mostly settling; a period between 19-and-21 years, typically. At such a stage, a harpy participates in the many social customs, rituals, and norms of their culture with unbridled freedom. Familial loyalty and hierarchy varies greatly, and while bloodlines are important, personal agency is also valued highly.   The breadth of adulthood consists of romance, feasting, and doing one's work to their fullest. As long as one continues to contribute to the health, safety, and prosperity of the tribe, a harpy is allowed to do almost anything typically. Many jump between different professions, trying out all the interesting things life has to offer. Others become adventurers and explorers, finding new places and things to eat before heading back home again. The sky, as they say, is the limit.   The last quarter of life, usually around their 70s, is when physical decline begins. For a harpy to reach this stage speaks of a life of accomplishment and survival, and so can be quite remarkable. As the decline increases, elderly harpies stay more at home, tending the next generation and offering wisdom to those braving life's challenges. There are those who become lore keepers of some manner, focusing on preserving important stories or history the tribe needs. Others focus on crafts their worn-out feet can still perform, such as simple clothing or baskets. For many harpies, they desire to still be useful in some manner, and so keep on trying. Deadweight is a fear every harpy has, even if almost no tribe willfully abandons their flightless elders behind.   The exact funerary rites of final death vary, but the majority follow cremation practices. In such cases, the ashes of the dead are gathered into a jar, which is then released either high in the sky, or at some auspicious windy location. In their view, the dead escape the grasp of the veltron, and instead soar high through the skies, flying free once more. Some others practice ritualistic cannibalism, particularly among family members, who garner strength from the dead, and always keep a piece of the family spirit alive within them.    

Anaxials, Hybrids, and Variants

Anaxials

Harpy anaxials are characterized by predominantly human bodies intermixed with feathers, sharp facial features, and talons of some description (both fingers and toes). In most cases, they maintain regular human functionality. Those with greater differences may begin to have scaled feet and modified toe count, resembling a harpy's but maintaining human structure. Their arms and fingers may elongate, taking on a wiry form similar to harpy wings with somewhat diminished muscle strength.   The rarest examples exhibit full morphological changes, such as harpy foot structure, partially-or-fully functional arm-wings, or even new wings growing out from their upper backs. It's believed the so called 'winged humans', as they sometimes appear in mythology or stories, are a type of rare and successful harpy anaxial. However, wings from the back is not solely the domain of harpies, so other candidates are possible; even sometimes self-created ones from magical arts of some manner.    

Hybrids

Harpy hybrids exhibit wild coloration and pattern changes, usually inheriting with liberal freedom. In the case of species with notable feathers, fur, or scales, these features can also begin appearing on their bodies as it did in them. Hair can sometimes appear on their heads intermixed with the feathers there as well. Otherwise, it's very common for torso and face soft feathers to recede, in part or entirely, revealing the harpy's underlying skin.   There is also a trend of greater overall muscle mass, allowing them more strength and better flight power. Contributing species with tails may also result in larger tails emerging, either creating huge tail feathers or an actual tail structure of some kind.    

Variants

An incredibly varied species, harpies host a range of shapes and adaptations that some scholars insist are actually separate species entirely. There are even contentions among them about such facts, such as the skyborn harpies holding a disdain for the grounded ones. Draconic regard, unfortunately, tends to win out, as their studies universally group all these 'physiologically similar' beings under the harpy vernacular. As such, the four major variant groups that are recognized are as follows:   Skyborn harpies are those with strong aerial adaptations toward flying in, through, and around the sky. They trend toward the most lithe or athletic of the harpy variants, and are the most common type encountered. Those who dwell principally within Prak are included into this group.   Ground or Runner harpies are those with strong adaptations toward life on the ground, and have little to no aerial flight capability. Instead emphasizing powerful legs that can run and jump, while their vestigial wings at best suffice for gliding purposes. Their wing fingers tend to be thicker and more capable as elongated claws despite being cumbersome for dexterous tasks. The nebura are one such people.   Marine or river / ocean harpies are those adapted toward a mixture of water, ground, and aerial life to varying degrees. They're principally fresh water dwelling peoples, though some do exist in salt water regions. Able to swim, dive, and fly, they're very versatile in their environments, and commonly butt heads with the shermadi and larmedi.   Ashen harpies are those descended from the harrowed survivors of the Great Darkness who were changed by such an experience. They fit somewhere between the skyborn and ground harpies, being capable in both regards, but prefer gloomy or dark environments like volcanic regions. They're principally distinguished by their pale visages, darker colored feathers, and black blood / fluids, which some (mistakeningly) attribute to a fundamental disorder or disease.   While most will agree the many types of harpies can fit under these groups, anything more specific tends to rouse ethnic and cultural anger.      

Sociology

Cultural Universals

Harpies are sensational beings, very much interested in eating good food, enjoying music, beholding colorful and/or shiny artwork, and indulging in carnal pleasures. Hedonism is often the word attributed to them, and while not generally wrong, tends to paint them in a more negative or destructive light. At the core of their existence, harpies are energetic, and usually possess of desire and motivation alike to do things that result in what they like. Hence, when many harpies are together, the rambunctious chaos that follows is as natural to them as flying itself.   Personal agency and social responsibility are a constant tug-o-war within the harpy mindset. While valuing their own abilities and status, they're also incredibly mindful of maintaining and supporting the greater group. Any concept of danger or distress is like water thrown onto their fiery personalities, forcing them all to sharpen talons and pay attention. In many ways, their fierceness reveals itself because of a deep-seated awareness that such joyful times must be protected. These 'sudden' mood swings, to an extent, make them very familiar with the petrakin.   In general, harpies value a sense of honor and reliability, but also personal capability and aptitude. They rather enjoy receiving service while begrudgingly doing it themselves when necessary. It's a paradoxical relationship that carries an undercurrent of silent respect, especially when two harpies are engaging in business together. For the migratory tribes, the shared burden of their lifestyle instills such regards deeply, and it is often mirrored by many harpy tribes who do business with them.    

Lingual Characteristics

Due to their powerful voices, harpies exhibit two manners of speech: the so-called 'low' and 'high' voices. The 'low' voice is similar to that of humans and other species, being fairly conversational and with a low range of reach. The 'high' voice consists of chirps, trills, screeches, and similar sharp, punctual sounds like those of birds that has a high range of reach. Their proficiency in both means harpies sometimes even intermix the two voices, giving them incredible lingual flexibility that others have trouble keeping up with.   In their low voice, harpies tend to have floaty and singsong characteristics, bobbing and weaving with a naturally artful flair. While they don't reach the deepest vocal ranges without ranging, their command of the higher and middle ranges is difficult to beat. Given the often cultural importance of their voice and its usage, many harpies train and refine it, creating mannerisms that are distinctive and captivating.   In their high voice, the rapid speed and intensity by which harpies communicate is often described as beautiful and chaotic. There is, however, language at work, and those who spend time deciphering can learn the so-called 'secret harpy speech'. Due to its high variability, harpies make use of the high voice in places where clear communication is needed. This is typically during aerial flight, crowded locales, or other noise-riddle occasions.    

Arts and Beauty

Harpies love the combination of aesthetic, demeanor, and stature into someone of unignorable presence. That presence is a hallmark in harpy cultures, fully living up to the idiom of 'the person makes the clothes work'. Every harpy has their pride, and they all exhibit that clearly. Something that led to incidental conflict with other cultures when harpy leaders met foreigners who, very distinctly, did not have the presence befitting of their station.   While exact details vary, harpies love smooth and glossy feathers, colorful adornments of jewelry, and vivid combinations of colors and patterns. Ones that come together into a broader, bolder statement, such as accomplishment, pedigree, professional position, and so on, are especially liked. Many consider harpies as showboats as a result, but for many of their cultures, they do not have much familiarity with things like statues, huge artistic pieces, or otherwise. After all, when migrating, what one takes is what one can carry themself.   It is not that they have no appreciation of such things, only that those items have a specific place. A veltron mage or mason creating a statue of some kind is notable for their skill, as manifested by the statue. But, when it comes time to migrate, it is just a thing they must leave behind. Many harpy artforms emphasize living in the moment and the transience thereof, to be embraced, remembered, but moved on from. Hence, they placed much greater emphasis on the smaller, finer things or items that have very condensed value, like musical sheets, jewelry, and books.   Singing is the ultimate and most pervasive artform in every harpy culture. One could equate it like writing in other species: everyone learns it, everyone does it, everyone knows what it's like. To become an accomplished songstress in such fierce competition is to reach the very heights of Veltrona itself. The endless permutations, differing structures, and techniques are so ridiculously varied even dragons have trouble recording it all.    

Magic and Technology

While a fairly average species in terms of innate magical ability, harpies lack the anatomical flexibility or dexterity of nearly every other monsterkind on Veltrona. Their wings have only long, hollow fingers and thumbs, and their taloned feet are heavily specialized toward rending flesh and gripping prey. They even lack a dexterous tail, putting them behind the likes of wyverns, their nearest 'comparison', significantly. Faced with such challenges, their concepts of magical and technological application differ greatly from others.   Relying upon their mouth and feet, their innovations focused on using the three plus support from either their wings or specialized assistant structures. While they achieved a good deal of functionality, certain tasks proved much harder if not entirely unfeasible for wide-scale adoption. One interesting example is farming: while harpies can use their feet (either talons or tools), it is inordinately taxing on them to do so. Instead, they focused more on veltron magic to churn and till the soil to their needs. That simply exchanged one set of problems for another, as not everyone had the time, training, or aptitude to handle veltron magic like that. But, on the other claw, everyone usually had legs of some kind.   This dichotomy defines many of their pursuits in a constant tug-o-war between mundane methods and magical applications. At times favoring one or the other, both nonetheless remain in constant usage as circumstance and resources permit. For the migratory tribes in particular, magic was something they could continue to develop with relative ease compared to everything else. As knowledge was the purest form it could be contained within, magical arts were very easy to keep and transport. Even if they learned or gained the knowledge for something like iron smelting, the lack of associated infrastructure made it functionally useless. Some, however, took to magic to shortcut that problem, and often proved successful.   Hence, while there are those who historically considered harpies a very magical species, it is something they invested and developed quite heavily. For them, there was often little recourse, and that sort of pressure can be difficult for those with wider options to comprehend. An interesting detail that arose from their designs, however, was that harpy innovations often proved useful to those from other species with physical disabilities. The constant feedback between both sides pushed these innovations further, and a great deal of history can be found behind such specialized tools.   Incidentally, it's believed that their reliance on using their mouths for manipulating things is a major contributor to the harpies' almost obsessive desire for cleanliness.    

Religion and Philosophy

Praise Her: the Tempest, the Mother of Winds, the Stormful Eyes. Know Her name: Seralkono! Praise Her and respect Her, for She is the wind and the wrath, the storm and the rain. Upon Her you shall soar through the skies; by Her you will crash to the veltron below. There is no other higher, no other greater, and none you shall fear more.

— A sermon delivered by a harpy Stormfairer, a type of priestess who specialized in guiding her tribe through tempestuous winds. To the harpy tribes, of their many goddesses and beliefs, Seralkono alone reigns supreme.

  Of their mixed and many faiths, harpies across Veltrona universally revere one goddess in particular: Seralkono, the Divine Tempest.   Seen as the source (or at least, controller) of all tempests and winds upon Veltrona, she is a supreme power to which no other worldly goddess readily compares. It is by her whims that the winds flow, the storms coalesce, and turbulence strikes with unerring ferocity. Although capricious, she is not considered cruel or evil, only demanding and unyielding. Harpies greatly respect and fear Seralkono, considering her as the ultimate judge, jury, and executioner of who lives or dies in the sky. At the same time, a herald of peaceful quiet, prosperity, and the opportunity for sublime greatness.   The finer details tend to differ and change from that point onward, with many other goddesses or deities coming in to suit for different roles and purposes. With the often unpredictable nature of Veltrona's wildernesses and its many dangers, harpies place great faith in those that can protect them or uplift them to greater strength. Those of health and healing, and childbirth in particular, are a close second place, for the many trials a harpy faces can bring dangers they alone cannot survive.   That same stark reality comes to inform their philosophical inclinations just as much. Celebrations of life, its luxuries, and the pleasures that it offers are drawn in contrast to the harsh uncertainty of tomorrow, the perils of the wilds, and the evershifting winds that might bring death. Where the future remains uncertain and the past is always in one's tailwind, the present is the most important moment of all. Still, such views often coincide with psychological coping of hardship and its brutal, unrelenting truths. Though harpies aspire to strong personal ability, they also despise the circumstances that force them to rely upon such a thing.    

Science and Spirituality

There can be no denying harpy insight nor their clever inventiveness. Their active minds desire all sorts of things. For some, this leads them to the realms of questions, experimentation, and deduction. While it can be a bit of a fight starter when someone insists on doing something slightly different or 'better', harpies are generally intrigued by whatever 'new' thing that crosses their path. Traditions are not a firmly fixed thing in harpy cultures, but battleworn and proven truths that stand up to all sorts of scrutiny.   Quite a few scoff at the idea of 'harpy sciences', for they're a species often considered too short-sighted or pleasure-driven to really commit to such arduous work. It's common ridicule for them, even in cultures they'd assimilated into; better to be 'messengers' or 'porters' than a 'scholar'. Such people often met humiliating failure when they're put down by the fearsome pedigree of such harpies. For all they are so accused of lacking, the driving force behind them is a motivation that so often brings their talons into the throats of immortals.   Humanity may be considered a bold or audacious species in gossip, but harpies are those who slay goddesses when it suits them. They're the children of the tempests and storms, and no one has any claim to deny them what they wish. They care not for the whims of those with 'hands' and 'arms' who wield hammers and plows. Such dirtfaced peoples only deserve their mocking laughter, for they cannot fly and be free as the harpies. If there is something they want, they will have it, one way or another.   That driven ambition intermingled always with their profound sense of purpose. Whether their own, the spirits, or fate itself, harpies boldly embody their ambitions so as to never die in disgrace. It is a way that respects nature as much as its spits in its face, for they choose to accept or deny whatever parts of it they want to. Perhaps one could argue they have a strong sense of innate justice, but justice takes many different forms. And, more importantly, those who justice is done for have a say in whether or not it was achieved.   Perhaps that is why spiritual beings tend to favor harpies so much.      

Psychology

Rest and Sleep

Saying 'harpies love to party' is a bit of a misnomer, if not rather derogatory. The truth is 'harpies love a safe place everyone can be together in'. The harshness of their ancestral ways is deeply woven into their beings, even for those long familiar with the stone-and-steel of a fortress-city. While not quite a natural anxiety like the baarham, it can be close sometimes. Perhaps the two species might've even gotten on well as a result of their mutual understanding, were it not for that very nature that wedged between them.   Thus, for harpies, a safe place—especially one with trustworthy people—is essential to getting good sleep. As such, their communal sleeping areas tend to be in hard-to-reach places with natural fortifications that anyone on the nightwatch can use with ease. It comes down to the harpy if they're sleeping in a group cuddle or by themselves, but they're often in the same room or area regardless. Those with a proclivity toward nighttime fun may also find themselves running into the cultural idea of 'putting a show on' that many harpies indulge in.   Unlike many other species, harpies do not really have 'deep' sleep'. An instinctual awareness of their environment is maintained at all times, and so if they're ever ambushed, they can immediately take flight before even 'waking up'. While their form of sleep has some characteristics like torpor, it's not entirely hibernation either. Because of this, even a sleeping harpy is reasonably alert and difficult to surprise.   A form of 'sleep recreation' common among harpies involves the usage of medicinal herbs, typically burning ones, that can induce a deeper sleep. These medical aides render the harpy fully unconscious, allowing them to dream immersively. Such a thing was considered a spiritual journey in traditional folklore, and many harpies were surprised dreaming is such a 'regular' thing for every other species.    

Consciousness and Thought

Harpy thought can be considered somewhat faster than the 'average' among species, letting them cognate information at greater speeds. This, alongside special neural adaptations, addresses navigating the complexity of the three-dimensional environment in the skies (or rivers), where threats can appear from literally any angle. As such, they have a great and constant awareness of their environment in detail most species struggle to match. Unfortunately, this also means its easier for them to get headaches or be overstimulated in particularly 'noisy' locales.   It is also what underlines their great enjoyment of sensation and experiences, which are stronger and vivid to them. The exact same food eaten by a harpy and a different kind of person would produce two very different reactions. Perhaps, in a way, that is why traditional harpy cuisine can seem strange or inedible to others, as it is tuned to their sensory standards. Thus, their ways of thinking must be considered in a similar light.   There have been curious attempts at exploring harpy intellectual capabilities, particularly in the realms of complex magical arts. One popular theory is that more sophisticated thought enables more 'advanced' forms of magic otherwise unobtainable. While that does yield some results, they're closer to being entirely different forms of magic than something intrinsically 'better'. Many mages consider that intrinsic difference a core reason as to why learning harpy-centric magical arts is actually as difficult as it is.    

Motivation and Emotion

Harpies love to challenge and prove themselves, deriving great satisfaction and meaning from accomplishment. However, defeat is also that much more bitter, and becomes a powerful motivator more often than not. This inherit motivation is closely intertwined with their perceived position within their social group. Admiration and respect are important things that give context and meaning to many arduous and otherwise perilous challenges a harpy might undertake.   This and other complexities of the harpy emotional mind are delightfully many in nature and scope, but always profoundly useful. Finely interwoven with their strong instincts, as a human might say, harpies 'trust their guts' with a fierceness others might find ridiculous. Combined with their powerful personalities and readiness to take action, and few can ever accuse a harpy of hesitation. However, that same strong energy can just as much bite back sometimes.   Sorrow, failure, and shame are crushing to a harpy just as extremely. Falling to dishonor, or losing the esteem of their peers, tangibly tears them up inside from the incredible stress. It can be easy for a harpy to lose themselves in such emotions, spiraling toward wild and unpredictable behavior to resolve it. For many, the first time they experience such becomes a pivotal moment in their life. Whether or not they can learn control over such emotions, or at least navigate them constructively, is defining.   Many are the tales of those who couldn't, and departed from life in blazes of glory or bloodshed.    

Sexuality and Love

For harpies, who live in turbulent winds and uncertainty itself, family and kinship is the ground by which they return to. Such bonds provide meaning and stability in the most chaotic of situations, galvanizing them. And, for a people with little concern over material wealth, they place all their value into those around them. So the saying goes, a harpy will burn a mountain of gold to save even just one of their own. A fact that has been used against them time and again, but also one that proves them among the most honorable people on Veltrona.   That said, if singing is the fiercest place of competition among harpies, romance is a close second. Though derided as being 'too free' and 'unscrupulous', intimacy and romance are powerful components to the harpy social system. Attention, care, recognition, reward, common pleasure; the reasons are many, but showing such actions and maintaining relations is one of many bonds that keep their cultures together.   The delicate webwork of who knows who, likes who, hates who, and so on, is incredibly vast; no harpy is ever truly a 'stranger'. To be involved is to be apart of a much larger network of people, and opinions can change swiftly. For those on the outside, the complexities thereof come off as mercurial and chaotic. Ironically, harpies get on well with the rachtoh, who often have a similar social sense to them.      

Society

Social Mannerisms

The proactive, large and in-charge, and almost domineering, personalities of harpies is self-evident throughout all their cultures. No matter where or how, many harpies will make certain their presence is known and their prestige self-evident. Even the quietest among their numbers will adorn themselves in jewelry, clothing, and/or icons of appropriate recognition. Many consider such mannerisms overbearing or undeservedly arrogant, but usually miss the finer reasoning as to why. There are, of course, those who argue even with that reasoning it's still annoying to deal with.   Not ones to ask for a free lunch, they're capable workers whose efficient ethos means they get the job done so they can relax that much faster. More than one enterprising soul has tried shoveling more and more work off on them, only for the harpies to quit enmasse. It's only when a harpy controls their own fate (or business) that their fearsome prowess reveals itself.   Understandably so, competitions tend to be very popular for them. The easiest way to put one's worth out in the public and accrue recognition, harpies will enter all sorts of competitive arrangements. If there aren't any, someone is going to start some as a social event for everyone else to participate in. By virtue of that competitive spirit, they're fiercely keen on fairness and proper rulings, making them surprisingly reliable and accurate judges.   With eagerness to spare, harpies are quite fine bothering each other or their friends, and making get-togethers a fairly regular thing. Social function and life's work often intertwine, with so-called 'parties' being as much for recreation as it is for professionals to get together and brain storm. There are plenty more regular parties of varying natures, for hosting such affairs with success is how names are made in harpy circles.    

Gender

For harpies, women are the powerhouses that define military fighting prowess, societal hierarchy, and figureheads of great import. Men historically existed in supplementary roles, acting as supportive power to whatever endeavor needed doing. While some arose to prominent positions on their own merits, the increased desirability that offered meant that relationship competitions became that much fiercer. A somewhat paradoxical proposition, particularly among the freedom loving ways of the harpies.   Holistically, this arrangement suited the needs of the migratory tribes and their very practical concerns. While women are generally more physically powerful than men, their increased mass meant their aerial mobility worked differently. Men carved out a niche as excellent speedsters, subverting more powerful foes through tactical cunning. This 'hammer and anvil' approach formed one of the core strategies in harpy warfare doctrine, and remains annoyingly difficult to defeat.   Sedentary harpies generally veered toward equality of the sexes fairly early on, and saw little divergence afterward. The differing environmental needs, as much as blending of different cultural views, made them reflect the more prevalent, veltrony ways of the lands.    

Kinship and Ethnicities

Given the sheer variance in the species, ethnic groups are usually formed by a combination of physiological characteristics and a similar accented 'high' voice. Like a lock-and-key approach, one speaks of a bloodline legacy, while the other infers a living cultural connection. Many other species do not readily grasp the 'accents' of the harpy high voice, which to their ears is plainly evident.   This method means that even if one or the other is part of the equation, the ethnic group will not consider them properly 'in' without the other. Harpies usually end up with a dualistic approach to ethnic recognition: their own species, and then whatever others they share a unified connection with. This especially coincides with the migratory tribes who may have meaningful bonds with veltron-based kin, but the nature of their livelihood takes them across Veltrona.   Though it may sound excessively exclusionary, the harpy sense of kinship is built upon familiarity and reliability. Many things are temporary in life, but those who maintain friendship and family are constants to which harpies fly around. Not even location necessarily matters, so long as life remains and the campfires burn brightly. One day the winds shall take the harpies to their kin once again, no matter where on Veltrona it may be.   In this respect, they're some of the most determined people who maintain their friends and family.    

Governments and Politics

Existent harpy tribes fall into a mixture of meritocratic and familial republics. This turbulent model emphasizes personal agency and accomplishment, while attempting to blend the larger desires of the tribe into actionable persons. Popularity, after all, is built on many things, but it exudes power over public opinion and thus policy. In practice, most large family heads and those who lead professions (such as a widely trusted weaver) usually come together in small assembly to decide tribe-wide affairs.   From these representatives, certain leadership positions are voted upon so that effective action can be taken at a moment's notice. This nominally divides into critical roles like military leadership, trade organizer, songkeeper, high priestess, etc. Most who end up in these positions are well-respected in their communities and tend to serve for life. However, changing figureheads, failure, or political intrigue can cause unexpected changes. There is little certainty in a harpy's life, and such volatile positions are never completely secure.   There are tribes that follow stricter models, such as absolute monarchies where a queen rules over everyone. These tribes are usually more militant, staking aggressive territorial claims, and exacting tribute from those too weak to resist them. They are functionality similar to bandits or pirates from the other side, especially as they fly their migration circuit and hit targets along the way. That said, they also understand the value of protecting their tributes, and so often make good on their word.   It doesn't help their species' reputation, but such people care little for what others think.    

Trade and Economics

For whatever gripes many may have about harpies, their uniqueness offered unmatched opportunities as well. While wind magics are the only refuge for those seeking flight—at least, usually so—they can be costly to do and limited in scope. To harpies, who oft sought ruling the skies, flight was as natural to them as breathing. Those who made allies of harpy tribes, thusly, made certain to tap into this potential themselves. While harpy warriors are renowned for their ferocious lethality, and mages profusely talented and powerful, it was other applications that truly garnered attention.   The transportation of materials, particularly knowledge or messages, became a defining feature. Ferrying such goods proved both easy and endlessly valuable, and gave harpies massive leverage over their neighbors. With even higher demands for their talents, the harpies garnered a strong political position wherever people had need of them. Combined with their general disdain of getting involved in the muckery of veltron-based affairs, they remained secure and often uncontested in their areas of influence.   It's hard to overstate the massive impact this business had on many civilizations across Veltrona. Far-flung neighbors, once many months away in time and effort, could communicate in part within days; sometimes hours, for the fastest harpies. World views shifted as a result, the vastness of everything becoming that much smaller, even if most people still had to walk or ride.   The much more recent advent of airships has greatly disturbed the harpies. For the first time in history, a technology with wide-scale potential may usurp their time-proven grip on aerial communication and transportation. It has become a divisive topic with many either preferring to see such technology destroyed, or brought under their wing and controlled by them. They're all, however, very aware that the economic security the harpies have enjoyed for many ages is in danger.    

Interspecies Relations

Harpies are one of those species everyone loves and dreads in very different ways. Their energetic personalities and social-emphasizing concerns make them delightful forces that bring people together for a good time. Their incredibly competitive spirits and social jockeying, on the other wing, can be pretty tiring to deal with. Even with intertwined cultures over many generations, the fighting harpy spirit remains unabashed in its earnesty. No one can deny their reliability or sense of honor, though; for whatever trouble they kick up, a harpy can fix just as quickly.   They tend to get on well with most humans as a result, while butting heads with the baarham a lot in particular. Funny enough, though similar to the rachtoh, both their 'social energies' are slightly different enough to put them out of sync with each other. That and the rachtoh nature tends to tickle harpy instincts into being aware of a fellow predator; both species do love competing with each other.   Dragons and harpies usually never get on well, at least because one doesn't care for the other, and the other sees them as direct competition. The two might even be considered ancient rivals or enemies, though no dragon would ever give such acknowledgement. For harpies, many of stories of adversity and triumph center around dragons, and so many of their cultures create an aura of the 'enemy/competition' where such beings are concerned.      

Associated Articles

Notable Civilizations

Prak - Civilization    

Notable Characters

Seralkono, the Divine Tempest      

Design Notes