Harpy

Summary

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           Harpies are avian humanoids that have no true culture nor home.

 

Physical Attributes

 

General

           Harpies have human heads, necks, and torsos, but have bird legs instead of normal legs and birds wings instead of normal arms.

 

Skin

           Harpy skin is identical to human skin.

           Harpy feathers can be any combination of colors.

 

Ears

           Harpies have Human ears, but male harpies have a unique trait in that they have feathers that grow on the lobes of their ears.

 

Eyes

           Harpies’ eye colors always match a color in their feathers. For example, if a Harpy’s feathers are brown, red, and gold then their eyes may be brown, red, or gold.

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Hair

           Harpy hair is exactly like a human’s except in color, as Harpy hair will be the same colors as their feathers.

 

Body

           Harpies have human-like bone structure and form.

           Cutting off a Harpy’s wings entirely will simply mean that they grow back good as new in roughly 5 months, but if the Harpy has the feathers on a wing trimmed, it will take 2 years for the old feathers to fall out and be replaced by new ones. Due to this, many Angels will trim one of a Harpy’s wings when they are first enslaved, so that they are not a flight risk in the first few years of their service to them. Some Harpies have hands or claws at the top arch of their wings, but this is rare (even without hands/claws they are able to use their wings very dexterously to do day to day activities as well as they can control their feathers through slight telekinesis to act like fingers). Harpies have tail feathers, but some Angels cut these off so they can't fly straight. 

           The average height for a harpy is 4’0” – 5’0”

 

Age

           Harpies have identical life spans to humans.

 

History/Information

 

           Not much is known about Harpies as although they used to be a thriving race, there are not many of them left anymore. The ones that are left are mostly female, outnumbering the males at 10:1. This is due to the fact that a few hundred years ago, Lowland Orcs began to hunt Male Harpies for their ears. The Orcs would typically kill the Male Harpies in order to cut off their ears which they believed to be good luck charms. The ones that they didn’t kill were left mutilated and died soon after. This practice continued for decades until Male Harpies were nearing extinction. The Angels took notice of this, as they had been using Harpies as slaves for centuries, and the market for them grew increasingly scarce as the Orcs hunted the Males. The Angels were outraged that someone had been hunting their slave supply, and immediately put an end to their hunting.

           Harpies that are enslaved by Angels are either brainwashed into staying or don't try to escape due to fear for their lives.

           Harpies that are not enslaved, tend to be overly cautious and family oriented. They typically live in constant fear of being taken to be enslaved. Due to this, many live either very far away from cities or in the middle of very busy cities, both attempts to hide from possible captors.

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Culture

 

Religion

           Harpies do not have their own religion due to their small numbers and the large numbers of them that are in slavery. But, due to the fact that many are enslaved by the angels, many of them choose to worship the same God that the Angels do; The God of Creation that they call Veles.

 

Family 

           Due to the fact that there are not many Harpies, Harpy family units usually consist of the entire family. This can mean families of ten to twenty people living in one place, as they believe sticking together gives them a better chance of avoiding inbreeding and preventing unnecessary deaths.  

 

Traditions 

            Male Harpy numbers have improved since the hunting of them was banned, but they are still endangered. As such, it is an accepted practice among them that if an unmarried Female Harpy finds a Male Harpy, that she either breed with him and/or marry him. This has resulted in a typical family unit consisting of one Male Harpy who is married to at least three other Female Harpies.

 

Fighting 

 

Powers 

            Harpies are not innately magical, but they can control their feathers through slight telekinesis to act like fingers. They can use this ability to attack with their feathers, as the telekinesis can apply to feathers still attached to their bodies and ones that have fallen off within 5 minutes of falling off.

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Preferred Fighting Style

            Harpies prefer melee combat, as they typically use the large talons on their feet as weapons.

 

Weaknesses

            Harpies rely heavily on their wings in battle; if their wings are damaged, they are likely to lose the battle.

 

Names

           Harpy names are Germanic names. References to use: 

https://www.fantasynamegenerators.com/german-names.php  

https://www.behindthename.com/names/usage/ancient-germanic

Male Examples:

 Audoin, Baldewin, Cerdic, Dagr

Female Examples:

 Aveza, Berhta, Cyneburga, Dagrun

            Harpies in slavery will have the same last name as the Angel they are enslaved under.

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