Harpies are a humanoid race who primarily reside in the eponymous Harpy Hills of Bulwar, with various ethnic groups existing across Halann. They are most notable amongst the races of Halann for being the only race to be mono-gendered, with all harpies being female. Their most defining physical characteristic is their wings, which grants them the unique natural ability to fly. Other notable characteristics include having avian legs and wings, including feathers, as well as being described as possessing a terrifying, piercing, ear-splittingly loud screech that they often used as a tool of psychological warfare to reduce enemy morale and strike fear into their enemies hearts.
Origins[]
The first recorded instance of interactions with harpies was from a text dated to around 1159 BA, which warned travelers in the hills of Northern Bulwar of attacks by winged women. This was also the same year that Firanya, who according to some legends was the first harpy, proclaimed the creation of the Harpy Queendom. There is a lack of definitive evidence verifying their existence prior to 1159 BA, which had led to several theories regarding their origins.
Cannorian[]
According to Cannorian Mythology, the prevailing theory stated that Firanya was one of the Spawns of Agrados, and that she is the creator goddess of all harpies. This theory was notably used to classify harpies as a monstrous race to cannorians. Despite the contention, Firanya’s appearance as the first recorded harpy in existence led many to believe there is some basis to this theory. Similarly, bulwari theories also share the belief that Firanya was the first harpy. According to Cannorian texts, in 817 BA Firanya was slain in battle by a bulwari human huntress, who was considered to be the human avatar of the hunter-goddess Falah.
In the 1600s, famous genealogist Sendrian Bloodfollower proposed the theory that, due to harpies being able to breed with elves they share a common biological ancestor with both elves as well as humans. In his Thesis on the Alleged Monsters of the World published in 1696, he states that the harpy race is in fact a degenerative variant of the Avariel - and that the avariel race were the progenitors of not just elves, but also harpies. As part of his theory, he sought to disprove the celestial link between elves and angels through avariels, claiming that angels were not related to elvenkind in any way.
In 1833, Jonathan Hull, an Arannese scholar living in Brasan, combined both Bloodfollower’s theory and prevailing bulwari scholarly theory at the time. He supported Bloodfollower’s thesis but proposed that the only way for harpies to suddenly appear in northern bulwar would have been through experimentation with planar magic. According to him, Firanya was a God-King who accidentally opened a portal that summoned a group of harpies into her kingdom.
Bulwari[]
According to the Bulwari creation myth, the harpies are the daughters of Nilšranu, the goddess of the wind and his nephew Surakel, god of gardening and order. The oldest surviving version of the myth says that Nilšranu felt jealous of Surakel’s wives, so she used magic to trick Surakel to lie with her.
When Surakel became free of the spell, he pursued Nilšranu, who fled north, to a lake between the mountains. Fearing for his life and his future child, she pleaded with his father Šadru for protection from Surakel. The eldest of the gods, still holding a grudge against his grandson, raised the lands between Surakel’s garden and the lake, creating the Šad Našratu, the Harpy Hills. Safe from Surakel, Nilšranu gave birth to Firanya, the first of the harpies.
During the Early 18th century, a group of bulwari literary scholars, who notably shared an interest in pre-Sun Cult bulwari culture and beliefs, proposed a theory that Firanya was one of the ancient God-Kings of Bulwar, who ruled over a kingdom in the mountainous region north of the Suran and Buranun, today called the Harpy Hills. They theorized that she was a young queen who inherited an enormous amount of power, and uttered a poorly worded wish that punished her foolishness by transforming her into the first harpy. While the exact account has been highly dramatized, it had a massive impact on bulwari scholars who maintained this as the leading theory regarding harpy origins for centuries, as well as a cultural impact on bulwari writers and artists who would use Firanya’s foolishness as a subject to discuss tales of hubris, lust, and youthful foolishness.
Harpy Reproduction[]
Due to their unique physical nature, harpies require mates of other species, most commonly humans, in order to reproduce. Harpies will often take on physical characteristics of the race of their fathers. Repeated mating over several generations with a particular species will result in future harpies progressively resembling them, also inheriting their unique traits, a notable historic example being the Elayenna Harpies, who having repeatedly mated with the Desert Elves of the Jaddari Legion, were described as having elven features such as slim builds, longer ears, and beautiful faces, especially in comparison to their Siadunan counterparts at that time. This also slightly influences lifespan, as harpies typically live up to 60-80 years for those with human fathers, and up to 80-100 years for those with elven fathers.
Thoughts regarding the nature of Harpy Reproduction have been varied throughout centuries, with harpies notably being described and seen as rapacious, man-eating monsters, especially to Cannorian sources. Modern scholars have discredited this idea, owing to the numerous other factors that could affect historical interactions and views of harpies, alongside the testimony of hundreds of people of various races throughout history.
Degrees of Avianity[]
The degree of Avianity was determined by the amount of feathers a harpy had on their body, the shape of their face, and the prominence of their talons. Higher degrees of avianity were associated with having feathers covering close to or all of the arms and lower body, a more angular face, and prominent talons. Historically, the degree of avianity was the defining characteristic used by Cannorians to establish them as a monstrous race. Today, many harpies, especially those residing outside of Cannor, view this type of categorization as depersonalizing, archaic, and not suitable for the modern day.
Ethnic Groups[]
Bulwar[]
Bulwar is the birthplace of all harpy ethnic groups, with every group splitting off from the original harpies who today still reside in the Harpy Hills.
Firanyan[]
- Firanyan Harpies are the oldest harpy ethnic group, often called the predecessors to all other harpy ethnic groups. They primarily reside in the Harpy Hills, and are notable for remaining mostly independent throughout recorded history.
Siadunan[]
- Siadunan Harpies are primarily influenced by Raheni culture and customs, with significant elven influence resulting from centuries of mating following the Elayenna consolidation of the Šad Siadan. They are the descendants of the flocks that fled east following the collapse of the Firanyalen Queendom.
Hydiranyan[]
- Hydiranyan Harpies settled in West Bahar in 805 BA during the Western Harpy Migrations. They later fled to the Harpy Hills to escape the Castanorians. Today they remain one of the flocks residing within the Harpylen Queendom. They are known for being some of the first to partake in The Odd Hunt.
Haless[]
Feng[]
- Feng Harpies were originally Siadunan harpies that flew further east following the collapse of the Siadanlen Queendom. They are primarily influenced by the Xia teachings and Szitu Yan culture and were viewed as skilled, dangerous, and respected martial artists across Haless.
Cannor[]
Following the Collapse of the Firanyalen Queendom, large flocks of Harpies fled towards Cannor during the Western Harpy Migrations.
Khenaki[]
- Khenaki Harpies settled in the Khenak Range in 790 BA. They would later migrate to Eborthil in order to escape the Castanorians during the Second Great Cleansing, then to Akan where they would survive until the Day of Ashen Skies.
Godshield[]
- Godshield Harpies settled in the Godshield Mountains in 769 BA. They were systematically hunted down and wiped out during the Second Great Cleansing.
Havoral[]
- Havoral Harpies settled in the Havoral Divide in 740 BA. They were systematically hunted down and wiped out during the Second Great Cleansing started by Castan Beastbane.
Dragonheight[]
- Dragonheight Harpies settled in the Dragon Coast in 650 BA. Following the Dragonwake, no reports of them have been recorded since, leading scholars to conclude they were wiped out. Following their disappearance, the Gnomes of the area have named the area where they used to live in Manyburrows as Olhaarpi, literally Old Harpy.
Moorish[]
- Moorish Harpies settled in the Moorlands in 640 BA. Following the Dragonwake, no further reports of them have been recorded since, leading scholars to conclude they were wiped out
Aelantir[]
Kiohan[]
- Kiohan Harpies descend from Ashuria Firanyakin and her followers, who fled to Aelantir following a failed assassination attempt on her mother, the matriarch.