Harpy
A harpy is a monstrous, half-avian and half-mortal creature known for their bewitching songs and insatiable hunger. They have the body, legs, and wings of a bird of prey and the torso and face of a mortal woman. Harpies are not true animals but rather a semi-stable population of creatures descending from a cursed lineage of mortals. They monstrosities in the purest sense, beings born of an ancient deed. They have survived for centuries in remote pockets of the world thanks to their deadly predatory instincts and because of their unique ability to entrance most mortals with only the sound of their haunting songs.
Basic Information
Anatomy
Harpies have the body, legs, and wings of a bird of prey and the torso and face of a mortal woman. With wicked talons and flesh ripping teeth, harpies are formidable in combat and their eyes reflect the absolute evil of their souls.
Genetics and Reproduction
Harpy reproduction is poorly understood. Almost all recorded interactions with harpies have been with female individuals and any claims of male harpies are usually better explained as encounters with lesser angels or aarakocra. Moreover, if the legends surrounding their origins are true, then any explanation for harpy reproduction must include processes intrinsic to the workings of the Old Magic, information which is seemingly unobtainable by mortal beings.
Ecology and Habitats
Harpies tend to dwell in areas with access to high nesting sites, such as mountains, coastal cliffs, or old-growth forests.
Dietary Needs and Habits
Harpies eat almost exclusively meat and seem driven to hunt down mortals as opposed to monsters or other beasts.
Civilization and Culture
History
Due to their curse, harpies are unable to occupy their time with anything other than animalistic urges and behavior. As a result, they have no uniform culture or history. Furthermore, because of their hyper-violent nature, they have never been documented working in any society or culture or even being captured and tamed by any organization.
Common Myths and Legends
The story of the origin of the harpies comes from a variety of sources, with some of the oldest accounts being simple folktales and ancient songs, such as the ballad "Lohiau's Lament."
Long ago, a woman1 wandering the woods2 heard a voice so pure and lovely that she was moved to tears. She followed the music until she came upon a clearing where stood a handsome youth3. She too, felt music in her heart and joined his song, creating a harmony that stretched through the heavens. A chord of their song struck the woven threads of Fate and their words became blessed with the will of the Old Magic. Their song caused the forest to bloom and the land to become rich and fertile. Upon hearing such wondrous music, the gods decreed that it was their will that the two be joined forever more in marriage, so that they might bless all of creation with their love.
Yet there was another who heard the lovers' song: Rheseldar, the Kiss of Lies. She became jealous of the lovers and their music. As each of the Heavenly Council offered the couple their wedding gifts, Rheseldar offered them a pair of silver cup filled with sweet wine. The man, nervous on the day of his wedding, drank from the cup immediately. At that moment, a curse fell upon the man and he found that he no longer loved the woman. Unable to sing true, their song became discordant and the man fled into the wood once more.
The woman, whom had not yet drunken of the cup, still felt great love for the man and looked after him for nine moons, crossing seven fields, seven woods, and seven mountains. All the while, she sang her lovesick song and her voice granted her the swiftness of a songbird. At last she found the man once more. He had moved on from her and started a new song filled with a new woman and a new family.
Upon seeing this, the woman's song became filled with grief and sorrow. Her voice cracked and quivered, her throat wailing to the heavens. Endowed by the will of the Old Magic, the land around her fell fallow and barren. The woman's swift wings turned dark as ash and like those of Rheseldar's vultures. Her feet became talons, yearning to rend her own heart so she'd be spared the pain. Her song begged the man to return to her, but the curse of the Dark Empress could not be swayed. And though many others who heard her cries came to her, enchanted and enraptured by her beauty, she felt only bitterness in her soul. And so the first harpy was born, forever calling for their cursed love.
1 Many versions of this story exist, with the oldest surviving accounts leaving both the woman and the man unnamed. The most popular name given to the woman is Ihu'opi in Ancient Celestial.
2 Though unnamed in the oldest versions of this myth, most later tales of Ihu'opi and Lohiau claim the woods in question are the Bashari Timberlands of the Western Mashiq in Nioa.
3 The male in this story is usually referred to as Lohiau, an Ancient Celestial name that means "reborn one."
Group Name
A seduction of harpies
Origin/Ancestry
Curse
Geographic Distribution
Related Myths
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