Harpyia

### Summary

Avian-like daemon who can launch razor-sharp feathers to torment their victims. They are known to torture suicided victims in the Underworld for all of eternity.

A **harpyia** (plural: **harpyiae**) is a bird-like daimon known for featuring in Dante's Inferno as the tormentors of the suicided victims within the seventh ring of Hell.

In Greco-Roman mythology, they are known as the Stymphalian birds that were defeated by Heracles.

## Overview

**Stymphalian birds** are a group of voracious birds in Greek mythology. They are described in different ways, but most commonly as voracious birds of prey armed with brazen wings, from which they could shoot out their feathers like arrows. They are said to have been brought up by Ares.

According to Mnaseas, they were not birds, but women and daughters of Stymphalus and Ornis, and were killed by Heracles because they did not receive him hospitably. In the temple of the Stymphalian Artemis, however, they were represented as birds, and behind the temple there were white marble statues of maidens with birds' feet.

## Summary

The harpyiae, much like the majority of daemon, are the creations of the original demons. They, in particular, were created to be the tormentors of sinners damned to the Underworld after they had killed themselves to escape their earthly punishment.

Because of this, when the poet Dante Alighieri wrote the Inferno, he placed them in the seventh ring of Hell where those who suicided are damned to and are turned into trees, forever tormented by voracious "harpies".

In the Age of Gods, the Alpha Harpyiae escaped from the confines of the Underworld and flew into the mortal world. It first travelled to ancient Persia, but was chased away by Mithras and Verethragna with their celestial armies.

It then relocated into a swamp in the Stymphalia region of Arcadia and began to terrorize the region for centuries, destroying crops, fruit trees, and townspeople. The Alpha Harpyia even kidnapped the daughters of Stymphalus and Ornis, the priestesses of Artemis, and raped them and forced them to give birth to more harpyia daemon.

Later on, by using a Celestial Bronze crotalum created by Hephaestus and Athena, Heracles was able to lure the harpyiae, especially the Alpha Harpyiae, out of their lair long enough for him to kill them with arrows dipped in poisonous hydra's blood. After he successfully killed the Alpha Harpyia, the remaining daemon scattered from the region and never returned. He then decapitated the head of the Alpha Harpyia and took it back to Eurystheus as proof for his sixth labor.

A group of surviving harypiae later regrouped and made themselves a new home on an island of Aretias in the Euxine Sea, where the Argonauts later encountered them. They later defeated them using celestial weapons that Palaemon crafted for them using the pieces of sacred metals his father gifted him.

At some point in time, a flock of harpyiae came and made their nests among the asphodels and the white poplars of the Greco-Roman Underworld, much to the horror of Hades and the frustration of Persephone. Because of this, the goddess takes on the hobby of harpyia-hunting whenever she returns to the Greco-Roman Underworld during the winter months.

## Appearance

Harpyiae are giant avian-like daemon that resemble a cross between condors and ravens, with white mask-like faces and four glowing yellow eyes, two on each side of their head. Their mouths are filled with rows of crooked, jagged teeth that make them look like they are smiling.

They have two clawed "fingers" extending forwards from the outermost wing joint, which is a feature present in only a handful of birds on Earth and closely matched by pseudo-fingers seen on the outer wing joints of ancient proto-birds. They have giant talons that are as large as an adult's arm, and while standing straight, the harpyia is taller than the average adult woman.

## Characteristics

Harpyiae are daemon known for their viciousness and voracity, capable of gouging everything from plants to cattles to even humans as food. Their teeth curved inward and ensured their prey couldn't escape from the inside, while their mouth can secrate an acid-like saliva capable of melting down everything within its beak, and is often hunted for by craftsmen as a dissolution agent while crafting infernal artifacts and weaponry.

Because of their savageness, many magicians, warlocks, and devils have wanted to tame a harpyia to make it their familiar but none has proven to be successful as in most cases, the harpyia's strong and rebellious will would break through the enchantment and attack the caster, tearing them into small pieces before devouring them. Because of that, training a harpyia is considered a suicidal attempt and is heavily discouraged by all familiar masters, with many factions even making laws against the poaching and/or transportation of wild harpyiae.

They primarily resort to swooping mid-flight toward their target and leading in with their beak, then returning to flight using the downward momentum it gained during the attack. Sometimes, they will attack like a battering ram, flying and shattering parts of momentum using their bone head-pieace. They can also throw feathers from their wings, which act like a volley of arrows with an effective range in the hundreds of yards. In addition, they also bear sharp talons which they tend not to resort to, most likely relying on their momentum to keep mobile during combat.

## Weaknesses

* **Physical Damage**: Like most supernatural creatures, harpyiae can still be killed through mundane means if they have either received serious or immense physical damage or received fatal wounds that aren't healed in time. The Alpha Harpyia was killed by Heracles with a steel-tipped arrow dipped in the blood of a Hydra.
* **Loud Noise**: While not being actual birds, harpyiae can be frightened and led into a frenzy state when suddenly came into contact with loud noises unfamiliar to them. Heracles used this technique to scare the original Stymphalian birds out of their nest, though modern exorcists typically used portable radios, with "All-Time Greatest Hits of Dean Martin" seeming to be the most effective.
* **Animals (Wolf)**: Like most daemon, their presence can be identified by certain animals. In the case of harpyia daemon, wolves can identify them from miles ago, and the mere scent of them can turn even the most harmless dogs into violent and deadly beasts. A harpyia's metallic feathers couldn't pierce through a wolf's skin, and thus, warriors and exorcists often wear wolf pelts while fighting against multiple harpyiae to better defend themselves against their long-ranged attacks.
	+ **Wolf's Blood**: They can be weakened and defeated if they are covered in wolf's blood. If they are covered by it, their feathers will slowly fall out and their flesh melted away, before leaving behind nothing but a filthy and disgusting skeleton. If an area is splattered in wolf's blood, no harpyiae will come at least 100-meters radius from the place.
* **Light Element**: As daemon, harpyiae are the natural enemies of the Light element. They are vulnerable against natural sunlight, which weakens them if they are exposed to it for an extended amount of time. Intense light, such as the one generated through Light Magic or used in the light constructs of angels and fallen angels, are extremely deadly weapons against them.
* **Holy Attribute**: As demonic beings, the holy attribute is the bane of all daemon like the harpyiae, regardless of their strength. Religious symbols, scriptures, and prayers are extremely effective when defending oneself against one of them, and items imbued with the holy attribute are considered to be the most effective weapons to use when fighting against them.
	+ **Hallowed Ground**: Harpyiae are incapable of entering hallowed grounds, such as churches, synagogues, mosques or other religious places without hurting themselves by every second.
	+ **Holy Weapons**: Harpyiae are easily wounded by weapons bearing the holy attribute, like holy swords or Sacred Gears with divine properties, such as Blade Blacksmith or Twilight Healing (Asia's the single exception).
* **Celestial Weapons**: Weapons made out of sacred metals can be used against the majority of supernatural beings, with daemon like harpyiae being no exceptions.
* **Primordial Regalia**: Weapons and artifacts that belong to the primordial entities can be used to permanently and absolutely destroy every and any being in existence save for other primordial entities, erasing their existence completely so that they can never be reborn or resurrected without God's involvement.

## Trivia

* It's unknown how they are related to the harpies.
* Their dung is extremely poisonous and can melt through concrete.
* Direwolves are said to be the harpyiae's natural enemies.
* It is rumored that harpies are offspring of harpyiae and wind spirits.
* The male to female ratio between harpyiae is 8:2, with the male harpyiae fighting to the death mate with the female harpyiae before having its head bitten off.
* While under the effects of the mist, harpyia daemon appear as fat pigeons with "evil eyes".