Harpy

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### Distinctons

Various bird species influences, winged arms, feathers across body, clawed feet, pointed ears, angular features

### Place of Origin

It is said that the harpies came into existence when various birds began to wish they were just faintly human to let them talk to others and build things with their own hands. This wish carried on until a powerful mage came along and felt their troubled souls. Out of the kindness of his heart, he decided to help them. After much research and experimentation, the first harpies were created. Birds no longer have the wish to be something they were not born to be, but the harpies have since then continued to populate and fly amongst the skies.

### Rarity

While there are plenty of harpies in the world, it’s not always common to see them outside their own cities.

### General Overview

Harpies are humanoid beings who have the certain appearances and abilities of various species of birds (owls and penguins included). The best place to find them is flying among the clouds, keeping hidden from the people below. Harpies are a very intelligent race for the most part, coming up with new ways to enhance their daily lives and even went so far as to build cities that soared among the clouds. Usually they remain in their cities, accessible to anyone with wings given their hospitable and welcoming nature. Their cities have been built on the idea of being ‘free as a bird’. Each city has its own name, though most of them usually refer to the cities as ‘flocks’, and those who run it as the ‘flock leaders’. These leaders make sure that order remains in the city, although the general peace-keeping attitude of the Harpies makes crime rates pretty low. They can be seen riding on the backs of pegasi, though usually it’s the flightless breeds or those who have various issues with flying that own more than one pegasus.

The Harpies that do live down on the ground usually make their money by helping others in one form or another. Though whenever a Harpy is remaining on the ground rather than in one of their cities, it’s usually due to being separated from their family as a child by some factor. Harpies are not known to abandon their children, and almost always go looking for them if they were to become separated.

Harpies can be born with different appearances. There’s the common harpy structure, where they’re more birdlike than human. These harpies tend to have wings as their arms, and are covered in feathers across their body. While these types *can* have human feet, they’re quite feathered like the rest of their body. Usually they prefer not to change from their talons, as it makes for an unnatural (yet painless) feeling. Typically they have feathered crest rather than hair, but it’s not impossible. These types of harpies are known to have the lightest weight, often ranging between 45-80lbs but this can vary based on the breed of bird. They need to watch how much damage their bones take more than the other two types.

The second most common is a mix between a heavily birdlike structure and human. There are still wings in the place of arms, but there aren’t as many feathers covering their bodies. In very rare cases, they can have arms and wings but are still fairly feathered. Switching between human feet and talons doesn’t feel as unnatural as those with a more fully birdlike structure are. Rather than having a feathered crest, it’s more common for these types to have hair. Though, they can still carry the feathered crest if one of their parents have it (higher chance if both do). These are not as light in weight as the birdlike harpies are, ranging at about 60-100 lbs.

The third appearance of a harpy can often get confused with other races known to have wings, as they look more human than birdlike at all. These harpies take on human forms for the most part, with hardly any feathering. They have arms, while their wings are carried on their backs--unable to be shifted away. Given their more human structures, they tend to weigh about the same as a human does. This type worries the least about bone damage, and can shift between their normal feet and talons at will. Although for some, talons have a bit of an odd feeling about them.

### Race Alignment

The majority are Lawful Good, though Lawful Neutral is also common.

### Natural Race Abilities/Affinities

Aside from their ability to fly (in most cases), they can also decide whether or not to use human feet or switch them to talons. The strength and sharpness of these talons ranges depending on the type of bird. It makes for easy pick up, though walking on them is not always the fastest means of ground travel. If a particular bird has certain natural abilities, such as keen eyesight or an owl’s 360 head turn, they will also be able to use these to a degree as well. Their flight speeds are also based on the bird species they take after. Those, however, are only considered natural abilities. Harpies are rather special when it comes to unnatural abilities, given that they were created from such. Given that birds mainly take pride in the skies, their magical properties also reflect this. When a Harpy turns 10 years of age, their hearts will lead them in the direction of their Soul Staff. When a harpy is born, somewhere in the world a small energy source will appear--usually in rocks or trees. As the harpy grows older, the energy grows. When they come of age, these energy sources will form into Soul Staffs, only to be touched by the harpy it was destined for. Any attempts from an outside source to remove it will find it impossible. These staffs are made only for that user, and from that user. They must travel to find it as a sort of ‘rite of passage’.No one else, not even an identical twin, will be able to wield another’s staff. Without it, they cannot use the harpy magic.  Harpies are known to use aerial-type magic, meaning it could range pretty far in the terms of what one might be able to specialize in. This includes lunar, wind, flight enhancements, weather, and so forth. Basically, if it can connect itself to the sky, there are possibilities for a Harpy to harness it. Of course, with each specific type there are various spells to be learned with it. While most Harpies can only utilize one form of aerial magic, (such as wind manipulation or lunar healing) some can learn a few more. Aerial magic is not limited to the race as a whole, but to each individual harpy. Harpies are limited to aerial magic, unless there’s an odd occurrence where anyone else would get other abilities. Harpies would as well.

If a Soul Staff is broken, the user loses all connection to the aerial magic. While their ability to use magic is cut, a harpy will still continue to carry magic reserves. For this reason, harpies with a broken Soul Staff often linger around other harpies to act as an extra reserve. For the most part, a broken staff means the user is flat out of luck. However, a harpy holding the same blood has the means to fix it. Giving a broken staff to the sibling (has to be from the exact same parents), will fix it given that the pieces are all still there. Using the sibling’s blood on the pieces will also work, though tests have shown the Staff will lose about 25% of its power if this route is taken.

When a harpy dies, the power from their Soul Staff seems to increase. After death, the user’s Soul is entrapped within the Staff. Many wonder if this has to do with the unnatural way harpies were introduced to the world, and that their need to possess a more humanoid body came with the sacrifice of a peaceful rest. Often these Staffs are sealed within the palace of their main city in a cemetery-like fashion. While heavily guarded by those under the flock leader’s command, people are still welcome to visit the Hall of Staffs. It’s an uncommon occurrence, but sometimes a harpy can tap into the conscience of a Soul Staff and gleam a bit into the life of its user. It’s even rarer still, for a deceased harpy to communicate through the Soul Staff. It’s only happened once.

Given that harpies were created with magic, it’s not a big shocker that they’re able to sense magic around them—whether it be in an object or living being. Although, this can only be done based on touch alone, and they can’t tell what type of magic it is. This also ties into their ability to share magic reserves, either to another harpy or another being able to make use of it. Often in a fight with a harpy on the allying side, other magic users will feel a slight increase of energy to about 15%, sometimes allowing them to use a spell one extra time or for one post extra on duration. This is without the harpy’s intentional doing, often referred to as a passive ‘flock boost’.

### History

After their initial ‘birth’, the Harpies first set themselves on learning how to adapt to these new bodies. This took time, yet the advantages were more than worth it. It was in this way that they learned how to use their Soul Staff, enabling them to use their specific abilities. This would lead them onto their second goal—establishing a home. Being on the ground for long periods of time rarely felt comfortable to them, so building something in the air seemed like the only way to go. This was possible by means of a Soul Staff, in which several harpies were able to manipulate the clouds. This made the clouds more tangible, almost like the ground but a bit softer underfoot. Foundation could be build overtop of it, and soon they began to build elegant cities out of stone and wood. Like birds gathering items for their nests, they decorated their cities with glittering, pretty items. The decoration would mark the harpy cities as some of the more ‘fancy’ areas. While it’s not impossible for someone else to venture to one, it’s incredibly rare. Ever since they were built, most of these beings have stuck to themselves. Some have come off as more aggressive—usually vultures, eagles, hawks, and other types of more carnivorous birds—when not around their own kind so other races might not take too well to them either. However, the more timid harpies are known more to be quite sociable and willing to lend a hand where needed. Only recently have they begun taking on the task of taming and raising war pegasi in the case of being attacked. It is uncommon to see them separated from their pegasus, and the flightless harpies tend to appreciate them more.

**Created by Kyo**