Harpy

Harpies, also known as Sirens or the Children of the Sky are Class 2 homunculi resembling hominids with the lower body and wings of teratorn birds (at least in younger individuals). Like all homunculi, Harpies were designed by the First Children, (an ancient civilization notorious for genetic manipulation) some appear to have been made for war, others for labor, though spectacle may have been just as much of a factor.

Video on the Topic: Children of the Skies: Harpies of Kaimere

  Of the many homunculi scattered throughout the known world and beyond, perhaps none have inspired such wonder as the children of the skies. Called sirens and harpies by the Assembly, these winged beings mostly live in the Ni’Khari mesas north of the known world, though there are harpies also found in the highlands of Arvel and Pakardia, along with reports in Kairul.

### Description

   Their wings and all below the waist primarily resemble teratorns, though as with all homunculi, their actual genetics are human. In the case of harpies, they are Homo sapiens, not altus like the ogres. There are elements of other birds, such as eagles, but mostly teratorns make up the morphological base. Though there are many colors, it appears the size of black teratorns, being as heavy as a person, made them ideal candidates.

   Unsurprising given their size, harpies are not acrobatic fliers. They cannot take off from a standstill, either needing a running start or some height to launch. This appears to be a factor in living in highlands like mesas and mountains, though these roosts also given them a great vantage point to employ their exceptional vision and safety from most predators that could pose a threat. Harpies may have supernatural healing typical of other advanced homunculi, but they aren’t impervious to damage by any means, and can be slain by such predators as big cats, hyenas, cockatrices, and of course larger predators like terror birds and megaraptorans.

### Biology

   Harpies have extremely demanding metabolisms. Even with photosynthetic supplements, they need around three times as much food as a human of the same size. They are primarily carnivores, though houze harpies eat a lot of ginkgo nuts. When hunting small game, like gazelle, small camels, and hares, they generally prefer to grab it while still on the wing. Stopping and hunting on ground makes them vulnerable, especially since flying before landing advertises their position to other predators. Larger game present a bit of a challenge: they sometimes injure large prey by dropping rocks or poisoned darts on them, but a big carcass on the prairie is going to draw a lot of unwanted attention. Harpies can and do hunt in groups, and can bring down large game quickly. Using tools made by hand or traded with Dolani nomads, they can butcher quite a bit of meat, but they must act quickly. A few hyenas and cockatrices are easily scared off by the imposing spread of their five to seven meter wingspan, but once one of these scavengers braves a strike, several harpies can quickly go from dominating a kill to being added to the feast.

### Windsongs

   The sensory functions of harpies is the subject of much interest. Their visual acuity is extremely high, and they can effectively transition between seeing for many miles and adjusting for much closer inspection. They are also able to partially see into the ultraviolet spectrum, allowing not only for them to see prey and its traces with a glow, they can also detect electromagnetic fields, which they describe as windsongs. Windsongs are partially seen, and felt due to trace elements of magnetite in their noses, but most importantly they can be faintly heard. The harpies say these songs can guide them on long hunts, especially since the mesas are at an intersection of several windsongs, though mostly the harpies just use the fields to know directions.

### Reproduction, Culture, and Intraspecific relations

   There are no male harpies. All are female and reproduce by laying eggs that contain clones. Because of this, the three lineages of harpy on the prairie each have distinct appearances that are consistent with their matriline. These three lineages include black, red, and golden harpies. The harpies reported in Arvel and Pakardia have either black or silver wings. These are not as well understood, but are believed to have a similar lifestyle and appearance to prairie harpies, though they tend to have their torsos and arms covered in feathers, whereas much more of prairie harpies are exposed. It is unknown if this was how they were made or if it was an adaptation to climate. Even cloned offspring can mutate, after all, and the magic within homunculi is well documented to adapt the host to different climate pressures over time.

   In most instances, the original homunculi created by the First Children are long gone, only survived by their cloned descendants. Beastfolk and ogres for example are all best known for sexually reproduced descendants who age and often die of old age after a few centuries. Harpies, however, have several original homunculi still living. Among the prairie harpies, these are the three First-Mothers: Koro the Gold, Zinea the Red, and Maru the Black. Maru is their leader of the colonies, though all three First-Mothers have command over their respective matrilines. This control is not absolute: while there is certainly a degree of mental subjugation magic, shared thought, and general behavioral influence, the first-mothers do not completely control their daughters. Mostly they cooperate without issue, but some harpies have broken free of the First-Mother’s influence. This was the case for Yalena, a descendant of Maru who broke free of her ancestor’s mental subjugation in Songbird’s Lament, a novella in my first anthology.

### Maru the Black

Maru is the leader of the Children of the Sky. She is largest and most powerful of the three First-Monthers, and her progeny are known for their physical strength. She rules the mesas without compromise. While she will listen to other opinions, openly regarding the other two prime harpies descendants with greater age with higher priority, she is the unquestioned ruler of their community. Though some of their descendants have left, Maru ensures all these deserters are spoken of with the assumption that they were slain in a hunt. Admitting that one of their progeny could freely depart would undermine the stability of the mesas.

### Human Relations

 Harpies have a relationship with the Dolani and other Shu nomads, though it is relegated to only a few trade interactions and even that is tenuous. Neither the Great Library, Assembly, or Empire are trusted, even when vouched for by the Dolani, who themselves are often skeptical of outsiders. This means a lot of understanding of the harpies is second or thirdhand information. One harpy did have direct contact with a pair of Assembly agents, and either disputed or corroborated much of their information on the Children of the Skies, but this obviously accounts for only one perspective so paints an incomplete picture.

### Founding Myth

  "When the old gods vanished, our eyes opened. A new god, the many-headed Voskardlok, took the fields and halls of the old gods and made them his own. He promised all would be safe under the watch of his many eyes, so long as they abided his laws. Some chose to remain, trading freedom for safety, but many of us left to make our own way. Our brothers the ogres and trolls scatters to all corners of the world, while our sisters the mermaids claimed the meadows and reefs. Our ancestors, the Seven Daughters of the Sky, flew across the shallow sea and made a home on these very mesas. Four of our sisters then took to the sky, one flying in each of the singing winds hoping to find a perfect home. The three remaining sisters began to lay eggs. These were the Great Mothers Maru. The Great Mothers have since had many children: all of us here! We have made the mesas overlooking the prairie a home, though it is a dangerous place.  Someday, our sisters will return with news of the world, and hopefully they will have found a safer place for our true home."

-Yalena, a Free Harpy, recounting a founding myth of her people.