The Harpies

A Monstrous Harpy

**Harpies** (meaning "snatchers") were female monsters who caused mischief, tormented wrongdoers, and carried souls to the underworld. They were known for their hideous appearance and smell.

## Appearance

Over time, however, they developed into terrifying beasts. They had long, fair hair and the faces and upper bodies of women, but the wings, tails, legs, and claws of birds of prey, with sharp talons made of metal. They were always ravenously hungry, and would steal food or even eat their victims before carrying away their souls. The Harpies were repulsive to look at, and they spread filth everywhere they went. They stank so much that whatever they touched gave off a terrible smell.

## Overview

There are several different stories of how many Harpies there were and where they came from. According to the Greek poet Hesiod, they were the daughters of Thaumus, who was a son of Gaea, the earth goddess. In Hesiod's account, the Harpies were the sisters of Iris, the personification of the rainbow and a messenger of the gods.

The Harpies could be sent by the gods, especially Zeus, Hera, and Athena, to punish people and they were sometimes referred to as "the hounds of Zeus," but they could also cause problems on their own by stealing, destroying property, causing storms, and kidnapping people.

## Description

In earliest accounts, the Harpies were not monstrous, they were simply spirits who represented windy or stormy weather, and they were depicted as beautiful young women with wings.

To the ancient Greeks, the Harpies represented the punishment that came from displeasing the gods, but they were also associated with unfairness and random bad luck. Like the winds that they originally embodied, the Harpies could come out of nowhere, ruin plans, and destroy people's lives. People blamed them for storms and for any small objects or items of food that mysteriously went missing.

## Common Powers and Abilities

### Common Powers between all variations

**Avian Physiology:** The Harpies possess the traits, attributes, characteristics and/or abilities of birds. They achieve this either through full or partial transformation into avians, choosing to mimic certain aspects of them, or simply already being a birds in the first place.

**Contaminant Immunity:** The Harpies are immune to poisons, toxins, venoms, viruses, bacteria, parasites, pathogens, allergen, etc.

**Sonic Scream:** The Harpies can emit/produce/generate an extremely powerful scream/shriek of high amplitude for a variety of purposes from their vocal cord and mouth, typically for offensive purposes, like causing destruction. The attack usually manifests as a destructive stream or a destructive wave of sonic energy and can only destroy anything in front of the Harpies unless they turn around, moving the scream in the process. Normally whenever the Harpies screams, it requires them to be extremely loud and have a perfect aim. Once the Harpies starts, they can't stop until all the energy is released. The Harpies can also direct their screams over large distances and even send them at specific targets, only affecting the enemy without affecting their allies.

**Air Deity:** The Harpies with this ability either are or can transform into an air deity, a god/goddess who represents or is associated with the air, the winds and the clouds. An air deity is a deity in mythology associated with air.

**Feather Projection:** The Harpies can project feathers as projectile weapons.

**Prehensile Wings:** The Harpies can utilize their wings as fully functioning extremities; stretching, extending and manipulating their plumule as digits and coils to interact with items of interest.

**Siren Song:** The Harpies are capable of emitting astonishingly beautiful and enchanting singing voice that is capable of summoning/luring anyone who hears it to come towards the singer or to try to reach the source of the song, no matter what dangerous obstacles are in the way of the path (it may even just mesmerize a subject or make them fall in love) No matter what anyone who hears it becomes entrance willing to do whatever the Harpies want and command.

**Wing Blades:** The Harpies possesses blade-tipped wings that can be used as weapons as well as some degree of flight.

### Classical Harpy Powers and Abilities

**High-Speed Flight:** The Harpies can fly at super-high speeds, such as supersonic, hypersonic, light speed, or even faster than light speed.

**Storm Manipulation:** The Harpies can sense, create, shape and manipulate storms, including strong wind, hail, thunder and/or lightning (a thunderstorm), heavy precipitation (snowstorm, rainstorm), heavy freezing rain (ice storm), strong winds (tropical cyclone, windstorm), or wind transporting substance through the atmosphere as in a dust storm, blizzard, sandstorm, etc.

**Super-Beauty:** The Harpies possess a supernatural beauty that surpasses the boundaries of nature, not just by physical attraction alone, but by other aspects and principles of beauty. Having such beauty can have mystical, empathic or psychic effect that reflects their physical appeal and qualities with graceful and flawless charms. Any who observe these beings will be supernaturally affected to see a perfectly envision and idealized form of beauty unique to the Harpies due to their increase appeal, apparel, action and even choice of words, all of which can cause awe-inducing effect to others even by sheer presence alone that can have a number of mental and emotional responses from others without negative effects making it impossible for them to look terrible regardless of the situation.

### Monstrous Harpy Powers and Abilities

**Killing Instinct:** The Harpies possess the capability that enables them to be the "ultimate killing machine". They have instincts to kill by any means and in the most effective ways possible, use anything at hand to do so and, have no mental/emotional issues or moral dilemmas either before, during or after the deed. They are, in short, cold and merciless killers. They are focused on nothing except killing their enemies and how they should do so. They can also give off a murderous aura, inducing fear into their opponents.

**Pestilence Manipulation:** The Harpies can create, shape, and manipulate pestilence, including pests, locusts that spoil crops, and flies that carry disease. They gain immunity to pests and viruses, but can also create, invoke, and control diseases and viruses.

**Super-Ugliness:** The Harpies are physically so horrifying and hideous that no being can look at them without adverse effects. They can also scare their victims into being pale white as a sheet.