Avariel's Blerbies

## Talon-sire Avariel

This article from the scribe's records details the unique story involving the mercenary Avariel Navaren, who ended up siring three harpy children whose life and struggles the mercenaries follow.

## Personality and Behaviour

### Bonds

Razortalon Clan

*There has been a request from Lady Vashti of House Yilmaz. Eshnunna is facing harpy problems, with cattle and merchandise being picked off by a colony that has settled along the rocky coast several miles south of the harbor. A party is needed to get rid of this problem.*

*In this mission, the party of Avariel, Halrac, Liang and Zaya address a mission request to deal with Harpies near the port city of Eshnunna. The party discovers the harpy nest, and after a short scuffle, start diplomatic negotiations with their leader the Harpy Electra.*

*Electra and the harpies inform that they were only displaced by a larger predator higher up the mountain - a Peryton they later learned was likely an escapee turned wild from a Peryton Division from Kiish. The mercenary party defeats the apex predator and on return to the harpy clan is when Avariel culminates a special bond.*

Io
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## Personality and Behaviour

### Bonds

Razortalon Clan, Avariel, Blerbies

Avariel and the Harpy scout named Io build a simple comraderie as Io led the party to the location of the Peryton. They remark simply on how Avariel, uniquely in the party, has wings like the harpies. After the success against the Peryton, Avariel makes an offhand comment about becoming wing sister to Io, not knowing that it means something more in the other's language. Io plucks a feather from her wing to give to the winged tiefling. Avariel reciprocates by taking a chunk of flesh from her wing, unknowingly completing a ritual. She is requested by Io to return in a year's time. Tired from the day's work, the mercenaries ask no further questions.

#### Densior Aqua

*Avariel returns to Ellasar to fulfill a promise to the Clan of Razortalon harpies. She has much to discover and answer for.*

Avariel learns there are chicks eggs born of her essence and being incubated by the clan. Avariel, and as they later learn also Lord Cye, are referred to as Talon-sires. The party with Avariel consists of Zaya, Halrac, Kari, and Jandice. The party support Avariel as talon-sire as she needed to hunt in order to nourish the newborn chicks. Io had scouted for a proper target and described it as a deep green hydra.

The hunt is successful and Avariel rushes back to the nest with the still beating heart. She chews the heart and feeds it to her young and they all survive and gather strength from the act.

Avariel brings the blerbies though the Wing Path as part of a harpy ritual to imbue the baby harpies. Lord Cye took the Talon path. The party avoid an ambush on the way and at a cliffside shrine the little harpies are imbued, and named in turn as Sophia, Arete, and Pallas.

##### **The story of the naming ritual**

*At the Cliffside Shrine - Built into a sheer drop of a cliff, very old. Semblence of a civilization that is different from Tigris culture. Stone is roughly hewn, as if done by claws and not tools.*

*"You catch a glimpse of what they could be and you have the choice in helping them become the best that they could be but it will take something from you." -Lord Cye*

*Once in the shrine, the small one bumps into a wall and lights up a crystal. The other two do the same and try to light up the room. The party understands that they must be named.*

*As Jandice names the keen one Sophia, everyone has a vision. You would not know it was Sophia if it were not for Avariel's eyes because she is an adolescent and her wings are this beautiful gleaming blue that start as cerulean near her shoulders then goes further out into a darker midnight blue at the very tip. You see her at the top of a cliff and she is looking out into the ocean right above the city of Eshnunna. She can see a storm rolling in and then she makes a high pitched cry and flies out into the sea. She's using her song to tell the fishermen to come back, to come away from the waters. They listen to her and follow her to safety.*

*Kari gives Sophia Beacon of Hope. Sophia is older, she is in a ward of children and all the little ones run to her. Under her wings all the little bruises and scrapes disappear.*

*Kari gives Sophia Guiding Bolt. Sophia is at the head of a group of warriors and clerics in a battlefield. As her batallion passes bodies arise from the ground, those near death are brought back to life. She sees a very small body, cradles it in her arms and as she holds that little body in her hands it turns to light and all of you can hear "thank you."*

*The vain one in Zaya's hand goes, "Name please? Name pretty please? Name pretty please thank you! Name pretty please thank you, now?" and Zaya responds, "Your name is Arete. Excellence." You have a vision of a similar looking harpy adolescent but you can see that she has taken particular care to dress up. Her hair is longer, much longer, unbound with several little seashells and feathers braided in it in a complicated braid. She's inside a building wearing a formal toga as she stands before a council of Tigris representatives. She seems to be giving a speech and everyone is listening to her. She looks up at everyone and says, "Sophia, good. That one who knows. Arete, best!"*

*Zaya gives Arete Intellect Fortress. She is standing in the middle of a crowd as people cheer and clap, not just harpies but all kinds of races. You see in the corner of your eye, someone muttering under his breath frantically. You see that whatever he is doing doesn't affect her. She stands tall and proud and beautiful.*

*Arete receives Shield of Faith and Hex. She is in the middle of combat but in tight quarters as if someone was about to ambush her but they couldn't surprise her. As one of them tries to strike at her face, light shines up and deflects it. She turns towards them and with just a word that person clutches their heads and falls to the ground.*

*The little one is very patient looking up at Avariel, swaying on her feet. The tiefling picks her up, looking into her eyes and calls her Pallas. The little one gives her a small secret smile. It's the dark of night and the streets are barely light with faint torchlight. The moon is waxing and in a blink you see a fast figure flying from one rooftop to the other. As she lands, her little cape falls off and you see golden hair and bright red eyes. You see that Pallas has grown, on her arms are specialized daggers that she slips out so that it's almost as if she has five talons instead of four. She stealthily makes her way across.*

*Jandice imbues Pass Without Trace, Avariel gives Cat's Grace, and Halrac gifts Shadow of Moil to Pallas. Adolescent Pallas in the middle of the night, she drops down silently and as she glides to the next building, shadows brace around her as she disappears. You see guards patrolling along very richly decorated halls, your eyes catch the faintest gleam of magic as it slips past all of them. At the very end a clever hand unlocks a door and slips in before anyone notices. The magic fades and Pallas is in the middle of a huge treasure room.*

*The power within the Cliffside Shrine asks Avariel, "Will you hold them or will you let them fly?"*

*Avariel looks at the three very fondly, seeing their peaceful sleeping faces and she'll start humming under her breath. The tune is soft and lilting, calm at the start but the melody turns into something a little more lively and encouraging but not jarring them out of sleep. She thinks to herself that she will let them fly free but she will always be around to help them become what they were meant to be as she saw in the visions. She imbues the tune with bardic magic, giving her little rascals bardic inspiration.*

*As she finishes her tune, for a brief moment the three wake up and in a unison voice say, "Love you very much." Then they all close their eyes and sleep again.*

#### Infantis fabula

*Avariel would like to visit her chicks in Eshnunna. She will be visiting Lord Cye along the way to get an idea on what it is like to raise a harpy child.*

The harpy children - referred to as **blerbies** would like a diamond, a legendium hair item, and a holy symbol which has cast at least 1 Cleric cantrip. This is prepared by the party of mercenaries gathered by Avariel which includes Zaya, Halrac, Elian, and K'lingee along with a number of gifts, keepsakes and offerings from the group to the children and clan.

The party meet and interact with the little harpy children as they anticipate an important milestone of sapient harpy culture. First the mercenaries watch over the First Hunt - which ends in the mercenaries rescuing the children from a pod of killer whales.

Next is the Welcoming Ceremony where Sophia, Arete and Pallas are to perform in combat against other children of harpy clans.

#### Sapienti Sat

*Lord Cye is hiring sparring partners for his twin harpy sons. It should be noted, Avariel’s blerbies will be their teammates.*Levi, Tyryn, Lyanna, Hop, Lazarus

## The Harpy Children

### Sophia

Sophia, the keen baby harpy, is imbued with Beacon of Hope, Guiding Bolt, and Whispers of the Grave.

### Arete

Arete, the vain baby harpy, is imbued with Shield of Faith, Intellect Fortress, and Hex.

### Pallas

Pallas, the little one, is imbued with Shadow of Moil, Pass without a Trace, and Cat's grace.