General description<\/b><\/p>\n
<\/b>Physical Appearance<\/b><\/p>\n
There are very few races on Tellest that can take to the air.\u00a0 Among them are the harpies, a people who appear to be women with bird-like features.\u00a0 They have feathers that sprout from their arms, typically from just beneath their shoulders to the wrist, where human hands are.\u00a0 Many of them have tail feathers as well.\u00a0 Their shapely legs will turn into talons at just beneath the knees.\u00a0 Most harpies have very angular features.\u00a0 Regardless, their torso\u2019s and faces are very similar to that of a human\u2019s.\u00a0 There are some subtle nuances, however.\u00a0 Irises are wider; ears can be slightly longer and pointed, sometimes feathered.<\/span><\/p>\n Though most encounters with harpies seem to imply that there are only females, there are, in fact, males of the race.\u00a0 They just appear in smaller numbers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Clothing and Adornment<\/b><\/p>\n Because of their anatomy, most harpies prefer to wear very little clothing.\u00a0 This makes them a very perplexing social entity, because they appear to have no shame.\u00a0 Even in battle, harpies will typically wear the bare minimum.\u00a0 Oftentimes this appears as miniscule smallclothes or a think draping.\u00a0 Most harpies need to be sewn or laced into their garments.<\/span><\/p>\n On the other hand, harpies tend to wear jewelry, or pierce their bodies in many ways.\u00a0 Colder climate harpies typically tend to paint their bodies or attach jewelry with special adhesive, while others will pierce anything from their ears, to their navels to their nipples.<\/p>\n Conversely, there is a subgroup of harpies that identify themselves as the Kyrie that finds it almost sacrilegious to defile their flesh.\u00a0 Yet, these harpies take great strides to enter battle with full suits of armor.\u00a0 Due to their heavier, wider wingspan, they can accommodate the extra weight.\u00a0 They also conform slightly to human norms, attempting to fit their clawed, bird-like feet into greaves and boots.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Relations to Other Races<\/b><\/p>\n The harpies did not appear to Tellest until after the return of humans.\u00a0 Thus, it is widely assumed that the two are somehow connected.\u00a0 Because their features are so strikingly similar, many scholars believe that the strain somehow led to the facilitation of a bird-winged woman, who went on to spawn many more like her.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n General Personality<\/b><\/p>\n Personal<\/b><\/p>\n Harpies are extremely territorial.\u00a0 While they often encounter members of the other races during their travels, they rarely pursue any kind of confrontation.\u00a0 Many times, the landlocked journeyers below won\u2019t even know they\u2019re in the sights of the winged women above.\u00a0 When someone is deemed to be intruding on their roost or even anywhere near it, harpies can become violent beyond all reason.<\/span><\/p>\n Despite their furious appearance in those moments of aggression, they are quite devoted within their communities.\u00a0 Helpful to one another and nurturing, harpies are very tightly knit.\u00a0 This of course leads to more propensity for violence, for their thirst for vengeance also happens to run high.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Relationship<\/b><\/p>\n Due to the high volume of females within harpy culture, the winged women are typically in control.\u00a0 Males are not to pick their mates, and often are given as gifts.\u00a0 Even with that in mind, harpies typically retain a monogamous relationship with their mates.<\/span><\/p>\n Because male harpies are so rare, however, it is said that females will often kidnap humans to become their consorts.\u00a0 The human traits are more recessive, leading to an ongoing line of harpies.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Family<\/b><\/p>\n Among the races of Tellest, harpies are one of the few that lay eggs to birth their young.\u00a0 Despite a very human-like anatomy, their biology still has some strange traits.\u00a0 Harpies lay eggs about every six months.\u00a0 A male will have to fertilize it while it is still in the female\u2019s reproductive system, however.\u00a0 It cannot be fertilized after it has been expelled.<\/span><\/p>\n Harpy young mature at an alarming rate.\u00a0 Though the egg that a harpy mother will produce is typically about half the size of a human baby, it is surprisingly sturdy.\u00a0 After birth, the harpy young will only take about twelve years to reach adolescence.<\/p>\n For unknown reasons, more females are born than males, which have helped to shape their society in a matriarchal pattern.\u00a0 While females typically rule over their groups, males will stay at home to protect the roost and their young.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Society<\/b><\/p>\n Despite their fury and their propensity for violence, wisdom is a widely respected trait among the winged women.\u00a0 Typically, the oldest harpies become the most influential.\u00a0 There are some that are known to commune with nature in some ways, and are declared matrons, regardless of their age.\u00a0 These harpies typically choose their own flock and are usually awarded with one or more of the rare males as part of a ritual.<\/span><\/p>\n Harpies are also known to mourn for their dead.\u00a0 It is said that the haunting winds that people hear are the cries of harpies in the skies.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Behavior toward Other Races<\/b><\/p>\n The harpies are not on good terms with several clans of dwarves that they\u2019ve encountered that lived within mountain ranges.\u00a0 It has also been said that due to a shared home in Minoa, they do not get along very well with minotaurs.<\/span><\/p>\n There is a complicated relationship that the harpies have with avarians.\u00a0 Because both races fly, they are bound to encounter each other from time to time.\u00a0 Because avarians police the skies, sometimes some of the questionable actions the harpies endorse, like stealing food and livestock, they\u2019ve come to blows with the other bird-like race.<\/p>\n Despite many of the conflicts with the goodly races of Tellest, there is one variant of the race that will oft protect them.\u00a0 Kyrie watch after their human neighbors, and will often fight alongside them in order to keep them safe.\u00a0 They often travel alongside raven familiars, and are one of very few groups of harpies that do not roost in high up places.\u00a0 Instead, they typically dwell in the trees around lakes and rivers.\u00a0 Often, they are seen living beside swans.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Language<\/b><\/p>\n Speech<\/b><\/p>\n Harpies are well-spoken and intelligent.\u00a0 They speak common fluently, but are keen enough to pick up on neighboring races\u2019 languages as well.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Penmanship<\/b><\/p>\n Harpies tend to pass down their tales aurally.\u00a0 Beyond crude drawings near their roosts, almost nothing is written down.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Religion<\/b><\/p>\n Personal Beliefs<\/b><\/p>\n The harpies are one of the races of Tellest that, curiously, do not believe in any of the common gods.\u00a0 Rather, they believe in various spirits that they invoke in their rituals, including spirits of the storm, rain and wind.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n History<\/b><\/p>\n Myths and Legends<\/b><\/p>\n Known to many of the races of Tellest is the tale of Babayan.\u00a0 She was apparently a monster of a harpy that hid in the shadows, or high in a thundercloud and would snatch those foolish children who didn\u2019t give reverence to the skies.\u00a0 She preyed on the foolish.\u00a0 Even the harpies were frightened of her, and told the stories to their fearful young.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Technology<\/b><\/p>\n <\/b>General Technology<\/b><\/p>\n Thanks to the ability of flight, many harpies do not need technological advancements.\u00a0 Their weapons and tools are very rudimentary, mostly because they can utilize their talons to great effect.<\/span><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Magic<\/b><\/p>\n The harpies typically don\u2019t express much interest in magic.\u00a0 Rather, a select few are \u201cchosen\u201d by the air spirits, and are bestowed uncanny powers.\u00a0 These chosen harpies are then called Matrons.\u00a0 It is not unheard of to have several matrons within the same flock.\u00a0 An example would be both a Matron of the Storm and a Matron of the Wind.<\/span><\/p>\n The Kyrie, thanks to their exposure to humans, are a little more exposed to the arcane arts.\u00a0 They primarily rely upon clerical magic, but some are known to dabble in offensive spell casting.<\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n Military\/Combat<\/b><\/p>\n Military Structure<\/b><\/p>\n Harpies will very rarely meet enemies head on because of their flight capabilities.\u00a0 Still, when they need to meet a foe in battle, they tend to swarm and surround.\u00a0 In the air, harpies are excellent warriors and hunters.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n Wars and Enemies<\/b><\/p>\n Over time, the avarians and the harpies have become intense rivals.\u00a0 Avarians are the watchers of the skies, and they work tirelessly to protect their groundborne friends.\u00a0 Because of the actions of the harpies, wars have broken out multiple times, where the avarians have tried to cull the other flying race in an effort to curb their crimes.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/b><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" General description Physical Appearance There are very few races on Tellest that can take to the air.\u00a0 Among them are the harpies, a people who appear to be women with bird-like features.\u00a0 They have feathers that sprout from their arms, typically from just beneath their shoulders to the wrist, where human hands are.\u00a0 Many of 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