Harpy Race Background info

Overview

Harpies are a feathered humanoid race found in villages that are in the tallest trees of (placeholder name) they are renowned for their flight, architecture, and the strong bonds they have with their entire villages. These strong communal bonds come from the rearing of their young which is done communally by the entire village instead of by the typical bio parents.

Diet

Their diet primarily consists of fish and anything available high up that they can catch, however, it's not unheard of that they travel to the ground to hunt larger mammals such as deer and boar though this is an uncommon event usually large feasts, festivals, or religious events. One religious event that is commonly participated in is the Celestial Flight of Whispara's Bounty in this holy event both Harpy and Sphinx take to the skies and hunt the perytons that fly through their territories during the celestial migration and kill as many perytons as they can to host a feast the whole village can indulge in.

Religion

Almost all harpies worship the goddess Whispara the goddess of air and she's said to have been the one to bless harpies and greater sphinxes with their wings and their ability to fly. Greater sphinxes and harpies have an extremely close kinship given they both worship the same goddess and have similar social views on ground dwellers and the rearing of their young. Most harpy and sphinx villages happily intermix and it's not uncommon to see mixed communities of the two races.

Both are said to be her chosen people and were given this blessing to be closer to her; this factors into their off-the-ground village structures with the higher-ups of their societies at the very tops of the trees while the lower-class citizens reside near the bottom of the trees canopies. They are heavily superstitious and regard those who can’t fly as lesser than them or as bad omens dished out as a divine punishment by whispara for the egg bearer or her kin’s sins. If a harpy is born without flight depending entirely on the broodmaster and their personal views they will either be killed at hatching or mercifully spared, however, they are avoided or shunned by the majority of their commune due to their superstitious nature. A harpy’s wings are the most important thing to them spiritually not only because of the symbolic closeness to their goddess but also because in death it's the only way they can ascend to their afterlife, so to deny a harpy their wings is to condemn them to an eternity of wandering the ground.

Kin Identification and Clutches

Since Harpies are raised communally many ask how they know who is their kin and that question can be answered in a few different ways. The first way to tell who is kin to who is markings all markings are genetic and parents pass down a combination of their markings to their kin. The second way is the oil their feathers produce, the feather oils that coat their feathers have a certain aroma only harpies can smell meaning the scents of harpies that are related often smell similar. The final way is instinct: most harpys that were born in the same brood by the same parents have a built-in rivalry response to each other which is an adaptation born into them from a more primitive time where the strongest hatchling survived. A common clutch size is 1-2 eggs per clutch and it is extremely common for a whole clutch to survive.

Basic Biology

Harpies stand at an average of 5”9 for females and an average of 5”5 for males. They are sexually dimorphic meaning one sex is larger than the other in this case being the females. Harpies appear rather androgynous to most given the females have no breasts as they are not needed to feed offspring. They are surprisingly accepting of those who wish to present fluidly given they seem so strict about other things in their religion. Harpies like all feathered creatures molt and have to preen themselves and each other. Preening is an extremely important thing in harpy culture; it is seen as a loving gesture that can be done in all forms romantically, familially, and platonically. Preening is done to remove potential parasites and feather damage and it's seen as a way of straightening yourself up for the day. An unpreened and unkempt harpy is either sick, injured, or needs some care which other harpies will help tend to them. Their beak-shaped teeth make preening easy as they can swiftly swipe lose feathers off, however non Harpies can help Harpies preen as well with a unique preening tool that is shaped like a harpy beak and clamps down like tongs to remove the loose feathers just as efficiently.

Harpy’s are extremely lightweight with very very brittle bones given they can fly, however, they are equipped with some formidable defenses such as sharp beak-like teeth that can slice through flesh like butter, sharp claws that can slash open skin and climb trees, wing spurs that can stab into any attackers that have a hold of them, and bird-like feet with sharp talons. However, they are fairly weak in a one-on-one fight with armor and swords given one hit could shatter a harpy’s bones just with blunt impact. They are a bit too clunky for stealth on the ground given their large wings on their backs and heads. Harpies are also not tolerant to the cold, While they are warm-blooded their bodies can’t regulate their internal temperature in the same way other races can, and are at a much higher risk for hypothermia in temperatures most humanoid races can tolerate.

Broodmasters

Broodmasters are the leaders of harpy villages and are almost always female, brood masters are chosen democratically by the flock to lead their communities. They hold the vote by each harpy giving up their best feather and tying it into their chosen’s feathers and whoever has the most wins the vote. From there the brood master can choose their next in command (think of it as a broodmaster in training) this second in command is there to help the broodmaster out and keep them from getting overwhelmed. The next in command should something happen to the broodmaster is the new one temporarily until the town nominates another to run against them, so they still have to win their position through a community vote.

Feather-Tying

Voting is not the only significance feather-tying has in harpy culture it can also symbolize mourning a close flock mate who has passed. Tying the feather of a lost flock mate into their plumage is symbolic of the impact that flock mate has made on the individual and for the individual it symbolizes the silent vow to carry on their memory and legacy.

Harpies have a rich culture and deep connection with their goddess, Although they have their own written and spoken language they can move their vocal cords up and down making them masters of mimicry and able to adapt fast to learning new languages.