Harpy

Revision as of 20:25, 17 September 2021

What Are Harpies?

Harpies are a humanoid race found in the fantasy games of Dagorhir,Belegarth, and Hearthlight that is mostly created and overseen by Arad'ia Mara Skadi. Their appearances vary from extremely humanesque with wings to vertical standing bi-pedal birds of usual human height. All harpies resemble and carry features of bird species and broke up into clans and houses based around different gods and pantheons. As of 3/31/2021, there is one clan that is active within the 3 games - the Skadi clan. Harpies are blessed with elemental and magic powers from the gods that had blessed their house (Ex; Skadi harpies are blessed with snow and ice powers, Thor and Zeus harpies are blessed with thunder, Artemis and Loki harpies are blessed in animal shapeshifting, etc) and they all share a similar language that they speak - Avian. They also have a lifespan of somewhere between 700-900 years old. Harpies are considered fully grown around 75-100 years and age extremely slowly after their development is complete.

They are known to be stoic and often take after the overall temperament of their species but also love adorning themselves in bells and shiny things.

Lore and Creation of the Harpies

The story of harpies and their creation can vary from clan to clan, depending on the influence of the god, goddess, or other diety that had blessed them. What remains consistent is the overseeing members of each house and clan, or headmasters give their surnames and family names in appreciation to their respective god for blessing them with their magic and gift of existence. The headmaster and their family are often descendants of original harpies at the creation (Ex; Aesir and Gala were the first of the harpies to turn during a mysterious thunderstorm in which Skadi turned a family of ospreys and other nearby birds into humanoid creatures. As such, the current headmaster of the Skadi clan is a descendant of Gala and Aesir). The names of harpies are set up as [formal name][informal name][last name] and unless a harpy is in a formal setting or event or one of high regard (such as headmasters and royalty), it's infrequent one would go by their formal name in public.

Royalty, Headmasters, and the Kettle

Royal harpies are often harpies of prey, meaning that the ruling species is a bird of prey. There are, at most, 2 ruling harpies at a time - a king and a queen - and the ruling royal members of all harpies are adorned with a black torque with charms, stones, and/or coloured feathers that represent their respective clans from which they are from. It's not uncommon and is actually encouraged for ruling harpies to rotate from different clans. Where a Neptune harpy may have ruled, next in line would be a Lugh harpy appointed by the previous king/queen. Royalty is often seen more as a diplomat, encourage peace between conflicting clans, ensuring traditions are upheld, and hold forbidden knowledge that even headmasters of each clan are unable to learn themselves. They are also the final ruling when it comes to making decisions about what is and is not to be done when problems are faced. Otherwise, they are often left out of clan and house complications and decision-making.

The Kettle are a group of councilmembers and soldiers that see to the protection of the king and/or queen and also command the various house militaries. The group is made up of 7 members broken up into 3 different jobs. 4 kettle councilmembers oversee, specifically, house militaries and patrol and protect the village in which the queen/king is from, 2 councilmembers lead and command the royal army that was handpicked by the queen/king, and 1 councilmember is seen as personal protection to the queen and/or king. The more elder members of the Kettle help command the younger members and guide them into maintaining a proper upkeep and usually take on more scholarly roles and are trusted as a confidant to the royal family. There are also personal scholars often accompanying the Kettle but they are seen as separate and don't have any official role in the military respects.

Headmasters are descendants of the first in their clan and oversee day-to-day activities within the house. They organise and deal with the specifications of their respective holidays and more or less 'rule' over their respective houses, dealing with and tackle conflicts and complications in the villages and between members of the clan. Headmasters are entrusted by the royalty to train and maintain a small military presence in the instance that military force is needed.

Known Harpies

In all 3 mentioned games, there are 5 active harpies;

-Arad'ia Mara Skadi (Harpy Queen and Skadi Headmaster)
-Semara Skyler Skadi (Aunt to Arad'ia Mara Skadi)
-Talis Surea Rirrk (Queen Mara's personal protection and closest confidant)
-Qrarren Qrarr Rirrk (Councilman for the House militaries and scouting, protection, and parol of Queen Mara's village, Thrymheim)
-Serra Aurra Rirrk (Honourary Guard Member)