Chapter 235: [A Mountain of War and Death] 20/?: Desephise's Tormenting Memories
Chapter 235: [A Mountain of War and Death] 20/?: Desephise’s Tormenting Memories
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Within the peak of the mountain near the Devil Forest was where the Harpy Tribe laid their nest.
Although the temperatures were cold, there was no ice due to the overall warm climate of the Continent of Anir Hands.
The wind was strong and constant, making it the best inhabitable area for this tribe of beast-men with the ability to fly through the wings they had on their arms.
The Harpy was a tribe of beast-people whose traits were similar to those of various types of bird, and much like many other species of beast-kin or demons, they had many subspecies within their own species.
Despite this, all of the species shared the characteristic of having slender bodies, many feathers across their bodies and arms (which were converted into wings), and strong talons with four fingers that possessed sharp claws capable of tearing apart flesh with incredible ease.
There were many types of Harpies, such as those that we’re incapable of flying and specialized in running at high speeds and investing several points of power into their muscular legs and powerful fists, while there others that were smaller but could soar the skies.
However, the ones that inhabited the mountains were the nimble and agile type of harpy, those that had long wings and light bodies to fly for extended periods. Their wings were covered in colorful and beautiful feathers that adorned their appearances, giving the race a charismatic appearance that would often remain within the mind of anyone that saw them for the first time.
The harpy tribe of this mountain in specific were the descendants of the few Harpy families that survived the Great Tribe War that once unfolded in the past, deciding to live in seclusion within the peaks of the mountains while receiving the nourishment of nature for their daily lives.
Such Harpies had brown, dark, and gray-colored feathers, which combined very well with their chocolate-skinned bodies.
Unlike in some legends and myths, Harpies had both genders, and against popular belief, they did not capture human, elven, or dwarven men for reproduction. These were mere stories fabricated by these races to lower the reputation of his humble and beautiful race of sky soarers.
The Harpy men of the Mountain Tribe were strong, holding muscular upper halves and sharp claws on their talons, which they used to capture prey and tear them into pieces for easier consumption.
Meanwhile, females had more delicate frames, with slimmer bodies and often very young appearances that contrasted with the males that seemed to age faster than the women, this was because Harpy women remained youthful their entire lives, while men grew older similarly to races such as humans.
Although both male and females had the same lifespan of one 150 years, men would often be particularly stronger than the females through their young days until their prime, which ended around 100, from that onwards, they would age relatively slowly, but would weaken and would need the assistance of younglings.
Meanwhile, females remained youthful but frail for their entire lives, being capable of laying eggs through their entire 150 years of lifespan, while men would often lose their ability to produce seed at the age of 110.
Despite these flaws, their reproduction was amazingly fast due to the females always being capable of laying eggs, which often came in more than three batches, which would hatch in a relatively short amount of time, such as two to four months.
Harpy chicks were relatively smaller than human babies and needed great care when they were firstborn. Their bodies were devoid of any feathers and were flightless, completely depending on their parents.
However, as they were well feed, Harpy chicks would grow incredibly quickly, reaching the size of a four-year-old human child at the age of one year, while being completely covered in feathers and ready to fly.
The Harpies of the Mountain Tribe lived inside several cave sections at the peak of the mountains, and would often make many nests within.
Unlike men, the harpy women were particularly dexterous in the use of their thinner wings and the small claws and fingers the Harpy possessed within the wings, although there was a lot of feathers in the way, because of the harpy females having thinner complexions, their feathers were not as robust as males, and they used their long ‘fingers’ for several crafting works, while also developing cooking.
Harpies lived in tents just like any other tribe of beast-kin, despite being a part bird, they were not birds in the sense of making nests made out of wood and branches.
However, within the traditions that they held, women would usually create a nest alongside their male partners as a way to devote their love and relationship bond. And in this nest is where their eggs would rest until they were to be born.
The harpy tribe followed a very loose bloodline system for their governor, as the current chief, Desephise was the descendant of one of the ‘heroes’ that survived the battle hundreds of years ago that unfolded within the bottom of the mountain, the place that where the Undead Labyrinth rests.
From a very young age that she was prepared for such a position by her father and mother, and through the devotion that she put into her work, she never realized how little her emotions developed as a person.
This issue… caused her to commit one of her biggest mistakes.
“Feroya… Oh, Feroya…”
Desephise rested over her nest as she caressed the old eggshell of her daughter, Feroya.
Harpy tribe members held great attachment to their eggshells, often saving them as talismans of good luck, or often given to the parents to always remember their children whenever they were to mature into adults and ‘leave the nest’.
Desephise cried over as she lamented what had unfolded a few months ago.
Her heart still held into the dread of that day, into the terrible and painful guilt that her actions caused, that her mistake and her failure as a mother caused within her young daughter.
The vivid memories of that day resonated within her affected mind as the often cold and respected chief held into a fetal position within the old nest where she once took care of her beloved daughter…
“I hate you!” roared a young harpy girl, as she flew across the air while carrying a bag with her talons.
“Feroya! Stop! Do not go! Your little chick! Come back here!” cried Desephise as she tailed her daughter across a rainy night, where thunder resonated within the skies.
“Let me go! Go away! If you cannot let me be with the man I love, then I do not care about you or this stupid tribe! I don’t want to see our face anymore!” cried Feroya as her golden eyes cried with terrible sadness.
The night before these memories, Feroya was caught by her mother sneaking into another tent, that of her boyfriend, the one her mother was not aware of.
Feroya had already reached maturity and was now experimenting with many things through her puberty. Her boyfriend, a young boy that she had raised with for many years and held great feelings with was someone that Desephise disapproved of, mostly because of his weak complexion and that he did not hold ‘what was necessary to be the father of her grandchildren.
Using her authority as the chief, Desephise forced the young man to distance himself from Feroya, ending their relationship in an abrupt and heartless way.
Feroya, heartbroken and saddened, quickly learned about this being part of her mother’s schemes, growing burning hate within her young heart.
And such hate unfolded on this day, as she escaped the tribe on a rainy day, while her mother followed her from behind.
“Come back, you little rascal! If you run too far, a thunder will fall upon you!!!” cried Desephise.
“I would prefer that to happen to me and to go back with you-“
BOOM!
Desephise’s eyes flashed with fear as her entire body was startled by the horrible, the most incredibly terrifying, and the heart-wrenching scene of her entire life, something that made her entire soul feel such an indescribable pain that she felt as if her entire body was melting into deadly corrosion.
A thunder fell from the clouded skies, as it impacted the young Feroya, her entire body burned into the flames produced by the electricity as not even a slight shriek was released from her before she fell like a burnt corpse into the submits of the mountain.
“FEROYAAAAAA!!!”
She could still remember that day so clearly… the pain within her soul and her entire mind and body have not gone away since then. The immense sense of guilt ate her away as nothing else had ever done before.
She still remembers the burnt corpse of her little daughter, such a delicate little girl clearly did not deserve a horrible fate such as this… burying her was the most painful thing in her entire life.
“Ooh… Feroya… Feroya…”
Desephise could not help but be eaten away by the guilt.
Outside of her tent, the Harpy guards that glanced around the tribe for anything suspicious were suddenly startled by the scene in front of their eyes.
“Are those…?!”
“U-Undead?! Here?! At the peak of the mountain?!”
“Alert the guards, call the warriors!”
“Hurry!”
And as this scene unfolded, within the outskirts of the Harpy Tribe, a young and tired spirit glanced at her surroundings with a fatigued look on her youthful eyes, she had the appearance of a disfigured and burnt harpy, with her body covered in burn wounds and her wings completely bare of feathers, her face was twisted, and her hair barely holds into her burn head.
“Mo… Mo… Mother…” she muttered, nearing the tribe of harpies, the tribe she had tried to approach since that fateful day…
However, she had spent too much energy, and her entire being seemed to slowly be fading away…
“Mo… Mother…”
“Do you need help?”
Suddenly, the voice of a youthful woman resonated near the spirit of this harpy girl, as she glanced to her side, a beautiful pale-skinned woman wearing a heavy set of dark armor glanced at her with a smile.
“Can youuu… see… see… me?” asked the spirit as her tired and disfigured face glanced at the startling woman in front of her.
“See you? Of course, I do. You’ve been through a lot, have you not?” she said.
“Pain… Mo… mother… I want… to apologize…” she muttered.
“Do you want to help your mother before that?”
“I can’t… me… weak…” muttered the dead spirit, as her only lasting eye cried mournful tears.
“I can give you the power that you need, but it is up to you to decide how to use it,” said the armored woman, Veronica, as she poured hope into the dead spirit girl, in the form of millions of Mana.
“This… Ah… Ahhh!”
Flash!
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