Dread Harpy

Dread Harpies are dark-based birds of the Harpy family. They are nocturnal and hunt anyone who has fed off of suffering and harm of others. Like other Harpies in their family, they tend to target those suffering, but unlike other Harpies, they target those who have been wicked to others and such who have been suffering a lot. Some refer Dread Harpies to bounty hunters hired by the underworld to drag someone there. While this has not been proven, the people Dread Harpies have targeted have often had a good size of people who disliked them or wanted them gone. Perhaps Dread Harpies are agents of Death? This is not clear, but Dread Harpies are rare and spotting one while living to tell the tale is even more rare. Tales suggest spotting a Dread Harpy is dreadful luck and usually means something extremely bad will happen to you or someone in your community. Dread Harpies apparently occur in nearly any environment, except for inner volcanic, and they avoid lava and fire, since they like the dark. It is also unclear how they reproduce or if they even do. Conflicting lore about whether they are summoned, reproduce, perform rituals or rise up from the Underworld have been highly inconsistent. It is rumoured that SLdr. Cody might know some pointers. Apparently Dread Harpies can fall in love with wicked and healthy individuals, although this could be due to awaiting for them to become a target. Much information on Dread Harpies is not confirmed.

Appearance

Dread Harpies consist of pitch black feathers, their head feathers are hair like, their ears are more pointed than most other harpies, but still have the fine feathers for enhanced hearing. Unlike the Common Harpy, Dread Harpies have a beak, which is a very dark grey. Their wings are slightly larger than the Common Harpy and consist of rough jet black feathers. The skin on their wings is rather tough as well, like leather. They have average chests with jet black feathers running across the centre of them for modesty. Somewhat wide hips, though not as wide as the Common Harpy. They still have the same thick feathers from hips down to ankles. Their talons are larger and more sharp than the Common Harpy.

Behaviour

Dread Harpies are not very social at all, rarely speaking at all unless necessary. They don't appear to show much emotion either. They can become angry, but this typically happens when someone they're taking to the Underworld is resisting too much as it irritates them. When they have found a wicked being who is suffering a lot, they do become happy at finding that. They will drop from the sky and trap their target with their large talons, then weigh down on them, using some sort of forbidden magic to create a passage to the Underworld under their talons. After that, they proceed to press them through the darkness and then they vanish with their target, the passage sealing immediately.

Climate

Dread Harpies don't care what their climate is unless there's lava, fire or extreme cold, which they will avoid. They are a nocturnal species so they only come out during the night, usually after dusk and before dawn. They blend in well due to their colours. The best chance at seeing one would be witnessing one capturing and sending a target to the Underworld.

Reproduction

A lot of conflicting information exists on Dread Harpies. Some sources claim they are summoned, others suggest that they reproduce like usual. There's claims that they're created through a ritual and others say that Dread Harpies do not reproduce or reproduce asexually.