I never thought that I’d once create this whole new world of harpies, even with their rules and myths. It’s amazing what can come of a single dream – well, actually two dreams that came exactly a year apart. What’s so interesting about The Path of the Stone and The Rise of the Stone is that each book comes from a dream I woke up from, each one a morning in November, in 2020 and 2021 respectively.
The dream that gave rise to The Path of the Stone was of me battling metallic snakes that came flying at me. I woke up, remembered my dream, and thought, “Wooooow!” Immediately, I rose to turn on the laptop and write it down. That was in November 2020.
In November 2021 I woke up from another dream that left me rattled. I started writing it down, having no idea that this had anything to do with The Path of the Stone, but after jotting down a few paragraphs, I stopped, realizing that this was Azure’s story. I was writing the first chapter of the prequel to The Path of the Stone, and thus The Rise of the Stone was born.
This gave rise to a colorful world of harpies and every world has its rules and regulations.
For so long, harpies have been depicted as evil creatures, and although my harpies are no sweet kittens that can be handled without putting on some thick gloves, I hope to do these fantastic beings some justice with my books. I also hope to bring more readers to their wondrous society and dazzle them as much as my harpies dazzled me 🙂
Yes, I created them, I wrote about them, and I may be blowing their horn a lot but I absolutely love my harpies 🙂 Allow me to dive into their world. Are you coming with me?
Rules
- One for all and all for one
- The Queen is One and Part of all
- Human males are forbidden to live with harpies
- Harpies are forbidden to mate with human males
- The harpy lair remains hidden from non-magical beings; more specifically, humans
- A human girl is expected to give at least one year of servitude before she is granted the immortality and form of a harpy
- Any harpy with a special skill (increased sense of smell, mind-reading, a beautiful voice, etc.) must use her skill for the common good of all harpies
- Witches are not to be trusted
- Pirate’s Cove is the only secret location privy to harpies where they can safely mingle with the local humans – Captain Green’s pirates and their families
Myths
- Harpies were winged godesses
- In Greek mythology, harpies were the daughters of Thaumas, beautiful and fair maidens who could fly faster than the wind and birds.
- Originally described as beautiful, winged creatures they were later depicted as hideous monsters
- They were also used as Hades’ instruments by bringing punished souls down to the Underworld
- Male harpies are rare and are known as “Alan.” They are more powerful than female harpies.
Turning of Harpies
That is a secret they will never divulge, but I can tell you that there are two processes and both are painful. One is the usual turning procedure which is done for every harpy. The second method is applied for exceptional cases, for example when bad magic has to be expelled before turning a human female into a harpy.
Azure suffered the second turning method and she wishes not to remember it ever again. So, her lips are sealed. We won’t get it out of her. Both procedures are, however, described in The Rise of the Stone.
Final Thoughts
As a reader, do you sometimes wish to dive into the world you’re reading about and just hide there from reality? As a writer, I often do. Writing is an escape from the real world and diving into Azure’s community of harpies is always a welcome get-away for me.
In The Path of the Stone, Eva, a 21st Century woman, is unwillingly launched into the harpies’ universe and follows a riveting path of adventure and self-discoveries, filled with mythological monsters, swashbuckling pirates, and lore.
In The Rise of the Stone we get a closer look at the harpies’ world, as seen through Azure’s eyes. In this prequel we learn more about Azure, Zora, and Captain Green’s back stories as their paths rise through the centuries and entwine.
If you’d like to take another dive into the harpies’ society, then check out these four interviews with Meena, Calista, Temida, and Rue.
Lemuel Sacop
Hello Christi,
Thank you for introducing us to the world of the Harpies and their rules and myths. Very interesting. I have a lot of questions. Do they have enemies? So what happened if a human male and a harpy fell in love with each other? Did a human stumble into their world accidentally? Can a harpy still feel human emotions? So they came from humans always? Do you have harpies that are natural (not from a human girl)?
I also took a read of one of your interviews with a harpy – Temida. That was interesting too. What a way to immerse ourselves in your stories.
Christine
Hi Lemuel,
I’m happy you’re enjoying these posts.
Do harpies have enemies? Well, I would say that humans are their enemies since they would hunt them down as soon as they’d find out about their existence. Harpies are also not fond of witches since they’ve had bad experiences with Zora, a witch who appears in both The Path of the Stone and The Rise of the Stone.
Despite the prohibition of falling in love with a human, it has happened that a harpy fell for a human but in general it did not end well. Rules are there to be broken, aren’t they? However, none of the rule breaking lasted very long. The harpy rules are based on past experiences and mistakes.
Harpies certainly feel human emotions. They used to be human, and they can transform into their human form. If they can change into their human physical form they can also still feel human emotions. In my harpy interviews you can see evidence of that. And thank you for reading Meena’s interview! I’m glad you enjoyed that!
Hm, natural harpies, that is a good question. I am going to look into that 🙂
Thanks for all these really good questions! You gave me something to think about.
🙂