Name: Kara the Stoneclaw
Race: Harpy
Age: 17
Description: A massive, powerfully built harpy with white feathers, red and yellow highlights, and purple-shadowed blue-green eyes. Covered in ever-changing scars, usually visible as disruptions in her feathers unless particularly fresh or almost totally healed.
Early Life: Contrary to popular tales, Kara did not hatch any larger than her siblings, though she was considerably more solidly built. She earned a reputation for being able to take a great deal of punishment, but, being of a race of skittish flyers, a corresponding image of clumsiness and slow wit. Many snickered that her mother must have been bedding something pretty dumb and tough, and by the time she was old enough to take part in adult-level hunting and raiding activities, her primary role as a battering ram had been well established. Any time the cautious, self-serving harpies wanted something spooked or distracted, in went Kara Rockwing, Kara Stonebrain, or Kara the Clipped.
What nobody seemed to realize at the time was just how large and strong she had gotten as well, a condition which was rather swiftly reversed when she began taking a serious interest in boys. With something to squabble over, the normally cooperative, oafish tool for scattering snuffle herds suddenly became an implacable ground fighter with the build of a large beast and no regard for pain. Overnight her status as curiosity and useful tool was transformed to that of goddess of war and fertility, and the raiding packs that had scooped her up and occasional boy that had decided to humor her turned into screeching flocks of fiercely competitive favor-seekers.
Kara Stoneclaw was still a harpy deep down, however, and so of course let all this go directly to her head. Drunk with power and hubris, she began leading ever bolder and greedier raids, fearlessly thrashing into melee with things no other harpy would ever think of and which even she probably shouldn't have. Many times she took wounds that would have put down any lesser harpy, but steadfastly refused to learn a thing from them; indeed, she wore her scars as badges of pride, further proof of her utter infallibility and invulnerability.
Even this was not enough to bring her down, however; her ferocity and resilience were simply too great to be brought low for more than a few days by attacking large predators or heavily armed tribes head-on and alone. No, what she needed was something grand. Something glorious. Something new.
Slavery was far from foreign to the rapacious harpies, but without the support of proper civilization largely limited to the exotic pets of powerful individuals. Kara decided to take this a grand step further and enslave an entire tribe. What's more, she set her sights on one of the more affluent and advanced ones, eager to take their stone and leather toolwork for herself.
Her campaign to cow them went as well as could be expected, but she quickly realized she was going to have to subjugate them piecemeal rather than terrify them until they all surrendered at once. The tribe, likewise, realized that this monstrous harpy had to be put down for good to scatter the vicious raiders following in her wake. The two came to an amicable compromise in the form of an enticing ambush; the harpies knew it was a trap, and the humans thought Kara wouldn't care. They were wrong: She saw the trap as a golden opportunity to display her indomitable might, and dropped directly into the center to show them the futility of her efforts.
The sheer audacity of her assault won her the day at first, but her hubris had finally hit a turning point. The dozen strong human warriors finally managed to get her in the net and lay into her with bone clubs, stone-tipped spears, and all the fury borne of her raids and depredations. By the time her harpies had peeled away and subdued them all, it surpassed surprise and began moving into concern for everyone involved that she still drew breath. Uncertain of what to do but enraged at the loss of their leader, her followers informed the warriors that they would live as long as she did, and began viciously "encouraging" them to make her passing as comfortable as possible.
Much to everyone's concern and relief, Kara instead began to recover. It was a painful, slow process, but gradually her wounds closed, her bones set and mended, and her ability to breathe without grimacing in pain receded. Both her tribe and the enemy's began whispering that she really was immortal, and Kara the Stoneclaw has realized with cool certainty that she is destined to rule and possess the entire world.
Followers: <Sunclaw Tribe> (Southwestern side of southernmost mountain range on eastern continent)
Power: 1 Minor Act
Author
Topic: Rise from Dust (OOC/Applications) (Read 3890 times)