Chapter 19
Jeweled rings with bands fashioned out of soft stone and supple wood sparkled on Oriana's fingers while she strolled in the sunshine. Gone was the long coat of her Verden aspect, although she still wore a simple, flowing yellow dress that undulated in the gentle Lore breeze. Her charcoal black hair with its streaks of gray and blonde was loosely pulled into a bun, letting the nape of her neck enjoy those soothing winds.
Oriana walked through a long meadow surrounded by an inviting Lore forest; a number of the large trees greeted her as she passed. Just ahead was the location that Enochia had given her directions to, a placid pond at the end of the clearing. On the rocks and boulders surrounding its far side would be the creatures she sought.
Whether the meeting was fruitful or not, Oriana would soon have to depart for Saraid's holdings to meet her recently sworn obligations.
As she moved closer, Oriana was soon able to discern the vague shapes across the wide pond. At the same time, a distant, soft crooning reached her ears as it echoed across the calm water. She slowly walked along the bank, kept shady by stretching boughs, and listened to the beautiful yet lamenting tones of the singers ahead.
Oriana approached the boulders but stopped a respectful distance from the creatures perched on them and in the trees nearby. The sad tune died out as they took notice of her.
With her huge amber eyes that saw many things at once, Oriana guessed there to be near a dozen creatures in their group. They were harpies, but only by their basic structure. Most had exotic looks to some degree; some had captivating eyes and striking wings, others had lovely faces and flowing hair. All females, a few only had one beautiful aspect while others had many. As they lounged on the rocks, Oriana could easily tell that most of them had shapely feminine features under simple dresses.
She had never seen a harpy with appealing characteristics before. Although vaguely explained by Enochia what happened to these harpies, the sight still made the newly-titled sprite pause.
One of the harpies stood up gracefully on a boulder, facing Oriana. The low-caste fae had long, wavy, milky white hair and full white wings tipped in gold. With a voice like smooth honey, she said, "We beseech you, good sprite; please do not gaze upon our unnatural forms."
"I apologize," Oriana replied, "but I have never seen harpies such as you."
"And we hope you never will again. If you are choosing this remote site to recline, lady sprite, we will remove our abnormal selves from your view."
Oriana noted the overall color of emotions from the harpies. The speaker's aura, more so than the others', was awash with racking despondency. "I would rather you all stayed, please. My reason for venturing so deep into the Puerile Expanse was to find you."
"Us, lady sprite?" the white-haired harpy asked. "Why would you seek such wretched, cursed creatures as us?"
Oriana stepped closer and replied, "From my vantage, I see no wretched creatures. I see an alluring collection of harpy women."
The harpy dipped her head in sorrow. "And that is our curse, lady sprite. With every heartfelt word, we grow more 'alluring', as you say. It further separates us from our own kind, and the expectations of any future masters. I daresay we cannot even claim to be harpies any longer. We are shunned by our own race." At those words, many of the other harpies bowed their heads in shame and grief.
"You had a master recently?"
The harpy with the flowing white hair, the apparent leader, nodded. "We served the Drommen elder Crios Kaltaugen. After we were afflicted by another elder, his holdings were no longer considered hospitable. Not only did we fear that our master might send us to the everlasting dream for our blooming mutations, we developed a damnable appreciation for aesthetics. As you may or may not know, elder Kaltaugen's land is a horrid place, and it made us even more miserable than we are now. For those reasons, my sisters and I defected from his control."
Oriana leaned against a nearby rock in a casual pose. "Then the loss is his if he cannot appreciate your new, fascinating forms and transform a section of his holdings to your liking."
"Your words are kind, lady sprite, but we would not expect any high-borne fae - let alone an elder - to satisfy the unnatural desires of their servants."
After a moment's pause, Oriana asked, "Might I have your name, please?"
"I am called Galatea."
"Galatea and fetching harpies, I am elder Oriana Solemn Sight," she announced to them as she looked around. After they all nodded deferentially, she continued. "I do not see you as abnormalities. Here in the Lore, I believe nothing to be abnormal. In my eyes, you are the first of something new, something unique. If you were truly unnatural, as you claim, the elements would already have done away with you."
The harpies glanced around at each other, but said nothing.
"Being a new derivation of your race," Oriana went on, "you are free to make your own rules of conduct. New beauty has not dimmed your senses or dulled your wits. You all once saw through baleful eyes; now learn to appreciate what a misguided curse allows you to see."
"Is that why you sought us out, elder?" Galatea asked with a hint of acerbity, "To teach us?"
Before Oriana could reply, another harpy hovered closer from her tree branch perch. "Do you take the role of some virtuous crusader who feels the need to reach down and save the wretched low-caste?" she hissed as her flaming red hair billowed from the gusts of her beating wings. "You deign to assume that we cannot -"
"Be careful of your words, Fiamma," Galatea said as she turned to look up at her comrade.
"But Gala," the airborne harpy growled as she stared at their visitor, "this patronizing elder..." Fiamma's expression immediately turned from anger to horrified realization, and then to shocking pain. Her eyes sprung open wide, and she made a sound somewhere between a gurgle and a scream. Her body trembled, and then coughed up gouts of violet blood. Her flapping wings faltered; she dropped hard to the ground below, barely missing an outcrop of rock.
Oriana cocked her head to see the condition of the fallen harpy, who convulsed with whimpering moans on the soft grass. She noticed that no other harpy came to that one's aid, so she regarded Galatea once more. "Would you like me to heal her?"
"It would do no good, elder. Injury borne of the curse can only be repaired by the owner of the pain, as it was self-inflicted. We learned that quickly; it only took the death of two of my sisters to be sure." Galatea then crossed her shimmering wings in front of her in a defensive posture. "While too passionate with her opinion, Fiamma raised a worthy point. Is your intent to save us from ourselves, elder Solemn Sight?"
Oriana shook her head. "Not at all; I came to you to offer a pact. I believe it would benefit many, as well as yourselves, if you agreed to it. What I have in mind would certainly raise your esteem in the eyes of some fae who might appreciate a new breed of harpy."
"And you think us unable to find a new master on our own? We are still harpies, no matter our appearance; we are capable enough on our own if no high-borne will have us. We are also patient enough to wait and serve for any who someday would."
"I did not mean to cast doubt on your abilities or your intentions," Oriana replied. She saw that Galatea spoke more out of pride than confidence. Appealing to the harpies' lack of a master was obviously not the best tactic. The auras of the creatures around her matched their downcast airs, but there were still pulsing colors of spite and vengeance. She thought playing to that emotion would be better served. "Harpies were ever known to be adept and clever; I am sure you would all do well with your choices. However," Oriana said after a meaningful pause, "I also see an opportunity for you."
Galatea cocked her head in curiosity. "You are here to offer us advantageous prospects, elder?"
Oriana smiled demurely. "I am not so selfless. There is a benefit to me as well, but... would you not take action against the one who afflicted you, albeit indirectly, if the chance was given?"
Eyebrows rose from all of the harpies, even from prone Fia
mma, who had healed herself enough to comprehend the conversation. "You have our attention, elder Solemn Sight," Galatea said cautiously, "but we would wish to hear more before we bind ourselves to a pact."
"The elder who cursed you - Saraid the Moon Maiden - forms more than one plan for her ambitions. One of her schemes is in play, and would best be served with... disruption. Not only could you foil one of her tactics, but you all would earn the respect of appreciative fae in the doing. Furthermore, you would have free reign to vent your aggressions how you would see fit. Of course, only specific targets are to be sought, and directed by a fae who would oversee your activities for the benefit of many."
The harpies glanced at each other as grins began to form on their exotic faces. Galatea helped the smiling Fiamma stand, and then regarded the elder sprite once more. "Those terms sound agreeable thus far, and we... thank you for the magnanimous offer of retaliation, kind elder. We were... rash to doubt you."
At the utterance of those words, Galatea's dark eyes seemed to expand while their color turned to vibrant gold; the power of the curse in action. She blinked once, and then said, "Where is this to take place?"
"In the Verden, at a location I am well familiar with. I would therefore ask that you temporarily place yourselves under my control; where I would go, you may then follow. After the destination is reached, your servitude to me would end. I offer my word on that. Another fae will be near; he will see to your task."
Still grinning, Galatea nodded and asked, "It will not be you that oversees our progress, good elder? Should I infer that our presence is an acquired taste?"
Oriana was glad to see the swift change of aura colors from all of the assembled harpies. At least for the moment, they were not fixated on their affliction and how to acclimate to their mutating natures. "Take no offense, fair harpies, but I would be hard-pressed to keep up with airborne creatures. Besides that, I have other tasks to see to. The fae I have in mind to direct you will be much better suited for such activities." With a faint grin of her own, Oriana added, "Moreover, I think you all will get along famously."