Harpy Egg Painting

Harpies have a tradition of painting their eggs to predict or influence the child's future. Different colors and symbols relate to different lives: jagged, lighting shapes try to invoke the blessing of Hyrella, gold colored paint to give the child fortune, blood red paint for prowess in battle, and more. Different cultures have different symbols, but the practice is common across most harpy cultures. This practice has also led to dedicated egg painters, those who professionally paint eggs for a fee, adding great care and detail onto every shell. While there is a market for these experts, there is also a school of thought that the mother should paint their egg themselves, to form an intimate connection with the child.

This painting also plays a part during and after hatching. The child's future can supposedly be divined through what images and patterns the cracks go through as the child hatches, so priests of Hyrella are often brought in to try and read the cracks. Once the child hatches, the mother often picks one or more shards of the eggshell and have them made into a trinket for their baby. Amulets and brooches are common, though any kind of jewelry or trinket can be made. Harpies often keep these egg shards as charms of good luck, especially if the shard has a complete image on it.

While harpies originated the practice, some other egg laying species have played with the idea. It has become a fad with several reptilian and avian beastfolk to paint their eggs like harpies. They generally have less reverence for the practice, seeing it as a fun, exotic tradition than the near holy rite the harpies treat it as. Reactions to this are mixed: some harpies are angry or indignant that this intimate tradition is being appropriated, others are happy that this aspect of their culture is spreading to others, and others