“Err, hello,” Raea said as she swept her gaze over the crowd of harpies below. All of them reminded her of Sally with a few differences. Most of them had light-brown hair with green eyes and pale skin. A few had red skin, and others had blonde hair. The main differences came from their wings and legs. Sally had brown feathers, but the harpies below had varied feather colors: brown, white, gray, black, and red. Cory was the only harpy who had a red body, red feathers, and silver hair with blue eyes, reminiscent of an angel.

The harpies stared at Raea, waiting for more. With Cory’s threat of death in mind, none of them dared to utter a sound. Raea gulped as her legs trembled. Why was the perch so round and unstable? Dozens of thoughts flashed through her mind as she urged herself to come up with more words, but all she could think about was everyone staring at her, making her self-conscious.

“Say your name,” Cory whispered.

“Your name,” Raea muttered. Never in her life had she ever spoken to a crowd like this. She took in a deep breath and wiped her sweaty palms on her thighs, leaving damp spots on her robe. “My name is Raea Caelum. I come from the capital. My favorite food is roasted corn. Um….” She glanced at Cory. The red harpy was preening herself, her face buried underneath a wing. “It’s a pleasure to be here. Cory told you I was going to give a motivating speech, but I really hadn’t prepared one. I didn’t even know I was supposed to be giving a speech. Sorry.” Raea pursed her lips. Her cheeks burned. She wondered if Cory could feel the heat coming off of her face. “Err. If you see me, come and say hi. I wouldn’t mind making a few new friends.” Her gaze landed back on Cory. The red harpy was still preening herself. “I think that’s it. It was nice meeting you all.”

Raea fidgeted on top of the pole. Cory raised her head and screeched at the harpies down below, “Well!? Why aren’t you applauding? The harbinger demands respect!”

“But, Cory, we don’t have arms,” a harpy shouted.

“Then stamp your feet,” Cory said and flapped her wings. She glanced at Raea.

“It’s okay, really,” Raea said. “I don’t think—“

A thunderous noise echoed through the harpies’ territory as the thousand or so harpies stamped their talons against the ground. A few cheered and let out whoops while waving their wings in the air. Cory beamed. “They love you,” she said and nodded. “I knew they would.”

“I think they’re more afraid than enamored,” Raea said and bit her lower lip.

“It’s the same thing in the end,” Cory said and shrugged. “Fear, respect, what’s the difference? So. When do you plan on leading us to the promised land?”

“Um. What exactly is that?” Raea asked.

“The land beyond the dirt, silly,” Cory said. “According to the legends, the great seer predicted the harbinger paving the way back to our ancestral lands. We haven’t always lived underground, but we were forced down here once the angels kicked us out of our roosts. The promised land is the place where our ancestors were born.”

Raea’s brow furrowed. “Do you know how long ago that was?” she asked. Maybe she could figure out where the harpies used to be located based on the timing. Most likely, they used to occupy the second sector seeing as their new nest was underneath it.

“A long time ago?” Cory asked and tilted her head. “It was definitely before my grandmother’s time.” She glanced at the harpies down below. “Does anyone know when our ancestors were forced out of the promised land?”

All the harpies started to chatter and glance at each other. After a while passed, none of them had an answer. Cory shrugged and said to Raea, “Nope.”

“Don’t you have any written records?” Raea asked.

“Lacking thumbs here,” Cory said and flapped her wings. “Our legends are passed down orally. But sometimes the ones with good memory are killed so … yeah. Isn’t it good enough that the legend of the harbinger managed to survive as long as it has? It’s too bad a seer hasn’t been born since we came here.”

Raea sighed. She wasn’t expecting much, but she still felt a strange sense of disappointment. Was this all that the Creator thought she was capable of? Couldn’t she have been the savior of a … smarter race? “Alright,” she said to Cory. “I have an announcement to make.”

“The harbinger is going to speak!” Cory shrieked, causing Raea to wince. “Pipe down and listen up!”

Raea waited for the harpies to settle down and focus their attentions. When all eyes were on her she said, “If you want me to lead you to the promised land, you have to stop killing each other. Do you understand? No more killing each other!”

There were a few murmurs within the crowd, but Raea ignored them and continued. “Also, everyone must learn to read and write. Does anyone here know how to do that already?” None of the harpies raised their hands even after Cory offered a prize to any harpy who knew. “That’s okay,” Raea said and nodded. “Kidnap someone who does. Next, after learning to read and write, all of you will learn how to do basic arithmetic. If none of you know how, then kidnap a dwarf. They’re very good engineers.” She furrowed her brow. “That’s all I can think of for now.” If the Creator was going to make her the savior of a stupid race, then she’ll raise their intelligence.

“Do you hear that?” Cory asked the crowd. “Even though the harbinger’s requests are strange, we’ll accomplish them.”

“How do we know she’s really the harbinger?” one of the harpies asked.

“If I say she’s the harbinger, then she’s the harbinger,” Cory said and glared at the harpy. A trace of red lightning shone in her eyes, but after she recalled Raea’s words, it flickered and disappeared. It wouldn’t be good if she undermined Raea. Cory snorted. “Don’t you believe me? If you do, then you’d know she’s the harbinger, understand?”

“Then she’s the harbinger because you said so?”

“That’s right,” Cory said and puffed her chest out.

The harpy who asked the question scratched her head and said, “Works for me.”

Raea sighed. Somehow, she was strung along into the role of the harbinger. It wasn’t a bad feeling to lord over a thousand harpies. And leading them back to their ancestral grounds could be a new goal for her. Isn’t that what Pyre said? Goals are good? At least having a goal was a much better feeling than being lost to wrath.