The Alanix tribe has been nestled along the higher peaks of the southern Indigia Mountains since before magic left this world, and, since Harpies are not magical creatures by nature, remained relatively unaffected by the sudden change that it brought about. They are a relatively unique tribe, simply because they have never been known to "hunt" species for mating. In fact, their relationships with both the Ebonfort Empire, as well as the other creatures within the mountains, have been amicable at worst. They have offered their services as guides and guards for those wishing to traverse the peaks, as well as offering information about the movement of wildlife along the mountains, and the weather patterns that move up and down the peaks. Because of this, though the Alanix are not the only tribe of harpies that live along the mountains, they have certainly received the best reputation.
In recent centuries, since magic had left the world, their services were relied on more, and the infrequent contact they received became far more prevelant in their society. This was good, as, to keep the numbers of their tribe up, the members of the Alanix tribe almost always accepted payment in the form of "marriage," in which a male would mate with one of the harpies that aided him, and would remain with the harpy, and the tribe, until after the child had been born (it was not uncommon for males in this position to remain with the harpy in question, as some took the idea of fathering a child seriously enough to enter into an actual marriage with the harpy). However, it got to the point where that method of payment was no longer viable (or welcome, as the case may be), so they looked into the exchanging of goods and knowledge for their services.
Cecielle was born into the world with only a mother, a result of a temporary "marriage" that did not evolve into anything more during her developement. She was the first child of an Ala Arma harpy (
orig13.deviantart.net/e672/f/2010/296/.. [Credit to Isthar]) named Ollyne and a human red-head whose name remains unimportant. While being raised, her mother realized that she did not wish to become mother to another child, and began to ask those she aided to, instead, teach Cecielle skills pertaining to certain trades, namely mercantilism. This went on for many years, until Ollyne had a nasty run-in with a mountain bear, and ended up permanently crippled, having lost one of her arms protecting a peddler. Normally, such an act would have also cost the peddler much, but, Ollyne struck a deal between him and the tribe: take her daughter, Cecielle, on the road, and teach her, first hand, a different way of life, so that Cecielle would have the option to choose her own path in life. So, for the first time in the tribe's history, a fledgeling left the tribe's nest, and learned to walk a completely different path.
It was not easy for Cecielle, especially not at first. She had barely gotten her first bout of flight feathers when this happened, so, she was still quite inexperienced in the world, and had only a very lose grasp on mathematics themselves, let alone economics. Not only that, but, she was seen by many other merchants as a potential piece of property to own. However, a peddler's word in business is his honor, and, despite several generous offers, Cecielle was never sold, and was, instead, taught how the world traded with goods and currency. Because of the kindness (and guilt) of the peddler she had been delegated to learning from, Cecielle began to become fascinated with all of the things she had, initially, struggled with, and though she had to work far harder at understanding all of it than, say, a human child would have, she did begin to grasp it.
As time went on, Cecielle became less of an apprentice and more of a traveling companion for the now-aged peddler. She developed quite the tongue of her own, and a business sense passed on from her teacher, plus her own natural intuition, led to a combination that earned her both respect and contempt. Though human culture was still largely a mystery to her, and even the years spent traveling the region of Ebonfort did little to fully inform her of all the nuances, Cecielle understood the important parts, and would soon become the focus for a very disgruntled merchant. His name was Edward, and he owned a small fur business in a moderately sized village in the forest west of Silent Rise, and though he was only a decade older than Cecielle, he carried himself as if he had the wisdom of the ancients. However, he was also a dishonest merchant, and although it was suspected, no one had been able to prove it. He was also the one Cecielle came through to buy furs from to sell for a profit in Stonecrest, as a harsh winter was expected to hit.
No one but Cecielle and Edward know the exact details of what went down during negotiations, but it ended with Cecielle leaving to buy from a merchant elsewhere, and Edward so mad, one would think a demon of rage had possessed him. It is important to note that Cecielle rarely traded for currency directly, and would often sell things to merchants on credit, or trade them in for something of equal value. This was a trick taught to her by her master, who, at this point, had retired to open a store of his own in Stonecrest. On this specific trip, she had brought wheat from a small farming village just south-west of Ruby Banks to trade for the furs, as the price of wheat had gone up due to the bounty of a harvest that was pulled in. However, Edward had tried to swindle her for a reduced price by planting insects into the specific of bundle of wheat he had taken in for inspection. Somehow, he had managed to smuggle them into the bundle without the inspector noticing, but not without drawing suspicion for Cecielle, who immediately called him out on his trickery.
At least, that's how Cecielle tells it. Edward makes her out to be some sort of witch who tricked both him and the inspector. Regardless, the inspector sided with Cecielle, and the negotiations ended with the promise of a formal investigation into Edward's business practices. It is said that greed can cause men to be vengeful, but pride is just as deadly, and Edward had a plan to capture Cecielle and sell her off to a slave smuggler, who had promised her disappearance completely. The night of her departure, brigands, who had been suspected of being on Edward's payroll for years, stopped her on her way out of the village, and threatened her with death if she did not hand over her cargo. Not wanting a fight, she allowed them to take what they wished, but that was not sufficient. The brigands had been hired to provoke her into a fight, and then parade her unconscious body around, to show everyone what happens to monsters who lie and steal. They degraded her, and insulted her character, as well as her honor as a merchant, all the while trying to pinch and pull, trying to find something that would force her take action.
They found nothing, and she remained with a cool head and composure. This, needless to say, pissed the brigands off, to a point where they got physical with her. Cecielle, all the while, stayed the righteous path, only ever matching their poisonous words with wit of her own, which made them even angrier. Eventually, one of them grew impatient, and threw her against the side of the carriage, and threatened her with rape, claiming that no one would even care. Finally, in that moment, she bore her fangs, or, more accurately, her talons. Nothing fatal, but, the damage she did to him ensured that he'd never be able to follow through with any threat of rape. The remaining brigands, after seeing one of their own done in with almost no effort on Cecielle's part, grabbed their injured companion, and ran. Cecielle used her same skills of diplomacy and wit to ensure she got to the village's watch first, and informed them of what happened, in great detail, and was told to stay put another day while they investigated her story.
Needless to say, they confirmed her tale, and found, on the brigands, a writ of service, instructing exactly how to capture the harpy, and where to receive payment, with Edward's signature. As Cecielle's master would say, "his arrogance was his own downfall," and she never heard from him again. However, her name was heard a bit more frequently amongst peddlers, and she was no longer simply a stranger who had been taught their ways. She was accepted as one of their own, and, finally, she felt it was time to show her mother all that she had accomplished. After making preperations, and lodging her horse and cart in Azure Strand, she made her way back towards the mountains that held her tribe, though, within those frigid peaks, her return was not as warm as she'd expected it to be.
When she arrived, she was, at first, treated hostily, and was assumed to a member of a rival tribe. After some discussion, however, her name was recognized, and she was allowed to enter the tribe, which had grown even more, albeit only somewhat, since she had left. Her mother, she found out, had never given in, and Cecielle remained her only child, and she had become a respected wise woman of the tribe, despite her relatively young age. Her word was listened to more readily by the younger harpies, and the elders looked to her as the voice of youth. And, even though Cecielle was largely looked at as a stranger, Ollyne recognized her daughter almost instantly, and welcomed her back with an open wing. Their time together was brief, however, as Cecielle had only come to stay until the new year, when she'd need to make the flight back to Azure Strand, and begin the year of trading all over again.
This was last year, 300 DM, and while she was able to regail the younger harpies with the tales of her adventures in the market, the older ones paid her little mind, and even less respect. Her mother had done something unprecendented, and some of the elders resented both Cecielle and Ollyne for what happened eighteen years ago. However, her visit was largely uneventful, and, with a somewhat mocking good-bye wish for Cecielle to return with a child of her own, Ollyne bid her daughter goodbye, and Cecielle made the journey back to Azure Strand. It would have been a shorter trip, but, she had paid for the entirity of the month of Jadeyan for storage and care, so, she decided to take a more scenic trip. What she arrives to find, and what awaits her in the year 301 DM, is yet to be determined, and, though Cecielle expects another year of business, both profits and losses, and a fluctuating market, she may come to find far more.