[center][b]The House of the Emudrim[/b][/center]
The Attolian ambassadors sailed up the main river, which the Ailboi called the Amanduin, that stretched cross the realm of Ailbanor. The Attolians onboard marveled at the mystery and beauty of the wooded areas that crowned both sides of the Amanduin. They even saw a forest elephant breaking through the clearing while it was on its way to get a drink from the river. Everything looked so different in this land, when compared to the Attolians’ own infertile realm (or it looked like that when compared to Ailbanor).

After the Attolians had traveled some distance by boat down the Amanduin, they finally caught sight of the Elven city of Evolonē, the home of the Emudrim. Prior to that moment, the Attolians had first visited the city of Aëtoubar, the forested capital of the Thōrrim, the Emudrim’s westerly neighbors. King Orvidil, the ruler of the Thōrrim, advised the Attolians to visit the Emudrim first. If Hydrigon would agree to it, so would the king of the Thōrrim. 

However, Orvidil warned the Attolians that the Ailboi do not harvest the trees in their forest realm in a mass scale. They would first have to search the forest in order to find the trees that already ready to pass into a new life. The Ailboi had a unique connection with all life, fauna and flora, in their realm. They could not carelessly cut down their forests without proper due diligence.

Once the Attolians disembarked from their ships into the Emudrim city of Evolonē, a sudden storm rolled over the forested Elven realm, drenching the land with torrents of rain. As the ambassadors made their way to the royal palace of the elf-king, they noticed that the atmosphere seemed different from what they have heard was the accustomed sounds of the Ailboi realm. They heard somber melodies fill the air, a sorrowful elegy. The ambassadors wondered of whom the Ailboi sung.

Before the gate of the elf-king stood an elf wearing elegant clothing, signaling that he was one of the Ailboi elf-kings. However, this elf was not Hydrigon nor Orvidil. His name was Ruinvagor and he was the elf-king of the Amulugrim, who were the greatest craftsmen of the Ailboi. His red hair was like a glorious flame, even shining in the otherwise bleak atmosphere.

“Greetings, elf-king. We have dealings with the ruler of the house of the Emudrim. We wish to have discuss matters with Hydrigon.”

The red-haired elf-king turned to the ambassadors, a frown forming on his face. “I am sorry to be the bearer of ill-news, but king Hydrigon is not seeing anyone at this moment. He and his family are in great mourning because his son has gone missing. While the hunting party had returned late last night, the heir of the king never passed the threshold of his paternal kingdom. You may remain in his realm until he is ready to see you.”

The ambassadors accepted the Amulugrim king’s story and retired to the quarters provided by the Emudrim to foreign emissaries.

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[center][b]The Night Before[/b][/center]
The Emudrim hunting party sneaked across the forest floor of the jungle that was located east of the Emdurim heartland. When the Rithanemai first entered into the realms of Ailbanor, the Ailboi were not concerned when they saw that the inherent unnaturalness of these animals prevented them from living for long spans of time. Even with infrequent raids, the short lifespans of these winged horrors would control the Rithanemai population by itself. Once the Rithanemai started to target the Ailboi and add elven blood into their spawn, the Ailboi’s attitude toward these bird-women turned more serious, as with elven blood, the Rithanemai could potentially live just as long as the elves of Ailbanor.

As Arudrion headed the band of elves, he heard a song that invoked intense emotions upon the elven prince. However, unlike most Rithanemē snaring songs, this ballad only affected the son of Hydrigon, although the other elves could still hear the song. In addition to this, the Ailboi could distinguish actual words within the song, while most Rithanemē songs lacked any intelligible language.

The hunting party heard an abbreviated narrative of the daughter of Ruinvagor, the gem of the Amulugrim. She had been engaged with Arudrion himself. Not only were they a perfect match for a royal pair, but they were “soulmates”. However, Arudrion’s fiancée was stolen from him twenty years ago when, while she was taking a stroll through the woods surrounding Drakost, she was snatched up and killed by a Rithanemē. The king’s daughter was the first elven victim of the Rithanemai, but she was not the last.

“Lord Arudrion, what are you doing?” one of the elves asked the prince as he approached the source of the ballad. Once Arudrion had placed some space between himself and the rest of the hunters, a Rithanemē descended from the canopy and snatched the Emudrim prince into its claws. Immediately after this, a second Rithanemē appeared and fought the first winged fiend for the elf prince. Once the second Rithanemē ripped Arudrion from the first’s claw, she beat her strong wings in retreat, jabbing her talons at the winged monster that had first attacked the Emudrim prince.

One of the elves felled the first Rithanemē from the sky; however, the second turned her path into the denser foliage in order to protect herself from any elven missile. As the first winged assailant became earthbound, it let out a screech, alerting any Rithanemē in the area of the danger created by the elven presence. The forest canopy vibrated as dozens of local Rithanemai darted toward the Ailboi hunting party.