As happened many times in the past the Fell Ice once again charged down from the north and attacked the world in its effort to turn it into a frozen ball of ice. Only the White Magic and it's ally the Sun could stand against such a vast enemy.
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The Little Fliers and the Red Wing Hawks flew swiftly down the twisting and turning Norvale Pass. The whistling Esari and screeching Hawks called to each other as they flew in tight formation through the narrow confines of the pass. Travelers and Tundra Wolves on the road below looked up in surprise when darkness suddenly enveloped them. The noisy flock blotted out the sun making a long, fast moving shadow on the ground they flew over. After the flock passed travelers were left scratching their heads and Tundras stared up at an empty sky giving soft whines. All wondered at what they witnessed and what the strange sight foretold.
As soon as the Little Fliers and Red Wings flew over the tall gleaming statues of the High King Filvandor and his Queen Valindra they began to split up and fly towards their predetermined destinations. They fanned out with the three largest flocks heading towards the three Elven Kingdoms.
The largest of the flocks flew southeast towards their homeland in the great Gossamar Forests. From there a smaller flock would take the mountain passes high into the Tallspines for the Eastern Vale of the Elves. It was a much easier flight to the high mountains surrounding the East Vale through well navigated pathways over the forests of the Esari. Trying to traverse along the Grimfangs and into the mighty Tallspine Mountains was a turbulent air trail rarely taken.
The next largest flock continued on south and a bit west as they made for the Southern Vale of the Elves in the Ironore Mountains. It was a flight that would take many days and nights even with the strong tailwind from the Grimfangs. As they drew close to the southern mountain range a small flock of a dozen Fliers and twice that in hawks would peel off and turn east. They would make for the foothills where the Ironore Mountains met the Tallspines, to the Glittering Caverns, the home of the Giants. As the large flock continued on through the passes of the Ironores another small flock would break off and head west. These were going to see the Suthurn Manse, the people who lived in the Ironores near the Southern Elves. The Mansers mined the strong rich veins of iron for which the mountains were named for. In their great underground caverns their huge fiery forges were never at rest as they produced the finest iron ingots and the Manser Steel they were famous for. They were Elf-friends and friends to all the free people and the great Tundra Wolves.
The last large flock of Fliers to split at the end of the pass turned to the west. They made for the Western Vale on the coast of the Northern Sea. As the flock drew close to the Vale it would split in two. One to continue on to the Elves and the other to go northwest. The second flock made for the mist-hidden fjords of the Sea Lords who lived in shining castles of crystal and silver when not out sailing the oceans. Few, save the Esari, knew where the lands of the Sea Lords lay off the Northern Sea. The two races were friends going back to ancient times.
No flocks of the Esari traveled to the lands of the Barbarians in the West, nor the plains of the Mongols and the lands of the Chinese in the East. The men of these lands were not trusted and considered enemies most times by the Elves and all the Free Races. They were not united under one ruler and their small bands of savage warriors fought amongst each other just as much as they attacked the Free Lands. Every spring when the ice cleared from the seas and the snow melted in the mountain passes they conducted raids which carried on for months until the ice and snow returned the next fall. Although there were some good men and good leaders from each of these lands none as of yet were ever considered Elf-friend.
