Strider

Striders (a human name for the animal the elves call them Dahmiil which simply means mount) are a light birdlike animal reminiscent of a cross between a large ostrich and a swan. Fast and surefooted, they make for excellent mounts when fighting in tight spaces. The elves of Retuccea used their compactness and speed to great advantage in the winter of 1066. Cut off from any exits and supplies, the human legions fought desperately against the "white devils" that came screaming out of the winter night and disappeared just as quickly. The elven guerrilla campaign against the human interlopers was so successful that when the snows finally melted only 73 of the 3500 men walked out of those woods.