General
- Type:
- Exploration Point
- Region:
- Ninraih
- General Location:
- West Ninraih along the Ordinuad River
- Approximate Size:
- 7.5 miles longitudinally and 12.5 miles latitudinally (56.25 square miles)
Description
With a title like "Lament of the Willow", it is no doubt that the area radiates with a certain melancholy. Positioned about two and a half miles south from the Ordinuad River, the space is thick with huge, archaic willow trees that have trunks spiraling upward until their branches dip down, overhung with heavy vines and leaves. Were it not for the Silver Brushed I'kello - a diminutive black bird with a hint of silver on its wings and beak - the grove would go unnoticed as just another spot in Ninraih disproportionate with plant-life. This bird has chosen Lament of the Willow as its final resting place, despite the efforts Ajteire city folk have taken to sway it elsewhere.
Although many animals are immune to the effects of the willow's foliage, it is poison for the Silver Brushed I'kello that insists on consuming the vegetation. Numerous of these birds have met their demise here, falling from the willows, the roots of the trees becoming shallow graves. There were attempts to relocate the Silver Brushed I'kello. Nurseries were set up to care for the birds from hatchlings and to show them new migration patterns, yet the I'kello always ends up back at Lament of the Willow.
No one is quite certain why the Silver Brushed I'kello is drawn to the area. Countless travelers claim that when passing by the grove or even stepping into it, a mournful and whispering hum of a song can be heard on the winds. A bit superstitious, but this song may be from the willow trees themselves, struggling to ward the birds away.