RTF is a global modification that replaces all towns in the game.

These aren't Simurghs, they're Phoenixes.

I don't have any complaints about Rukh, because there's a blue Rukh in Heroes VI (it's strangely called a "Rokh" there).

I think it's best not to burden people with unnecessary words; people know that a Rukh is a huge eagle and that its upgraded form is a Thunderbird – let it remain that way.

My idea about the origin of the bird is roughly the same for Ashan and my fictional world – they are elemental spirits connected to mountains, like Ents, Kirins, Kappa, and others.