Normally, we use yaks and oxen to pull carts and carry household items, yurt parts, and other supplies. While sheep and goats make up the majority of our herd and are our main source of wool, milk, and meat, horses are primarily for riding and herding animals. Some might have wolves or dogs as guardians or assistants when herding. Some have falcons or eagles for hunting and scouting.
Desert Tribes use camels as their main mode of transport in the desert and also as a resource; some use them for long-distance travel or trading. Northern Tribes in the tundra and Reindeer Tribes are famous for their reindeer herding techniques. Reindeer are their main resource, which is why they don't travel south much, because reindeer hate mosquitoes.
Wolves, deer, bears, snow leopards, falcons, and eagles are highly respected animals. Vultures are also respected, though not as totems like the others. Marmots and mountain sheep are hunted for meat, while wild boars, foxes, lynx, and wolverines are also prey. Except for meat and dairy from the herd, we also eat seasonal wild vegetables, herbs, roots, berries, and other fruits. Some might trade with non-nomadic people for food.
My survival percentage in this harsh reality has skyrocketed right now. This is what I have learned from others while traveling with the clan, mostly from the knowledge of Aylaqun and Aykuz. The Argin's shaman decided to stay with the Altin as a guest to learn Martial Art from me for the time being. The Moon Sisters are like a full and dark moon: one full with bright radiance, the other side shrouded in darkness. While they are both Shamans from the same clan, I feel like they focus on opposite sides of their knowledge. For example, Aylaqun focuses on herbs for medicine, while Aykuz focuses on herbs for poison. When I teach them, Aylaqun focuses on healing methods to fix injuries, while Aykuz focuses on vital points for hurting or killing.
One day when we were practicing, Aykuz asked me for more quiet techniques. When I asked why, she gave me a gruesome answer: "I need a way to kill without being noticed. Sometimes we need to kill to help others, and we women fight differently."
So after hearing that, I decided to create a more stealthy method for women. This method is subtle, precise, and soundless, designed to suit self-defense, containing many sudden knockout and subdue techniques. She gladly accepted it and called it the "Maidens Method," because the internal aspects really suit women when combined with soundless techniques—it's such a perfect combination. I also teach this method to Aycecek and Aylaqun too, but Aykuz still asked for deadly moves to suit herself more. So I showed them how to add some finishing moves that kill when we are already controlling the opponents. She even respected me more after seeing how fast I adjusted according to her needs.
After this, I also invented a more straightforward method for the warriors and taught it to Temurel, Temurcin, and a few trustworthy warriors. This method directly uses the Internal Art, returning any brutal force without any hesitation or adjustments, some called this the "Iron Method." The Warriors started to respect me, not just for my fighting skills but my teaching skills too. They started to teach me their tactics, like how they fight and how they hunt.
The Tagh Boru used to be a hunter tribe before embracing pastoralism and eventually becoming nomadic pastoralists. They are still heavily influenced by their mountain hunting heritage, especially in guerrilla-style tactics. In terms of weaponry, they originally used self bows and hunting spears for ranged combat but are now adapting to their distinctive reflex-recurve bows, which evolved from the larger recurve composite bows of neighboring tribes for horseback use. They also turned their spear hunting skills into lance and javelin techniques. Some began using borrowed battle-axes and double-edged swords from Western Tribes, while others still rely on daggers, short spears, lassos or whips for close-range combat. They're also developing single-edged curved blades suitable for horseback combat. While defending themselves, they utilize golden scale armor from the Western Tribes, alongside imitations made of iron or local bone, leather and iron lamellar armor, paired with bronze or iron helmets and small round shields made of wood, leather or wicker offer a lightweight protection against arrows. Their overall fighting method blends their rugged mountain roots with emerging steppe warfare tactics.
Whistle arrows are used as a means of directing targets for the leader in the open field, while sometimes being used as a technique to confuse the enemy in the mountains, leading to the story of the Ghost Arrows. They didn't really silently kill intruders but confused them, then let others shoot them in the back. Actually, the archers guarding the Sacred Mountain are mostly women, because the men are patrolling more open areas around the Sacred Mountain on horseback.
In the battlefield, they will shoot arrows from horseback while harassing the enemy from a distance. Then charging in, led by a few armored horses. Use short spears thrown at the enemy before thrusting in to break the formation by using heavy spears and employ close-range weapons such as long swords and battle-axes, while some use short swords, curved blades, or short spears. Then encircle or retreat to luring the enemy into the ambush.
Later Temurel told me about "Baghatur," the eldest son of Tumen who was sent as a hostage to the Yuezhi, the major Western tribe in western part of the Desert. Before Tumen made a sudden attack on them to gain more power but failed. In response, the Yuezhi prepared to kill Baghatur but he managed to escape and steal a horse to ride back home. After that, his father put him in charge of most of their warriors and rose in power within the Huna. So Baghatur will be our battle commander and is likely to become our next leader. But Tumen had already designated his younger son from a later wife as his heir, which led to his elder son being sent to die as a hostage in the first place. Temurel thinks that in the future, Baghatur might use the Confederation to take revenge on the Yuezhi and retake their land that was lost to the Wall People long before the recent attack. But we don't have much choice left because Tumen is the only prominent Tribe Leader who has experience fighting with the Wall People, even though he was on the losing side. All we can do now is build our strength, prepare for war, and be ready.
After listening to this news, I started to fear for the future and asked Temurel to teach me more about war strategy and weaponry. But he told me that he had already decided to let me stay and protect the women and children if war broke out. Despite being a good fighter, he believes I am still far from ready for nomadic tribal warfare. My archery and riding skills are not close to those of the average tribesman. While my weapons handling is good, I still need time to adapt to using it on horseback.
Riding with them made me realize how far behind I was in this ancient nomadic world. Most of my shallow modern knowledge is kind of useless. If I hadn't been lucky enough to meet the Altin, I might have starved to death a long time ago. I looked at Aycecek who riding next to me, thinking about her dark past. Even a six-year-old tribe girl could survive in the mountains alone. She noticed me and said, "My Kirisen, is there something on my face?" I didn't reply and just smiled back at her.
Now we're riding to the Sacred Spot for the autumn offering to Mother Earth before traveling back to the Sacred Mountain. The Tagh Boru have a slightly different seasonal moving pattern from other tribes, and we might categorize them as a semi-nomadic tribe. They always return to where they feed the wolves of their clan and the Sacred Mountain which is always their homeland. As for the Altin, the main clan, the Sacred Mountain is where they feed the Wolves. Some families of the Tagh Boru will be selected to temporarily stay there and become the Guardians of the Sacred Mountain for a year. Part of the Herd will be leaving there when they move after the winter ends, mostly the weak and older livestock with some teenagers, to graze in warmer valleys. Then they will set up their spring camp on the way to the Summer Gathering to harvest early spring herbs, roots, and vegetables, and begin making dairy products. After the Gathering, they will harvest berries, herbs and honey, then we trade for goods from foreign lands, fabrics, salts, and grains for emergency winter needs. While others will hunt deers or boars. At the edge of the Grasslands, they will set up autumn camp close to the Sacred Spot to harvest roots, pine nuts and late-season herbs and plants then they begin drying grasses to sustain the animals through the winter.
Beyond herding in the valleys, the Guardians also hunting and fishing, then smoke or dry their catches. Some will dry grass to make hay for the winter too. The Sacred Spring where I met Aycecek is actually a hot spring, leading to warmer soil that lets some special herbs and plants grow, they even fishing there in the winter. While meat and dairy from hunting and herding might seem like the primary food source for the nomadic tribes. In reality, they employ many strategies to ensure the tribe members are well-nourished. That why they always giving thanks to the Mother Earth.
As the first rays of dawn painted the Altai peaks with hues of rose and gold, a sense of quiet solemnity settled over "The Sacred Spot." This chosen area, perhaps a fertile patch of grassland, a place where significant herbs grew, or near an ancient, gnarled tree, was where they would offer thanks to Mother Earth, the source of all life, sustenance, and shelter.
The Moon Sisters, their faces serene and focused, moved with deliberate grace. They carried woven baskets filled with carefully gathered gifts from the land: the first milk of a ewe, a handful of the season's first wild berries, strands of newly shorn wool, and small intricately carved wooden figures representing animals important to the tribe—horses, sheep, and the elusive ibex—were placed amongst the harvested goods, representing the life that thrived thanks to the earth's bounty.
Leading the procession was an elder, their hands gnarled like the roots of an old tree, their eyes holding the wisdom of countless seasons. They carried a small bowl of honey, its golden sweetness symbolizing the bounty of the earth. The tribe gathered respectfully, their voices hushed, their connection to the land palpable in their stillness.
The ritual began with the elder offering a prayer, his words spoken softly yet carrying a deep sense of gratitude. He spoke of the earth's generosity, the way it nurtured their herds, provided healing plants, and offered a foundation for their nomadic way of life. He acknowledged the cyclical nature of life and the earth's enduring strength.
Following the elder, the Moon Sisters approached a designated spot – perhaps a natural altar of stones or the base of the ancient tree. With slow, deliberate movements, they placed the offerings from their baskets upon this natural shrine. The milk was poured onto the earth, a direct offering of nourishment. The berries were scattered, symbolizing the seeds of future growth. The wool was laid down, representing the animals that thrived on the land. The carved figures were placed carefully, honoring the spirits of the creatures they relied upon.
The elder then poured the honey onto the earth, its sweetness seeping into the soil as a direct gift to the Mother. As he did so, he spoke of their hope for continued abundance and their commitment to respect and care for the land that sustained them.
A young child stepped forward, guided by their parent, and placed a small, smooth stone – a personal offering of connection to the earth. This simple act symbolized the tribe's deep and personal relationship with the ground beneath their feet.
The ritual concluded with a collective moment of silence, each member of the tribe offering their own silent gratitude and prayers to the Mother Earth. There was a profound sense of connection in that shared stillness, a recognition of their dependence on the land and their responsibility as its stewards. As the sun climbed higher, casting a warm glow on the offerings, the tribe dispersed, carrying with them a renewed sense of appreciation for the life-giving power of the earth that cradled them.
The day after we offered thanks and prayers to Mother Earth, they invited me to join the secluded harvest. Temurcin and Aycecek will accompany me to find rare herbs far from the Camp. Unlike in the spring when they still treated me as a guest, and didn't invite me to the spring harvest. There is one unique mushroom among the harvest list called "Sleeping Mushroom." Consumed in small portions, it will let you enter the dream realm. But if you use too much, it will lead to a tragic death. Sometimes hunters will use its poison on spear tips or arrows when hunting big game or even humans. Depending on the concentration of the poisons and how they are mixed with other ingredients, the results might be horrifying hallucinations or a terrifying death.
I asked Aykuz about this poison; she told me that they actually use one to three ingredients to create this kind of poison, depending on the usage. Her clan will use this "Sleeping Mushroom" and the "Berserk herb" that they harvest in spring as a base for the hallucinate effects, then mix it with local snake venom to make it even more lethal and harder to predict due to the bleeding effects. They call this venom "Dream Weaver," and it is one of their specialties because it lets the target experience sweet dreams, nightmares, or deadly sleep, depending on their intent.
But for hunting, they might use a low dose of the previously mentioned hallucinate poison mix combined with a small amount of snake venom to reduce the danger for those who will eat the game. While in rituals, only a small dose of the mushroom or herb poison is enough to make you enter the dream realm. They normally use dried mushrooms because they are easier to prepare and control the dose, some tribes burn berserk herb seeds in their rituals. Aykuz said this to me, "One for specification. Two for intensification. Three for fatalization."
While we were picking the herbs and mushrooms, a group of men walked towards us. "Greetings upon you, mighty Kirisen, the Sky Wolf! What a surprise to find you here! And greetings to you two, children of the Iron Hand. May Mother Earth's blessings be upon us all!", a sturdy, well-dressed man said cheerfully.
"We offer greetings to you, noble Baghatur, son of Tumen the Great Leader. May the Sacred Mountain's blessings be upon you all!" Temurcin replied formally. "How may we assist you, noble one? What brings you to this land?", Little Iron questioned.
"Don't be so formal, Little Iron. We are just passing by after picking some herbs for winter herbal tea. Don't worry, we will be leaving soon," Baghatur answered with a smile.
I glanced into one of their bags. it indeed contained herbs, but half of all the bags were the poison mushrooms.
"Why don't we welcome you to our Camp?" Temurcin asked.
"No need, friend. We have a long ride home. Thank you for your father's hospitality, but we must refuse. We'll see you again soon, especially you, Mighty Kirisen," Baghatur refused immediately.
It's quite confusing. He seemed genuinely excited to meet me but strangely avoided our welcoming offer.
After they were gone, we continued to pick the mushrooms and other herbs. Then Moon Flower spoke her mind, "Did you guys see the mushrooms in their bags? That's totally not for tea, maybe for a ritual? He lied with a smile. Is this man really the hero who escaped from the Yuezhi alone?"