In an ancient part of the world, across the bitter Steppes, beyond the desert and mountains and Silk Road cities, the land of the nomads and their kin.
There are no cities here. No marble halls or silver palaces. No golden castles or grey-stone citadels. No strange tortures of the East, nor zealotry of the West.
There is endless hostility and war. There is no soldier class; just the hunters and the bowmen. They live on milk, cheese and meat, and trade furs and horses with the sedentary people to the south and east. There has never been friendly relations between the nomads and the city-dwellers. The nomads disdain them, but lust fiercely after their wealth.
And the nomads have bows. Strong bows, bound sinew and wood twisted into a curve. We call it the composite bow; and it was with this, along with centuries of practice at horsemanship, which allowed the Mongols to conquer their empire.
But that was another world, another time. And though the Mongols still have a part to play, there are other tribes who shall play their part. In the year 840, the capital of the Uyghur Khanate, the dominant power on the Steppes, was sacked by the Yenisei Kirghiz. But the Kirghiz did not take the Steppes for their own. They went back west, to their old homeland, to continue their life as it had always been.
And it is here that, on the first of January in the year 867, that a Kirghiz chief had a dream, a dream from the Eternal Heaven...
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I have become very good at abandoning AARs. After wondering why that was, I eventually decided that the best plan would be to go back and write another CK AAR, as the character-based nature of it makes it easier to write. I decided to go for the Mongol steppes, as I am (relatively to most other things, anyway) familiar with the area's history; and the Kirghiz were the easternmost representatives. Hopefully, this will allow me to remain interested and invigorated.
And thus, we begin... a tale of nomads, blood, faith and fervour, survival and death and the horror of the world...
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Contents:
Chapter One: The Winter Steppes
Chapter Two: Fear and Joy
Chapter Three: Ipekel of the Kirghiz
Chapter Four: Council of Karluks
There are no cities here. No marble halls or silver palaces. No golden castles or grey-stone citadels. No strange tortures of the East, nor zealotry of the West.
There is endless hostility and war. There is no soldier class; just the hunters and the bowmen. They live on milk, cheese and meat, and trade furs and horses with the sedentary people to the south and east. There has never been friendly relations between the nomads and the city-dwellers. The nomads disdain them, but lust fiercely after their wealth.
And the nomads have bows. Strong bows, bound sinew and wood twisted into a curve. We call it the composite bow; and it was with this, along with centuries of practice at horsemanship, which allowed the Mongols to conquer their empire.
But that was another world, another time. And though the Mongols still have a part to play, there are other tribes who shall play their part. In the year 840, the capital of the Uyghur Khanate, the dominant power on the Steppes, was sacked by the Yenisei Kirghiz. But the Kirghiz did not take the Steppes for their own. They went back west, to their old homeland, to continue their life as it had always been.
And it is here that, on the first of January in the year 867, that a Kirghiz chief had a dream, a dream from the Eternal Heaven...
The Iron Horde
A Kirghiz Narrative AAR.
A Kirghiz Narrative AAR.
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I have become very good at abandoning AARs. After wondering why that was, I eventually decided that the best plan would be to go back and write another CK AAR, as the character-based nature of it makes it easier to write. I decided to go for the Mongol steppes, as I am (relatively to most other things, anyway) familiar with the area's history; and the Kirghiz were the easternmost representatives. Hopefully, this will allow me to remain interested and invigorated.
And thus, we begin... a tale of nomads, blood, faith and fervour, survival and death and the horror of the world...
-----
Contents:
Chapter One: The Winter Steppes
Chapter Two: Fear and Joy
Chapter Three: Ipekel of the Kirghiz
Chapter Four: Council of Karluks
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