The Tiger-Headed Horseman Read Online Free PDF

simultaneously ensuring that no Outsiders entered Ongolium. In order to evade the Fun Brigade small groups of escapees lived a nomadic life as herders, forever in search of peace and forever in search of solace. Living in white, round, canvassed gers, they were able to survive the harsh terrain and life on the Steppe. The gers were thickly quilted with felts and all aspects of family life took place within. Being some ten metres in diameter and with families usually being a minimum of six, people became very close and tolerant of one another very quickly. Central to the ger was the stove, a metallic fire-place with a flat top and a long chimney that snaked up two metres to the hole in the roof of the ger. Clothing, bedding, heirlooms and people clustered around the stove. The gers werevery portable. They could be taken down and packed on to the back of a camel within an hour. As such, every family had at least one camel in addition to their numerous horses. Ongolium had fifty-five horses per person. Given that most people lived in Baatarulaan, that left an awful lot of horses running wild in the countryside. Winters were harsh and summers stifling in Ongolium. People worked hard to keep things going. Meals were one of the few times that people gathered together, mostly for warmth. In summer they ate the few vegetables and fruits they were able to gather. Meat was exclusively the reserve of winter when it was cold enough to keep it fresh outside the ger. Life in the herder communities was not easy. There was little time for fun but when it was had it was intense. Song and vodka filled the air, as it had in the time of Chinggis.
    In one such herder population lived a young lady called Lily. Lily was fifteenth-generation nomad. Her fathers had led their group for centuries. Lily and her people had wholly rejected the ways of Baatarulaan. Stories of Chinggis had been kept alive by word of mouth passing from generation to generation. Lily knew of the faith and knowledge that had been the bedrock of Ulaanbaatar. Knowledge was kept alive through the stories told. Faith was kept alive through shamanism. Within the group one person was born with the gift of shamanism each generation. Lily was that person. Her father had been worried for her. He knew of the power such a gift held. He also knew that other people would always be slightly afraid of her.
    Despite this, when Lily's father was captured during a foraging expedition in the city, everyone in the group agreed that Lily was the right person to take over leadership of the group; at least until her father got back. Reluctantly, Lily agreed. She now found herself in the rare position of being the spiritual and political leader to her group of a hundred herders. A leaderneeded to produce an heir (or heiress). At the age of twenty-two, Lily had no intention of finding herself a partner. The thought of pregnancy and childbirth filled her with abject dread. Her mother had died giving birth to her and Lily had carried the emotional scar with her all her life. However, she knew she wouldn't have long before her people started making demands of her and sending eligible young men with fruit baskets to ask her to step out. However, she also knew that most men in the group were too scared to come anywhere near her with any romantic intention.
    Twenty-two years had not been long enough for Lily yet to come to terms with being a shaman (or shawoman). It was not as though she had asked for the ‘gift’ to be thrust upon her. Much as she enjoyed helping other people resolve issues and thwart illness, there were only so many drum sessions and psychological vacations that she could cope with. Visiting the spirit world on a daily basis was exhausting. It also made other people rather sceptical of Lily. Although everyone in her group had always been nice to Lily, she didn't have any real friends to speak of. People were simply too intimidated by her ability to ‘see things’ to allow themselves to