For generations, ever since the time we reigned supreme in these lands, we rarely made contact with our old homeland. However, the strength of our neighbors to the east is immense and though we have not warred with them for several generations, their power threatens us; by these I especially mean the Togar nomads, who are more popularly known among their settled neighbors to their southeast as the Ngiwat-tieg. They own many grazing lands and even some of the oases southeast of the Heavenly Mountains; they seem to have the ability to subdue even the peoples of the great distant plains east of the Mountains of Gold, who are quite different in both language and appearance to many of our tribesmen, though they are still nomads like us. It seems that we may have to, perhaps one day, abandon these lands to wherever we can make a new home for ourselves. Though the power of the Togar is threatening, we do not fear them; we will fight to the death, no matter where we may end. Yes, I remember, from the stories that my forefathers use to tell us, that it was a long time ago when our people migrated from our old homeland. We were originally powerful neighbors northwest of those settled people who call themselves the descendants of Xwaehaex, whose warriors are skilled in the use of military arms and neither lack valour nor courage; over 300 years ago, their duke, Mjuwk of Dzin, defeated our ancestors and allies in battle and took our grazing grounds, yet our people took the long and difficult journey to the rich grasslands north of the Heavenly Mountains, braving desert and snow, for we refuse to bow down to Mjuwk of Dzin even though at the time his power extended to all four corners of the earth.

But decadence had taken over the Tsyuw rulers of the Xwaehaex people and they are now divided, though recently we hear from our traders that the Dzin state looks like it will conquer all the others. Yet we are too far removed in space from them now to concern ourselves with their state of affairs, for Dzin's strength at the moment does not appear to directly threaten our lands. Even the powerful Togar seem to be more concerned elsewhere than on invading our lands, since our traders tell us that they are busy fighting fierce battles with the nomads to the southeast of the Mountains of Gold. But, I say, we must not be too rash in our decisions, for courage alone is not enough to defeat the powerful Togar, who are currently riding on a wave of victory against their foes and can call upon thousands of warriors from all over their empire in no time; we should look elsewhere to gain advantages rather than the east.
For the time being, there seems to be sufficient wealth present to our south, in the lands beyond the Heavenly Mountains where many thriving oases exist along the edge of the Desert of Death. There are many merchants travelling between the oases, usually laden either with gold to exchange for silk or laden with silk successfully obtained from the nearest Xwaehaex state, that of the Dzin; we have need only to increase the number of raids into the region, since our raiders can only penetrate the routes between the oases along the Desert of Death, an impassable region where neither man nor army has ever successfully travelled through.
To our north and west as well as the lands to the far northeast, those beyond the Togar, live nomads who speak languages, though different from ours, we can mutually understand; some of them are our allies, and we maintain trade relations with them, especially our kinsmen who rule over the Mountains of Gold; from them too, we can obtain silk, but we also maintain trade relations with the Dzin, indeed, our traders acquired the art of casting bronze and iron from the Dzin. To our southwest there are Haoma-drinking nomads who live in a plain southwest of the Heavenly Mountains where the Haoma plant grows in abundance; our traders say that they were once very powerful but were later subjected by the Chorsari, who in turn were later themselves subjected by a king the Yavanas call Megas Alexandros. These Haoma-drinking nomads we also trade with as well as the Mazsakata, those nomads whom the Yavanas call the Massagetai, and it is from them that we learn of the Yavanas and the Chorsari peoples and of their crafts. The Yavanas, who call themselves Hellenes, are still lords of the former territories of the Chorsari, including the land they call Baktriane and other territories west of the Silis river. Our neighbors of the southwestern plains who have fought many wars with them and who constantly raid their borders tell us that they are not entirely easy to defeat, but we have yet to meet them in battle and test our strength against theirs.

The world is vast and many peoples lay beyond the edge of the endless steppes, and though we are surrounded by a variety of peoples, some powerful and some not, we do not fear any of them - if there were no powerful peoples around for us to defeat, how can we ever obtain glory and riches? Is it not honorable for a warrior to die young in battle after achieving many victories so that he cannot grow old and be despised as a coward by his fellow tribesmen? Before Mjuwk of Dzin did his work, we were almost lords of the entire Tsyuw realm, raiding the Central Plains until the Tsyuw lord moved his capital eastwards and a duke of Dzin finally defeated our forces. During that time, we were the equal of the Togar who were our allies, and both the Togar and the Tsyuw respected and feared our power. Today, we neither lack valour nor skill, yet only a great rauka can lead us to victory against the most powerful of foes. And so if it is our good fortune to have such a rauka within our ranks, it does not matter which direction we advance toward, it will not be too long before we become lords of all and outdo even the achievements of the ancients.