A journey worth to be fought for

At the mercy of the river

Day five,

The sun is slowly rising over the left bank of the river, its light spreads over the huge plains of the land of the Rus'. Sun rays sprinkle on the surface of the river, becoming bright as the flames Oleg used to light up on the fire pit.

Oleg said that this night the boat covered a longer distance thanks to the small sail he made out of the few clothes we carried with us. I wonder how he knows how far we travel, he says that he can understand it by looking at the stars, it's amazing. Oleg is an all-knowing person, I love when it's time for him to teach me something.

Last week, when we were still at home in Kiev he taught me how to use his bow, it's a long bow and it's extremely heavy. I wasn't able to shoot even the lightest arrow from it, I felt like I was lacking strength, but he told me that using a bow required more practice and concentration rather than strength. He gave me a Cuman bow, it was smaller, and easier to use than the long one, I made some good shoots, now I can shoot an arrow and hit anything on the opposite bank of the river.

Oleg told me that a nomad tribe from the south used it, and now we are entering in the territory of that tribe. I'm a bit nervous, Oleg says that they are hostile to us, because the other Rus are conquering their lands and forcing them into slavery. I hope none of their warriors will find us.

The river is getting wider, it means that we are getting closer to the sea, Oleg has been in the sea, he says that the sailors call it Black sea, but he doesn't know why. We are sailing for Constantinople, I don't know where it is, but Oleg told me that it is a vast city, even bigger than Kiev. I doubt it, I can't imagine a city bigger than Kiev. He also informed me that it is a hot place, snow is not that common in winter and the sun shines so strong every summer that people have to seek shelter from the unrelenting heat.

"We are stopping here" he instructs " Put your board away, bring the rope over that rock and make a solid knot" he continues while he drives the boat closer to the bank. I quickly put my board, pen and the few ink left in the small storage room in the boat's hull and, as the boat gets close enough, I jump on the land and start knotting the rope around the rock. We travel only at night so the Cumans are less likely to see us. Now the boat is anchored along the river bank, Oleg jumps down the boat bringing our two backpacks, his huge Danish axe, my little hunting axe, my Cuman bow, some arrows and his sharp hunting knife which he is able to throw with extreme precision. We have to search for supplies, I wonder how we can find food or anything useful in the lifeless steppes of the nomad lands. I take my backpack, my axe, and my Cuman bow, I fasten twelve arrows on my belt and we split up, we will get a better chance of finding something doing so. "We will meet here at sunset, be careful son" Oleg tells me, as I start walking along the river nothwards.

The sun is already up, the days are getting longer and the nights shorter, the snow is also melting away quickly on the steppes, as we move closer to the hot season. It has been five days since Oleg and I had to flee from Kiev, we had to abandon everything we had, our little home on the river, close to the bridge on the river, with the garden where I learned to use the bow. Now we are fleeing from Kiev and the land of the Rus through that same river, with the few things we could bring with us:

Oleg was one of the most trusted advisors of the powerful chief of Kiev, he was in charge of the chief's army and he won many victories for his lord, fighting against the nomads or rebellious vassals. He was the best in all the land of the Rus, he led his troops into battle with wisdom and caution. He was as brave during the charge as wise in his decisions. He always fought on the first line, imbuing the enemies with fear as he advanced, with his impressive stature and strength. His body was covered by a leather armour he personally made, covering it with iron plates so thick that they could stop arrows if they were shot from far away. But the most impressive thing was his massive Danish axe, which required an immense strength just to be lifted, the tremendous weapon was so heavy and the man so strong, that the enemy shields cracked under his blows.