Tului awoke to the brisk morning air sweeping over the steppe, the vast grasslands shimmering under the soft sunlight. The yurt flap was drawn open by Anya, her dark eyes bright with determination.
"Come," she said, handing him a worn leather satchel filled with small stones and sticks. "Today, we count more than animals. We count strength."
Bayar, the clan elder, leaned heavily on his staff as he appeared beside them. "The herds scatter wide. Not easy to count, but necessary."
On sturdy horses, they rode out across the rolling hills. The low murmur of hooves mingled with the soft bleats of sheep and the occasional snort of horses. Herds stretched in patches, some grazing calmly, others restless under the watchful gaze of stallions.
Anya pointed ahead. "The foals stay near the northern ridge, where the grass is youngest."
Tului scanned the landscape, mentally dividing the stretch into manageable sections, a technique born from memories of his former life's maps and strategy.
"Let us start there," he said, gripping the reins tightly.
The counting was methodical. With each group, Anya called out numbers and health statuses, while Tului used pebbles and etched notches to track. Sometimes a sudden movement—a stallion's charge or a panicked sheep—scattered part of the herd, breaking their rhythm. But patience steadied their efforts.
Hours passed beneath the bending sun, their bodies weary but minds sharp.
At one point, Bayar chuckled. "City-born you may be, Prince, but your eyes see what others miss."
Anya smiled. "He brings order to chaos."
Twilight stretched golden fingers over the land as the trio returned to camp. The clan gathered, murmurs of the new methods spreading.
Around a crackling fire, Bayar laid out the stones and sticks, a mosaic of numbers and meaning.
"You have done well," he praised. "This knowledge gives the Khan power over uncertainty."
Tului's gaze lifted beyond the firelight, tracing the stars emerging in the vast sky. His new world was harsh and wild, but the promise of understanding and control flickered in his soul.
Kyiv felt a distant ghost, but here beneath these endless heavens, he would forge a new path, step by step, stone by stone.