ravines called Seksir and Shakyrgy at the mouth of the Kherlen River. Since antiquity, this land has been the domain of the Khongirad tribe, which was ruled by Dai Setsen at the time. On the bank of the Kherlen River, near a pine forest there are nine-winged and six-winged white yurts connected to each other. According to the tradition of the wealthy rulers of that time, the larger house was intended for receiving guests, whilst the smaller houses were made as living quarters where two adjacent yurts were brought together with a wide sliding door-partition. A large, nine-winged yurt, as if sliced in half by a sabre, can only be seen in part. It was made so that the very colourful interior decoration was visible. From above the lattice walls and fastened poles, many different furs hung – the pelts of a bear, wolf, fox, sable and a tiger. Since this yurt was considered a living room, everything was placed to provide an elegant, and the desire was to have the best decoration. The owner of the house, Dai Setsen, stretched out his hand to the back of Muzbalak (a mountain golden eagle in its prime, five years old) who is perched on a tightrope. Feeling that someone was stroking it and recognising its owner, the eagle let out a guttural screech. DAI SETSEN: Oh, Muzbalak, have you finally started to recognise me?! From now on, we will be inseparable; we will be friends… Yes, for a whole week you wouldn’t close your eyes or even eat red meat. You were always so exhausted, and now I’m putting you on a stand. Come, sit down here. Like this, like this! And don’t be afraid of me anymore, alright? You look pretty hungry. Satin, do you hear me? Satin! Bring some food, some cleaned up rabbit meat, I need to feed Muzbalak. Satin brings the food in a bowl on a wooden tray. SATIN: He’s been through a lot of hardships – we haven’t let him sleep for over a week and we haven’t even given food to the poor fellow. His eyes were closed a second ago until you pulled the rope and woke him up. Wasn’t that awfully cruel of you? DAI SETSEN: Without such training, how can one hope to tame a wild golden eagle? It’s not cruelty, just education. Dai Setsen takes a piece of thinly

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