"Silver and Silk." That is our goal when we make a trip south to warmer waters. We navigate rivers, scale seas and pray to our gods that we make a successful trade:
It was my first time to venture deep into the south. We are first to make a stop in our major trading post eest of the Black Sea (Around Georgia) to organize the merchandise, and then travel west to the city of the golden temples and green minarets. The locals call their city, Anqarah:
We sell a variety of goods in exchange for silver, such as furs or weapons. But our greatest profits come from the trade of people. As we were navigating the Volga river, we had the opportunity to pillage a defenceless town. We prefer not to sever the heads of those we kill; they serve a better purpose as commodities:
While doing business in the marketplace, an elderly man approached our stall. He was of a darkish colour with a lengthy beard. He wore the traditional white garb, covered by a dark shawl. "May I inspect the slaves?", he asks.
He walks over to every chattel and gently raises their chin to make eye contact with them. The look on his face reveals compassion.
"I would like to buy all these captives", he demanded. "Name your price."
We were in for a field day. In mere moments, we have obtained hefty sums of silver coins. The gods were truly on our side. Once the deal has concluded, he ordered every slave to stand in a line in front of us, and one by one, he removed the stockades from their necks. "Let the public know that I have emancipated these people", he proclaimed. He then asked the newly freed persons if they would like any kind of assistance before guiding them away from the streets and eventually to his house.
To my other partners, they were just conducting business; it doesn't matter in the end what customers do to their merchandise as long as they have profited. But the man's action completely astonished me. I asked to be dismissed so I could pursue the man.
After tracking him for a while, he ended up at his house. It was a large villa, coated in white painting and surrounded by walls. From the distance I saw him introducing the people he bought into his house. I approached him and asked for a moment of his time.
"For what reason did you chose to break their bonds to slavery", I asked.
He stared at me intensely, as if trying to reach into my soul. Then he asked me to follow him into the villa.
He led me to his bed room, and uncovered a sword from the floor of his bed. "At one point in my life, I had partaken in many battles." He pointed out peculiar details about his blade, like a crack which happened from striking his blade onto the armour of a Turkic warrior, or the slight bend caused by thrusting his sword into a Byzantine soldier.
"This blade took many lives. What frightened me the most during the fights is how I would encounter my Lord with this burden tied straight to my neck. How would Allah forgive me for the lives I have taken away? I have not yet forgiven myself for the flesh this blade has pierced."
"How is that related to the slaves?"
"I knew that the only way I could have truly fought a just war was if I treated my captives with dignity and respect. Many others do not. Eventually, I have learned that the greatest act of repentance is the freeing of a captive from the bondage of slavery."
We sat a while and shared drinks. Meanwhile, the sun was about to depart from the world, and I knew I had to head back, lest I be forgotten by my partners.
Before that occasion, I relished the raids and capturing of other human beings. After, I began to grow sick of it. Knowing I could never stop the exchange of people, I stopped making trips to the warm, bright south, and lived the rest of my life in my cold, but humble homeland. I would never capture another human again.