** Part I – “Daughter of the Steppe.” **
** Part II – “Golden Arrow” **
** Part III – “Silver River” **
*** Altun “Zlatá Strela” – The Song’s Backstory ***
*The Princess of Two Worlds
Altun was born from a union that shook the very foundations of the Avar Khaganate. Her father, Kagan Bayan III, was a fearsome Avar warlord who commanded the vast steppes of Pannonia. Her mother, Princess Světlana of the Moravian Slavs, was given to him as part of a political alliance – a gesture meant to secure peace between the two peoples.
*The Golden Arrow’s Birth
The marriage was arranged, but love unexpectedly bloomed between the fierce nomad ruler and the proud Slavic princess. When Altun was born, she inherited her father’s warrior spirit and her mother’s defiant independence. The Avar court called her “Altun” – meaning “golden” in their tongue, for her striking beauty. But among her mother’s people, she became known as “Zlatá Strela” – the Golden Arrow – for her unmatched skill with the bow and her swift, decisive nature.
*Two Cultures, One Warrior
Growing up bilingual and bicultural, Altun learned the ways of both peoples. From her father’s clan, she mastered horsemanship, the art of war, and the code of the steppe. From her mother’s court, she absorbed Slavic poetry, their fierce love of freedom, and their resistance to subjugation. This duality made her unique – she could speak to both Avar warriors and Slavic chieftains as one of their own.
*The Name That Bound Two Peoples
“Zlatá Strela” became more than just a nickname. It symbolized the bridge between two worlds – the golden wealth and power of the Avar Empire, and the silver-sharp determination of the Slavic spirit. When she rode to battle, both Avar and Slavic warriors followed her, seeing in her the best of both their traditions.
*Legacy of the Song
The song “Zlatá Strela” tells of her greatest deed – the defense of the borderlands against Byzantine invaders. In that moment, she wasn’t just an Avar princess or a Slavic warrior maiden, but something entirely new: a leader who could unite the steppe and the forest, the nomad and the settled, under one banner of freedom.
Her bilingual war cry – mixing Avar battle shouts with Slavic invocations – became legendary, echoing across the Pannonian plains as both a promise to allies and a warning to enemies.
Across the endless steppe she rides
Black stallion beneath the crimson sky
Golden braids flow like rivers wide
Altun’s name makes enemies cry
Her bow of gold, her arrows true
Princess of the Avar clan
Born to fight, born to pursue
Freedom’s call across the land
Golden Arrow, daughter of the wind
Zlatá Strela, wild and free
None can tame what can’t be pinned
Steppe-born warrior, born to be
Golden Arrow, hear the thunder roll
Zlatá Strela, fierce and bright
Fire burning in her soul
Riding through the endless night
Byzantine lords flee from her sight
Three arrows pierced their armored pride
[Add floor tom accents, crash cymbals]
No marriage chains can hold her tight
The steppe itself stands by her side
Her father’s tent, the Kagan’s law
Cannot contain her restless heart
She is the storm without a flaw
A legend playing freedom’s part
Golden Arrow, daughter of the wind
Zlatá Strela, wild and free
None can tame what can’t be pinned
Steppe-born warrior, born to be
Golden Arrow, hear the thunder roll
Zlatá Strela, fierce and bright
Fire burning in her soul
Riding through the endless night
When the eagles cry above
And the grass bends to her will
She chooses war before she’ll love
Her destiny to fulfill
Golden Arrow, legend of the steppe
Zlatá Strela, forever free
In the wind her name is kept
Altun’s immortality