During the time of the great expansion of Genghis Khan's empire, the Mongols often faced resistance from powerful rulers. It was against their laws to spill royal blood, so when they needed to make an example of a king who didn't give tribute, they would put that ruler in a large bag made of pitch-sealed woven horse hide and kick him to death.

Although they were passed down from leader to leader, the majority of these bags were lost when the empire of the Khan fell, burned by the peasants or forgotten about and discarded. Some were kept in secret by the last remnants of the Khan's old shamanic cults, and found their way to various new homes among occultist groups and unscrupulous antiques collectors.

Many legends have arisen around the Shrouds of the Golden Horde, as they were named, including that if you look deep into one and speak the name of the great Khan's rival shaman, Teb Tengri Kokhchu, he would answer your questions in a sepulchural voice from beyond the veil. Other tales tell of the bags being turned inside-out, spilling an endless river of blood from within, although the strain of holding them so for long is beyond mortal power.

A guilty person, it was said, could hide from their persecutors in the bags, although some never emerged afterwards, mysteriously vanishing, and yet others were spat out, bruised and battered to death. Which crimes caused the displeasure of the bags are not well known, as only those who never escaped can speak that truth.

In appearance the bags are of very ancient, stiff leather, large enough to fit a tall man inside, and decorated with stitched emblems of ravens and wolves portrayed in a primitive manner. If torn or holed, the bags lose all potency.