Two horsemen were giving chase to some wild goats. Quickly did their
most daring horses run, but still faster did the light little goats
save themselves by flight, jumping across narrow gorges with one bound,
springing on small plateaus, and in a word as though favored with
having wings they seemed to fly through bushes and low shrubs. Now,
however, they made for a very high mountain covered with bushes and
forests and rapidly found their way among green branches and blooming
trees, ascending higher and higher. The pace of the pursuit of the
horsemen considerably slowed down as the various plants were every
now and then the cause of unexpected delays, while their victims,
the goats, were able to catch breath between each long jump and thus
got on rather well and without much difficulty.
The comparatively large horses were of course forced to go out of
their way in order to avoid knocking up against trees, which barred
the trail, and even where the grass had been smoothed out the animals
went rather quietly and the energetic horsemen saw themselves more
than once obliged to cut and bend down massive branches which formed
the chief impediment in the whole undertaking. When after long and
renewed attempts they safely reached the summit of the mountain, the
goats had completely disappeared, and looking in various directions
in order to discover the hiding place of the fugitives, the plucky
horsemen cast their glances at that part of the mountain at the foot
of which spread itself out like a fairyland the perfectly magnificent
valley of Alazana. And how beautiful she looked on this rare sunny day,
all shining with soft sweet rays, separated from each other by a large
number of various colored shades, one more perfect and exquisite than
the other.
Now she would seem to take a bath in some pale, rosy waves, produced
by an unknown marvellous battery of light, then again she so dazzled
in precious gold and finally blazed with emeralds and the branches of
its quite innumerable vineyards. There was also the sea of clusters,
which could be distinguished through its little fruit garden, and
like gigantic flower bushes they concentrated in themselves an amazing
variety of flowers from the very most conspicuous to the darkest and
palest. In astonishment did the hunters stop. Till then none of the
Toushines had known about the existence of the highly blessed and
favored Kakhitia. Being illuminated and showing all of her blinding
beauty, she indeed seemed to them a perfect paradise and attracted
forever their exultant glances. And the hunt and goats and everything
else was forgotten. They stood there in perfect adoration of this
unusual perfection of beauty and being unable to resist any longer
the force which drew them nearer and nearer to the happy land, they
descended into the gorge of Pankisse. On the River Bazzarisse-Tskali
they chanced to come upon a detachment of Tartar frontier guards,
who immediately surrounded the newcomers, and having dealt with them
in the most insulting and truly shameful manner, again chased them
into the mountains from which they had come. Arriving at home, the
indignant Toushines made a halt near that river, where the nation
usually assembled when it was necessary to decide some important
affairs. Here did they also announce the facts of their perilous
adventure and demand a revenge. Soon by the summons of the Elder
there came together not only the Toushines, but also the Pchaves and
Khevsourians, called in to give their advice.
They all unanimously decided to take terrible revenge for the insult
inflicted on their countrymen. The Pchaves and Khevsourians promised
their assistance and with general consent the whole army was divided
into two parts. One division was to conceal itself in the gorge of
Pankisse, while the other should direct itself towards the Baktrionan
fortress, which was situated to the east of Alazana and was in those
remote times considered a very powerful fortification. Nowadays we can
judge of it only by its ruins, which, however, all testify its past
grandeur and mightiness. It was impossible to cross the river otherwise
than over the bridge, which the sly Tartars covered with ashes in order
to always find out the exact number and direction of new arrivals. But
this ingenious slyness was not long hidden from the searching eye
of Zesva, the valiant leader of the detachment. He ordered to stop
the horses near the outer gates and, riding at full speed across the
bridge, he succeeded in hiding himself in a valley before the Tartars
found time to appear. The latter, guiding themselves by the direction
of the traces, started in pursuit of their antagonists, but with every
step getting farther and farther away from those to capture which was
their intense desire. In the meantime the night came on and, profiting
by the darkness, the Toushines reached the foot of the very fortress
without being noticed by anyone. Having ordered his warriors to rest,
Zesva, without breaking the silence, took up a hammer, covered it
with cow-hair felt, unloaded from his horse a very large maprasha
(i.e., a pair of sacks tied unto the steed) filled with strong iron
tusks and knocked the first great nail into the battlements of the
fortress, and standing upon it and reaching as high as possible he made
a second one stick, and thus he continued until he had made himself a
kind of ladder of iron hooks to the tip-top of the high rampart wall,
whence he jumped down and in a flash threw open the heavy gates.
Like a rushing stream did the Toushines make their way into the
fortress, while the first rays of the rising sun were falling upon
the grim old fortifications. The Tartars, half asleep, ran out
into a field, but in vain for now they were met by the Pchaves and
Khevsoures, who had ventured out from the gorge of Pankisse. The
Tartars, surrounded on all sides, were exterminated to the last one
and the field of honor of Allavanne, on which the glorious fight had
taken place, was from now on known under the name of "Gatzvetila"
(from the word "gatsveta"--"they are killing").
The magnanimous and lion-hearted Zesva handed out all the rich booty
of this ever-memorable day to his faithful allies, i.e., the Pchaves
and Khevsoures, while Gatzvetila became the common property of all
Toushines. Nowadays this historic spot is known under the designation,
"Field of Allavanna." Some people pretend that this name comes from the
Georgian word "ali," i.e., "flame," as on this field, after the fire of
the battle, the Tartar blood went on smoking for a long time; others
say this name originates from the Kshtinskian words "al" = vladyka and
"va" = here. This latter supposition, it seems to me, must be nearer in
approaching the truth, as Allvani was one of the country palaces of
Tamara, the ruins of which were not kept, although traditions confirm
the existence of a palace on the above-mentioned field.