The Tale of Brave Chilten. Part 3. Chapters 1-2

The Dream of Aikokul.

Part 3. Chapter 1

What frightened and confused
Aikokul as she awoke from her sleep?
But an invisible point
Suddenly pierced her heart.
Or will someone close to her
Be struck by a cruel fate?
Or are her dearest ones
Now ambushed by an enemy?
A delusion —
Three days ago
A dream brought a haze:
With fire-like eyes, spotted and striped,
A wild goat appeared to her.
It bent down, preparing to leap, 
And brave Chilten was on guard —
He grabbed its fur, mounted up...
And the leopard flies with its rider.
As if tigers began to fight here,
Shaking the earth with their struggle,
And as if the whole country
Was covered in a cloud of dust!
But when the duel quieted,
The dust settled and light burst forth...
What a wonder — they are not visible,
Neither one nor the other is there!
In fear, she jumped from her bed...
She looks:
In the sky, the first dawn breaks...
Neighing. The sound of countless hooves.
It is dawn, and the night is over.
Again — night...
And in her dream appeared
The same knight in shining armor...
Once again, the wild goat creeps up to him,
Consumed by thirst for blood.
The girl wants to scream — only a hoarse
Gasp freezes in her throat. Can it be that
The hero perishes without spear and sword?!
Aikokul woke up, screaming...
And in today's dream, Aikokul —
The same beast, opening its jaws,
Is lurking, not lurking,
Ready to attack Chilten.
The knight quickly dealt with it.
...And opening her arms to her beloved,
She runs up,
But the gust of wind,
But the sudden rush of a whirlwind,
Aikokul, like a blade of grass, was swept away.
Chilten was surrounded by troops,
And the enemies — like sand in the desert...
“Oh, fate, divert the enemy's sword!” —
She woke up and cried bitterly.
Her heart races, tearing in her chest,
Her heart suffers, it aches.
The dream returns for the third night
It needs interpretation...
She ran to Türykük-Ene,
Telling her about the troubling dream,
The wise mother, after divining,
Interprets the dream and says: 
“Your hero killed the wild goat,
This means he is alive,
The hero is surrounded by troops...
This means he is held captive by sorrow,
If he passed by accidentally,
It means he is searching, breathing only for you.
If he does not heed your call, know,
He longs to hear your voice...
I have divined, and I had a sign,
That in the coming days, an eagle will fly into the aïl,
But on that day, before the crowd,
He will be ensnared by cunning,
And Norton will destroy him!”
And hearing these words,
Aikokul, barely alive,
Told Türykük-Ene everything.
To the wise Mother, alone
She called out, bowing low:
“Since ancient, dark times
You are the only one among us,
For whom a century is but an hour,
You do not tire of life,
You do not value the power of death at all,
You will not fade, you will not break,
Mother-Support, source of goodness!

And Chilten: — your foal,
Help me overcome this evil fate!
If I become another's wife,
The night will cover my whole life.
I know, Norton is preparing a wedding,
For the villain, both weeping and groaning!
His courtship is hateful to me,
But can I harm the one,
With whom I grew up, who is faithful to me?
Help me, it is so hard for me!..
Can I betray Chilten,
Can the shame of dishonor
Cover my forehead like soot?”
And unable to control herself —
Tears pour down like rain, like a stream,
And the stern Mother of the people
Comforts her, advises her:
“The knight rushes straight to you,
So hide, conceal yourself from sight!
Your face, like the moon,
Can destroy him right now...
The pike pulls into the deep bay,
The hero Chorton is weak in the mountains,
Let Chilten, if the sword is drawn,
Strive to entice the khan to the mountains.
But if he is invited as a guest — so be it,
Let him not enter the final fold...”
Only now, gradually, slightly,
Aikokul's face brightened.
The sun touched the clouds.
And over the lake, dawn broke.

Chapter 2
The Master of Vast Lands — Chorton the Hero

Chorton ruled
The entire land of the lakeside valleys,
He tasted all the fruits,
He alone drew the blessings of the earth.
The wretched people paid an annual tax...
Thus, the lord is greedy and strict,
He will take even a poor sheep.
And when the plague began,
The aïls agreed,
If the tribe of Chorton saves
And feeds the hungry people,
For the savior of the entire district
They will give the one who is more beautiful than fairies.
Aikokul will be given to him.
Aikokul is a blooming fairy,
The moonbeam sent her beauty...
Now they ride to the wedding feast
Countless people, many crowds...
(We can see the faces of the human river
In the stone mirror.)
And forty bright wedding yurts are set up on the shore...
A herd is being driven in behind the herd.
Anticipating the feast and the celebration,
The khan prepares a grand feast —
Tomorrow is his golden day!
With drums, the messengers ride,
Proclaiming to all corners: 
“Refreshments — in any tent,
The khan feeds from his generosity.
Let each clan decorate the festive yurt with a coat of arms!”
In handling the spear,
One by one, they prepare the strongmen
For the laborious struggle.
Bows are prepared for shooting
At the shiny, sun-like jamba,
The servants whirl around like in a wheel...
Everyone is occupied with anticipation.
Suddenly, everyone sees with their own eyes: in the distance
Someone is galloping, the road is dusty!
Closer, closer the sound of hooves.
A fearsome rider enters the meadow.
No one knows the hero,
With him — only a handful of young daredevils.
Here, the groom jumped up, agitated, and struck his chest with his fist...
He looked around and saw Chorton,
That at the wedding yurt, the young man,
With a face similar to a golden eagle and strong,
Sits on a swift horse.
And he ordered the young man:
“Ride out to the strangers,
Find out what they want from us!
If they seek shelter at night,
I allow them to stay in that,
But if they have come with ill intent —
Then their last hour has come!..”
The young man touched the horse with the whip, took off
And gallops away...
Aikokul sympathizes with him,
A loyal friend and a great trickster.

From the young man, the hero learned
Everything about his beloved,
He learned,
That his people are poor and orphaned,
Weak and small before the predator.
But the hero will not betray his own...
And Chilten learned the reason
For the gathering of so many tribes and clans.
The festive celebration is noisy, colorful.
And Chorton honors Chilten,
The rider dismounted, bowed,
He said:
“We are traveling far,
But decided to stop here...”
He tied his horse to the yurt,
Took out ten bear skins,
Immediately, unloading his pack,
He brought a gift to the feast.

To be continued...
Beginning:The Tale of Brave Chilten. Part 2. Chapters 4-5