Aerg
Aerg's heroic deeds are countless; even God cannot remember them all, let alone humans. People said of him: Aerg – the extinguisher of fire, Aerg – the one tested by the lightning god Aphy. The elders I met said that he fought the fire. They say that with each feat, his strength and power grew, and his beauty became even more striking. He accompanied the Almighty on his journey – let us not lose the light emanating from him!
[Aerg in Abkhazian mythology corresponds to Archangel Michael.]
Once, God, angered by the wicked atsans, sent cotton snow to the earth and set it on fire. The atsans burned, but a calamity descended upon the earth. All living creatures fled from the forest and entered the rivers. The wolf and the roe deer stood side by side, seeking refuge from the fire. The forest guardian Mzytkhua and the wild animal protector Ajweypsh went to God, but God could not accept them because he was hosting the Higher Powers or archangels. They then went to the sun god Shashuy, from whom golden rays emanate. Shashuy saw everything in their eyes. He saw how at that time Aerg fought against the fire.
[Atsans – the original gnome-like people.]
Aerg took the fire and drove it into the river. At that moment, water and fire fell in love with each other and reconciled. Since then, that place has been called the Shore without Water, because the water dried up.
After this heroic act, God trusted Aerg in everything, and Shashuy rewarded him with the name – Hero of the Lightning (Aphy-rkhatsa). Thus, life on earth was saved, and Ajweypsh fulfilled his vow: he sacrificed the best animal to God and recited a prayer, holding the heart and liver of a lamb impaled on a walnut stick.
