Having learned about the death of Aram, the titan Mesrayim gathered a large army and moved to the border of Ararat. The bad news reached Torgom. He met Mesrayim with a small detachment on the border separating Ararat and the Kingdom of Darkness.
And Torgom said to Mesrayim:
“King of the Titans, why are you coming to me with your army? What do you want? If there is not enough light in your land, I will give you light; no creation – I will give it to you; you want to grow flowers – I’ll bring ones to you. Tell me, what do you want?”
To which, Mesrayim answered:
“King of the Earthly Gods, I do not need light – I respect darkness; I do not need creation – I crave destruction; I do not need flowers – I get drunk on smells of thorns.”
And Torgom said:
“Mesrayim, what you want is in your country and you strive to take over Ararat in vain. Here, we don’t have what you seek.”
Mesrayim mocked the naivety of Torgom:
“You are brave, Torgom, but green, have not yet mastered the wisdom of the Creator. You are a god and I am a titan. According to the will of Father Ara, your cause is creation, and mine is destruction and devastation.”
And Torgom said:
“Mesrayim, the Creator has prepared different roles for us. He has given us different lands as well. Let everyone fulfill his role on his land.”
“You are not wise, brave Torgom”, Mesrayim said, “In my Desert, what can I destroy if there is no creation? Creation is in Ararat, and only there I can devastate! I came to fight against you.
If I am stronger, I will conquer Ararat, and under the protection of my god Vishap, I will destroy it and take away the light. If you are stronger, you will conquer my Desert and establish light and creation under the protection of your god Vahagn.”
“Mesrayim,” Torgom said, “I do not need your land. If you are happy in the darkness, live without light on your land. I will only fight for my land, for Ararat that I inherited from my ancestors and must give to the descendants with the same bright, rich, and blooming light. I will fight to ensure that my kind lives and creates in Ararat forever.”
“How are we going to fight?” Mesrayim asked.
“Mesrayim”, Torgom said, “let’s not endanger our young warriors, let’s fight against each other.”
Seeing what brave men are behind Torgom, Mesrayim agreed.
“How are we going to fight?” Torgom asked, “With swords or arrows, maces, or hand-to-hand? Choose.”
Mesrayim hesitated, “If we fight with swords, there is no escape from his lightning-sword, if arrows – he is young and sharp-eyed, if clubs – his mace is very heavy. Perhaps, I will avoid death if we fight hand-to-hand.”
And Torgom clashed with Mesrayim so that the earth trembled under their feet and the dust rose up to the sky. Their terrible screams spread far around, so that the people of Ararat said, “Thunder is roaring in the sky.” And the people of the Desert thought, “The mountains are falling because of an earthquake.”
They fought for three days and three nights and could not defeat each other. Torgom was strong and Mesrayim was cunning. On the fourth day, Mesrayim felt that his strength was decreasing, but unlike him, Torgom was becoming stronger. And Mesrayim said:
“Stop, Torgom, you are invincible not by yourself, you were given the power of your God Vahagn.”
“Yes”, Torgom replied, “But you are not disingenuous by yourself as well. The cunningness of your god Vishap has passed on to you.”
“It’s true. We will never overcome one another. Let’s reconcile. I will praise my god and you glorify yours. And let’s fraternize and swear that we will protect each other’s families if one of us dies. If I die before you, you will protect my family, and if you die before me, I will become the patron of your family.”
They shook hands and swore on their ancestors to be brothers from then on. Naive was Torgom, and his reconciliation was sincere. Devious was Mesrayim, and his vow was fake. Torgom returned to the eternal city.
He was pleased with himself, he was sure that he had done a noble thing. And he lit a large fire, made sacrifices, glorified Father Ara, immortal gods, and holy ancestors. But he was surprised when he saw that the gods and souls of their ancestors didn’t participate in this rite.
Torgom understood that the gods had not accepted his sacrifice. He became sad, thoughtful. And Mother Anahit appeared to him. He sank to her knees and said:
“Mother Anahit, tell me what is my mistake, why gods do not accept my sacrifice, for I reconciled without spilling blood.”
“No, my child, you were deceived by Mesrayim. Know that cunning is the dignity of his people and their only weapon against you. And you were stroke with this weapon. And because of this vow, many generations of you will fight using their own blood.”
Anxiety seized Torgom, and he began to think how to save his kind from the vow he had given. And he erected impregnable fortresses, but alas, he hadn’t been able to build one against the trickery of Mesrayim.
“The one who has ears will listen and understand…”
