Book One (Intro): Avtandil's Quest

Introduction - An Unexpected Meeting

There are areas of the world lost to time where a particular magic comes to life. Some say these places exist between the Renaissance of Europe and the Empire of Rome. Others claim to have found them in the ruins of far older civilizations or outlined in handprints on cave walls and carved into petroglyphs. Much like sunsets, their beauty is undeniable, yet the experience is different for everyone.

For me, I found one such place in an old wine bar, somewhere between the first and last cups of a brilliant burgundy red. It was there I met a man named Ilia. He was old, with a face etched like the bricks of the cellar we drank in.

How long he sat and talked with me is lost, but the story he told pulled me out of place and time. Eventually I lost track of where or even when I sat, but I remember why, and the why of a story is often more important than any other part. This was no exception.

He recited an ancient tale, orally passed from one person to the next for almost a thousand years. As I came to learn, it was first told by a man who loved a woman and his nation, yet neither could acknowledge him. Therein lies the first thread of this tragedy. His story is faithfully retold here, but to truly experience it, you might want to sit down with a glass of Kvarelian red.