The mysterious narrative is preceded by an appeal to Dream, the “airy girlfriend of young days,” whose presence is promised a sweet memory.
Thunderbolt
In time immemorial, the Stormbreaker sat above the foamy Dnieper. He curses his sad lot, a poor and homeless life with which he is ready to settle accounts. But in the image of a severe old man, Asmodeus appears to him, promises wealth, fun, friendship of princes and the affection of virgins. Instead, it requires a soul. He convinces Thunderbolt that hell is not at all terrible ("Our hell is no worse than paradise"), and he expects Thunderbolt anyway - sooner or later. Upon reflection, he signs a contract, receives a wallet with gold that is not transferable in it and ten years of carefree life. “And the Stormbreaker went out into the people”: wealth, prosperity, luck - all with him. He abducts twelve maidens, not embarrassed by their pleas, and they give birth to his twelve daughters. But with Thunder, paternal feelings are unfamiliar, and the daughters grow in the walls of the monastery, abandoned by the cares of their father. Together with their gentle mothers, they pray for the salvation of their souls and forgiveness by the Thunder. But the years pass quickly, and the last day of Thunder-granting a comfortable life comes. Overcome with longing, he seeks salvation from the Savior icon, but he does not have faith in his soul, and, having called his daughters, he wants them to buy his forgiveness with their innocent prayer. And the daughters meekly pray for him, but when night falls they fall asleep.
In the dead of midnight, when all nature seemed to threaten the Thunderbolt, a demon appeared and, no matter how poor the beggar begs for a reprieve, he intends, having cast out his soul, to cast it into hell. whose horrors are now hidden. But the sight of sleeping babies inflames the demon with a new idea, and he offers the Thunderbolt to buy ten more years of life with his daughter souls. Frightened by the abysses that opened to him, Stormbreaker wakes the child, writes them with his hands - and receives a reprieve. But the one who killed his daughters, shamed his life, there is neither joy nor joy in her, only one dull expectation of the end. And the sight of flowering children settles in his soul terrible torment. Stormbreaker, all hope of which is now in remorse, throws open the doors of the house to the poor, orphans and widows, builds a temple, calls on the craftsmen to paint the icons, and on one of them the saint looks with love at the worshipers of Stormbreaker and his daughters. Before that icon, the Stormbreaker prays, weighed down by chains.
But time is running out and a terrible time is coming. Broken by an ailment, the Stormbreaker is not able to visit the temple and will only raise his eyes to heaven, full of meekness and supplication. And now the terrible day has come, and the suffering sinner meets him “with a groan and tears,” surrounded by praying daughters who do not know their share. With the onset of night, the “fearful” nature subsides. And suddenly a quiet breeze blows, God's temple opens, and, surrounded by radiance, the wondrous old man approaches the Thunder and the virgins. He touches them with a coat of clothing, and the maidens fall into a dream. Surprised by horror, Stormbreaker meets his gaze, full of reproach, asks who he is and what to expect, and the elder replies that they honored his face in the temple, and that Thunder should be hoped and afraid. Along with the thunderstorm, midnight comes, and in a flame and a cod is a demon. However, the view of the elder confuses him, he demands his prey, but the avenger angel appears in height and announces the will of the creator: until the one who is pure in his soul ignites his love for one of the virgins, not seeing her, and does not come to remove her and his sisters spell, they will sleep a sound sleep, and their father’s soul is sentenced to languish in an outcast grave, waiting for the atonement and awakening of their children.
With the onset of morning, sleeping virgins and the deceased Thunderbolt are found. And when, after the burial, the mourners go to the "house of sorrow", granite walls suddenly covered by forest stand before them, the gates on the gates fall with a rattle, and, frightened, they run. Soon, the neighboring places come to desolation, they are left by people and animals. And every midnight, a shadow comes out of a lonely grave and holds out a hand in a prayer to the impregnable walls, and one of the sleeping people gets up and walks around a high wall, looking into the distance, full of longing and expectation (“No way, no savior!”). And with the new moon the maiden is replaced. And so centuries pass, and the term of redemption is unknown.
Vadim
The handsome young man Vadim, captivating Novgorod with beauty and courage, spends time in the hunt, not frightened by either a wild beast or bad weather. Once he sees a dream, the meaning of which is not clear to him: a wonderful husband, dressed in bright robes, with a cross shining on his chest, walks without touching the ground, holding a silver bell in his hand. He foreshadows Vadim "desired in the distance" and is called his guide. At the same instant, Vadim sees a virgin whose features are hidden by a veil, and on her forehead lies a fragrant wreath. She beckons him to her. And the awakened Vadim still hears the ringing of the bell. Around the usual picture: the rolling waters of the Volkhov, a wide meadow, hills - and above something rings, - and falls silent. Three times in a row he sees the same dream and, unable to resist striving, says goodbye to his parents and mounts his horse. At the crossroads, he gives free rein to the horse, and he jumps straight south, not taking the path.
Days run after days; Vadim is always welcome; when he has to spend the night in a field of il in the forest, he is not disturbed by either a wild beast or a snake. Vadim reaches the wide Dnieper and, with the flashes of a thunderstorm beginning, drives into a dense forest. He has to punch his way with the sword, he moves further and further into the bowl. Suddenly he hears screams - mournful, praying and ferocious, wild. He rushes ahead and, having reached a clearing, sees a mighty giant with a beauty in his arms. Swinging his sword, he cuts off a hand with a terrible club raised at him. The defeated enemy dies, and Vadim hurries to the captive. She turns out to be the daughter of a Kiev prince, to whom the Lithuanian prince (“Enemy of the Orthodox Church”) inflamed with passion and sent a messenger in order to abduct her. He hid for a long time in the wilds, waiting, and now, when the princess and her friends gathered flowers, he grabbed her and carried her into the forest. Vadim, having put the damsel behind him on a horse, drives into a jungle from a glade, and then an unprecedented thunderstorm breaks out, trees collapse, the wind howls, and the troubled Vadim does not see a haven anywhere. But in the light of the ignited fir lightning, he notices a mossy cave and goes to it. There, burning a fire, folding chain mail, he squeezes moisture from the princess’s golden curls and warms her quivering Persians with his breath.
The beautiful princess inflames feelings in Vadim, and he already seals her hot kiss on his lips, when he suddenly hears a familiar ringing in the distance. And he imagines someone's invisible flight, someone’s sad sigh. The princess falls asleep on his hands and wakes up in the morning, and they go to Kiev. There, on the porch, there is a prince crushed by sorrow, outfitting a squad in pursuit of the adversary and promising his throne and daughter's hand to the deliverer. But Vadim appears with the princess, and the jubilant prince rewards him.
When in the evening everyone is having fun at the princely feast, Vadim, worried about the unceasing ringing, goes to the Dnieper, sees the shuttle with a sail, with a rowing oar, but empty ("We’re coming to him <...> To Vadim he ..."). The boat is carrying it faster, silence is around, rocks are approaching, the black forest is reflected in the waves, the moon is fading - and the boat is landing on the shore. Vadim comes out and, drawn by obscure power, climbs up steep cliffs. Before him is a stalled, moss-covered forest ("And, hesitates, life in that country / It has never happened from a century"); with the moon rising, he sees an ancient temple on a hill, collapsed fences, fallen pillars, gaping arches and a gravestone with a rickety cross. An awakened raven flies from him, and a ghost rises from the grave, goes to the temple, knocks. But the door does not open. And the ghost goes between the wreckage further. Vadim follows him, seized with fear, and sees a silent castle behind a battlement. Some vague expectation fills the hero. Fog flies from the moon, boron is silvering, a breeze blows from the east, and suddenly a familiar ringing is heard from the wall. Vadim sees a virgin walking along the wall, covered with a foggy veil, another towards them, they approach each other, give each other a hand, and one goes down to the castle, and the other continues on his way, staring into the distance, full of expectation. And suddenly, in the light of the rising sun, she sees a knight - and the veil flies from her brow, and the gate dissolves. They aspire to each other. "They agreed ... oh spring, a true dream!" Awakened virgins come from the tower. Evangelism is heard, the temple is opened, prayer is heard there. Vadim and the maiden at the royal gate, a wedding hymn suddenly sounds, and in their hands there are candles, their heads under the crowns. A quiet voice calls them tenderly, and here they are in front of the grave, it is bright, c. flowers, and her cross is entwined with a lily. And after centuries, when both the castle and the cloister - everything was hidden, in that place a lush forest is green and a whisper is sweet in the wind. Where the ashes of nuns, who were waiting for their death at the tomb of their father, are hidden, in the morning light hour “There are secrets of miracles”: a chorus of hermits is heard, a cross shines and, crowned with stars, praying virgins appear.
