In desperation the Narts sought out Nasren and said: “Nasren, our blessed leader, we have neither fire nor light and death awaits us.  What should we do?”

“Do not worry,” said long-bearded Nasren.  “I shall take fire back from that Paqua.”

Nasren saddled his horse, making sure the girths were tight, and journeyed far until he reached the mountain called Exalted Peak.

Nasren was fearless; without hesitation he sought a way to ascend the mighty summit.   Suddenly a voice, resounding from the summit like thunder, seemed to split the sky in two.

The voice was Paqua.  “You, little man!” he cried.  “What have you come here to do?  If you do not go back, you shall perish at my hands.”

Nasren held his ground and replied, “You stand in god’s place and they say you are benevolent, but how can that be when you have taken away our fire and left us to suffer bitter cold?  We will surely perish.”

"If you intend to go back to your people, then go now and stop giving me a headache!  Otherwise,” said Paqua, “I shall not spare that empty, dull-witted head of yours.  You Narts don’t know what a god is like!  You have forgotten me.  When you brought in an abundant harvest and were sitting around your tables, I was not among you.  You did not offer any of that bountiful harvest to god.  When you returned from your battles laden with booty, you all thought yourselves to be mighty heroes, but no one shared his gain with me.  And now you are looking for a means of ascending this mountain.  You oppose god, but today you have come against one whom you will not vanquish.  I shall bind you to the highest peak and hold you prisoner until you die."

Paqua bound Nasren’s body in chains and then staked him to the summit of Exalted Peak.

Paqua had an enormous eagle, which was greedy for human flesh.  This ravening beast’s wingspan was so great that it could not fly down into the valleys, and its outstretched wings blocked the sun so that the earth became enshrouded in darkness.  In his rage the wicked Paqua set loose this eagle, which flew onto the chest of the mighty Nart.  Its powerful beak tore open his chest with razor sharpness. The eagle pecked at his lungs and drank his heart’s blood.