English
Section 15
He began the letter with praise, then gave a full and correct reply.
He wrote: I have read your letter from start to finish, and heard your rambling words point by point.
Ruyin delivered your message to us, every single thing you named, one by one.
But your conduct amazed me, along with all this smooth, flattering talk of yours.
Your heart is no neighbor to your tongue; your soul has no substance drawn from wisdom.
Everywhere you apply your sweet talk; that is how you bring out such ornamented speech.
Anyone who has no wisdom at his core might mistake you for a kind and caring man.
Like a salt flat that from a distance looks like water when the sun beats down on it.
But this is no time for deceit and trickery; it is the hour of the mace, the sword, and the lasso.
Between you and me there is nothing but hatred and battle; this is no time for replies or a day for talk.
Watch now how the wheel of fate will turn; this is no place for deceit, bonds, or affection.
To whom the Lord of the world will grant strength, to whom triumphant fortune will hand the light.
Still, hear my answer to what you said: keep wisdom in mind, let fortune lead the way.
First, what you said: out of love, and by God and the turning of doom itself,
you do not want war to come upon you, that your heart had grown weary of this unjust affair.
Your heart was no friend to your tongue at the moment you fastened those words to it.
If there were justice within your heart, you would not have been the first to reach for blood.
For from the very start of this business you were never slow to shed blood.
The first who came before you was Giv, one of Iran's shrewd and valiant men,
who had readied an army for war, roaring from one land to another.
You were the one who reached first for war; you were the one who uprooted the troops from their place.
If wisdom had come last and you had come first, in the end there would have been more peace.
But an evil nature and an evil temperament will not let you walk the road of wisdom.
Evil itself is bred into that lineage; doing evil suits that seed.
You have heard what came to the fortunate Iraj from Tur, for the sake of crown and throne.
When the land fell into the hands of Tur and Salm, they spread injustice and hatred everywhere.
Fereydun, who from the pain in his heart, day and night, opened his lips to curse the two of them.
That evil hatred passed on to Afrasiab, one of those famed men of little wisdom.
From the start he nursed fresh hatred against Manuchehr, and likewise against Nozar and Kai Qobad.
And what he did to Kavus, he did indeed: he raised dust from flourishing Iran.
After that, to avenge Siavash, he cast this fresh and long feud upon us.
Didn't it come back to you then, how he gave up his sweet life though he was innocent?
How many great men were torn from their thrones and destroyed in Iran through this feud.
And another thing you said: that no one girds himself to shed the blood of an old man.
Know this, you world-worn deceiver, you who have seen the heights and depths of every affair:
God granted me a long life, along with a proud and towering fortune,
so that on the day of battle I might raise the dust of vengeance from the land of Turan up to the sun.
I fear only this: that my God might tear the soul out of my body
before I have carried out this vengeance, before I have trampled your land and soil beneath my feet.
Third, you said you see no fear or awe of holy God in my heart.
Don't you know that by this reckless bloodshed you have in the end brought yourself to ruin?
Now, if because of these fine words of yours I were to turn back from fighting you,
then when the Creator questions me about the turning of these days,
he would say: I gave you leadership, treasure, and courage, strength and wisdom too.
Why, then, did you not gird yourself before the people of Iran to avenge Siavash?
For the seventy slain and my dear son, the just Judge will call me to account.
What would I say in answer before the world's Creator, why I turned back from vengeance?
The fourth point about Siavash, old commander, is the argument you laid before me:
you said that for the sake of one who has already turned to dust, it is not right to take a living man's pure soul.
But you should recognize these ugly deeds, this heart filled with every kind of grievance,
the things you people did to the land of Iran, how many of its noble kings you have wronged.
Breaking pacts, plotting hatred, always rushing toward evil.
When I remember all this, how can I make peace, when you sowed nothing but evil in return for kindness?
Fifth, you said you would make a treaty and hand over the chiefs of Turan as hostages,
that we would send treasure to Khosrow and shut the road of suffering upon ourselves.
Know this, guardian of the army of Turan: our orders from the king are otherwise.
He commanded me to make war, to close in and shed blood in vengeance for Siavash.
If I do not carry out Khosrow's command, my soul will feel shame in the next world.
And if you hope that Khosrow, out of love, will show you a kind face for these words,
then send the hostages and all the wealth there is, along with Lahhak and Ruyin, devoted to the king.
Send word quickly to the king; the road to the land of Iran now lies open.
The sixth thing you named was the land of Iran, a flourishing realm of noble stock.
You said we would hand it all over to Khosrow, and I would gather my flocks around me from every side.
But God has made you free of that need; if you do not know it, let me reveal the secret.
From the west all the way to the border of the Khazars, the whole land has fallen entirely to Lohrasp.
In the south, as far as Sind, the world has become like a face of shining silk.
Mighty Rostam the brave, with his sharp sword, raised among them the breath of doomsday.
Rostam sent the head of the Indian chief, with his black banner, to the king.
Dehestan and Khwarazm and all that land where the Turks had risen up in revolt,
he cleared the desert of them, then made ready to strike toward the west.
Ashkash rained hail down upon Shideh and brought him close to death.
He sent the captives and much of the spoils to Khosrow as well.
And on this side, you and I are locked in battle, staking our honor and our name on this ground.
In a single fight you have seen the full might of these famous warriors and valiant men.
But if you will meet me face to face, I will free you from all this talk.
By the power of God and the king's command, I will drown this battlefield in blood.
You, renowned commander of the army, look at this turning of the sun and the moon,
for the trap of the heavens has closed in, and the fortune of the Turks has come to its end.
See what the Creator of the world will bring down upon your head for your evil deeds.
Fate has withdrawn its skirt from evil; the punishment for evil appears as evil in return.
Think clearly and open your ears; listen to the words of a wise man.
Know that an army as renowned as this, a hundred thousand sword-wielding riders,
all seekers of glory, all thirsting for revenge, will not be turned from this field by any spell.
The seventh point has come: you cast your loyalty to the ground and made oaths worthless.
I have no talk of pacts with you; wisdom will not let your soul buy such trust.
For with everyone you make a pact, you break your faith in the end.
By your oath Siyavash was thrown to the wind; let no one feel safe trusting your word.
You were no help to him on his day of pain, though how often he called on you in his hardship.
As for the eighth, you said the crown and throne, my manhood and fortune, are greater than mine;
likewise I surpass you in warriors and treasure, but my heart is tormented for want of love.
I think that by now you have surely tested me in battle.
If you found me without skill on the day of war, then watch me now again.
In the end you said: choose a few brave men from among the warriors for the fight.
In the same way, I will bring from the Turkish army riders who kill men.
But out of the love I bear my troops, I do not want to spread the injustice of vengeance.
You step forward with kindness, though you know the hidden thoughts and purpose of your own heart.
The world ruling king would be angered by me if I tore the two armies apart from each other.
I accept what you proposed: choose a champion to face me on this field of vengeance.
There is an army full of guilt before me, hearts filled with malice from their gathering.
The king would not agree with me were I to turn away from them in this matter.
First, in the crowded press, the whole group must be struck down with a blow like a mountain.
Draw up two ranks between the two armies; if victory shows itself, so be it.
But if not, we will bring these same famous men and set the ground for battle.
If you break away from this proposal, I for my part will not withdraw from my word.
And if you do not wish to meet me on the field with your army,
then ask for troops and support from your commander, and guard your fight with care.
The wounded scattered through your army, your close kinsmen and relations,
leave them until the physicians heal them; now is your time to ask for a respite in this matter.
If you want a delay from me, take it; and if you seek war, then prepare for war.
I say this so that on the day of battle you cannot make excuses against us,
claiming that you came upon us suddenly in war, that you set an ambush and struck without warning.
If I hold to this vengeance for a hundred years, it stays the same, and it is the same even now.
There is no hope of turning away from this hatred; for the blind, night and day are one and the same.
When the reply to the letter was finished, the messenger came, swift as a fairy.
Belt at his waist, mounted on a fast steed, with a few men riding around him.
The brave Ruyin dismounted from his horse and led all the warriors before Gudarz.
The commander ordered the priests and all the renowned wise men of the army
to come quickly to the champion, wise and clear of soul.
Then the champion ordered the reply to the letter to be read aloud before the warriors.
The nobles, who listened to that heart pleasing letter, heard the words of the blessed scribe.
They gave little weight to Piran's wisdom and counsel; they treated all his advice as trivial.
They called down blessings on Gudarz and named him their chosen champion.
Then he sealed the letter and handed it to Ruyin, of Piran's line, son of Viseh.
When they rose from Gudarz's presence, he ordered robes of honor to be prepared:
Arabian horses with golden bridles, crowns as well, and swords in golden sheaths.
He gave his companions silver and gold, and to each, as fit him, a helmet and a belt.
The champion left the court with his troops and made his way back toward his own army.
When Ruyin reached Piran, he came before his father as was proper.
He bowed his head low before the throne; the world-worn Piran took him in his arms.
When he had delivered the message of the army's commander, he told all he had seen on that battlefield.
Then the scribe read the letter aloud before him, and the face of the army's champion went dark as pitch.
His heart filled with pain, his soul with dread; he knew he had come to a narrow, downhill pass.
He chose patience and silence, and kept those words hidden from the troops.
After that he spoke before the army: Gudarz's heart would not turn toward the path of peace.
Because of the blood of his seventy chosen sons, his heart will not rest one moment from its grudge.
If, over what is past, he means to stir up the old hatred all over again,
then why should I not gird myself to avenge my brother, why not scratch open the head of this feud?
Think too of the blood of nine hundred noble heads, cut from their bodies in the hour of battle,
so that in all the land and soil of the Turks no rider like Human will ever gird his belt again,
nor one like Nastihan, that shade-casting cypress, who has vanished from every gathering.
Now we must gird ourselves for war; I will leave no land or home to the Iranians.
By the power of God and my sharp sword, I will raise a day of resurrection among that host.