English
Part 14
He called the seasoned scribe before him and spoke at length about his plans and struggles.
The good scribe sat down at his place and called for pen, paper, and sweet-scented ink.
The first thing his pen wrote, once its tip was inked, was praise for the Lord of the moon.
Lord of Saturn, Venus, and the sun; Lord of the elephant and of the ant alike.
Lord of victory and of glory; Lord of the crown and of kingship.
Lord of the soul and of reason; the giver of good and the one who shows the way.
May Gushtasp be forever happy through Him, and may Lohrasp always be remembered in paradise.
I have come by a road into the land of Turan that I will never bless.
If I were to lay out the whole story, a young man's head would grow old with grief.
Whatever my king commands, I will read to him the report of the battle.
In seeing him I grow glad and joyful, freed from this long-standing suffering.
And glad too from the schemes I devised, until I cleared all hatred from my heart.
Of Arjasp and Kohram, nothing was left in the Brazen Fortress but mourning, pain, and grief.
I spared no one's life; the grass in the desert brought forth its fruit.
Lion and wolf devour men's brains, and the great leopard seeks nothing but the heart.
May the sky shine with Gushtasp's crown, and may the earth be a garden through King Lohrasp.
When they sealed the letter with Esfandiyar's seal and sought out several riders,
the new commander sent swift, foam-flecked camels off to Iran.
He stayed to await the answer to the letter, and had the fire kill the evil-minded man.
Not long passed before the answer came, a letter that was the key to a hard lock.
The letter's opening said first of all: may whoever seeks good endure forever.
The wise man who knows God gives thanks to God through his goodness.
Next it said: from the one just God we ask that He be your guide.
I have planted a tree in the garden of paradise more fruitful than any Fereydun ever grew.
Its fruit is red ruby and gold, and every leaf of it is beauty and splendor.
May this tree last forever; may your heart be happy and your fortune bright.
One matter is this: you said that, to avenge your grandfather, you set out full of cunning and craft.
Another is what you said about shedding blood, about entering the fight alone.
The bodies of kings are precious things that grew famous through great effort.
Guard your body and that reason which nourishes the soul with knowledge.
The third thing you said: that you spared no one's life among all those riders.
May your heart always be kind and warm, your soul full of modesty, your lips soft-spoken.
May bloodshed never be your trade, nor fighting with the great when there is no just cause.
To avenge your thirty-eight brothers you have gone beyond all measure in shedding blood.
And another matter: that aged grandfather had put evil and trickery far from his heart.
When they shed his blood, you shed blood in turn, and fought like battle-lions.
May you always be happy and prosperous, and may wisdom be your soul's teacher.
We long to see you, and to see your wakeful, deeply wise soul.
Once you have read this letter, set out at once; come to this court with your bold warriors.
The swift camel turned back from the gate, and all the land of Iran was filled with the news.
When the camel-riders returned, they came before the mighty hero.