Section 14: Manuchehr Prepares for Battle

When the army drew near to Iran, word of it reached Fereydun at once. He commanded that King Manuchehr should lead the troops from the hills down onto the plain. The world-experienced king offered a saying: when a young man is skillful and swift of foot, an unwary sheep may fall into his trap, with a leopard at its back and the hunter ahead. Patience, sharp wit, sound judgment, and reason can bring a lion out of the wilderness into the snare. And likewise, the one who does evil to good people will one day writhe in his own body's pain. I would hasten to punishment then, the way white-hot iron is beaten while it glows. When Manuchehr led his army out onto the open plain, he stayed there for eight days. Fereydun saw him at the hour of departure and spread wise counsel before him. Manuchehr said: exalted king, who would ever come against you seeking vengeance, unless fate itself plotted his ruin, so that he gambled his own life and body away? Now I will fasten a Roman coat of mail about my waist, a knot I will not loosen from my body. Seeking vengeance on the battlefield, I will raise the army's dust up to the sun. In all that host I count no man who would dare to face me in combat. He commanded that Qaren, eager for war, turn his face from the hills toward the plain. The king's royal pavilion was set up, and the blessed banner was raised over the plain. The army marched on, troop after troop; the plain and the mountains seethed like the sea. The bright day grew so dark with dust that you would think the sun had turned deep blue. A cry rose up from end to end of the land; even the sharpest ears went deaf. The neighing of the Arab horses across the plain drowned out the roll of the war drums. For two miles out from the commander's camp, war elephants were drawn up in two long ranks. Sixty of them bore golden thrones on their backs, and set in the gold were jewels of many kinds. About three hundred were loaded with baggage, and three hundred more were fitted out for battle. They were all covered in armor, so that nothing showed of them but their eyes above the iron. They struck the king's pavilion out on the field; the army moved from Tamishe onto the plain. The commander was the vengeful Qaren, with three hundred thousand fighting horsemen. All of them famed warriors clad in mail, marching out with their heavy maces. The brave men, each like a raging lion, all girded up to avenge Iraj. At the front went the banner of Kaveh, and in their fists gleamed violet-bright swords. Manuchehr, together with the elephant-bodied Qaren, came out of the elm forest. He came forward, passed before the troops, and arrayed the army on that broad plain. He gave the left wing to Garshasp, and the right to the hero Sam alongside Qobad. With the ranks drawn up on every side, Manuchehr stood with Sarv at the center. He shone like the moon among the host; not even the mountain's height stood out beside him. The army was led by Qaren, its champion was Sam, and the troops had drawn their swords from the scabbards. The vanguard was headed by Qobad, and the ambush was commanded by the valiant Teliman. An army decked out like a bride, with battle-lions and the sound of kettledrums. Word was rushed to Tur and Salm: the Iranians have made ready for war. From the forest they drew up their ranks on the plain, foam of heart's blood upon their lips. The two murderers, with a mighty army, set out, their leaders brimming with hatred. They led the army onto the battlefield, with the fortress of the Alans at their backs. Qobad rode out on scouting patrol; when Tur got word of it, he came like the wind. He said to him: go to Manuchehr and tell him: you fatherless upstart king, if only a daughter was born of Iraj's line, then who gave you the sword, the mace, and the mail? Qobad said: yes, I will carry your message, just as you spoke it and named the names. But if you let the thought run longer, and your reason sits down in council with your heart, you will realize the task ahead of you is terrible, and you will fear these raw, reckless words of yours. If the wild beasts and birds wept over you night and day, it would be no great wonder, for from the elm forest all the way to China there are war-riders and men bent on vengeance. When you see the flash of violet swords and the banner of Kaveh, your heart and brain will burst with terror, and you will no longer tell high ground from low. Then Qobad came before the king and repeated what he had heard from that seeker of war. Manuchehr laughed and said: no one talks like this except a fool. Thanks be to the Lord of both worlds, who knows all that is open and all that is hidden, who knows that Iraj is my ancestor, and blessed Fereydun is my witness. Now, if we throw ourselves into battle, our lineage and true worth will be made plain. By the power of the Lord of sun and moon, I will not leave him strength enough even to blink an eye, before I show his severed head to my army. He commanded the feast to be laid out, and called for music and wine at the gathering place.