Section 14: The Night Before Battle

When the shining sun vanished from sight, dark night marched its army across the sky. A thousand brave men held the fortress, and a rider came in from the direction of Kalat. They shut the fortress gates against this new threat; the sound of bells rose up, and the ringing of alarms. Jarireh lay down upon her honored bed, but that dark night was wedded to pain and grief. In her sleep she saw a fire that blazed high from the fortress, right before her noble son. It set the whole white mountain alight, burning both the servants and the fortress itself. Her heart filled with pain and she woke; her soul was heavy with sorrow and dread. She climbed the rampart and looked out at the world, and saw the whole mountain covered with armor and spears. Her face turned bloodless and her heart smoldered; she came to the pillow of the fortunate Forud. She said to him: Wake up, my son, for the stars have turned against us. The whole mountain is filled with enemies, and the fortress bristles with spears and armor. The warrior Forud replied to his mother: Why is your heart so clouded with grief? If my time has run out, do not count fate as giving more than what it grants. My father was slain in his youth; now my day has become like his day. His hour came at the hand of Goruy; now Bizhan comes rushing for my life. I will fight and not die except like a wild ram at bay; I will beg no mercy from the Iranians. He handed out helmets and armor to all his troops, and set a Roman helmet upon his own head. He bound a Roman coat of mail around his waist, and came forth with the royal bow in hand.