Part 7

King Kavus came toward Pars, and set the world on a new foundation of joy. He arranged his throne and spread justice, and set his heart on feasting and delight. To every quarter he sent a champion, a world ruler, alert and bright of spirit. To Merv, Nishapur, Balkh, and Herat he dispatched an army to each region. The whole world was filled with justice, so even the wolf turned its face from the lamb. From such abundance of treasure, beauty, and glory, fairies, beasts, and wild game all became his servants. The great ones bowed before Kavus as his lessers, and all crowned kings became his army. He entrusted command of the world to Rostam, and counted every good day as coming from him. He built a dwelling on Mount Alborz, where the demons were worn down by suffering. He ordered two houses made of hard granite, each one ten lasso-lengths in size. Inside the stone he furnished it well, with spikes of steel and pillars of granite. They tethered war horses there, also litter-bearing camels and pathfinding mounts. He made two more houses of crystal glass, setting emeralds into them everywhere. He arranged a place for leisure and dining so the body might be nourished by food. Two more houses, meant for weapons of war, he ordered fashioned from raw silver. A golden palace, meant for his seat, he raised up, giving it a height of sixty. Summer could not be told from winter there; the air was fragrant, its rain like sweet wine. In its hall rubies were put to use, and it was adorned with turquoise designs. All year long the bright springtime lasted, and the flowers were like the faces of comforters. It was far from pain, sorrow, and heartache, while evil's own body, the demon, lay in torment. Bad times fell into slumber under the teaching of goodness and justice. The demons were caught in his torment, wailing under the punishment he dealt them.