The Standoff at Mount Hamavan

The messenger reached Piran, and when he passed on Human's words, Piran boiled with anger. He set out in the dark of night, at sleeping time, driving the army forward like flowing water. When the sun tore through that pitch-black veil of night and came out, grieved and troubled. The commander reached Mount Hamavan; the mountain vanished under the dust of the army. He said to Human: hold the troops here, do not stir them from the battlefield. Let me go see what the Iranian commander intends, and what fortune he keeps flying under the royal banner. Now that he has taken Mount Hamavan, what promise, what hope does this position give him? He came close to the Iranian army, his head full of spite, his heart full of guilt. He shouted: renowned Tus, lord of the war elephants, the maces, and the drums, Now the fish have come to five: you keep seeking battle only to your own suffering. The greatest of Gudarz's clan all lie headless on that battlefield. You have climbed into the rocks like a mountain goat, your heart full of quarrel, your head full of hate. Fleeing, with the army roaring at your back, you will surely walk straight into the trap. The proud Tus answered: I only mock your lies. You are the one who set the feud loose in the world, spilling the blood of Siyavash among the great. How long will you keep lying like this? Your lies cast no light on us. Fodder ran short on that battlefield; that is why I moved the army up to Hamavan. Now word has reached the king of the world; help will come at any moment, unexpected. The great men of the army have gathered, like Dastan and Rostam of the elephant's body. Once I am sure the king is on the march, I will leave nothing standing in Turan, no land, no home, no crop. Now that you have come, watch what men can do; this is no time for tricks, no day for ambush. When Piran heard, he sent troops on every side and seized the roads up the mountain. From every direction the men of Turan came; he massed the army all around the mountain. When the road to fodder was cut off for them, the commander turned to a scheme for battle. Brave Human said to Piran: we must storm the foot of the mountain. Let us wage such a battle that the Iranians will never again strap on the belt of vengeance. Piran replied: the wind is at our advantage, and no one has ever fought a battle against the wind. Turn your head away from fighting on foot; the warrior's sight grows clouded there. When the road to fodder is closed to an army, no one holds out on hard granite rock. The whole army will come to us begging for quarter; after that they will not seek to fight us. Now is the time for mercy toward them, not the time for battle and battle-array. This counsel reached Gudarz and Tus; the heads of those bold men were dazed with regret. Old Gudarz said to Tus: for us, battle has now become unavoidable. There is food enough for three days at most, and no open road lies ahead on any side. No food, no supplies, no gear, no baggage; how long can an army stay hungry like this? Now, when the sun's face turns pale and that lapis-blue veil of night appears, we must choose out our best mounted men and come down from the heights toward the field of war. Like a night raid, let us wage a hard battle and see how fortune favors us. Whether we give ourselves up one by one to death, or set the crown of the mighty on our heads, such is the end of the battlefield: one man gets the dust, another the crown and throne. Tus heard these words from Gudarz, and his head filled with pain and the old grudge. One flank of the army he gave to Bizhan, the other to brave Shidush and Khorrad. He handed the blessed banner to Gostaham and gave him much advice and counsel.