English
Part 5
From there he went to the gathering, to the place where the mighty champion's shadow fell.
He dismounted and offered praise again and again: 'May the high heavens draw their strength from you.'
'May your day never sink into decline; may no terror ever reach your face.'
'May the heart of Iran's king be glad because of you; may everything you do be just.'
'I left your presence, O champion, and delivered your message to old and young alike.'
'I recounted all your feats, whatever they were, though who in this world could ever praise you enough?'
'I spoke of both peace and war, weighing every angle without delay.'
'In the end they said: how shall we do this, so that we may set aside all grudge against him?'
'We can give treasure, gold, and goods, all that he wants, laid out before him.'
'But we cannot hand the guilty man over to him; think again and search out these secrets.'
'The only guilty one is Afrasiab himself, so know this and do not rush your words.'
'Everyone he demands from us is a chieftain, great men with throne and crown.'
'An army has come like this from China, from Saqlab and Khotan and the land of Turan.'
'How could Afrasiab want peace, when so vast an army has come by land and water?'
'In answer I received nothing but reproach, and so I turned back to you, the champion.'
'From them an army like a sea of water rushed eagerly to seek battle.'
'The king of India wants to fight you with arrow and bow and Indian steel.'
'This much is certain to me: because of the mighty champion, the gathering will end in weeping.'
When Rustam heard this, he blazed with fury and said to Piran: 'You wretched soul.'
'With all these tricks and countless deceptions of yours, how will you hold your ground on the day of terror?'
'The king of the world warned me often, openly and in secret, about your lies.'
'And afterward, old Gudarz told me of all your snares and cunning hidden away.'
'Now I have seen your wisdom and counsel: you are a lie from head to foot.'
'You will roll helplessly in your own blood, and worse than that will befall you by this hand.'
'A life like this is worth nothing, a life spent with your head in the dragon's jaws.'
'I once said: leave that unjust, ill-omened land and come to a prosperous home.'
'You might behold a king with justice and kindness, young, gracious, and fair of face.'
'He would treat you like a father, no doubt, and raise your head higher than the sky.'
'But to you, a coat of coarse wool and leopard hide is sweeter than colored silk brocade.'
'No one disputes this with you; you will reap the very seed you scattered yourself.'
Piran said to him: 'O fortunate one, fruitful, fresh, and beautiful tree,'
'Who but you knows how to speak such words? May the great ones' blessings rest on you.'
'My heart and soul are under your command; my spirit is forever your pledge.'
'Tonight alone I will take counsel with myself and speak with the assembly too.'
From there he came to the dark center of his troops, his tongue full of lies, his soul thirsty for revenge.
When Piran turned back from both armies, the earth heaved like a boiling mountain.
Rustam spoke to the Iranians: 'I have girded my waist for war.'
'Every one of you, fill your heads with vengeance and knot your warrior brows into folds.'
'For today a great battle lies ahead, and the measure of wolf and sheep will be revealed.'
'That astrologer had told me of this day, and my heart has been in dread of it.'
'That there would be a battle between two mountains, and a whole world would gather there.'
'The seasoned great ones would come together, and in that war the world would be emptied of men.'
'The track of vengeance would vanish from the land, and iron maces would grow soft as wax.'
'Whoever comes to fight against us, do not let your hearts shrink from that task.'
'I will bind both his hands in the coil of my lasso, if the lofty heavens are my ally.'
'All of you together, every one, do not grow weary of those famous warriors.'
'If my time comes upon me in battle, I will surely not die at the feast instead.'
'What matters is that a name should endure long; you will not last, so do not plot so much.'
'Do not bind your heart to this fleeting inn of a world, for it will fill you with blood when you must part.'
'If a wise soul is your companion, it will reckon each day for good and ill.'
'The lord of the crown, the lord of treasure, does not tie his heart to this passing lodge.'
The army answered Rustam thus: 'Your command stands higher than the wheel of the moon.'
'We will wage such war with our sharp blades that our name will remain until the day of resurrection.'
From both sides the armies pressed close together; it was as if a black cloud had risen.
Its rain was swords and arrows; the world turned into a sea of pitch.
From steel arrowheads and eagle feathers, the shining face of the sun turned black.
The spearheads whirling in the dust seemed to have smeared the very stars with blood.
The clang of the ox-headed maces made it seem the sky was raining down stones.
Thorn and dust were drowned in blood and brains, and the horse-armor was torn to shreds.
The whole plain was one stream of blood, with bodies flung down face-first everywhere.
Like elephants toppled in heaps, their faces pale as saffron, their lips blue as indigo.
Gudarz, the old man, said this: 'Since I first girded my belt for manhood,'
'I have never seen a battle like this, nor ever heard of one from the proud warriors.'
'That the world should be so full of the slain, some despised, others left at ease.'