Section 11: The Poisoned Letter

He called the skilled scribe before him and poured out the words that filled his mind. First he remembered the Creator and freed his soul from the debt of wisdom. Then he began to praise reason itself, and offered his devotion to the king of the Turks. 'Victorious king, blessed in your days, may time never outlast your memory.' 'You summoned me, and that made me glad, may your seat always be among the wise elders.' 'And another thing: you asked for Farangis, you adorned your heart with love and loyalty.' 'But Farangis has been ailing lately, unable to eat, unable to move.' 'She has taken to her bed and kept me at her side; I see her poised between the two worlds.' 'My heart is full of your counsel and the wish to see you, yet both our lands are full of grief and torment for you.' 'When she is a little eased of her suffering, she will devote herself to the king of the land.' 'Her sickness is my excuse and my sorrow too; secretly I am full of pain and worry for her.' When the letter was sealed and given justly, it was quickly handed to Garsivaz of base birth. The bold man asked for three swift steeds and galloped straight on, day and night alike. On the fourth day he reached the king's court, his soul full of evil, his tongue full of guilt. Afrasiab questioned him at length when he saw him worn out and driven by haste. 'Why have you come in such a rush?' asked the king. 'How did you cover so hard a road so fast?' He said, 'When the whole matter has turned dark, these times are too grim to be told lightly.' 'Siavash paid no one any regard; he did not even come out to receive me on the road.' 'He would not hear my words nor read the letter; he made me kneel there before his throne.' 'Letters keep coming to him from Iran, and his mother's affection binds her to him.' 'An army from Rome, an army from China, make the earth roar at every moment.' 'If you delay in dealing with him, afterward perhaps you will grasp only the wind.' 'And if you are slow, he will make war and seize both kingdoms by force of his valor.' 'And if he marches an army toward Iran, who will dare to stand before him seeking vengeance?' 'I have made you aware of what I have seen; after this you will regret your own doing.' When Afrasiab heard these words, the old bitterness came fresh upon him again. In his anger he gave Garsivaz no answer; his heart filled with fire, his head spun like the wind. He ordered the reed pipes to be sounded, along with cymbals, trumpets, and Indian bells. He set his face toward Siavash with his renowned, battle-hungry warriors. This was the moment when treacherous Garsivaz drew the stirrup leathers tight upon his saddle. Siavash came behind the curtain in pain, his body shaking, his face gone pale. Farangis said, 'You lion-clawed hero, what has happened that your color has changed?' He answered, 'You lovely one, my honor is lost here in the land of Turan.' 'The way Garsivaz speaks, I am left as the center of the compass, trapped in his circle.' Farangis seized her hair in her hands, and tore her rose-red cheeks with her fingernails. Those musk-scented coral lips filled with blood, her eyes brimmed with tears, her face streaked with dust. She rained her tears down over her silver breast, as two tulip cheeks split apart with weeping. She tore her hair and poured out tears, over the words and deeds of Afrasiab. She said to him, 'You proud and lofty king, what will you do now? Quickly, open the secret to me.' 'Your own father holds a heart bitter against you; from Iran he speaks not a word.' 'The road to the West would take you too long, and you cannot flee to China, for it would close in on you.' 'Whose refuge will you seek now in this world? May the Lord of sun and moon be your shelter.' 'May injustice fall on his life, month and year, wherever he plots evil against your body.' 'Garsivaz kept saying he would soon return by the road from the king's court.' On the fourth night, beside his moon-faced love, he lay at the feast amid color and fragrance. He trembled and sprang startled from sleep, letting out a cry like a maddened elephant. The lovely woman held him in her arms; she said, 'My king, what has broken your peace?' He cried out, and they lit a candle, and burned aloeswood and amber beside him. Afrasiab's daughter asked him, 'Wise king, what did you see in your dream?' Siavash said to her, 'About my dream, never open your lips before any gathering.' 'I saw in my dream, you silver cypress, that there was a boundless river of water.' 'A mountain of fire stood on the other shore, and spearmen had lined the water's edge.' 'On one side the fire swept, sharp and swift, blazing up on account of Siavash.' 'On one hand fire, on the other water, and before me stood the war-elephant and Afrasiab.' 'You saw my face turned grim and dark, as you breathed upon that fierce-burning fire.' 'When Garsivaz kindled that fire, by his kindling he burned me to ashes.' Farangis said, 'This can only mean good; look now, rest a moment and sleep.' 'An ill fate is coming to Garsivaz; he will be slain by the hand of the commander of the West.' Siavash summoned his whole army together, and lingered a while at the palace gate. He made ready and sat with dagger in hand, and sent a scouting party toward Gang. When two thirds of the dark night had passed, scouts arrived from the plain. They reported that Afrasiab, with a vast army, had appeared in the distance, racing down the road. A swift messenger came from Garsivaz, saying: 'Gird yourself and find a way to save your life.' 'My words did no good at all; from the fire I saw nothing but black smoke.' 'Consider now what must be done, and where you should send your troops.' Siavash did not know the true purpose behind this, and the message seemed honest to him. Farangis said, 'Wise king, do not think of us at all.' 'Mount a swift horse and ride; put no trust in the land of Turan.' 'I want you alive, safe and surviving. Save yourself and wait for no one.' Siavash said to her, 'My dream has come true, and my fortune has turned dark.' 'My life is nearing its end; sorrow, pain, and grief are closing in.' 'Such is the way of the lofty sky: sometimes it brings joy, sometimes misery.' 'Even if my palace reached the stars, I must still taste this world's poison.' 'Even if I lived a thousand and two hundred years, in the end no place awaits me but the dark earth.' 'No one who has much wisdom looks for daylight in the night.' 'You are five months pregnant; if something is to grow from this noble line,' 'if your tree bears a son, it will bring forth a renowned king.' 'Name that proud child Kaykhosrow, and let him comfort your grieving heart.' 'So this swift-turning dome revolves: an old house is never called new again.' 'After this, by Afrasiab's command, sleep will come to me, ill-fated as I am.' 'They will cut off my innocent head, and crown me with the blood of my own heart.' 'I will have no coffin, no grave, no shroud, and no one in the crowd will weep for me.' 'The soil of Turan will be my bed, and this old house will be the lions' feast.' 'This is how the heavens will pass over me; they will not turn kind or loving toward me.' 'From the shining sun down to the dark earth, there is no escape from the just God's decree.' 'The king's guards will drag you off in disgrace, your head and body bare, along the road.' 'Then the commander Piran will come to the gate and plead with your father to spare you.' 'He will beg for your innocent life, and take you, wretched and humbled, to his own hall.' 'And from Iran a rescuer will come, his belt girded at the Creator's command.' 'From here he will suddenly take you and your son in secret, toward the river Oxus.' They will set him on the royal throne, and bird and fish alike will obey his command. He will raise an uproar across the whole world; the age itself will boil over because of Kaykhosrow. He will bring an army out of Iran for revenge, and the entire earth will be thrown into turmoil. His blessed steed Rakhsh will trample the ground, and no one in Turan will count for anything against him. In vengeance for me, from today until the Day of Judgment, you will see nothing but the mace and the sharp sword. Harden your heart to these words of mine; empty your body of comfort and ease. When Siyavash had told his wife these sorrows, she clung to him, weeping. His face grew full of the blood of heart and eyes; he walked over toward the stable of Arab horses. He led out Behzad, black as night, who could outrun the wind itself on the day of battle. Weeping, he took the horse's head to his breast and lifted the bridle and halter from its head. In its ear he whispered a long secret: 'Stay wakeful of heart, and trust no one.' 'When Kaykhosrow comes to seek revenge, it is you who must be his mount and gear.' 'Be his steed and pound the world down, the way a viper's head is crushed with a club.' 'Cut your heart from the stable once and for all, for you will be his war horse in the reckoning.' Then he hobbled all the other horses; he blazed up like fire in dry reeds. He set out for Iran with his warriors, his face hidden by the blood of his tears. When he had ridden barely half a league, the king of the Turanian army caught up with him. He saw the troops with helmet, sword, and armor, and Siyavash himself buckled into his mail. He said to himself, 'Garsivaz spoke the truth about the sign that was kept hidden.' Fearing for his life, Siyavash thought perhaps the ill-wisher would vanish. The two sides kept eyeing each other, this at that, that at this, though before this there had been no hatred in their hearts. In their fear of Siyavash, the warrior horsemen fell still, holding their nerve and their pace. What did that wise man of great sense say? 'Do not fight your bad fortune with brute courage.' Then Siyavash spoke thus to Afrasiab: 'O gifted king of glory and honor,' 'Why have you come seeking war with an army? Why do you want to kill me, when I am innocent?' 'You fill the armies of two nations with enmity; you fill time and earth with curses.' Then the witless Garsivaz spoke, though when were his own words ever fitting? 'If you came here so innocent, why did you come to the king wearing armor?' 'This is no way to come and greet him; spear and shield are no gift for a king.' Siyavash understood that this was Garsivaz's doing, that the king's rage was stirred up in his marketplace of schemes. When Afrasiab heard Garsivaz's words, and the sun rose high in the sky, he ordered the Turks to charge, to turn this field into a slaughter drenched in blood. The Iranian force was a thousand men, all renowned masters of battle. The Iranians drew up their ranks and braced themselves to spill blood. They all turned to fight alongside Siavash; this was no time for tricks or delay. They said: they mean to cut us down for nothing; better that they wade into blood one by one. Wait, they said, and let them witness the Iranians' strength; do not count this a trifling matter. Siavash answered: this is not the way; there is no ground or purpose left for war. If the turning heavens, though I am innocent, mean to destroy me at the hands of the wicked, then now there is no strength or use in valor, for no one can fight against the Maker of the world. That day ended for them in ruin: all were slain and their cause overturned. Wounded by arrows and javelins, the prince fell headlong from behind his troops. He rolled in the dust, spear still in hand, until Garui of Zereh bound his arm. They fastened a halter around his neck and tied his two hands behind his back like stone. Blood ran down that face bright as red blossoms, a day the young man's eyes had never seen. They marched him toward the dust, Siavash surrounded, troops before him and behind. The commander of Turan's army said: drag him aside, off the road, over here. Cut his head from his body with a dagger, on barren ground where no grass ever grows. Pour out his blood on that hot earth; do not linger, and feel no fear. The whole army said to the king: what crime, my lord, did you find in him? Why kill one for whom the crown and the ivory throne would weep bitterly? A head fit to wear the crown, O wise king, should not be severed. In a time of joy, do not plant a tree whose fruit fate will turn to poison. But wicked Garsivaz stood there, senselessly siding with the murderers, so that Siavash's blood be spilled in torment, for in battle he had borne a grudge against him. Among Piran's kin was one younger in years, his brother and a noble peer, a youth named Pilsam, skilled and bright of soul. Pilsam said to the king: this branch bears the fruit of pain and grief. I heard a saying from a wise man, and reason too agreed with it: the patient heart has less to regret, and wisdom is the cure for the troubled mind. Haste and cruelty are the work of the devil; they bring regret to the soul and pain to the body. A head over which you are king, I do not think it right to cut off in a rush of anger. Keep him bound until the passing of time teaches you the truth of this wrong. When the breeze of wisdom blows across your heart, then it will be fitting to take his head. Order him imprisoned, but do not act in a fury, for fury ends in regret. Why cut off a head that is innocent, when Kavus and Rostam will seek revenge? His father is the king, Rostam his foster guardian; in the end you will suffer from these times. Warriors like Gudarz, Giv, Barzin, and Tus will strap their war drums onto the backs of elephants. And the fierce commander, the elephant bodied hero Rostam, in whose eyes whole armies count for little, and Fariborz, son of Kavus, a raging lion, whom no one has ever seen weary of battle, all of them will gird themselves for this vengeance; the plains and passes will fill with vengeful men. Then neither I nor my kin will stand our ground, nor any hero of this gathering. Surely Piran will come at dawn, and the king may hear the whole story from him too. Perhaps you will never need to do this; do not multiply enmity as long as the world lasts. Garsivaz said to him: 'Wise one, do not bind your desire to the words of youths.' 'The plain is already full of vultures feeding on Iranians; if you fear their vengeance, that is reason enough.' 'Is not the harm you have already done enough, that you keep foolishly heeding another's counsel?' 'When Siyavash raises his war cry from Rome to China, you will see the earth bristle with maces and swords.' 'You have cut off the serpent's tail and wounded its head, and now you mean to dress him in fine brocade?' 'If you grant him his life and safe conduct, I will not remain in the king's service.' 'I will flee to some corner in fear for my life, hoping my own end comes quickly.' Damur and Gorui went off, twisting with schemes, to the king of the Turks, full of flattering words. Saying: 'Do not wrestle so long with the blood of Siyavash, for calm will seem contemptible in your plans.' 'Follow the guidance of Garsivaz: prepare, and lift your enemy out of the way.' 'You set the trap and caught your foe in it; a great uproar will rise up out of Iran.' 'It is not enough merely to hold him captive; the hearts of the malicious must be broken.' 'You have already ruined an army this way, so consider well what the king's decision should be.' 'If only you had not injured him from the start, this guilt could have been washed away with water.' 'Now the best course is that he no longer exist in the world, neither in the open nor in secret.' The king answered them thus: 'I have never seen any guilt in him with my own eyes.' But according to what the astrologer said, in the end hardship will fall upon him. If I shed his blood in vengeance, a great uproar will rise up from the land of Iran. To let him go is worse than to kill him, yet killing him too is my own grief and pain. Harm has come to Turan because of me; sorrow, pain, and captivity have come to me. Even a wise man, if he is suspicious, cannot escape what heaven decrees. When Farangis heard this, she clawed her cheeks and tied a blood-stained sash around her waist. On foot she came before the king, her moon-bright cheeks stained red with blood. Full of grief and dread she went before her father, wailing and pouring dust upon her head. She said to him: gifted king, why do you want to crush me into the dust? Why have you bound your heart to deceit? From the heights you fail to see the fall below. Do not behead a king unjustly, for the judge of sun and moon will not allow it. Siyavash, who left the land of Iran, kept praising you before the world. For your sake he angered his king, giving up that crown, that throne, that glory. He came and made himself your support and shelter; what have you seen in him now that led you astray? No one who beheads kings gets to sit long with a crown upon his throne. Do not oppress an innocent person like me, for this world is a fleeting lodging, mere wind and breath. It casts one innocent man into a pit, and seats another with a crown upon the throne. In the end both lie beneath the earth, dragged by fate down into the grave. You have heard what the tyrant Zahhak the Arab suffered at the hands of brave Fereydun. And what came upon the mighty Salm and Tur from the great king Manuchehr. Now, still alive upon King Kavus's throne, are men like Zal and vengeful Rostam. The world trembles before Rostam the mighty; all of Turan is not worth a war with him. And there are men like Bahram and Zangeh of Shavaran, who fear no mace of any champion. And Giv, from dread of whom on the day of battle even a leopard hides itself in a fox's skin. You are planting a tree in the ground whose leaves will bear blood and its fruit revenge. In vengeance for Siyavash the very water will dress in black and bitterly curse Afrasiab. You who are a tyrant to your own self, my words will often come back to your mind. You are not on a hunt where you bring down a wild ass and send the other deer scattering in panic. You are snatching a prince from his throne; look more carefully at this deed while it is still early. Do not throw the kingdom of Turan foolishly to the wind; you must keep the day of misfortune in mind. She said this, then looked at Siavash, tore at both her cheeks, and let out a cry of grief. The king of Turan's heart burned with pity for her, and the eye of his reason was blinded by confusion. He told her: turn back and do not linger here. How can you know what I have decided about this cruelty? In his tall palace there was a room, one that was strange and cut off from Farangis. They threw her into that room and fastened chains and locks upon its door. Then he gave the order about Siavash, that innocent, silent king who bore no guilt. Take him to a place where no one will be his friend or come to his aid. Cut his head clean from his body, and let the vultures make his corpse their shroud. See to it that Siavash's blood does not scent the earth, nor let a single blade of grass grow on that day of vengeance. They drove him on foot, dragging him along, those guards who were murderers of men. Siavash cried out to his Creator: you who are above the turning of time, raise up a shoot from my seed, one shining like the blazing sun over the gathering, who will take revenge on these enemies of mine and restore my ways throughout the land. Pilsam walked behind him, his two eyes full of blood and his heart full of sorrow. Siavash said to him: farewell. May the earth be your weave and you its everlasting thread. Carry a greeting from me to Piran, and tell him the world has taken on another shape. I did not expect this from Piran; his counsel to me proved as flimsy as willow. He had told me that with a hundred thousand armored horsemen in full battle gear, whenever fortune turned against you, I would be your ally, your green meadow in the hour of need. Now here I am, running on foot before Garsivaz, so despised and dark of soul, and I see no friend beside me, no one to weep bitterly over my fate. Once he had passed beyond the city and the army, they dragged him out toward the plain. Garui Zereh took that glittering dagger from Garsivaz, ready for the killing. He threw that raging elephant of a man to the ground, feeling neither shame nor fear before the great commander. He set a golden basin before him and severed the head from that silver cypress. At the spot commanded, Garui Zereh carried the basin of blood and poured it out upside down. A wind rose up with dark, black dust and blotted out the sun and the moon. People could no longer see one another's faces, and they all heaped curses upon Garui.