Armies on the Plain

The next day he ordered Giv and Tus to strap the war drums onto the elephants at dawn. He opened the treasury and handed out pay, mounted the troops, and loaded the baggage. A hundred thousand shield bearers and men in armor came riding to the muster ground, counted one by one. An army poured out onto the plain from the flank, so vast that the air went dark with their dust. They pitched the royal pavilion and tents across two leagues, covering the earth with hooves and elephants. The air turned deep blue, the mountains black as ebony, and the sea itself seemed to boil at the roar of the drums. Stage by stage the world moved on, dim as night, the daylight lost from view. The gleam of spear and javelin through the dust was like fire behind a curtain of lapis. From so many kinds of blade and banner, golden shields and golden greaves, you would say a cloud the color of ebony had risen and rained down pale amber light. The world could not tell night from day; you would think there was no sky, no Pleiades at all. So it went until they reached the fortress, and earth and stone vanished from the world. A loud cry came from the watchtower; they told Sohrab that the army had arrived. When Sohrab heard the shout from the lookout, he climbed the rampart and studied the troops. He pointed out to Human an army with no visible edge. When Human saw that host from afar, his heart filled with dread and his breath caught. The brave Sohrab said to Human: you must wipe such fear from your heart. In all this endless army you will not see a single fighting man with a heavy mace who could face me on the field of battle, even if the sun and moon came to his aid. There are plenty of weapons and plenty of men, but I recognize no famous champion among them. Now, by the good fortune of King Afrasiyab, I will turn this plain into a sea of blood. Sohrab did not let his heart shrink at all; he came down from the rampart with a glad spirit. He called the cupbearer for a cup of wine, and never let the thought of war trouble him. On the other side they drew the king's pavilion out onto the plain before the fortress. With so many tents, men, and canopies, no space was left on plain or mountain.