When Rostam and Giv arrived at King Kay Kavus's court after days of merrymaking in Zabulistan, they entered with open hearts to pay homage to the Sovereign. Yet Kay Kavus's chest burned with incandescent fury over their prolonged delay. Raising his head without answering their righteous greetings, he lashed out at Giv, casting all restraint to the wind. He roared in rage: 'Who is Rostam that he should belittle my royal command and twist away from his oath? Seize him at once and hang him alive upon the gallows, and speak no more of it!'
Giv's heart bled at such insult to the kingdom's champion, and when he hesitated to enforce the mad decree, Kay Kavus erupted like wild fire raging through reed-beds. The King summoned General Tus and commanded him to hang both Rostam and Giv immediately. Tus stepped forward and took hold of Rostam's arm, hoping to lead him out of the royal chamber to let the King's tempestuous fury abate. But Rostam, enraged that his lifetime of crown-bestowing devotion was met with such indignity, struck Tus with a backhand blow so violent that the seasoned commander tumbled head over heels like a felled elephant.
Storming out of the grand palace, Rostam mounted Rakhsh and shouted in defiance: 'I am the lion-slayer, the bestower of thrones upon kings! When my wrath is stoked, who is Kay Kavus and what is Tus to me? The earth is my servant, Rakhsh my throne, and my glowing sword and mace are my true sovereigns! I am the servant of the Creator alone, not of Kavus! Now that the warrior Sohrab invades Iran, go find your own salvation, for you shall see me in Iran no more!' With that, he spurred Rakhsh toward Sistan.
Panic seized the Iranian nobility, for Rostam was the shepherd of their flock, and without him they were helpless sheep before the Turanian wolf. The desperate lords turned to Goudarz, son of Kashvad, pleading for his sagacious intervention. The elder commander marched into Kavus's presence and rebuked the monarch fiercely: 'Have you forgotten the chains of Hamavaran? Have you forgotten the demons of Mazandaran, that you now cast away your sole savior? When Sohrab—whom Gazhdaham describes as a ravenous wolf—strikes down upon us, whom will you send into the dusty field of war?'
Upon hearing Goudarz's harsh truths, Kavus realized the folly of his unbridled temper. Repentant, he admitted that a king must possess wisdom rather than destructive rage. He charged Goudarz and the court elders to pursue Rostam and appease his wounded pride. The generals overtook the mighty hero on the road, showering him with praises and explaining the King's unstable nature. Rostam initially refused, declaring that Kavus was to him no more than a handful of dust. But Goudarz delivered a masterful diplomatic stroke: 'If you abandon Iran today, the world will say Rostam fled not from the King's temper, but out of fear of the Turk Sohrab!'
Unable to endure the slightest stain upon his honor, Rostam swallowed his pride and returned. As he stepped into the throne room, King Kavus rose to his feet and offered deep, humble apologies, explaining that his rashness stemmed from terror of this new, menacing foe. Rostam accepted the King's atonement, reaffirming his allegiance. Kavus commanded a magnificent royal banquet; the palace turned into a springtime garden, and until midnight, sweet-faced harpers played and wine flowed freely as Iran prepared to face Sohrab at dawn.