Determined to preserve the fragile peace between the two realms, Prince Siyavash summoned a learned scribe to write a noble letter to King Afrasiab, opening with praises of Yazdan and Wisdom, expressing devotion, and explaining that the ailments of his bride Farangis kept him at home. Yet the malicious Garsivaz took the sealed letter and rode day and night on swift chargers to reach the throne first. Standing before Afrasiab, Garsivaz spewed vile lies, claiming Siyavash had humiliated him, ignored the letter, and formed secret alliances with Iran, Rum, and China to overthrow the realm of Touran.
Blind rage seized Afrasiab upon hearing these fabrications. He ordered the war-horns and Indian bells to sound, mobilizing a massive army against Siyavash. Returning to his quarters pale and trembling, Siyavash revealed to his beloved Farangis a horrific dream he had experienced on the fourth night: a raging river of water on one side, a mountain of fire on the other, with Afrasiab riding war-elephants while Garsivaz fanned the flames that consumed Siyavash. Recognizing his inescapable fate, Siyavash comforted his weeping bride and foretold the divine future: that she was five months pregnant with a son to be named Kai Khosrow, who would one day rise to avenge his innocent father and shake Touran to its foundations.
With heavy sorrow, Siyavash went to his stables, unbridled his majestic black steed Shabrang Behzad, and whispered secret prophecies into the horse's ear, bidding him wait until King Kai Khosrow should call upon him. He then set fire to his riches and led his thousand Iranian retainers out without any weapon drawn, refusing to wage war against the divine decree. The Touranian host set upon them, slaughtering his loyal retainers. Wounded by arrows and javelins, Siyavash fell from his saddle. Gorwi-ye Zereh bound his hands behind his back like stone and dragged him before the tyrant.
Despite the desperate, eloquent pleas of Pilsam—Piran's noble younger brother—and the heart-rending cries of Farangis warning of the cosmic wrath of Rostam and the champions of Iran, the evil counsel of Garsivaz, Gorwi, and Damur prevailed. Afrasiab commanded that Siyavash be dragged to a barren wasteland where no green blade grew, and his head severed over a golden bowl so that not a drop of his blood should touch the dry earth. Raising his eyes to Yazdan, Siyavash prayed for a radiant branch of his lineage to avenge his death. Gorwi-ye Zereh raised Garsivaz's gleaming dagger, struck down the blameless prince, and poured his blood into the bowl. At that dreadful moment, a black dust storm engulfed the sun and moon, veiling the sky in darkness as the world shuddered in grief.