As the sun unsheathed its blade of dawn, dark night vanished from the face of the earth. The royal war-drums echoed from the court of the Kianians, prompting the great paladins to don their battle helmets. Tus, Goudarz, valiant Giv, Gurgin, Gustahm, and lion-hearted Bahram assembled before the throne of Kay Khosrow. The young monarch, accompanied by the mighty champion Rostam and the noble house of Kashvad, set out to survey the realm and hunt, leading an army so vast that its banners obscured the sun and moon.
Across the expanse of Iran the king journeyed, witnessing the scars left by Afrasiab's long tyranny. Deeply moved by the plight of his ruined lands, Kay Khosrow unlocked the imperial treasuries, bestowing gold and silver to restore every ruined province and bring justice back to the realm. In every city he mounted the throne, adorning the realm with boundless generosity, until his progress brought him to the holy region of Adarabadagan. There he entered the sacred temple of Adar Gushnasp, prostrating himself before the Creator of the World in humble prayer.
Departing the fire-temple, the king and his heroes returned to the imperial court of Kay Kavus. The two sovereigns sat together in joyful union, but when morning broke, Kay Kavus gathered Rostam, Zal, and the grandees to speak of the heavy grief in his heart. Tears of blood streamed from his eyes as he recounted the murder of Siyavash, the devastation of Iranian cities, and the suffering of innocent women and children. Kavus demanded of Khosrow a sacred oath—that he would never allow maternal kinship to soften his heart toward Afrasiab, nor be beguiled by Turanian treasures, nor accept any mediator between them save the blade and the mace.
Hearing his grandfather's solemn charge, the young king turned his face toward the holy fire. He swore a great covenant by the Creator of light and dark, by the sun and moon, and by the royal crown and blade, vowing never to hold affection for Afrasiab nor rest until his father’s blood was avenged. He committed this oath to parchment in Pahlavi script, inscribed with musk-scented ink. Zal, Rostam, and all the chieftains stood as witnesses, and Khosrow placed the sacred document into the honorable keeping of Rostam.
Following the oath, a grand week-long feast was held with music and wine. On the eighth day, Kay Khosrow cleansed himself and spent the night in fervent prayer before the Almighty, weeping and imploring God for victory over the sorcerer-king Afrasiab. Emerging from prayer, he summoned his paladins—Rostam, Tus, Goudarz, and all the host—calling upon them to unite for the holy crusade. With one voice, the heroes pledged their lives and souls to the king's cause, bringing a radiant blush of joy like the purple arghavan flower to the cheeks of the young sovereign.