When Shah Kay Khosrow concluded his counsel with Rostam as the first rays of dawn pierced the sky, Commander Tus presented himself before the throne alongside Gudarz, Giv, and the chief captains of Iran. Following the sacred customs of the Kianian kings, Kay Khosrow committed the glorious Kavian Banner into the hands of Tus and chose an auspicious day according to the stars for the grand departure.
The Iranian host marched past the vigilant Shah like a moving black mountain. So vast was the vanguard that the dust of hooves shrouded the sun, while the thunder of war-drums and cow-horn trumpets set the earth ablaze. Tus, mounted upon a turquoise litter atop a war elephant, led the army enveloped in the violet radiance of the royal banner until they reached the banks of the Shahd River.
Upon learning of their arrival, Piran Viseh was deeply troubled. Gathering his elite cavaliers, he rode to the opposite bank to size up the Iranian forces. Playing for time, Piran dispatched a silver-tongued envoy to Tus, recounting how he had protected Siyavash and Farangis in Turan, lamenting that his good deeds had now borne bitter poison. Moved by his words, Tus replied that if Piran pledged loyalty to Kay Khosrow, the Shah would grant him high command and royal honors in Iran to reward his past kindness.
Yet Piran's mind was hollow of true peace; his words were mere stratagem. Under the cover of night, he sent a swift courier to King Afrasiab, warning that the Iranian armadas commanded by Tus, Giv, Gudarz, and Roham were arrayed at the border, and that he had temporarily lulled them with trickery. He urged Afrasiab to immediately dispatch a formidable vanguard to burn the Iranian camp to ashes. Hearing this, Afrasiab summoned his lords and mobilized a colossal army that darkened the sun.