Turn your tongue to none but God, the radiant guide of good and evil, by whose will the revolving heavens endure. Human days pass swiftly, and a realm beyond this world is the ultimate resting place. As the ancient tales of the sages unfold, the tragedy of war reveals itself anew...
Dark tidings swept across the battle-plain to the Khagan of China: Kamos, the titan-bodied champion, had fallen in the dust of combat. Grief shrouded the Kashani, Shaghni, and Balkhi warriors, blackening their days. Houman, his spirit crushed, confessed to Piran that his soul was weary of battle—for if Kamos, an invincible giant who could wrestle wild elephants and whom no lasso could bind, had been slain, who among them could stand?
Weeping and desolate, the commanders gathered before the Khagan, urging him to devise a secret strategy. They asked him to dispatch covert spies into the Iranian lines to uncover the identity of the mysterious lion-hearted warrior who had brought down Kamos, so they might know against whom they waged their final, desperate stand.
The Khagan of China comforted Piran, reminding his captains that mortality is the inescapable decree of the heavens for all born of woman. Yet he swore a solemn vow to drag Kamos’s slayer to the dust in lassos of vengeance and lay waste to the realm of Iran to fulfill the heart’s desire of King Afrasiab. Gathering his finest swordsmen, the Khagan sought a warrior to scout the enemy's flanks and discover the stranger's name.
Step forward did a proud champion named Changash—a relentless fighter devoted to his sovereign. Bowing before the Khagan, Changash pledged to ride out alone, face this fierce lion of Iran, avenge the fallen Kamos, and bring shame upon the enemy’s head. Honoring his devotion, the Khagan showered blessings upon Changash, promising him boundless treasures of gold and jewels from the royal vaults should he return victorious.