A heavy shadow of dread lay upon the earth under the tyrannical reign of Zahhak the Serpent-King. Night after night, two vibrant youths—whether of humble blood or the lineage of mighty champions—were dragged to the royal palace so their brains might feed the black serpents coiling from the monarch's shoulders. Amidst this era of mourning, two noble, righteous, and far-sighted men, Armayel and Garmayel, met in secret to mourn the boundless suffering of the realm. A heroic resolve took shape within their minds: to infiltrate the royal court disguised as cooks and secretly temper the tyrant's cruelty.
Mastering the culinary arts and the exact balance of flavors, the two sages secretly secured their place in the royal kitchen. Whenever the bloodthirsty guards dragged two weeping youths into the kitchen, the hearts of Armayel and Garmayel burned with fierce grief and vengeful fury. Yet wisdom demanded restraint; they slaughtered only one of the captives, blending his brain with that of a sheep to serve the shoulder-serpents. To the surviving youth, they granted life, whispering in the dark: 'Keep your existence hidden! Never return to settled towns, for henceforth your dwelling is the wild plains and rugged mountains.'
In this manner, thirty youths were spared from death each month. Once two hundred rescued young men had gathered in secrecy—strangers to one another—the cooks provided them with herds of goats and sheep and sent them deep into the mountain ranges. From these freed mountain-dwellers, according to the epic lore, arose the noble lineage of the Kurds, bound forever to the open wilderness. Meanwhile, the wicked Zahhak continued his unholy practices, slaying warriors whenever he communed with demons and abducting high-born maidens into forced servitude, utterly trampling all sacred law and faith.