Bizhan

Rostam bound his sun-bright Babr-e Bayan coat over his mail, tying knot upon knot with resolute purpose. He turned his face toward the Creator of the sun and moon, taking refuge in Almighty Yazdan and praying that the evil eye be blinded and that he be granted cosmic strength to deliver Prince Bizhan. He bade his fellow champions girdle themselves likewise for vengeance. The noble warriors saddled their warhorses and readied their talons for battle. Rostam mounted Rakhsh and led the way toward the dreadful pit.

When they reached the mouth of the sorrowful well—capped by the monstrous stone of Akvan Div—Rostam commanded his seven renowned champions to clear the rock from the shaft. The Iranian lords dismounted and strained with all their might against the boulder, digging their talons into its edges; yet though the heroes burned with exhaustion, the stone remained unmoved. Seeing their plight, the lion-hearted Rostam dismounted from Rakhsh, tucked the skirts of his mail beneath his belt, and prayed fervently to Yazdan for divine power. Reaching down, he seized the enormous boulder and tore it clean out of the earth, hurling it across the wilderness to the borders of Chin, making the ground quake under its weight.

Peering into the abyssal gloom, Rostam sorrowfully called out to Bizhan, asking how fate had treated him in that dismal cell. Bizhan replied from the dark depths that the sound of Rostam's thunderous voice had instantly turned all the world's poison into sweet nectar. He described his torment—a prison whose floor was iron and whose roof was solid rock. Rostam reassured him of Yazdan's mercy, but demanded a pledge: Bizhan must forgive Gorgin son of Milad and purge all vengeance from his chest. Bizhan initially raged, declaring that only doom and retribution awaited Gorgin; but Rostam sternly warned that if he refused, he would leave him bound in the well and ride away on Rakhsh. Yielding to the World-Champion, Bizhan laid aside his hatred.

Rostam lowered his lasso into the shaft and hauled Bizhan up, still fettered. His body was emaciated, his hair and nails overgrown, his skin pallid and bloodied beneath the heavy rust of iron chains. Rostam wept aloud at the sight, then shattered the iron rings with his bare hands. They brought Bizhan to their pavilion, washed away his filth, and clad him in royal robes. Gorgin came forward, fell into the dust before Bizhan, and begged forgiveness for his treacherous folly, which Bizhan granted.

With Bizhan delivered, Rostam swiftly ordered the army to prepare for war. Camels were loaded, steeds saddled, and Rostam put on his chosen armor. He entrusted the intelligent commander Ashkash with escorting Manizheh, Bizhan, and the baggage to safety, while Rostam prepared a fierce midnight raid upon the palace of King Afrasiab to exact overdue vengeance. Hearing this, Bizhan begged to ride in the vanguard, eager to turn his past suffering into victory against Touran.