Under the sovereign command of King Kay Khosrow, the Iranian host marched in disciplined elegance, advancing from stage to stage without inflicting harm upon the land. Upon arriving at the strategic stronghold of Zibad, the venerable commander Goudarz son of Kashvad assembled ten thousand of his most eloquent, battle-tested warriors. Summoning his valiant son Giev, Goudarz entrusted him with a historic ultimatum to be delivered directly to Piran Viseh. Goudarz instructed Giev to remind Piran of the long lineage of Turanian aggression—stretching from the tragic slain of Iraj by Tur to the unjust martyrdom of Prince Siyavash. Yet, out of reverence for Piran's past acts of kindness toward Siyavash, King Kay Khosrow offered a path of mercy. If Piran desired to spare his kin and domain from utter destruction, he had to bound and surrender the murderers of Siyavash, return all plundered royal treasuries and war arms, and send his noble son along with his two military commander brothers as hostages of good faith. Piran could then choose to either dwell under the benevolent shadow of Kay Khosrow’s throne or rule in Chaj. However, should he choose defiance, the Iranian steel would grant him no quarter.
Giev bore this bitter yet imperative dispatch across the lands to Balkh and Wesehgard. Piran, who lay stationed with twelve thousand horsemen, marched his host to the banks of the Oxus (Jayhun). For two full weeks, diplomatic envoys traversed the waters between Giev and Piran as the Turanian chieftain sought to avoid an unjust war. Yet, simultaneously, Piran dispatched a swift rider to King Afrasiab, exposing Goudarz's stringent demands. Upon hearing the ultimatum, Afrasiab burned with dark fury. Rejecting all terms of compromise, Afrasiab dispatched thirty thousand bloodthirsty reinforcements to Piran, commanding him to erase the Iranian lineage—sparing neither Goudarz nor Giev, nor Farhad, Gorgin, or Roham.
Strengthened by these massive reinforcements, Piran's diplomatic demeanor hardened into fierce resolution. He summoned Giev and delivered his final, unyielding refusal: 'Tell Goudarz that no wise leader accepts such humiliating terms! I shall never surrender my brothers or son as hostages, nor shall I lay down my arms. Death in honor is far sweeter than a life spent in servitude; even the leopard chooses death over shame when facing the lion!' With this harsh refusal, Giev rode back to the Iranian camp. Piran immediately mobilized his dark host, pursuing Giev like a roaring lion, and pitched his royal pavilions at the foot of Mount Kanabad, setting the stage for an inevitable, earth-shaking clash.