Esfandyar

Esfandiyar turned his gaze upon Rostam, his voice ringing with royal pride and sharp mockery as he turned the conversation toward the lineage of Zabulistan. He claimed that the wise mobads and ancient sages had passed down tales revealing Zal to be of base, demon-tainted origin, utterly devoid of noble ancestry. When Zal was born with dark skin and snow-white hair, Sam concealed the child in shame, dreading a public calamity, until despair drove him to abandon the infant by the desolate sea to be devoured by birds and fish. The Simorgh descended with outstretched wings, yet perceiving no royal glory or divine grace upon the child, carried him to its mountain eyrie merely to serve as food for its brood. Yet even the hungry Simorgh found Zal's wretched frame unworthy, casting him naked to the side of the nest. For long years, the white-haired child lay naked amidst carrion, feeding upon scraps, until the creature's pity was stirred and it carried him back to Sistan. Esfandiyar scoffed that Sam had reclaimed Zal solely out of childlessness, foolishness, and desperate need, while the noble Kianian kings—Esfandiyar's own revered ancestors—generously exalted Zal and bestowed gold and realms upon him. From that wild, outcast stock sprang Rostam, whose stature and strength rose high into the heavens, yet who ultimately chose the path of pride, arrogance, and unrighteous defiance against the throne.