When word of King Manuchehr’s passing and the troubled onset of Nowzar’s reign swept across the realm of Turan, King Pashang felt the dormant embers of ancient vengeance flare within his heart. Remembering his forefathers—Zadasham, Salm, and Tur—he summoned the illustrious chieftains and military commanders of his nation: Viseh the ruthless commander, Garsivaz, Barman, Kulbad, and Arjasp.
Before this grand assembly, Pashang called forth his formidable son, Afrasiab—a warrior of monstrous stature, whose heart burned with relentless rage. Pashang spoke of the blood debt owed by Iran, reminding his son of how Tur and Salm had been slain, urging him to unleash the iron might of Turan upon the weakened enemy realm.
Enflamed by his father’s speech, Afrasiab cast aside all rest and comfort. Girding his loins for battle, he stepped forward with a tongue as sharp as a sword edge and a soul fueled by vengeance. He boasted that he alone was the true match for Iran’s bravest lions, swearing upon the memory of King Zadasham that his blade would accomplish what earlier generations had left unfinished, turning Iran into a furnace of destruction.
Pashang’s heart swelled with pride as he beheld his giant son—possessing the torso of a lion, the strength of an elephant, and a heart as vast as the sea. He granted Afrasiab full command of Turan’s war host. Yet, before the armies marched, Pashang’s second son, Aghriras—a man of profound wisdom and foresight—entered the royal hall. Deeply concerned for the fate of his kingdom, Aghriras urged caution. He reminded his father that though Manuchehr was dead, Iran remained guarded by legendary champions such as Sam the son of Nariman, Qaran the formidable battle-lord, and Garshasp—the very wolves who had slaughtered Salm and Tur in bygone days.
Pashang rejected Aghriras’s counsel of peace, praising Afrasiab as a predatory leviathan and a ferocious war-elephant. He ordered Aghriras to accompany his brother to guide the army’s council while enforcing his royal command: as spring carpeted the steppes in green, Turan’s host would invade Amol, Dehestan, and Gorgan, drowning the plains of Iran in a crimson deluge of blood.