Kivutar

Reminds me of Humbaba!

Chapter 286. Bazur.

A little earlier, Piran had been consulting his own sorcerer, Bazur. Bazur was a cut above the ordinary wizard; for one thing, he also knew Chinese magic, or at least a slightly racist approximation of it, as well as the ancient tongue. “You’re up, battle wizard,” he said…

Chapter 285. General… Gudarz?

As had happened many, many times before, the two weary armies faced one another the next morning, and their respective leaders did their best to hype their men up. “Charge when I yell!” yelled Human, doing wheelies in front of the ranks. “No, wait, when I yell later.…

Chapter 284. Oh, the Humanity.

Heavy and implacable in his glittering armour, Human made his way through the Turanian lines and aimed his spear directly at Tus, who knew exactly what that meant - a real battle of champions. “Who are you?” demanded Tus. First things first. “Are you one of Viseh’s…

Chapter 283. Arzhang.

And as the armies approached one another, they soon skidded to a halt, allowing the most powerful warriors to move to the front for the usual duels. The first real Turanian champion to come within earshot of Tus was Arzhang, son of Zira.

Lawn bowling.

Chapter 280. General Giv.

The next morning the army lined up once more, led by Tus, who was still somewhat in shock that he’d not only escaped punishment, but somehow gotten his job back.

Chapter 279. General Tus.

Bright and early the next morning, there was a thumping on the palace gate. “Hello!” said Rostam cheerily. “Your crown, throne, and signet ring are all happy to have such a noble bearer!” “What do you want,” sighed Kay Khosrow.

Chapter 278. Please, Rostam.

Rostam was, indeed, a terrifying figure, but at this point he was quietly at home, perhaps watching football or even making himself a sandwich. He didn't even notice as the army marched towards Kay Khosrow in his palace, growing more nervous with every step. The king…

Chapter 277. Rostam’s Been Awfully Quiet.

Giv and Bizhan trudged sadly back to the army, only to find all their comrades weeping and for similar reasons. Everyone had lost a brother, a father, an uncle, or at minimum a BFF. “This sucks,” said the soldiers. “And your leadership sucks,” said someone…

Chapter 276. Where’s Bahram?

“Something’s wrong,” said Giv, squinting in the direction of the battlefield the next morning. “Bahram isn’t back yet.”

Chapter 275. Tazhav Again.

Flinching from Bahram’s arrows, the salvage party moved back towards the main Turanian army, where Piran was setting things in order. “Someone’s on the field shooting arrows at us,” reported one of them.

Chapter 274. Bahram Is An Idiot.

Bahram suddenly stopped short. “Oh, shit.” “Well might you say ‘Oh, shit,’” said his father grimly. “I lost my whip,” said Bahram. “When I went to retrieve Rivniz’s crown, I dropped it.”

Chapter 273. Um, Fariborz?

Exactly one month later, the two armies lined up once again. Trumpets blared, drums thundered, captains rode up and down bellowing encouragement, and in the middle of the din, Fariborz attempted to make an inspiring speech. “Sure, we might have had some setbacks…

Chapter 272. Roham.

Fariborz pinched the bridge of his nose. “This is a mess.” “Tell me about it,” said Gudarz. “I actually don’t think we can keep fighting.” “Not in the state we’re in, no,” admitted Gudarz.

Chapter 271. Fariborz.

“Tus did what?” said Kay Khosrow, flatly disbelieving. “Got drunk-” “No, rewind. Before that.”

Chapter 270. A Soldier.

Thirty thousand horsemen broke off from the giant horde, moving towards the Persians under cover of darkness. Moving as silently as possible, they first captured and drove away all the herds the Persians had recently captured, killing the herders before they could raise the…

Chapter 269. Nice Job, Piran.

Still weeping many hours and miles later, Tazhav burst into Afrasyab’s throne room and told him everything. Afrasyab just nodded grimly. “Piran, didn’t I tell you to muster an army from all the provinces?” “I’ll get right on that,” said Piran.

Chapter 268. Tazhav.

The Persian scouts waved and yelled frantically. “The Turanian army’s coming! They’re led by a massive crocodile!”

Chapter 267. Kabuda.

Tus marched his army onwards, onwards, deeper into Turan, into the territory of Afrasyab’s commander Tazhav, who was rather busy at the moment. The herds wouldn’t take care of themselves.

Chapter 266. Giv’s Quest.

Of course, this was all small stuff - the Persians had been lucky that they caught Turan relatively unprepared, but Afrasyab wasn’t sitting idly. “I told you so,” he said to Piran. “Kay Khosrow’s revenge.” Piran just nodded and swallowed.

Chapter 265. Palashan.

After a few days of mourning and picking through the rubble for whatever hadn’t burned or melted, the Persian army moved on. The early Turanian resistance was scattered at best, since the only real advance army had died at Kalat. Moving unopposed, the Persians went deep into…

Chapter 264. Who Are We?

As the cheerleaders trooped away, and howls and thuds started in the distance, and Farud’s face turned from pale to ashen, Jarireh stood up straighter.  “They might take the castle,” she said to her son’s corpse, “but they are getting nothing out of it.”

Chapter 263. Alas for Farud.

A thousand Turkish horsemen arrived that night, entering the fortress of Kalat before the Persian army could get into position to stop them. That put Farud and his men in a much better mood, and everyone was quite confident about the looming battle. Everybody except…

Chapter 262. Bizhan In Action.

“Now who is it?” asked Farud, screening his eyes. “That’s Bizhan,” said Tokhvar. “Giv’s son. Just shoot his horse - like I said, you don’t want to kill too many of them and make too many enemies, and besides, his armour is arrow-proof.”

Chapter 261. Gostaham.

Farud stared down at the charging Giv in dismay. “These idiots. These brave, stupid idiots. Why do they keep charging me one at a time, while I have a ranged weapon?”

Chapter 260. The Cheerleaders.

As Zarasp’s horse fled back down the mountain, the Persian army howled with grief. Tus, his eyes streaming with tears, yanked his cuirass over his head and charged up the hill himself, ignoring the shouts of “Sir! Sir!” “Oh, shit,” said Tokhvar, his eyes widening as…

Chapter 259. Zarasp.

When he was finished screaming with rage, Tus turned to his son Zarasp. “What are you waiting for? Go avenge your brother-in-law.” Zarasp didn’t need to be told twice; jamming his helmet on his head, he galloped up the mountain, his heart filled with fury.

Chapter 258. Rivniz.

Fraud squinted down at the approaching warrior, then strung his bow. “That isn’t Bahram, which means Tus is rejecting my overtures and doubtless wants to kill me. Plus, he’s waving a big sword. Who is he?”

Chapter 257. Tus.

“Wonderful news!” said Bahram, running into Tus’ tent. “That was Farud up there - Kay Khosrow’s brother - and he wants to join us! And yes, before you ask, I’m sure it’s him. He showed me the royal birthmark.” Tus paused. “This… is a complication.”