Epic Poems: Of Arms and Kin, Canto I
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Allow me, Gods; recall that fate which struck
Garshasp in times of yore, when he had sacked
a hundred towns and wandered lost from home.
When he, upon his leave for home, had sought
to taste ambrosian fruit. Garshasp; his name
we sing infame - a deed of which he came
to hate. To what accost Garshasp such fate -
to what could break his soldiers heart. Of arms
and kin I sing to thee. Invoke me of
this tale anew. Find me the beginning:A hundred pillars* burnt alight upon
the wake of hungry men. Garshasp himself
had come to lead and feast upon the flesh
and gold the men of hundred pillars hoard.
No walls, no gates, no shield could hold the horde
of which Garshasp had brought. And when no flower
seeks to bloom upon the hundred pillared
town; they left with more than they had brought. Though
such a feat sufficed a man to last his
days until he parts, a life did not suffice
Garshasp; the oxen-lord of Boyestan*.Notes:
*Hundred Pillars: The translated name for the city of "Sad-Stun". It's also used as an archaic expression for a sedentary city in Sogadar.
*Boyestan: Region in eastern Sogadar famous for its saffron cultivation.