Book 3: Chapter 5 (5)


    Thergest earthquake in twenty years urred in the eastern part of the country of Pars at midnight on March 28th.


    The tremor crossed the waters of the Kaveri River and spread to the western part of the Sindhura. Many cliffs copsed, cracks appeared in the ground, and houses tilted.


    Peshawar citadel also shook.


    The shaking was so violent that Arn jumped out of bed, the frightened horses in the stables rioted, and the soldiers who were kicked by the horses'' hooves broke their ribs. A few candlesticks fell down and caused a small fire, but it was quickly brought under control. There was little damage to the walls and pavilions of the city. One man was seriously wounded, and in addition to that, several others were hit on the head by bottles falling from the shelves, or were slightly injured by rolling down the steps because of unsteady footing. That was all the damage in the city, however, the cavalrymen who went out to inspect the damage brought back heart-wrenching reports.


    "It seems Mount Damavand suffered a lot of damage during the earthquake. The entire face of the mountain has changed. I tried to go up to see what was going on, but the road was blocked by fallen rocks and crumbling cliffs, and with the strong wind and rain, it was impossible to approach."


    "Mount Damavand? Is that so "


    Arn had an indescribable sense of unease.


    It was said that Mount Damavand was the ce where the hero Kai Khosrow sealed the Serpent King Zahhak in the ground three hundred years ago. Halfway back towards Peshawar, Arn, who was looking at Mount Damavand from afar, was at once enveloped by an inexplicable demonic aura. Arn remembered this incident, and he could no longer keep calm.


    "Your Highness, we are about to march to the west anyway. If you are worried, we can do a more detailed investigation on our way."


    Arn agreed with Daryun''s statement.


    There was no way for Arn to know, but just at this time, in the underground of the capital, Ecbatana, far away from the city of Peshawar, a man dressed in dark gray was pleasantly saying to his disciples, " Arn, that feeble boy, might have lived longer if he had stayed huddled inside the fortress of Peshawar. The regeneration of the Snake King Zahhak is happening faster than we thought! Everyone, don''t bezy, hurry up and get ready to meet the Great King "


    However, even if Arn heard these words, he would not just let it go.


    Now, he was surrounded by Daryun, Narsus, Gieve, Farangis, Kishward, m, Alfreed, Jaswant, and twenty thousand horsemen. With their support and assistance, Arn was about to embark on a journey to liberate the country and people of Pars.


    The end of March, 321 A.D of the Parsian calendar.


    Two historic promations were made in the name of Crown Prince Arn from the fortress of Peshawar. Both of these promations came from the hand of Narsus, the former lord of Dam.


    The first promation that was distributed throughout Pars was that all the shardaran (nobles and gentry) should rally under Prince Arn in order to drive out the Lusitanians who had invaded their homnd.


    The second promation was the "Decree of the Full Abolition of very". In the promation, it was explicitly agreed that all ves in Pars would be freed as of Arn''s reign as king, and the trade of human beings would be prohibited.


    All in all, because of these two promations, Arn made his position clear, politically, militarily and historically. He would be the first ruler in Parsian history, since the founding of the kingdom by the heroic King Kai Khosrow, to liberate the people and thend from the aggressive domination of foreign countries and the old system of his own country.


    Arn was only fourteen years and six months old, and before his eyes existed several riddles he knew and dozens he did not know. When he solves these mysteries, perhaps he will be able to pass on the name of "Arn the Liberator" to future generations.