Rostam

A storm burst over the flat tableland where the Persians huddled without protection. In Persian Mythology, the White Demon appeared ghostly and white at the horizon, but the storm and confusion prevented Kay Kavus and his soldiers from seeing his face. The king and his troops surrendered quietly to twelve thousand demons. The demons tore away the soldiers' jewelled collars and rings and removed their weapons.

Diw-e-Safid, the leader of the demons, pelted the army with stones from above. The stones blinded Kay Kaus, and the demons took him prisoner. Zal heard that the king and his troops had been captured. He wanted to rush to their rescue, but he had grown too old and frail to help. He therefore notified his son Rustam, who had recently proved himself an even greater hero than Zal.

Rustam sped across the mountains and deserts. He found that the White Demon was holding Kay Kaus in a cave inside a mountain. A demon guarded the cave. Rustam tore off its head and tossed the gory object into the midst of the other demons. Kay Kaus was later rescued by the great hero Rustem, who cured the king's blindness.