only way.’
No one expected Layla’s tribe to comply with Nowfal’s request, and when the herald returned with the letter of rejection, no one was surprised. The call for peace, however, was accepted. No more blood was to be shed. Layla was safe with her people, and Nowfal and his men were to return to their own land.
Chapter 19
M ajnun rode in silence at Nowfal’s side. For an hour they had not exchanged a single word, but finally, when the re-opened wound in Majnun’s soul had smarted and stung so much that he could no longer hold his tongue.
‘Is this how you help me?’ he cried out. ‘Is that the only way you know of bringing together two people in love? Is that the last resort of wisdom, to fight with men and weapons? Is that the secret of your power? Is that the proof of your strength? Is that the way you go into action for the sake of your friends? For God knows that I never wanted you to help me in that way; God alone knows that I never asked you to spill blood on my account!
‘And now you have succeeded in making enemies of my friends. The door I wished to enter in peace theyhave, thanks to you, locked for ever and thrown away the key!
‘You have turned my good cause to infamy, all in the name of friendship! You are no friend of mine; I hereby renounce all ties of friendship with you. How can we be friends? I feel like the king in chess who is checkmated by his own knight! I feel like the sheepdog, pierced by the arrow that the shepherd aimed at the wolf!
‘True, you may be great when it comes to generosity, but when it comes to fulfilling your promises you are small, very small indeed!’
There was nothing Nowfal could do to defend himself against these words. Gently, he tried to remonstrate with his friend.
‘You must understand that we would have been outnumbered: the enemy was superior on every front. That is why I was unable to achieve our goal and win Layla for you. But it is not over yet, believe me. True, I made peace and we departed. But that was a stratagem forced on me by Fate.
‘Rest assured, my friend, that I shall return! My aim now is to muster support from the surrounding tribes; I shall gather together an army the likes of which Layla’s tribe has never seen! I shall not rest until I have done what I first set out to do. I shall not rest until the treasure you most desire is in your hands.’
And Nowfal did exactly as he said he would. He sent envoys to all of the tribes in the area, from Medina to Baghdad and beyond. With his untold wealth he assembled an army that swelled from horizon to horizonlike a sea of iron. Then, for a second time, he went to war in order to win Layla for his friend.
Chapter 20
L ike a vast sea of men and iron, Nowfal’s army swept across the plain. The drums of war were beating, the horses’ hooves were pounding, and the war-cries of the men were enough to cause a dead man’s heart to tremble. Blood-red banners fluttered in the breeze, swords and daggers glinted menacingly in the bright sunlight. At noon, Nowfal’s army reached the outskirts of Layla’s camp. There, the sea of men and iron became calm — the calm before the coming storm.
Scouts from Layla’s tribe had relayed the news of Nowfal’s approach back to her camp, and although they knew they were vastly outnumbered, they did not lose heart. They were still determined not to acquiesce, not to give way to force: they were willing to die rather than hand over Layla to the aggressor.
The battle commenced, with fighting more fiercethan either side had ever experienced. The whole plain was soon one vast crush of men and horses; so locked in battle did they become that there was little room to move, and no chance for anyone to escape. And so every thrust of the dagger hit its mark, every swing of the sword found its victim. Blood gushed like ruby wine from a thousand goblets; so red did the sands become that it looked as though countless desert poppies had suddenly bloomed from
No one expected Layla’s tribe to comply with Nowfal’s request, and when the herald returned with the letter of rejection, no one was surprised. The call for peace, however, was accepted. No more blood was to be shed. Layla was safe with her people, and Nowfal and his men were to return to their own land.
Chapter 19
M ajnun rode in silence at Nowfal’s side. For an hour they had not exchanged a single word, but finally, when the re-opened wound in Majnun’s soul had smarted and stung so much that he could no longer hold his tongue.
‘Is this how you help me?’ he cried out. ‘Is that the only way you know of bringing together two people in love? Is that the last resort of wisdom, to fight with men and weapons? Is that the secret of your power? Is that the proof of your strength? Is that the way you go into action for the sake of your friends? For God knows that I never wanted you to help me in that way; God alone knows that I never asked you to spill blood on my account!
‘And now you have succeeded in making enemies of my friends. The door I wished to enter in peace theyhave, thanks to you, locked for ever and thrown away the key!
‘You have turned my good cause to infamy, all in the name of friendship! You are no friend of mine; I hereby renounce all ties of friendship with you. How can we be friends? I feel like the king in chess who is checkmated by his own knight! I feel like the sheepdog, pierced by the arrow that the shepherd aimed at the wolf!
‘True, you may be great when it comes to generosity, but when it comes to fulfilling your promises you are small, very small indeed!’
There was nothing Nowfal could do to defend himself against these words. Gently, he tried to remonstrate with his friend.
‘You must understand that we would have been outnumbered: the enemy was superior on every front. That is why I was unable to achieve our goal and win Layla for you. But it is not over yet, believe me. True, I made peace and we departed. But that was a stratagem forced on me by Fate.
‘Rest assured, my friend, that I shall return! My aim now is to muster support from the surrounding tribes; I shall gather together an army the likes of which Layla’s tribe has never seen! I shall not rest until I have done what I first set out to do. I shall not rest until the treasure you most desire is in your hands.’
And Nowfal did exactly as he said he would. He sent envoys to all of the tribes in the area, from Medina to Baghdad and beyond. With his untold wealth he assembled an army that swelled from horizon to horizonlike a sea of iron. Then, for a second time, he went to war in order to win Layla for his friend.
Chapter 20
L ike a vast sea of men and iron, Nowfal’s army swept across the plain. The drums of war were beating, the horses’ hooves were pounding, and the war-cries of the men were enough to cause a dead man’s heart to tremble. Blood-red banners fluttered in the breeze, swords and daggers glinted menacingly in the bright sunlight. At noon, Nowfal’s army reached the outskirts of Layla’s camp. There, the sea of men and iron became calm — the calm before the coming storm.
Scouts from Layla’s tribe had relayed the news of Nowfal’s approach back to her camp, and although they knew they were vastly outnumbered, they did not lose heart. They were still determined not to acquiesce, not to give way to force: they were willing to die rather than hand over Layla to the aggressor.
The battle commenced, with fighting more fiercethan either side had ever experienced. The whole plain was soon one vast crush of men and horses; so locked in battle did they become that there was little room to move, and no chance for anyone to escape. And so every thrust of the dagger hit its mark, every swing of the sword found its victim. Blood gushed like ruby wine from a thousand goblets; so red did the sands become that it looked as though countless desert poppies had suddenly bloomed from
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