Arslan is rescued by his loyal servant Daryun and they must run away from the Lusitanian forces, led by the General Silvermask, who ambush and capture his father personally.

While Arslan and Daryun enlist Narsus' help, Lusitania begins their siege in the royal capital of Ecbatana. Shapur is tortured by Bodin as an example for the "pagans" of Pars, but requests to be killed by one of Pars' archers. Listening to his request, he is killed by a mysterious man, who is called by queen Tahamine to be rewarded for his feat. Meanwhile, Lusitania convinces the slaves of Pars to open the city gates for them, promising to make them free men.

Gieve escapes Ecbatana after having a clash with Silvermask, who makes use of the underground tunnels to strike the palace from within, while the Lusitanian forces, assisted by the slaves, break into the capital and conquer it.

As the Lusitanian army plunders the capital, Gieve meets the beautiful priestess Farangies, who is in search for Arslan. Upon knowing that Kharlan intends to raid the nearby villages in order to capture them, Arslan and his companions decide to take the fight to the enemy.

Daryun and Narsus infiltrate the capital in search for information, coming across Silvermask in the occasion, while Arslan has another encounter with the runaway prisoner he met years before.

Having formed an alliance with Rajendra, Arslan and company face their first hurdle in their military campaign to win Rajendra the throne of Sindhura. On their way to Sindhura's capital of Uraiyur, they must first get past the Fortress of Gujarat.

The Kingdom of Turan decides to take advantage of Pars's moment of weakness to invade, forcing Arslan to abandon his plan to retake Ecbatana in order to secure the border at Peshawar.

The Turanians regroup and prepare to make another attempt to take Peshawar Fortress, this time, using more underhanded means. Meanwhile, Andragoras makes good his escape from Ecbatana and the Lusitanians.

As Hilmes continues to pursue the treasured sword Rukhnabad, he comes across someone from his past. In the meantime, in Peshawar, King Andragoras sets Arslan a task that is seemingly cruel and impossible.

Arslan and his party head for the port city of Gilan to the south and get a lay of the land as they begin their attempt to assemble an army of 50 thousand men as King Andragoras ordered.

Arslan continues his quest to raise an army of 50 thousand, as well as the capital required to fund such an army. His immediate obstacle is the suspiciously obsequious Viceroy of Gilan, Pelagius.

Back in Ecbatana, Guiscard is sorely regretting leaving Andragoras alive long enough to escape and is determined that he will not make the same mistake again.

The bulk of Arslan's people set out for an uninhabited island in search of hidden treasure, but back in Gilan, there is still the unresolved matter of the mastermind behind the pirates.

With the arrival of Étoile and Merlane, Arslan learns of the situation in Ecbatana. And while he is still far short of amassing an army of 50 thousand, he must decide whether to act upon this information or not.