Shahnameh by Abolqasem Ferdowsi — Read

And so it was that Piran, as the leader of Turan's forces, and Gudarz, as the leader of the Persians, faced one another in mortal combat. Each of them rode forward, their hearts filled with pain, their heads with the desire for vengeance, and the sun seemed to pause above their combat, bewildered by the dust they sent up. They fought with swords and daggers, maces and lariats, striving in every way they knew to gain the advantage; but it was God who decreed the outcome and brought Piran to an evil end. He could not fight against the will of God, and neither his struggles nor his strength nor his steed were able to save him. Piran saw what was afoot, and he knew that it was the will of God that had decreed this, but his valor was such that he fought nevertheless, striving against the turning of Fate.

Then the two commanders, two old men now filled with wisdom and experience, turned to their bows and arrows to fight. They let loose a hail of arrows against one another, like an autumn wind when it blows among the trees. Gudarz chose an arrow of poplar wood that could pierce both iron and stone, and loosed it against the barding of Piran's horse, which stumbled, and neighed, and collapsed with Piran struggling beneath him. Piran's right arm was broken, but he managed to free himself and stand on his feet. He knew now that his time was at an end and that he would not survive this dark day. He fled from Gudarz, scrambling up the mountainside, and despite the pain that assailed him he reached the mountain's peak, hoping that Gudarz would let him be and go back. Gudarz watched him and wept, struck with fear at what Fate had wrought, knowing that it is faithful to no man and that it is always ready for carnage.