So I've seen how Yoshiki Tanaka's novel ended this series, and I'm honestly disappointed. So I checked the original source - basically the text where he loosely based it, which is
Amir Arsalan, and found the ending much better (
http://www.complete-review.com/reviews/iran/arsalan.htm). Granted, there's no English translation, but the fact that Arslan never gave up and got a happy ending were what I preferred more. So I'm just crossing my fingers and trust in what Arakawa-sensei will deliver since she's not the type to do "realistic" endings just for the edginess of it.