Chapter 1 : The Feast (Part 2)

From the high table, Vasper’s gaze moved to take in the great hall that would soon be full of rivals and conspirators. It was a visual tour that never failed to inspire feelings of security, pride and satisfaction – all for good reason.

Nothing about the hall was left to chance or coincidence. Every detail down to the tiniest fixture and decoration was arranged with exact precision and nothing in that room existed except by Vasper’s express purposes.

The room was absolutely perfect, which Vasper well knew, as the design was his own and had been executed with utter meticulousness by Prince Fedyk’s very own craftsmen. Their commissioning had cost him a rather large fortune, but had proven well worth the price; the work was flawless.

The room’s design itself was a work of dark genius, put together by a man who had spent many long years studying the subtle arts of persuasion, manipulation and coercion. The great hall had been the culmination of all Vasper’s art and skill and served its intended purpose ruthlessly and efficiently.

Enormous square stones lined the floor of the immense circular hall, arranged in powerful patterns that evoked strength, solidarity and trustworthiness in those the Thane wished to impress or inspire. Large sculpted murals built into the towering granite walls colourfully depicted grandiose scenes of victory and conquest from the lives of the Thane’s more legendary ascendants and served as a manifest reminder of the majesty and potency from which the Thane was descended. The ceiling of the great hall was an intricate collaboration of sharply angled vaults and smooth, grand arches that elegantly crowned the room in jet black ebony and left the visitor with a sense of being part of something much larger and grander than themselves.

To the unprepared visitor of this room, the Thane was a man who was noble and benevolent and larger than life. He was a man who could be depended on and trusted implicitly - a man who commanded respect and deserved fealty. Visitors to the mighty hall wanted desperately to please the Thane and earn his favour, a fact which he had exploited ruthlessly in many negotiations.

When dealing with rivals and opponents, Vasper’s subtle rearrangement of the great round room would produce a darker, more sinister effect. The same great floor tiles became the massive stepping-stones of a cruel, autocratic behemoth. Cold granite walls brandished furious images of reckless and maniacal acts of violence, bloodshed and ruination attributed to the Thane’s murderous lineage, and therefore also to him. The sharp vaults and wide arches of the dark stone ceiling seemed at first glance to be the perching places of a thousand malevolent shadows, ever scrutinizing those under their authority. At second glance, and every glance after, the ceiling seemed to descend ever lower and lower until finally it became, in the mind’s eye, the vaulted seal of a gruesome sarcophagus that crushed and oppressed all within its walls.

More than one of his opponents had found themselves hastily submitting to the Thane’s will for no other reason than to get themselves outside of the walls of that great and terrible tomb. There were few who could resist Vasper’s intimidations, and such as there were had almost finished taking their seats.

For the feast, Vasper had gone a different direction altogether with the Thane’s hall. Garish tapestries and tacky banners adorned the walls and ceiling, complimenting the rest of the bright and cheerful décor. The atmosphere in the hall spoke of festivity, ease and levity. It was his most insidious design and was carefully crafted to subtly, yet irresistibly put its guests off their guard while also distracting their attention from matters of serious thought or suspicion.

The arrangement was perfect and its effect – devastating; the nobles’ conspiracies were about to come into fruition, but the last laugh would be on the conspirators.