The ground rose gently, as the emperor's palace was situated astride the crown of a hill overlooking the Sea of Marmora, shimmering dull blue to the south. Led by Justin, our motley assembly-consisting now of eight barbarians, nine guards, Justin, Titus, and myself-trooped up the path towards another wall in which was set a gate large enough for horsemen to ride four abreast; what is more, an entire house had been constructed above this enormous portal where guards and watchmen lived.
Passing through this portal we entered another garden with several more tree-lined marble walkways. There were clusters of buildings scattered haphazardly around this inner compound: kitchens, stores, dwellings of various kinds, and several large chapels. The buildings were mostly of stone-fine coloured marble from the quarries of lands throughout the empire-and most had wide windholes covered with clear glass, and not only this, but also coloured tiles of blue and green affixed to their upper portions, so that the slanting sunlight made the heights of these habitations gleam like gems.
There were six handsome black horses grazing in the grassy places, untethered and unwatched. When I remarked on this, Justin merely replied that the emperor, a former stableboy, liked his horses.
Sure, Heaven itself has touched this place with its glory, I thought. The magnificence of these grounds was the envy of the world, and I could scarce believe I was walking in them.
Within this inner precinct were no fewer than four palaces and three additional chapels. As we walked along, Justin told me which they were. "That is the Octagon," he said, pointing to one of the structures, "the emperor's private quarters. And over there," he pointed to another imposing palace, "is the Pantheon-where the empress and the court ladies stay. And there is the Daphne Palace, and the one beside it is Saint Stephen's church."
"What is that one?" I asked, pointing to a large stone building with a high triple-domed roof of red clay tiles which rose above the tops of the trees.
"The Triconchus Palace," replied the guard. "It is the new state throne-room; Theophilus built it. But the emperor prefers the old throne-room in the hall of the Chrysotriclinium." He indicated yet another enormous building of yellow stone. "We are going to the old throne-room."
"And what is beyond that high wall over there?" I wondered, pointing behind the throne hall.
Justin smiled, "That, my friend, is the Hippodrome. If you survive this day, you may see some races there. The emperor is fond of horses, as I say, and so of racing."
Jarl Harald, growing wary of the talk between us, growled at me and demanded that I either translate, or keep silent. I told him that Justin was telling me about the emperor's liking for horse racing. He snorted at this, saying, "Horses are costly and they eat too much."
The array of fine buildings and gardens was staggering. The inner precinct alone was many times larger than the whole of the abbey at Kells and, confronted with so many walls and buildings, I quickly lost any sense of direction. On and on we walked, passing through gates and doorways-one after another, beyond counting-and I began to be aware of a detail that had earlier escaped my notice; the Great Palace, beneath the lustre, was decaying.
Despite the richness, the precinct wore an air of weariness-as if, beneath the patina of opulence, the buildings were old and tired and sad; the bright fire of their first splendour was faded now to only a glow. The path beneath our feet was white marble, but the expensive stone was discoloured and cracked; tufts of grass grew up through the cracks. The bronze crosses atop the chapels were dull green, not gold, and the colourful facades were missing many of their tiles. Several trees along the pathway were dead.
Here and there, as if to counter the decrepit appearance, masons were busy at work atop wooden scaffolding, restoring damaged sections of some buildings, and renewing the facades and roofs of others. Indeed, when I listened, the principal sound to meet my ear was that of hammer on chisel.
The marble walk ended at a large square building of pale yellow stone which supported a huge dome flanked by two smaller domes. Two trees grew on either side of an arched doorway, casting pale blue shadows in the thin autumn light across a paved foreyard. There was a stone water trough shaped like a bowl directly before the door, and here we halted.
"Tell your king that he may choose two men to come with us," Titus said, and indicated that the rest were to wait at the entrance with the soldiers. "When the others arrive with the surety, one of my men will alert us."
I conveyed these instructions to the king and he chose Hnefi and Gunnar to accompany him, giving instructions to the rest to attack and burn down the palace if the war cry sounded. This they vowed to do and then stretched themselves out on the grass to wait.
