The Emperor sat squarely on the black marble throne, as solid and unmoving as if he himself were part of the marble. His feet in cloth-of-silver boots with black spurs were spread slightly apart, his hands rested on the arms of the throne, and his large, dark eyes stared straight at the three men approaching him.

Kul-Nam was a good six inches shorter than Blade, but he must have been nearly as heavy. All of that weight was bone and muscle. Blade could see this clearly. The Emperor wore black trousers with a gold sash and above the waist only an embroidered red vest that left most of his massive torso visible. His olive-brown skin was tanned and weathered even darker, and seamed and corded with a warrior's muscles and a warrior's collection of scars. His head was shaved completely bare above the eyebrows, except for a long, black pigtail caught up in a silver ring. The emperor's bare skull gleamed so brightly that Blade had a moment's ludicrous thought that it might be waxed to give it that high polish.

Against one side of the throne leaned a long, curved sword in a jeweled scabbard, within easy reach of the Emperor's right hand. Against the other side leaned three short throwing spears with razor-sharp, silvered heads and red tassels on the butts. Three daggers were stuck in the Emperor's sash. He looked well equipped to deal with any armed opponent, ready to turn from emperor to warrior in the blink of an eye.

In each corner of the chamber stood four of the Corps of Eunuchs, in black tunics and red trousers. Three of each four carried two swords apiece, one long and one short. The fourth carried a crossbow slung across his chest. They stood as motionless as groups of statues, no sign of life showing in any of the sixteen except for an occasional flicker of an eyelash.