The great dining hall of Kastoria's royal castle had been transformed for the post-ceremony feast into something that justified the word lavish without apology.
Long cedar tables ran the hall's length, draped in deep gold cloth and loaded with the finest the kingdom's kitchens could produce — whole roasted birds glazed with honeyed sauces, lacquered dishes of seasoned rice and pickled vegetables arranged with careful deliberateness, ceramic flasks of warmed rice wine stationed at intervals alongside cut fruit and confections that had clearly required their preparers' full attention for the better part of two days.
Lanterns hung in lines above the tables, their warm light catching the gold thread in the assembled nobles' finest clothing and producing the particular amber glow that made every formal occasion feel slightly suspended from ordinary time.
