Chapter 190

The Red Keep.

The great hall blazed with candlelight. It was vast enough to hold a thousand souls, facing south, with tall narrow windows in the eastern and western walls and a long carpet running to the bronze-and-oak doors at its far end. The servants had already laid a rich feast.

In Westeros a banquet was the cord that bound lord to lord and held alliances together. From the day Domeric had ridden for the Vale until now nearly half a month had passed; the highborn were eager for a feast that would draw them closer to the Hand of the King.