He could now see that embedded into all four sides of each column was a golden emblem of a snake devouring its own tail, the eyes picked out by amethysts. Interspersed between the two regimented lines of obsidian columns that marched down either side of the hall were huge, black marble braziers filled with the fiercely burning purple flames that illuminated the room. The floor, made of what seemed like a single piece of highly polished black marble, mirrored the faint glow of the obsidian ceiling high above and the flickering magical flames of the braziers. Interspersed along the channel between the rows of columns, the same symbol of the snake was embedded into the marble of the floor. At the far end of the room, a set of shallow stone steps led up to a huge golden throne, on which sat an
