She swallowed and concentrated on what she knew about the layout of the streets in the upper city.
By the time she found the square where the Festival of Lights ceremony would be held, darkness had descended upon the city, and the braziers at street corners and the torches carried by officials provided what light there was.
The shops surrounding the square itself mounted torches from their balconies that blazed in sufficient quantity that the crowd packing the public space could see well enough. People jostled each other to get as close as possible to the two platforms erected along two adjacent sides—the stage for the festival performances, which occupied most of one of the narrow ends, and the viewing platform for the emperor and his family and guards which almost abutted the corner wi
