The night Apius died
Apius is the Emperor of Sarantium who is about to die, and the circumstance surrounding his death is described using the sense of sight. The narrator says, "In fact, on the night Apius breathed his last in the Porphyry Room of the Attenine Palace, there was no rain in the City. An accessional flush of lightning had been seen, and one or two thunder growls had earlier in the evening, well north of Sarantium, toward the grainlands of Trakesia." This imagery is vital because it also serves as a symbol illustrating that the Emperor is dying without having an apparent heir. Emperor Apius has no biological sons to take over after he dies. When the narrator says there was no rain in the City when the Emperor breathed his last, he connotes that there is no instantaneous successor to the throne.
Hearing, sight, and smell
The author thoughtfully uses the senses of hearing, sight, and smell when focusing on Valerius' strategies to take over the throne from Apius when he is about to die. The author writes, "Outside the Attenine Palace, Valerius paused in the gardens of the Imperial Precinct only long enough to spit into the bushes and note that it was still sometime before the sunrise invocation. The white moon was over the water. The dawn wind was west; he could hear the sea, smell salt on the breeze and amid the scent of summer flowers and cedars." The significance of this imagery goes back to Valerius' long anticipation of inheriting the Emperor using his proxy uncle, Petrus. Seeing the white moon, the breeze, and the smell of salt reflects Valerius' capability to stage political schemes that will enable him to become the Emperor one day.
A louder murmur of sound
The aftermath of the Emperor's demise is described using imagery. The author writes, "A louder murmur of sound. There was no heir; everyone knew it. Fotius saw people streaming into the forum from all directions." The imagery is important because it represents the fear of the people that the throne is empty, which can easily lead to instability and attacks from the neighboring kingdoms. However, the imagery shows that Apius was a dictator because no one wanted to talk soundly about his death and the only thing was to talk about his demise in low voices.
