Chapter 616: The Archives
"It’s a pleasure to see you again, Lord Elion," Oberon said respectfully, a pleasant smile resting on his face. "I trust your travels were fruitful?"
"Nice to see you too, Oberon, and yes, everything went well."
"I heard you wished to visit our archives?" Oberon asked.
Elion nodded. "Yes, if you would, please. I’d like that."
"Nonsense." Oberon waved the formality aside. "We may as well consider ourselves family now. It would be an honor to assist you in your endeavours."
Elion raised a brow. The sudden warmth in the vampire’s behavior was a little perplexing, but he took it in stride.
Just as Celeste had promised, she had brought him to see the records he wanted to examine, though she herself did not possess a key to the archives.
That was not because she was forbidden from entering... Such a thing would have been absurd, but simply because no key had ever been made for her.
The number of copies was intentionally kept low, since it was considered unwise to have too many in circulation.
In total, there were only three keys to the archive: one held by the king and his family, while the other two were shared among the three grand elders.
Elion had not bothered asking which elder currently possessed the third key. With three elders and only two keys between them, one of them was obviously left without one.
Which was precisely why Oberon was here with them today, since he was the only one available with a key.
Before long, the four of them - Elion, Isla, Celeste, and Oberon - found themselves standing before a pair of visibly heavy, arched dark doors.
Oberon stepped forward first. From within the folds of his robes, he produced a long, black-metal key whose surface had been etched with fine, intricate lines.
He slid it into the lock with ease.
There was a deep metallic click, followed by a low internal shifting sound, as though several hidden mechanisms were drawing back in sequence from within the thickness of the doors.
This went on for several minutes. Elion watched with quiet interest.
"So heavily guarded?" he asked.
Oberon glanced back at him with a faint smile.
"The archive holds more than books, Lord Elion. It holds continuity itself. Names, records of old wars, funerary accounts, maps of the elder coasts, testimonies from survivors of ages most people barely remember. If such a place were to burn, or be looted, or tampered with, generations of history and memory would vanish with it."
Celeste folded her arms lightly beneath her chest.
"He means the elders would rather die than lose a census ledger."
Oberon’s pleasant smile thinned by a fraction.
"I would proudly die rather than let these records be compromised, and while it may seem as if I am simply idolizing these old archives, isn’t that also true for everyone else? At least for some important part of their lives. In the end, we are all slaves to different things. And as the keepers of time, the Chronos family and those of us who serve them are responsible for maintaining an accurate and vivid account of the ages. It’s simply a matter of duty, in its most basic form."
He glanced back toward the young ones who had gone silent, listening to his impromptu rambling.
"I see my jabbering bores you; allow me to apologise. I often find myself speaking without meaning to..."
The doors began to open.
They moved slowly, not because they were stuck, but because they were genuinely massive. The stone beneath them gave off a dull groan as the weight shifted.
The smell struck Elion immediately.
A current of cool, dry air spilled out through the widening gap, carrying with it the scent of old parchment, wood, lamp oil, and dust.
’Well, for all the importance they place on this archive, it doesn’t seem like they clean this place much.’
At least that was true for his first impression. Beyond the threshold lay a vast, dimly golden chamber.
The archive was far larger than Elion had expected.
It did not resemble a simple library so much as a vaulted sanctuary. Tall shelves of dark wood rose in orderly rows beneath an arched ceiling ribbed in black stone.
Ladders rested against certain sections, while rolling stair platforms had been left near others.
Between the shelves stood carved pillars bearing small crystal lamps that cast a steady amber glow.
Far above, narrow slit windows admitted just enough daylight to suggest the passing hour without ever endangering the materials within.
And everywhere there were books.
Books, ledgers, bound scroll cases, sealed document chests, indexed drawers, lacquered record cylinders, and long tables spread with cataloguing tools.
Every shelf seemed meticulously arranged, every section clearly designated with polished plaques engraved in elegant old script.
Isla’s eyes widened almost at once.
"Oh," she whispered, stepping in before she could stop herself.
The sound of her voice seemed to disappear into the scale of the room.
Even Celeste, who had clearly been here before, slowed a little upon entering, as though the atmosphere of the place imposed itself naturally upon anyone who crossed into it.
Elion moved in more calmly, his gaze traveling upward along the shelves, then toward the distant rear of the chamber where a second level could be seen running along three sides of the hall.
An iron-railed gallery circled the upper interior, giving access to additional collections above. At the very back, a spiral staircase climbed into shadow.
"This is impressive," he said.
Oberon dipped his head slightly.
"Reason why we are so proud of it."
Celeste glanced sideways at him. "You say that as though you wrote half of it yourself."
"No," Oberon replied calmly, "if I had, the cataloguing system would be less irritating."
Elion let his hand hover over the edge of a nearby table, not touching anything though.
"You mentioned a lot of stuff is in here, but what exactly is accessible to me?"
"Nearly everything in the primary hall," Oberon said. "Restricted vault records require all three Elders’ authorization, which I’m assuming would not be too difficult. But your request was not for those. You wished to examine records pertaining to the hidden legacy world, if I recall correctly."
Elion nodded once.
"That’s right."
Oberon turned and gestured for them to follow.
"Then we should begin in the western record aisle. Early entrance logs were consolidated there some years ago. It will save time to start there. Then we can proceed to more recent ones, though they are not as detailed."