The hidden archives, a place that held the most detailed and last existing records of a dark dynasty, a history and an existence long buried by the beasts of Asvar, never to see the light of day.

It was situated at the lowest level of Dragon Keep, an underground level even lower than the keep dungeons, so far underneath that no resident of the keep but the dragons and their most trusted knew of it’s existence.

And no one could gain access to this level of the keep without the royal consent of the dragon king, this was the law.

The hidden archives was a vault of knowledge sealed off for centuries, even the dragon themselves would never be willing to venture down there as it was against their principles.

An exception had been made this time to ascertain the truth in the findings of the dune dragons and it was only for this reason Jian found himself standing in the ascending room as it made it’s descent to a level whose existence was a great secret.

Far beneath the ground level of dragon keep, the ascending room descended at a slow and steady pace till it finally made it’s stop, jerking slightly as the mechanism did not descend this far that often.

"After you, My Liege." Garron said as the doors to the ascending room came open.

Jian stepped out of the elevator, glancing down the stone halls encased in pitch darkness but for the smallest rays of light provided by a few lit torches down the wall.

The hallway was thin and led only one way, the other would only lead to a dead end.

Jian knew this already, there was not an inch of the keep Jian was not familiar with.

Every part of the keep had been built according to his father’s specifications and Jian though young had been by his father’s side every step of the way.

"The stench of this place..." Kirgan grumbled beneath his breath, sniffing audibly before he shook his head.

Being so deep underground, there was hardly any breathable air in these halls, whatever air was there was just enough to allow the ease of breathing and no more.

And even then, each breath was thick with a damp stench and something even worse...

"The stench of dark magic." Rodvan completed Kirgan’s words.

It could have been Rodvan’s own words, or it could have been Kaideon’s, but whichever it was, there was no one amongst the group who did not agree.

The stench of dark magic hung heavily in the air, even after so many centuries had passed, it was still stuck to the walls and the surroundings and Jian knew the source could be traced to the hidden archives itself.

From spell books, to magical artifacts, to records of the most depraved experiments performed with dark magic, every horrible event from before the uprising had found it’s resting place within these halls and the pages of the volumes that rested here.

And these volumes and some artifacts that accompanied them had touched many hands, absorbing all manner of evil and dark energy that now festered and polluted this level of the keep.

"I hate this place... have always hated it." Kirgan grumbled, dusting his coat as though that would prevent the stench from sticking onto it.

Jian said nothing, but he could not agree more. In actuality, of all his kin that certainly detested the existence of this place, none could detest it more than Jian himself did.

Sensitive as he was, Jian could feel the strands of dark magic that hung over the halls...they could do no harm, yet the mere existence of dark magic was distasteful to Jian.

This was the same arts with which his kin had been enslaved, the same knowledge that made the dark sorcerers believe themselves to be as great as gods.

"You are certain My Liege must come here in person?" Rodrick asked uneasily, glancing around the eerie halls.

"Forgive me, My Liege. It is no thing of beauty to have to step foot into these tainted halls, yet this is something you must see in person. Words alone cannot tell enough." Garron replied apologetically.

"No bother... I have walked these halls many times before this and I would as long as I am King. This is within my own Keep, no power prevails here but that which I allow... and certainly no dark magic." Jian replied as he continued down the halls.

Why these memories needed to be kept and secured here, every dragon would speak of a different reason.

Perhaps they were trophies of war, memories that represented the great evil the beasts of Asvar had prevailed over.

Perhaps they were preserved as a reminder of the dark past,

Perhaps these records served as a warning to the dragons, to never again fall to the evil that had once enslaved them.

But to the Dragon King Agardan, the hidden archive had a different significance entirely...

To him it was an arsenal...a wealth of knowledge to serve as a shield for the future, not to be had by the dragons but to be known, if only for their own protection.

It was for this reason alone that Jian had not ordered for the destruction of these halls, Jian knew his father had never spoken empty words.

King Agardan was a man of great foresight, when there were questions as those that had been triggered by the appearance of a long extinct troll golem... these halls, these hidden archives could provide the answers.

And so Jian had and would honor his father’s will to keep these archives standing, because the greatest danger to the supreme dynasty of the dragons was the unknown.

And this unknown was dark magic, a concept detested by the beasts of Asvar yet the secrets to the unknown lay beneath their very keep... and there would be days where mysteries could only be unraveled within the pages of these forbidden records.

This day was such a day... Jian did hope there would not be many more.