Chapter 5 - Flight to the Sunken Archives
High above the jagged peaks of the Dragon’s Spine mountain range, the storm clouds broke completely, revealing a breathtaking expanse of starry night sky. The air was thin, freezing, and crisp, but Kaelen felt none of it. The ancient Solari blood coursing through his veins maintained a warm, protective barrier around his skin.
Beneath him, the majestic wyvern—now free of the dark shackles that had enslaved it for a decade—glided effortlessly on thermal updrafts. Kaelen stroked the creature's thick, armored scales between its horns, murmuring words in the forgotten tongue of his ancestors. The beast let out a low, contented rumble that vibrated through the saddle.
"We need answers before we strike the capital again," Kaelen whispered to the wind. "Take us to the Sunken Archives of Eldoria."
The wyvern dipped its left wing, banking sharply toward a treacherous, mist-shrouded valley below where the ruins of an ancient, pre-cataclysm city lay half-submerged in a dark, glassy lake.
Minutes later, the beast landed gracefully on the moss-covered stone docks of the Sunken Archives. The massive library, built during the golden age before Vane’s dynasty usurped the throne, had been sealed beneath magical wards for centuries. But as Kaelen dismounted and stepped onto the dock, the heavy stone doors of the vault trembled.
The glowing runes on Kaelen’s arms flared brightly, resonating with the ancient lock. With a deep, grinding rumble, the massive iron-and-stone doors swung outward, welcoming their true master home.
Kaelen stepped inside into a vast, cavernous chamber filled with towering rows of scrolls, celestial charts, and glowing crystal matrices. This was where the history of Oakhaven—and the truth behind the murder of his parents—was preserved.
As he walked down the central aisle, floating spheres of blue light flickered to life overhead, illuminating the dust motes dancing in the air. He didn't need to search blindly; the bloodline within him pulled his footsteps toward a specific alcove at the back of the library.
There, resting upon a pedestal of pure white quartz, lay the Codex of the Sun, an open tome bound in silver leather.
Kaelen approached and placed his hand upon the glowing pages. Information flooded his mind in a dizzying cascade of memories not entirely his own: the betrayal by Vane’s grandfather, the assassination of the Solari Council, the hiding of the heir, and—most importantly—the location of the Sunstone Crown, the only artifact capable of permanently stripping a usurper of royal authority without shedding innocent blood.
"It wasn't just a political coup," Kaelen muttered, his jaw tightening as the full scope of the atrocity unfolded in his mind. "Vane’s family sacrificed our entire bloodline to a dark entity in the abyss just to secure eternal dominion over the realm."
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Suddenly, a cold whisper echoed from the shadows behind him.
"You shouldn't have come here, little prince. The dead are meant to stay buried."
