Free Web NovelCHAPTER 61 — THE MISSING ARCHIVIST
The drums from the western frontier had not yet reached Drakhar.
But rumors had.
Rumors traveled faster than armies.
And sometimes...
They caused more damage.
The morning council was interrupted by an elderly Dragonkin scholar.
His robes were faded with age.
His hands trembled.
Yet his eyes remained remarkably sharp.
He bowed before Elyra.
"My Lady..."
"I believe I know who removed the missing books."
The chamber fell silent.
Elyra immediately stood.
"Speak freely, Master Dorun."
The old scholar took a slow breath.
"They weren't stolen."
"They were hidden."
Nyxara leaned forward.
"By whom?"
The old scholar answered without hesitation.
"The Royal Archivist."
The room froze.
Captain Rowan frowned.
"But everyone believes he disappeared."
Dorun nodded.
"That..."
"Was the story we were told."
The elderly scholar unfolded an old map of the Archives of Flame.
"There is another chamber."
"One that does not appear on any official blueprint."
Elyra stared at the map.
"I've lived here my entire life."
"I've never seen this."
Dorun smiled sadly.
"Because only three people were ever meant to know it existed."
"The king."
"The heir."
"And the Royal Archivist."
Within the hour...
The group returned beneath the mountain.
The Archives felt different now.
Not mysterious.
Patient.
As though they had waited centuries for someone to ask the right questions.
Dorun stopped before an ordinary bookshelf.
"It should be here."
He pressed a carved dragon scale.
Nothing happened.
He frowned.
"No..."
He searched again.
Then Vespera noticed something.
One of the carved scales had been replaced.
Its stone was newer than the rest.
She pressed it.
A deep rumble echoed through the chamber.
The bookshelf slowly slid aside.
Behind it...
A narrow staircase descended into darkness.
Kragga grinned.
"Now this..."
"...is finally becoming interesting."
Nyxara sighed.
"You've watched too many adventure plays."
"I like secret doors."
Kragga replied proudly.
"I don't see the problem."
Even Dorun laughed.
The tension eased.
The hidden chamber was far smaller than the main archive.
No towering shelves.
No grand collections.
Only twelve stone pedestals.
Eleven were empty.
One held a single leather journal.
Untouched.
Waiting.
Elyra carefully opened it.
The first page bore a familiar name.
Royal Archivist Caelus.
The final entry was dated fifteen years earlier.
She began reading aloud. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
If someone is reading this... then I have failed to protect the truth.
The room became still.
The Holy Empire did not seek our friendship.
They sought our history.
For years they offered gold.
Knowledge.
Military aid.
When we refused... they sent thieves.
Captain Rowan looked toward Nyxara.
"The missing books..."
She nodded.
"They weren't stolen."
"They were rescued."
The journal continued.
I removed the twelve forbidden volumes before they could be taken.
One by one I hid them.
If necessary... I would vanish with them.
Elyra lowered the journal slowly.
"So he chose exile."
Dorun wiped away a tear.
"He loved Drakhar more than his own life."
Vespera turned another page.
The handwriting had grown hurried.
As though written while fleeing.
If the Empire discovers the complete Chronicles...
They will learn something they were never meant to know.
The next sentence had been torn away.
Not faded.
Not burned.
Someone had deliberately removed it.
Nyxara examined the page.
"This wasn't done fifteen years ago."
She traced the torn fibers.
"It happened recently."
Someone...
Had found the journal before them.
And removed only that single page.
Back in the council chamber...
The mood had changed.
The mystery was becoming clearer.
The Empire hadn't been collecting relics out of curiosity.
It had been searching for specific knowledge.
Knowledge someone was desperately trying to keep hidden.
That evening...
Vespera walked alone through the marketplace.
The bridge construction continued.
Children laughed.
Merchants bargained.
Life carried on.
She smiled.
This...
She thought...
Was what she wanted to protect.
Not castles.
Not crowns.
People.
Ordinary people.
As she turned a corner...
She noticed an old storyteller entertaining a group of children.
He wore patched clothes and carried a weathered traveling lute.
His voice was warm.
"...and so the Wanderer crossed the stars..."
Vespera stopped.
The phrase caught her attention.
"...bringing memories from another world..."
The storyteller looked up.
Their eyes met for a brief second.
Something flickered across his face.
Recognition.
Just as quickly...
It vanished.
He smiled politely and continued his tale.
By the time the children dispersed...
The old man was gone.
Only the tune of his song lingered in the evening air.
Far away...
Hidden deep within a forgotten monastery...
An old man closed the twelfth forbidden volume.
He looked toward the eastern horizon.
"They've found Caelus' journal."
He smiled faintly.
"Good."
"They're finally walking the path he hoped for."
Then his smile faded.
"But they are running out of time."
A raven landed upon the windowsill.
The old man tied a tiny scroll to its leg.
Only three words were written.
Protect the Queen.
The bird took flight into the night.
Unseen by anyone below.
End of Chapter 61
