The Silver Night Citadel had never been so quiet.
Outside its towering windows, silver snow drifted across the black rooftops of Nocthyr. Dragon-shaped lanterns illuminated the streets, while distant watchtowers sent pale beams of light into the night sky.
Inside the royal council chamber, however, nobody was enjoying the peaceful evening.
"House Vaerond refuses to cooperate," Lord Varkhess reported, standing before Queen Vaelthira Noctis Draven. "Their patriarch claims the records concerning Eryndor were destroyed centuries ago. He insists that the missing archivist stole nothing important."
Vaelthira sat upon her throne, her long white hair falling over the shoulders of her black gothic dress. Her silver cross pendant rested against her chest.
"And do we have evidence that the archivist stole anything?"
"No, Your Majesty."
"Then we will not accuse him of theft."
Varkhess frowned. "With respect, Your Majesty, House Vaerond has resisted royal inquiries for generations. Their sudden secrecy is suspicious."
"Suspicion is a reason to investigate, not a reason to condemn."
The council fell silent.
Vaelthira rose.
"Find the archivist. Question everyone who saw him last. Preserve the evidence, and do not threaten House Vaerond's servants. If anyone violates these orders, they will answer directly to me."
Elder Saerith bowed. "As you command."
A soft knock interrupted the meeting.
A royal guard entered, carrying a small silver envelope.
"Your Majesty, this was found outside the eastern archive. It bears the missing archivist's seal."
Vaelthira accepted it.
The envelope contained a single sheet of paper.
Your Majesty, if this reaches you, I have failed to remain unnoticed.
Do not trust the records House Vaerond offers you. But do not assume the entire house is your enemy.
The last witness is alive.
Someone has been protecting her.
At the bottom was a name.
Eryndis Vaerond.
Varkhess immediately stepped forward.
"Eryndis is the patriarch's youngest daughter. She has been studying ancient dragon languages in the royal archives."
"Where is she now?" Vaelthira asked.
"Her residence is inside the northern district."
"Then we will visit her."
Varkhess hesitated. "With an escort?"
"With a small escort. I will not turn a conversation into a military operation."
A familiar voice came from the chamber entrance.
"An excellent decision."
Kael Veyris stood in the doorway, dressed in his usual dark imperial attire. He had arrived without ceremony, accompanied by no army, no royal procession, and no intimidating display of power.
Vaelthira glanced at him.
"You heard everything?"
"Only the last part."
"That is fortunate. I was about to ask whether you had been listening from another reality."
"I was having tea in another reality."
"Kael."
"The tea was good."
Despite herself, Vaelthira smiled faintly.
Then she returned her attention to the letter.
"We leave immediately."
The northern district was older than the Silver Night Citadel itself.
Its narrow streets wound between ancient buildings decorated with silver dragon carvings. Unlike the capital's grand avenues, these roads had changed little since Nocthyr's founding.
Eryndis Vaerond lived in a modest residence beside an abandoned observatory.
There were no guards outside.
No servants.
No lights.
Vaelthira approached the door and knocked three times.
Nothing happened.
Kael glanced at the windows.
"She isn't inside."
Vaelthira turned toward him. "Can you locate her?"
"I could."
"But?"
"But you asked me to accompany you, not solve your investigation before you arrive."
Her expression softened.
"Thank you."
Kael nodded toward the door. "There is something else. Someone left a message here, but it wasn't meant for ordinary eyes."
Vaelthira examined the silver dragon carving above the entrance. Its left eye appeared slightly different from the right.
She pressed it.
A hidden compartment opened.
Inside lay a small crystal containing a fragment of recorded memory.
Vaelthira activated it.
A young woman appeared in the air, her silver-blue hair tied behind her head. She wore an archivist's uniform and looked exhausted.
"If you are watching this," Eryndis said, "then the council has discovered my disappearance."
She glanced over her shoulder, as though afraid someone might be listening.
"My family did not steal the Eryndor records. At least, not originally. My ancestor was entrusted with something the other houses wanted destroyed."
The image flickered.
"A name. A testimony. Proof that the seven rulers did not all agree to erase the Eighth."
Vaelthira's expression hardened.
"Who gave your ancestor the record?" she whispered.
The memory continued.
"I found the final page of the council ledger. It identifies the ruler who opposed the erasure. But the name was deliberately concealed beneath a protective seal."
Eryndis lowered her voice.
"Someone has spent thousands of years ensuring that this person remains forgotten. And someone else has spent just as long keeping them alive."
Suddenly, the recording distorted.
A black symbol appeared behind Eryndis.
Eight intersecting lines surrounded an empty circle.
Then the memory ended.
For several moments, nobody spoke.
At last, Vaelthira looked toward the abandoned observatory.
"Eryndis discovered the identity of the last witness."
"Perhaps," Kael replied. "Or she discovered where to find the person who knows it."
A faint metallic sound came from inside the observatory.
Vaelthira drew no weapon. Instead, she approached cautiously, placing one hand against the ancient door.
"Eryndis?" she called.
The door opened by itself.
Inside, the observatory was filled with broken star maps and dust-covered instruments. At its center stood a circular table. Eight silver tokens had been arranged upon it.
Seven were cracked.
The eighth was untouched.
Beneath the tokens lay a message written in an ancient dragon script.
Vaelthira translated it slowly.
"The witness did not survive because someone protected her from the world."
She stopped.
Kael waited.
Vaelthira read the final line.
"She survived because someone taught the world to forget that she existed."
A cold wind swept through the observatory.
From somewhere far beyond the city, a bell rang once.
Then a second time.
Vaelthira recognized the sound immediately.
The ancient warning bells of Nocthyr had not rung in thousands of years.
A royal guard appeared at the doorway, breathless.
"Your Majesty! House Vaerond has just opened its sealed ancestral vault."
Vaelthira turned sharply.
"Why?"
The guard swallowed.
"Because someone inside the vault has begun answering questions."
Kael's expression grew serious.
"And what question did they ask?"
The guard looked directly at the queen.
"They asked whether the Eighth still remembered the face of her betrayer."
Far beneath Nocthyr, inside a chamber absent from every royal map, an ancient woman opened her eyes.
For the first time in thousands of years, she spoke.
"Vaelthira Noctis Draven has returned."
She looked toward the darkness beyond her prison.
"And the Architect has come with her."
A faint smile crossed her face.
"Then perhaps it is finally time to tell them the truth."