Ancestral Archives
To the East of Soul Plaza are the Ancestral Archives, where the city’s records are kept stored and analysed.
The archives have an imposing facade, with dozens of wide columns flanking it’s front made from a light brown stone weathered over the centuries. The upper levels sit back from the facade and have large windows looking down on the plaza. The roof is green and weathered, made from a metal harvested before the cataclysm and unseen elsewhere in the city.
As you ascend the steps the double oak doors of the main entrance bring you into an enormous atrium. The doors are open during the Archive’s opening hours, but outside of these access can be gained through a smaller inset door or through one of several entrances available only to authorised persons.
In the atrium, there are twin stairs leading up to the upper levels of the archive. There are wide open passages to the left and right of the entryway, followed by another directly opposite beneath the twin stairs and two under the stairs leading left and right. The lower levels contain the public areas of the archives, with the upper levels having more restricted access.
Through the far doorway a glass passage flanked by a small garden leads to the Artistic Annex, a beautiful whitestone and glass structure showing recent and historical artworks from the city. These artworks consist of paintings, sculptures, prose and poetry. There are often small performances held in the rear of the Annex in a small sunken semicircle. Most of the literature of the city is based around its history and mythologises the First Council. There are also many dramatic interpretations of the Cataclysm, and literature around romance, and the reclamation of the world. The Annex is a popular location for couples, the elderly and families to spend some time for free in the city.
On the upper levels there are Administrative Records, Pre-Cataclysm History and the private quarters of the Chief Archivist and his staff. Access to these areas is restricted to staff and designated personnel from the city. Study of the history of the world and the city before the cataclysm is very strictly restricted, with edicts allegedly having come down from the First Council that the information could lead to another catastrophe. The city has kept this restriction in place, focusing more on the world they have now, than the one they lost.
Just off the Pre-Cataclysm History wing is a small storeroom that has been repurposed as lodgings for Saman. The Warforged's appointment as a caretaker was originally opposed by the Chief Archivist, citing the irregularity of having anyone living in the Archive itself outside his residence, but also the reputation of Warforged in the city. Archivist Gideonsson vouched for Saman, and he began his tenure as caretaker.
Administrative Records hold all the bureaucratic records produced over the centuries. Each Council department runs on paperwork, and it all ends up here. This section is a dark, vast warren of shelves, boxes and paper. Many of the records held here have been reduced to dust through the centuries and with various infestations from moths and mice, but new records arrive daily and are filed diligently by the small army of clerks working here.
On the ground floor are separate wings are present for The First Council, Planar Studies, Bastion History and other academic fields. These sectors are all open to the public but the books cannot be taken out. Each wing is overseen by an Archivist and various clerks and caretakers. The wing for the first council acts almost as a place of worship, with each member represented by their own chamber and statue, mirroring those seen in the plaza outside. Citizens come here to seek guidance from the First Council, or to learn about their history. Very little of substance actually remains about the First Council but they are described in mythological terms and parables.
Each wing on the ground floor barring the Annex has a similar layout, with walls of books or files arrayed around a large circular column. From the roof a glass dome curves down providing soft illumination during the day. There are numerous desks for academics and researchers to work at. The bookshelves go so high that some are only accessible using narrow ladders or elevated walkways reached with thin spiralling stairs.
Oversight of the entire Archive is by Chief Archivist Orthiel an elderly elf who has been in the post for nearly two centuries. He is often seen with his page, Desmond. Orthiel’s quarters are in the highest level of the Archive, accessible only to the Chief Archivist and hist staff. The elderly elf has difficulties getting up and down stairs so often works in his residence, sending instructions and guidance by messenger.
The Pre Cataclysm Historical section is overseen by Tiberius Gideonsson, a middle-aged scholar who specialises in collecting information on the Elemental Age, although much concerning this period is at best hearsay, and at worst fanciful fiction. Tiberius cherishes the moments when he finds a rare scrap of verifiable evidence from eons before anyone in the city was even born.
Tiberius’ office is modest, dominated by an old, battered desk made from mahogany. It’s top is covered with an old roll of thin, brown leather that is often swamped with paperwork, maps and ancient tomes. He has a comfortable padded chair that he often falls asleep in late in the evening, rather than heading home.
Tiberius is often seen in a tweed waistcoat and trousers over a white shirt. He has short black hair that has begun to go grey in many patches, round spectacles and a thick moustache that becomes particularly animated as he talks. Tiberius is enthused about uncovering the mysteries of the past, and is excited by the thought of knowledge left in the world being recovered. One of his prize possessions is a recreation of a pre-cataclysm Samovar, that he uses to brew strong, honeyed tea. The tea set was given to him as a gift by the Chief Archivist some years ago.
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