Akaad

'''"You stand now in the King of all cities. Go now with respect, for these ancient cobbles know more than you ever will." - Visha the Silver, High Priestess of Axelidros'''

The dragons claim that before all other cities there was Akaad. Built uncountable eons ago by the earliest dragons, Akaad was meant first as a meeting place for all dragonkind. Akaad, in ancient Draconic, roughly translates to 'The All Nest' meaning a common home, and that truth has only expanded in the following millennia. Spreading throughout the lush valley floor, Akaad has been built up over stratified layers of Draconic history. Every inch of the city seems to conceal another lost catacomb, artifact, or forgotten horde. Such dense history has made Akaad a revered destination for scholars from across the Free Coast, though few outsiders ever step foot within the First City. The journey to Akaad is treacherous and hidden to all but the most tested wayfinders. Initially intended as a home for airborne dragons, Akaad is tremendously difficult to reach on foot. Flanked on all sides by sheer mountains only a single lonely staircase snakes from the jungle floor through the clouds into the rarefied air of Akaad.

The Archives
The only collection on the Free Coast to rival the Grand Academy is found at the Temple Archives of Axelidros. Housed in a massive domed structure that dominates the city, the Archives have come to be known affectionately as 'The Egg.' Housing the collected history of the Dragonkin at Akaad, the archives have become a venerated cornerstone of Dragonkin society.

The keepers of the Archives belong to a secretive order of priests known as the 'Enkindled,' and have kept watch over the collections at Akaad for well over a thousand years. Some of the oldest Enkindled have lived hundreds of years within the cavernous walls of The Egg, becoming what is known as a Vex Kahaad, a 'Living Tome.' These Enkindled dedicate themselves to becoming a living reference for the archive's vast collection of arcana. Only the most honored priests are allowed to undergo the Ritual of Infusion, losing their own memories and replacing them with the immense collections of Akaad.