It was the itching that woke him up. The Archive jerked upright in the ancient bed. After sleeping in it for almost two centuries, there were only a few brittle boards and a moth eaten blanket left holding his body off the cold stone floor. He absently scratched the itch on his cheek and felt the rather impressive beard that had grown there. By contrast, his muscles had withered away and his body felt terribly weak, but that was to be expected. It happened every time he went through a purge. However, it had never been quite this bad.
Every thousand years or so, the Archive had come to the cavern below Mount Kymermosst to purge the memories of a life lived, keeping only a select few and resigning the rest to his true self. He'd waited much too long last time, thus his current perdicament. His bones creaked and popped when he stood, giving voice to their protests. It was so loud that it caused an echo in the still air of the cave. The Archive grimaced and streched his aching muscles, ignoring the screaing pain.
At least the emotions had gone, vanishing along with their attendant memories. It was necessary, too much emotion could cripple him. It was good to shed the grief and fatigue of years past, and he held a few bright memories tight against the darkness. Archive sighed. Too many depressing thoughts. Time to go be in the world again. He gestured slightly and candles lit all around the room, casting light over the faces carved in stone. Resolutely not looking at any of them, he opened a gate and was gone. After he had left, the candles extinguished one by one until the cave returned to darkness.
Worlds away, the Archive stepped out onto a barren rock suspended on the edge of the cosmos. He spent a few moments looking about with a satisfied look on his face. This would do nicely. It was the right size, the right shape, even a good location. Rolling up the sleeves of his robe, he pulled a hammer and chisel out of one of his many pockets and laughed, thinking of how to proceed. "Upon this rock, I shall build my castle."
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