The Hidden Palace

No, all you "hardcore" Sonic fans, this description is NOT about the "Hidden Palace Zone" from Sonic 2 Beta, this is the OFFICIAL Hidden Palace, from Sonic and Knuckles.
The Hidden Palace was originally the main fortress of the Echidnas, and as such contains many great wonders--if you can get to it. Technically, it is below the ruins that were once the City of the Sun (or "Echidnaopolis", your choice) and are now "Marble Gardens"; hidden deep inside the biggest mountain on the Island. However, the entrance into the Palace from above ground is well-hidden and only Knuckles knows the way in and the only other entrance is a very very dangerous one, through the tunnels of the Lava Reef. See, the mountain that the Hidden Palace is under USED to be an ordinary mountain, but the stresses involved in ripping a huge chunk of earth out of the ground caused it to turn into a (for now) dormant volcano. And now the system of caves beneath the Island, once a tourist attraction, is a deadly trap of lava-falls, magma pools, crumbling rock and poison gasses. If you wish to reach the Palace that way, you'll have your work cut out for you.
Once inside, the Hidden Palace is a true marvel. Since it was underground when the disaster happened, it was spared. It contains more examples of the Echidna-people's technology intact than any other one place. It is all tiled with beautiful marble and elegant tapestries, and instead of stairs, gracefully-wrought transporter-machines take you from floor to floor. (And from there to the Sky Sanctuary.) The bottom floors of the Palace are inside the Lava Reef volcano, but above that, in the very, VERY center of the palace, and also the island (both horizontally AND vertically) is a huge round room in which resides the Master Emerald, with the seven Super Emeralds on pedestals around it.
The above part is pretty much borne out by the games (except, perhaps, for the story about how the Lava Reef volcano used to be a normal mountain); the next bit is my own interpretation:
To the knowledgeable visitor, the Hidden Palace contains so much more than just marble tile, tapestries, technology, and powerful magic--it's also almost a miniature city. It has everything that would be needed for a large number of people to LIVE down there for an extended period of time--air-conditioners/recyclers to keep the oxygen supply fresh, a waste-disposal system, plenty of food and water and ways to preserve and purify them both, blankets for if it should happen to get cold, an independent power supply, etc. And it is also the Great Archives of the Echidna-people--knowing that one of the first things attacking barbarians do is burn all the books, they keep their great records--walls and walls and walls of books, hidden behind false walls unless you know the correct pass-code, and also video-screens that can pop out of the wall at the correct word and SHOW you their history and achievements visually. Again, just another piece in the puzzle...if these people could do THIS, then why couldn't they escape what happened to them...?





Click HERE to return to the Floating Island Tour Route.

Click HERE to return to the Chaotix Clubhouse.

Click HERE to return to Sandopolis.



curious tourists have made the mistake of trying to break into the Hidden Palace unbidden since June 19, 1999. They all learned the HARD way that the Palace is absolutely NOT on the tour route...