The King unclasped the brass bindings of the direct-line lineage register, laying the parchment open across the central table.
Captain Gazel's service case remained safely latched beside Didi, while both court recorders placed fresh ink ribbons beside the volume.
Hajin stood quietly near the commission seal, keeping his right arm wrapped over his elbow to protect his healing meridians.
The master register separated individual Shard development from royal resonance across every living descendant of the royal house.
Ordinary mana capacity occupied a designated column on the left side of the page, inscribed with routine testing marks.
A narrower column sealed with royal wax recorded the presence of active conduits, weak traces, or complete energetic silence.
That single bureaucratic distinction governed the divergent fates of the two siblings who grew up within these palace walls.
