The Treasury

The burned pillow was getting worse.

By the third night after the Brand, I had scorched through two more pillows and left char marks on the wooden headboard. The energy discharge was not decreasing. If anything, it was getting stronger.

"We need to find a solution," I told the sisters over breakfast. "At this rate, I will burn down the clinic before the week is over."

Kaguya looked up from her notes, circles under her eyes from staying up late monitoring my energy patterns. "Your body is generating more light than it can contain."

"Maybe Ulric would have ideas," Karin suggested. "His family created the Brand. They might know how to manage it."

I nodded. It was worth trying.

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Ulric's estate was larger than I expected, built from pale stone that seemed to drink in sunlight and reflect it back as a gentle glow. He met me at the gates personally, something that surprised me until I saw his expression.

"Ken," he said, studying my face. "You look tired."

"The energy discharge is getting worse. I am burning things in my sleep."

He nodded grimly. "I was afraid of that. Come. There is something I need to show you."

He led me through halls lined with portraits of stern-faced men and women, all bearing the same pale eyes and composed expressions. At the end of the corridor, he stopped before a heavy door marked with runes that seemed to shift when I looked at them directly.

"This is the treasury," Ulric said, pressing his hand to the door. Light flowed from his palm into the runes, which flared and faded. "No outsider has ever been permitted inside. But those who bear the power of the sun are family, according to my grandfather's words."

The door swung open, revealing a chamber that took my breath away.

The walls were lined with shelves and display cases, each holding artifacts that hummed with barely contained power. Weapons, scrolls, crystals, and devices I could not begin to identify. Everything glowed faintly, as if the room itself was suffused with captured sunlight.

"This is incredible," I breathed.

"Four centuries of collected light artifacts," Ulric said. "Some we made, others we recovered from ruins. All designed to channel or contain the power of the sun."

I walked deeper into the room, drawn by something I could not name. Near the back wall, a crystal the size of my fist sat on a simple wooden stand. As I approached, a thread of light spun out from it toward me, fine as silk and warm as summer.

"What is that one?" I asked.

Ulric followed my gaze and his expression grew wistful. "A focusing crystal. It was used to ignite the great sun cannon during the siege of Mordain. Sadly, there are not enough light wielders alive to use it efficiently anymore."

The crystal pulsed gently as the light thread connected to my chest, and I could feel it drawing power from me. The constant pressure I had been carrying since the Brand eased slightly.

"It is feeding on my energy," I realized.

"Storing it," Ulric corrected. "The crystal can hold enough light to power siege weapons or healing rituals. In the right hands, it could be a formidable tool."

I kept walking, drawn by another glimmer. On a nearby shelf sat a golden quill, its surface covered in intricate engravings that seemed to move in the light.

"And this?"

"A sun quill," Ulric said. "It can create light constructs, more precise and detailed than anything we can manage by hand. Maps, diagrams, even temporary tools. It was my great-grandmother's. She used it to design the first ward systems."

I looked around the treasury, overwhelmed by the wealth of artifacts.

"You are free to take whatever you need from here," Ulric said quietly.

I stared at him. "Really? Are these not history?"

Ulric stepped forward and pulled me into a fierce hug, his usual composure cracking.

"Do not worry," he said, his voice thick with emotion. "You are practically family. And family shares what they have."

◇◇◇◇

The next morning, I found Kaguya in the kitchen, hunched over her notebook with her usual cup of tea.

"Want to help me with a project?" I asked casually.

She looked up, immediately interested. "What kind of project?"

I pulled the golden quill from my coat, setting it carefully on the table. Her eyes went wide.

"Where did you get that?"

"Ulric's treasury. It is called a sun quill. It can create light constructs, precise ones. I thought… well, you are always sketching diagrams and taking notes. This might help."

She reached for it with trembling fingers, stopping just short of touching it. "Ken, this looks ancient. Valuable. I cannot—"

"You can," I said firmly. "Consider it a research tool. For advancing medical knowledge."

She picked up the quill, gasping as it began to glow in her hand. Golden light flowed from its tip, forming delicate patterns in the air that held their shape for several seconds before fading.

"This is incredible," she whispered. "The precision, the detail I could achieve…"

"There is more," I said, pulling out the crystal. "This stores light energy. I was thinking we could mount it in Karin's gauntlets. Give her a power boost during combat."

Kaguya's eyes lit up with the familiar gleam of someone presented with an interesting technical challenge. "We would need to modify the existing channels, create a proper housing…"

"Can it be done?"

"Oh yes," she said, already sketching modifications with the golden quill, watching in delight as the light-drawings hung in the air. "But we need to keep Karin away while we work. She will want to help, and this needs to be a surprise."

"Leave that to me. And Kaguya?" I paused, making sure she was listening. "I can charge both of your gifts directly. The crystal can be refilled daily, and your quill will never run out of power as long as I am around."

Her face brightened. "So my excess energy problem—"

"Will actually help both of you stay powered up. It is perfect."

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