“Of course it’s real,” Cyrus said. “Magic has always been real. It’s how our world functions. It’s how the Royals are in charge.”
“You didn’t tell me that! Since when did the Royals have magic?”
“Since always,” Cyrus said. “That’s why they’re Royals.”
She shook her head in confusion. “You’re gonna have to start from the beginning and explain everything.”
He sighed. “Fine, but I’m only going to explain this once. So you better listen.”
"I'm all ears," she said.
"Have you ever wondered why the Royals are who they are?"
"I don't understand the question..."
"Have you never wondered why we live in a world ruled by powerful families?"
"Because they're the ones in control."
Cyrus sighed. "Yes, but why are they in control?"
"Aren't you supposed to be explaining that to me?" said Bianca.
He rubbed his face in frustration. "You are the most difficult child I've ever met."
"I'm not a child."
"Sure you're not," Cyrus said. "Regardless, the Royals rule the country because they were the first and only ones who possessed magic. When they originally discovered their talents, they were marveled and worshipped like gods. There were four families: the Sinclairs, the Augustines, the Darkstones, and the Vondrairs. But like gods, their egos became inflated when they realized that magic gave them the edge over those without it. So they rose to power.
Together, the four families were unstoppable. Those who tried rebelling found themselves in early graves. The Royals argued that they were given these powers to rule. Eventually, those who were still living were forced to agree. And so, the Royals ruled for many generations as the only ones who possessed magic. That was until twenty-five years ago, when a man named Daedis appeared. No one knows where the man came from, but he appeared with a goal: to spread magic. He did it by using these."
Cyrus reached into his pocket and pulled out a sapphire glass ball. He passed it to Bianca. She gripped it in her palms, and could feel a strange energy flowing from the sphere. It was a mixture of the blue substance and white clouds that swirled inside the glass sphere.
"What is it?" she said without taking her eyes off it.
"A source- a source of pure magic."
"Is this also how the Royals were able to use it?"
Cyrus shook his head. "Their way is by blood, which makes Daedis even more of a mystery. He did not come from any of the four families. He spread magic by arming various cities with these sources. News spread fast and his following grew faster. Daedis at one point had the power of nearly half the country behind him. You can imagine that the Royal were worried."
"Why?" Bianca wondered.
"Think about it. Their claim to power was the fact that they were given these powers to rule. If they're no longer the only ones with magic, they lose this claim. The Royals had to put a stop to this. Thus, we had the Great War: the war between the Royals and Daedis's army. I'm sure you know what happened next."
"The Royals won," Bianca said.
Cyrus nodded.
"But how? I thought you said Daedis had half the country armed with magic. They should've won against four families."
"What good is an army if your soldiers aren't properly trained? Daedis had the numbers on his side, but those numbers didn’t mean much to those who have had magic running in their families for hundreds of years. Daedis's army was crushed and eventually, it was Cesorian Sinclair who dealt the final blow to him. With that, the rebellion was over.
To punish those responsible, the Royals isolated people into different cities to make it harder for them to unite again. The sources they could find were destroyed, and anyone who used one met a similar fate."