Brian stammered, "Already a king? I don't understand."
Debbie rose and offered, "If you, my liege, and your friends would care to sit, I would be happy to explain."
There were only two chairs. Debbie sat in one. Brian took Justin by the hand and led him to one of two carpeted spots on the floor. They sat, Justin naturally positioning himself between Brian's legs. This seemed to please Debbie greatly. Her smile was bright and warm.
Ted sat in the chair and Daphne in the other carpeted spot.
"Fifteen generations ago, people from the Quarters lived together peacefully at the edge of the forest. Our royal family, your family, Brian, were a lot like our people. Mixed, diverse. Yet different from us, too. You see, in a time beyond memory, your family came to us. From where? No one knows. Some say that you came directly from the gods presiding over all that is good, descending to the world to grant us the greatest gift: magic. Others say that you were the sole survivors of a terrible cataclysm. So blessed that you alone were protected by the gods of good. What we do know for sure is that you came to us and taught us magic. Magic runs through your blood, so your magic is greater than the magic of everyone else taken together. Once you reach the age of maturity, your powers begin to surface, heralded by an inner glow. Magic is an energy of many different types running through your bodies, but merely tapped into by those not of the blood. They use words and spell components to access the energy borne within you.
"We recognized your gift, your power, and welcomed you into our society as our rulers. Wise as your progenitors were, you made a covenant with us; each heir would marry one of our people. From the children of such unions, one among them, always the first, would be both fully of their people and of yours, endowed as fully with magic as those who came to us so very long ago. In this way, the leader of every generation is clear. No disputes are necessary. The other children do possess natural magic, but of a much lesser magnitude.
"Your family and our people all valued love. Hence, every royal marriage was a love match. Unfortunately, one of the clans, the sixth clan, (the listeners' eyes widened), the clan, as it turns out, that was favored by the gods of evil, was never blessed to have one of your kin choose one of theirs for a mate. Every generation that they were not chosen, spurred on by the gods of evil, those of the sixth clan grew angry and resentful, until all that anger and resentment came to focus in one man, Jirome. He decided that he would be the mate of your kinswoman Suzanne. Beautiful, intelligent, charismatic, powerful, and honest, she was to lead her generation. But she loved Shiraq of the Vigan clan. When she refused Jirome, he unleashed generations of evil upon her and Shiraq. He and his brothers set upon Shiraq one night when he was out walking by himself. They beat and tortured him until Suzanne agreed to marry Jirome, on condition that Shiraq be set free immediately afterward.
"She married Jirome as she had promised, for members of your family never break oaths. Most of our people were unaware that she hadn't really chosen him. Thus, he was given the power (as her consort) that, by rights, should have been Shiraq's. After the marriage, Jirome broke his oath. He informed Suzanne that he would keep Shiraq prisoner until she bore him an heir. In time, she grew heavy with child, though not Jirome's, for she was already pregnant when she married him. (Debbie's eyes shone with laughter) You royals are a lusty bunch, as I imagine Justin knows quite well (Justin blushed; Brian wondered how she knew Justin's name). Then, as promised, Jirome freed Shiraq when she was delivered. Unfortunately for Jirome, he did not know that she'd had twins, a boy and a girl. She was able to take the eldest of them, her daughter, who'd been born two minutes before her son, to Shiraq. She was weak from a difficult delivery, but driven by love, love of our people and love of Shiraq. She wanted to protect the heir from Jirome for us, to give us a leader untainted by evil, and to give Shiraq at least one of their children to raise.
"Suzanne was able to secure her daughter's safety, but at the cost of her own life. Jirome was a jealous man. He didn't even know about the second child, just that Suzanne had snuck away to see Shiraq. He was insane with rage. Weakened as she was by the delivery, she couldn't defend herself. (Debbie's voice grew thick with tears) Jirome…Jirome had her quartered. Publicly (the listeners gasped, all except Brian; though this detail shook him to the core, he betrayed no emotion). Shiraq named their daughter Cahya, meaning "the light," and went into hiding.
"Since then, Jirome's line has sought to keep the power Jirome seized. He and his brothers raised a powerful and frightening army (of mercenaries from neighboring states and members of the sixth clan) and forced our people into the Quarters. Many years later, when Suzanne's son reached the age of maturity, Jirome learned of Suzanne's so-called treachery. But he was never able to find Cahya. So he outlawed magic, hoping that all knowledge of it and of our history would pass from the people in the Quarters. In this regard he failed. This knowledge merely went underground, to be passed on to the brave. He also hoped that outlawing magic would enable he and those of his line to more easily locate those with natural magic and marry them into the family. They failed in this regard, too, well, until your father found your mother.
"It was prophesied that only a leader born to one of us and one of the sixth clan, one who, miraculously, would have so much of Suzanne in him that it would be like he were her child, though by one of Jirome's line, he and only he, would have the power to restore our society. That's you. It was also prophesied that you would fall in love with a person without clan, without family, without history, one also possessing natural magic, but of a lesser magnitude and a different kind. This person would, some believe, be sent directly from the gods of good. Others believe that he would be a member of Shiraq's family, but not Suzanne's, that the gods of good, feeling deep sorrow for Shiraq's profound suffering and loss, would one day endow a member of his family with magic. In this way, "the Light," embodied by Cahya and eventually desecrated by Jirome's descendants, would be recreated, restored through your coming together. Only through this love would you be saved and, in turn, save us."