"What do you mean by that? Every one of you?" Lucy asked glancing at each of them, some had amused expressions.
"It has always been somewhat of a curse to us. But first, you must understand how the Thraine family came to be," Matriarch Lilac said.
"Only the few and powerful know her name, but only the people in this room know her tale. The first Thraine was Ice bloom Thraine; her real name was Lilian Vaine. She was born during a time of war to a mining couple in the Ohlm Empire now known as the Khul Empire. Her parents were killed in an explosion causing her to be sold to the pirates of the Knol sea. The captain of the ship she was serving on got captured and she led an escape for those on board; it took only two years from that day, for her to control the entire Knol sea. What many did not know was that she had a hand in their capture. She acted as the devil, and came to them as a saviour. Brilliant, in my eyes. Her fiery red hair, she dyed blonde and took on the name Ice Bloom Thraine as she turned the sea into a territory with laws, and the powers could not go against her.
"She moved back to the Ohlm Empire and set up a land base there, introducing herself as Lady Thraine. Few years in the empire, she had acquire a title from the emperor as a duchess and was given a territory that she named Thraine. It was the first time it was ever done. You could imagine the rumours that spurred about her and the emperor.
"When people looked into her past, they started to get weary, but the ancients did not take notice of her. We do not know how she did it, but when she struck forty, the kingdoms and empires at the time suddenly swore allegiance to her.
"Only then did the ancients start to worry. At the time, Thriegor was yet to be divided into two sides, so the ancients reigned supreme. They sent assassins to warn her, but the assassins disappeared and one of the ancients was levelled to the ground. Utter destruction. What was supposed to be a night of warning from the ancients to her, became a warning from her to the ancients. She was quiet for years after that, before she reappeared in Anstor; a place stands on Other-side today, as the new wife of the old chief of Anstor, now known as Avrid clan.
"Years after her arrival, Anstor so much grew in power, she completely suppressed other powers there. It was known that she crossed into other realms and conquered into the middle realms before death.
"After she died, her children did not get her power; no one knows why, but she had only left them a cottage in Tusson Valley, a little piece of land on Thriegor. She instructed that they return to that valley on event of her death, allowing the Thraine power be greatly reduced that day. They returned from the middle and lower realms, settling in This-side on this Thriegor world and soon, people forgot who they were. Generations later, their last names had changed.
"It was until two cousins from her bloodline appeared in different sides of the world, both in startling blonde hair. One of them Lady Guther, on This-side and the other Lantian Lurmen, on Other-side. They reigned absolutely, many started to remember their bloodline. People started to call them, Lady Thraines.
"Of course, Lady Guther was the direct descendant, and others after her made sure to keep track of her line. The rest of us sitting here, are not direct descendants, only you are. It's odd that at a time like this, your hair is the blondest ever in our history. I mean, it's basically white," Matriarch Lilac explained and they all glanced at Lucy's hair that was covered by a thick veil.
"Why is this time important?" Lucy asked.
"You need to understand why all Thraines are on This-side and not Other-side. We had been provoked a lot over the years and we always answered provocation outstandingly. You must understand that the entire Thriegor, both This-side and Other-side are considered a small world under the control of the Harnian gate. But this is not true. Each gate has a hundred worlds," The empress dowager said and Lucy nodded.