The Blood Wars
Every wizard knows of Merlin and Morgana, they have become almost mythical figures of strength and power, reaching a level of fame only those of storybooks can hope to grasp.
But there comes a time when every young pureblood learns Merlin and Morgana are not just figures of legend, but in fact real historical figures.
Though the legends of both Merlin and Morgan have been clouded and skewed from pure fact, every pureblood family knows they are important figures, and some of the most powerful magic users to date.
Morgana specifically, is not a witch, but the last known Fae.
( 'Known' is underlined, though with a neat slash of ink, not as a part of the text, and you can feel the amusement of it.)
This makes her one of the single most important figures of wizarding history ever recorded. It is through her that modern wizards even know of their origins, with her name 'Morgana Le Fay' loosely translating to ' Morgana the Fae.' She was a powerful being, and though muggle legend mark her as either a student of Merlin or King Arthur's elder sister, wizarding records show her as the sole ruler of ' Avalon'. (See page 10 for more on Avalon and Merlin-Age Magic) Morgana was, like most, a complex figure capable of both good and evil, which is the likely cause for the conflicting accounts of her in muggle literature.
(You've read some of them, Father insisted. They are hilarious, but some part of you feels his anger at her mishandling.)
Merlin and Morgana are the basis of The First Blood Wars.
In the age of Merlin, Magic was a common and accepted part of life by both the magical and muggle. With the emergence of Christian values however, these views shifted.
Simplified, this led to the death of figurative King Arthur, and magic in the eyes of muggles. (See page 1 for more on The Magical Schism)
With the rising popularity of The Church, wizarding kind was forced underground. This led to the creation of the phrase " Gone to pray."
The phrase originated from the need to blend in, with magical folk often taking cover by becoming members of The Church, or parish. If found out, the family would regroup in their home (Often with secret passages, rudimentary floo networks, or simply heavy warding) under the guise of religious ceremony or sudden tragedy. A wizarding family having " gone to pray" meant disappearing, and never being heard of again. If there were other wizarding families in the area, they would be alerted via Snapdragon flowers, which would begin to grow on the edge of the disappeared families property.
(Snapdragons . . . your papa hates Snapdragons. You don't know why.)
The fear and bloodshed of The Blood Wars is fresh in the mind of every wizarding family, but especially that of purebloods.
Pureblood families are different to those of regular wizarding families, not because of purity, but because of origin.
Pureblood families are those directly descended of Fae and other magical beings. All wizards can be traced back to the Fair Folk, but pureblood families are tied in a way no others are. They have been blessed, or cursed, with the burden of tradition.
The 'Sacred 28' are families most known for being the most pure of blood, but that is not the full truth. The Sacred 28 are families that uphold the traditions and legends of the Fae, by either practicing so-called 'Dark Arts,' enforcing justice and law, or ensuring a repeat of the muggle habit of Witch Trials does not make a reappearance.
(You shiver. You've had nightmares about being burned at the stake, or left to drown in a weighed-down barrel. But father says that he'd kill anyone who tried, and you don't doubt him.)
There have been talks of a wizarding government, one more centralized and less dependent on a specific few families, often pushed by mixed-blood wizards who chafe with tradition and the unfamiliar structure of magical society.
(So this is what it used to be like. You suppose it makes sense from both sides.)
This idea is preposterous, and would cause any number of awful effects. Any wizard need only look at the disastrous effects of muggle governmental structures to see this. Supporters of a wizarding government claim it would end corruption and make justice a more fair game. However, one would argue The Sacred 28 has a ridgid set of rules, with execution and loss of limb being the most frequent punishments for 'breach of honor.'
The Sacred 28 hold council over wizarding society because they have been asked to, not because they crave power. In fact, many houses still hold the 'Original Blessing,' or traces of magic binding them to the land, often resulting in a sentience unseen in other wizarding houses.
(The feeling is back, curling around you like a pleased cat. You want to read more, but you can hear father calling for you, and he gets worried easily. You close the book, you'll come back tomorrow.)