To me, it sounds as if your world has made up for its lack of magic through slightly more nefarious means.

[But he waves a hand, dismissively.] Let us just call them for what they are. Spirits, for now. [How much respect is he willing to give the old kings and queens of yore? Not a whole lot.]

It’s a ring. And I’m very certain that’s all it is. A family heirloom, that sort of thing. Thousands of years old.