You know what's not the same as our world? Powers. They have never been especially strong, or clear, or even consistent. Some centuries you can't throw a stone without hitting a gifted person, others you struggle to find even a couple in the same city.

There's no rhyme or reason to what a person might be able to do, and the amount of people able to do it has never been big enough to actually have a huge impact in the way that things are done. Doesn't mean that there are not people trying to make them work for themselves better.