Walt House
Description
House Walt was founded by Basil, a man from the wildlands who settled new territory. Over two hundred years it rose from a provincial viscountcy to an earldom. The third head, Surrey, single-handedly covered the king's retreat and became a symbol of loyalty; the sixth raised the house to a county by less-than-honest means; and the seventh, Brod, married Zenoire — a descendant of the old Centrath royal line — infusing the Walt bloodline with distant kinship to the former monarchy.
By the start of the book's events, House Walt is in the grip of an internal crisis: contrary to two centuries of male-line succession, Lyle's father favors his daughter Celes, and the rightful heir is cast out. House Forxuz, which historically played a key role in the Walts' rise, has been reduced to their vassal.