Crestbluff Royal Family
The royal family of Valana was an intentionally created family by the 12 noble houses of Valana in order to prevent in fighting and war that they could not afford. They established a rotating cycle of marrying into the royal family, where the heir of the Crestbluff family must marry someone from the next family in the cycle, and then that child will have to marry someone from the next, and so on, creating a dynamic where the royal family is related to all the noble houses. Because of this there is essentially no major scheming on the nobility's part to overthrow the monarchy, but instead they fervently defend it. Instead they vie directly against each other for more economic and political power, trying to improve their family's overall standing. Family's that have living relatives in the Crestbluff family or who are about to have a member marry in generally have the greatest sway and ability to get dispensations and political favors from the king or queen, while families furthest from this end of the cycle have to work much harder to compete.
