Becoming a Ward of the Court is common practice in the Empire of the White Tower. Young Changelings, most often just escaped from Arcadia, are taken in by a legal guardian - an older, more established Changeling who is granted the legal authority (and the corresponding duty) to care for the personal and property interests of the younger Changeling, called a ward. Usually, a Changeling has the status of guardian because the ward is incapable of caring for his or her own interests due to youth, incapacity, or mental trauma, but it can also occur to create a bond between two changelings akin to parent and child. It is often remarked that Warding is the only way to create a parent-child bond among the largely sterile Lost.
Any warded relationship must be approved by The Membership Committee.
Guardians and Wards[]
- Empress Victoria acted as guardian to Queen Edane and Sir Beryl Whitehall before Victoria was empress.
- King George acted as guardian to Princess Margret, whom he considered a daughter.
- King Albert Balmoral warded three surrogate children, Prince Lucas, Princess Anne and Gloriana. Some event occurred that caused King Albert to disown Lucas, stripping him of his title and position.
- Astrid Glass and Mitchell Hitchcock were legal guardians to a young Ben Ashmore, but that legal responsibility resolved in a controversial manner.
- Mrs. Folo remarked she was the legal guardian to several unknown Changelings in the past.
- Mrs. George and other members of The Old Guard are frequent users of this legal practice, resulting in the Spring faction known as The Posh.
- Empress Anne warded Prince William and Prince Edward, the Prince Imperial before her death. This arguably made Prince William the Heir Apparent to the entire Empire.
- Baron Amyas Crayle was warded by the Baroness Caroline Crayle who instilled in him some very strange ideas about the need for independent auditing of the Empire's secrets.
- The Heirs to the Empire were all wards of important members of the empire, hence the name of the motley.