It is said my family was founded ten-hundred thousand years ago, by one of the greatest warriors in all the history of my people. And honestly, considering all we've done through the centuries... I just might believe it.
—Arius Valdayn about his earliest-known ancestor, Valdayn
House Valdayn, also written as the House of Valdayn and sometimes referred to as the Valdayn Family or Valdayn Clan, was an Ethereal Great House of the Ethereal Empire and the Ethereal Demesnes as a whole. They were one of the original Houses, hence being a Great House and having their personal Demesne, the Kingdom of Luctanem legally bound to them as a Core Demesne. Founded by Valdayn, one of the last surviving significant Ethereals of their home galaxy, known as the Cradle, they inherited his traits (such as piercing blue eyes, tall stature, inherent leadership abilities, and the like) and, periodically, members of the main family bloodline would be his reincarnation. Over time following the foundation and later disappearance of the Ethereal Empire, then led by the Celestials of the Ethereal Family, House Valdayn came to dominate the remnants of the Empire and the Demesnes as a whole, using a variety of means over the centuries and millennia to secure their place as the holders, directly or indirectly, of nearly all important titles within the multiple sectors of the Demesnes, such that by the time of the Clone Wars and subsequent rise of the Galactic Empire, the Valdayns were the only Ethereal Great House with a still-functioning, still-public main bloodline, which held every title from King of Luctanem and Imperator of Noctorem to Viscount of Nok'Var and Consul of K'Sal to Sovereign of Aetherum and Caliph of Zoval to Grand Prince of Ioduria and Ruler-Elect of Garentos. They later led the efforts to restore the Ethereal Empire and the Ethereal Demesnes to their full extent and revive their ancient cultures, customs and histories, and so redistributed most of their lands and titles back to their original, rightful owners' living descendants. However, the Valdayns were also the leaders of another part of the customary Ethereal administrative structure; the Astral Defenders, one of the main and original Ethereal military-socio-political divisions. Through this role, their more Force-Sensitive family members often used their connection to the Force to access the abilities of their progenitor, Valdayn, and the Astral Realms from which he came; those of Light. Not to be confused with the Light Side of the Force, the Light was a series of abilities which were, quite literally, made of, involving, or used with literal, physical light. They were, for the most part, used exclusively by the Astral Ethereals, from the original Astral Realms to the later Astral Defenders and associated organizations, groups and individuals.