Halla
Halla's husband died of a fever and left the whole of his estate to his brother, leaving her penniless. Being of "no particular wealth and no particular beauty," the widowed Halla moved in with and cared for her husband's elderly Uncle Silas, acting as caretaker for both his property and the man himself until his death. To her surprise, Silas left her the whole of his estate, causing an uproar among his disinherited relatives. At the beginning of Swordheart, she is 36 and being forced to wed her late husband's cousin Alver so the family can reclaim the money they believe they deserve.
Halla is described as having fair skin, pale blonde hair, and an hourglass build. She firmly does not believe herself to be beautiful, though Sarkis insists otherwise.
She is tremendously curious and innocent about the ways of the world, with a strong sense of fairness and goodness. She is full of questions, something that irks Zale and Sarkis at times, but which they both come to find charming.
Background & Personal Life
Halla was raised as the middle of five children, and all of her siblings have since died. She has two nieces by her sister, Erris and Nola, to whom she hopes to leave some of Silas's fortune to serve as a dowry for their future marriages.[1]
Halla's late husband was either uninterested in her sexually, or uninterested in sex in general, described as "more dutiful than passionate."[2] Their marriage was amicable, but not passionate, and they did not share a bed[3] except for an obligatory sexual encounter every few weeks. He gave her jewelry during their marriage,[4] out of amicable obligation, and expressed interest in having children, which Halla did not share due to the rate of mortality among the childbearing women of her family.