Alyss Mainwaring is an Araluen and former wardmate of Will Treaty and Horace. As a young child she was orphaned and sent to live in Castle Redmont; she was the first ward, Will being the second. She is, therefore, one of Will's oldest and best friends. In The Ruins of Gorlan she was accepted by Lady Pauline to be a Diplomat as a Courier . She appears in the first, second, fifth, sixth, seventh, tenth, and the eleventh books as a Courier.