Will is met by the grim reality of life on the edge of civilization. Beasts roam the woods, villages are under attack by demons, and the half-elf Meneldor is not the friend Will hoped he would be. There is light to be found even in this dark place, but Will must carry the torch.
After returning from the battle at the Rust Mountains, what awaited Will was not a fairytale ending or another terrifying threat, but the commonplace events of his everyday life. His friendship and a fierce battle with his dependable ally, the swordsman Reystov. An adventure in a snow-filled forest with the troubadour Bee. A battle with an ancient indomitable giant. And prayers and conversation with the god of the flame. Penned by the Paladin, these are the stories of a single winter.
In a city of the dead, long since ruined and far from human civilization, lives a single human child. His name is Will, and he's being raised by three undead: the hearty skeletal warrior, Blood; the graceful mummified priestess, Mary; and the crotchety spectral sorcerer, Gus. The three pour love into the boy, and teach him all they know. But one day, Will starts to wonder: "Who am I?" Will must unravel the mysteries of this faraway dead man's land, and unearth the secret pasts of the undead. He must learn the love and mercy of the good gods, and the bigotry and madness of the bad. And when he knows it all, the boy will take his first step on the path to becoming a Paladin. "I promised you. It's gonna take a while, but I'll tell you everything. This is the story of the deaths of many heroes. It's the story of how we died, and it's the reason you grew up here."
A man dies alone after living a stagnant and fruitless life—but that's not where his story ends, as a boy named William is born into a land of fantasy and magic. Raised in a city of the dead by his new family—a mummy, a skeleton, and a ghost—he can remember glimpses of his past life, enough to know his time on Earth was wasted, and he vows not to let that happen again.
Menel's brush with death taught Will to take nothing for granted. With important lessons learned, the adventurers regroup and free Beast Woods of the demon scourge. The road ahead is long for Will, who now carries responsibility for the woods and the people who live there, but now is the time for celebration. The troubadour Bee sings a poem, a living testament to the immortals who raised the Faraway Paladin. Will discovers that great heroes transcend time, and their deeds light a flame of courage in the hearts of men. And so, a new tale of a hero just born begins its journey down the ages...
In the city of the dead, long since ruined and far from human civilization, lives a single human child. His name is Will, and he's being raised by three undead. The three pour love into the boy, and teach him all they know. But one day, Will starts to wonder: "Who am I?" Will must unravel the mysteries of this faraway land, and unearth the secret pasts of the undead. He must learn the love and mercy of the good gods, and the bigotry and madness of the bad. And when he knows it all, the boy will take his first step on the path to becoming a Paladin.
As thanks for killing the wyvern that attacked the city of Whitesails, Will is granted an audience with the Duke of Southmark. This is the perfect opportunity for Will to gain the authority he needs to save the people of Beast Woods from poverty and the scourge of demons. But that will be far from easy...
Now on the cusp of adulthood, Will has his first true battle against the man who raised him and taught him how to fight: the skeletal warrior Blood. Afterwards, Will learns the truth his undead family has been keeping from him, and finds that he must summon the courage to exorcise the ghost of his own past before an echo of theirs takes everything he holds dear...
After returning from the battle at the Rust Mountains, what awaited Will was not a fairytale ending or another terrifying threat, but the commonplace events of his everyday life. His friendship and a fierce battle with his dependable ally, the swordsman Reystov. An adventure in a snow-filled forest with the troubadour Bee. A battle with an ancient indomitable giant. And prayers and conversation with the god of the flame. Penned by the Paladin, these are the stories of a single winter.
Will and his new allies at last set out for the Rust Mountains to face the dragon Valacirca. After a nostalgic reunion and an unexpected encounter, the curtain of battle must rise in the lost underground kingdom. What fate awaits the Faraway Paladin? The god of undeath is clear: "I will say it once more. If you challenge him, you will die."