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.'
But order has not completely been restored to this faraway land; strange things are happening, starting with plants blooming out of season and dying at random. At Duke Ethel's request, Will and Menel are off to investigate, not knowing that their journey will lead them to an ominous prophecy and the Rust Mountains, the capital of the dwarves.
Now that he's of age, Will leaves the temple on his own and sets out into the world as a warrior, priest, and sorcerer of Gracefeel. Incredible things, both good and bad, inevitably lie ahead . . . but the immediate future is uncertain. Two centuries have elapsed since the battle against the High King of the Eternals. Are there any humans left in the land beyond, or is Will truly alone now? Even if he finds other people, will he find allies in them? Or is the darkness of the outside world deeper than he ever dreamed?
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.'
