William

William

First appearance: Precipice, chapter 10
Last appearance: Precipice, chapter 35
Appears in: Precipice

Latest status

General of the northern legion — risen from dying mayor to Jason’s senior military commander

William is the mayor of Peccavi, first introduced dying from a festering wound while his town is besieged and desperate. Offered salvation through undeath by Jason, he chooses transformation to remain with his already-converted family, and grows from a grateful survivor into one of Jason’s most capable administrators. His steady competence at governing, morale-building, and managing the logistics of a growing undead population earns him escalating trust and responsibility, carrying him from small-town leadership into senior military command.

Abilities

• Undead transformation (wound healed, enhanced stamina, no need for food or sleep) — Book 2

Book 2: Precipice

William is the mayor of Peccavi, first seen dying from a festering wound inflicted by a were-creature attack. When Jason arrives offering the surrounded town salvation through undeath, William is initially afraid of the transformation his own wife and daughter have already undergone, but his fear gives way to desperation to remain with them; he volunteers to be converted first, declaring he would rather die and be reunited with his family than live on separated from them. Jason kills him with an enchanted dagger as part of the undeath ritual, which heals his wound and reanimates him as one of Jason’s undead subjects. Grateful for his survival and the town’s rescue, William continues governing Peccavi in his new state, thanks Jason publicly for saving his people, and shares knowledge of the dungeon and local dangers with him. He adapts town administration to the undead’s enhanced stamina and lack of need for food or sleep, and agrees to keep the true purpose of Jason’s expedition secret while helping fortify Peccavi and prepare it to receive troops.

William’s competence steadily earns him greater responsibility. Jason names him second-in-command for the Peccavi operation, praising his work managing the town’s undead recruits and preparing it as an operational base. After a costly battle, William delivers Jason an accurate casualty report, noting that most of the townspeople survived but some newly summoned kin were lost in the fighting. He later advises Jason to hold a celebration for the men after a victory, showing a grasp of morale and community integration beyond pure logistics, and takes an active role managing the arrival of newly converted undead. After Rex falls against the game master Florius, Jason appoints William general of the northern legion; he organizes accommodations for nearly a thousand new undead citizens and helps lead the memorial for the fallen commander.

Status: Dying mayor of Peccavi, suffering a festering wound from a were-creature attack → General of the northern legion — risen from dying mayor to Jason’s senior military commander

Jason: Shifts from a dying man accepting Jason’s offer of salvation out of desperation to a grateful, then trusted, subordinate who is promoted to second-in-command and relied on for operational reporting and counsel.

Patricia: Reunited with his transformed wife after being converted himself, removing the fear of separation that drove his decision to undergo undeath.

Key quote: “I’m dying. I know it. I cannot bear to be parted from my wife and daughter. I would walk through the fires of hell for them. In comparison, my life is nothing.”

Appears in

• Precipice — 6 chapters