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William Black is likely the most powerful Hero who ever lived. He is best known for discovering the power of Will, defeating The Court and becoming the first and greatest Archon of the Old Kingdom. He is a master of Strength, Skill and Will, and is the ancestor of Scarlet Robe, Theresa, the Hero of Oakvale, the Hero of Southcliff, the Hero of Bowerstone, Rose, the Hero of Brightwall, and Logan.

History

Birth of William Black

In the days when the people still suffered under The Court's cruelty, a humble blacksmith and his wife had a boy. They named him William Black, and he would become the key to save Albion.

Little is known about William's youth. As a grown man he amazed others with the powers of his mind, by which he was able to protect his village and perform feats not a dozen other men could equal. These acts came to be celebrated as the "Powers of Will".

Fall of the Court

William grew obsessed with the Court, determined to find a way to overthrow it. One night, while consulting a mysterious tome, he was suddenly transported from Albion into the Void. There he met Jack, who sat on a throne surrounded by ghastly figures. Jack tried to enslave William with the power of an ornate sword, but William fought back and managed to steal the sword before escaping the netherworld.

Back in Albion the sword spoke to William. It called itself the Sword of Aeons, and it promised to help him defeat the Court, but only if William offered his soul in bondage. With the Sword of Aeons, William set off to find the Court.

William scaled the peak of Ruon, Albion's highest mountain and challenged the Court to combat. The Knight of Blades appeared first, and, wielding the Sword of Aeons, William destroyed him completely.

Next the Jack of Blades appeared. They fiercely stuck at one another until William broke Jack's body. However, unknown to most, Jack was not truly slain, and Jack's soul escaped to the Void and possibly took refuge in his mask.

The Queen of Blades was the last to face William. For weeks their battle raged across Albion. Mountains were raised and valleys were formed by their mighty blows. At last, William slew the Queen and freed the people from their yoke. They acclaimed William, who now took the title Archon, as their king.

Rise of Albion

Once he had vanquished the Court, the Archon set his mind to unifying Albion into a great kingdom. His powers of Will were so great that it seemed the world reshaped itself in accordance with his wishes. Cities were built in a week's time and marvellous machines were constructed that ran on Will alone. Through a thousand years of peace, Albion reigned as the greatest centre of commerce and philosophy the world had ever known. The Archon had many descendants during this age of fortune, all of whom shared his powerful Will abilities through his bloodline. These descendants were also called Archons.

But without an enemy to vanquish, the Archons grew petty and cruel. They called themselves Heroes and used their powers of Will to terrorize the people. The first Archon might have stopped them, but his battle with the Queen and his time in the Void had infected his body and mind with a wasting illness. To combat this illness, he returned to the Void and cast it from his body, fearing that it would one day control him and use him to rule Albion and twist it to the dark wishes of the Void. William successfully managed to cast out most of this illness, which became the Corruption and its leader, The Corruptor, who would repeatedly try to take over Albion. With remnants of the disease still decaying him, William wrapped his body in golden mail and a royal blue cloak before vanishing.

Thus began the corruption of The Kingdom.

A descendant of the Archon later constructed a great tower that stretched thousands of feet into the sky. This tower was named the Spire, and it had the power to concentrate all of Albion's Will into a single area. This caused a rift to open between the Void and Albion, a rift through which the Crawler, the Corruptor's chief lieutenant, attempted to invade Albion through. The Old Kingdom's greatest Three Heroes, Stone, Sol, and Blaze responded by combining their power and targeting the Spire. Though they managed to imprison the Crawler within Shadelight dungeon in Aurora, the explosion also destroyed the Old Kingdom, wiping out William Black's empire in an instant.

Scythe

Main article: Scythe

It is stated in the Tales of Albion that Scythe trained Nostro, the founder of the Heroes Guild. Scythe was said to have appeared in a worn, tarnished gold armour and a tattered blue cloak in a similar fashion as what William Black wore when he vanished. The book greatly implies that Scythe may be William Black. In later games he might appear, while he does not appear in Fable III in person, the Scythe tattoo set can be obtained through gifts. In Fable Anniversary's Scythe Content Pack, Scythe's Charity Boots have flavor text referring to him as an Archon, further hinting/confirming that William Black is Scythe.

Letter from Rose

After the Hero of Bowerstone made his or her wish in the Spire, he or she receives a letter sent from his or her sister Rose (assuming the Hero chose the "Love" ending). In this letter she states that she is safe and in the company of a stranger who is "scary, but nice". The stranger also dons a hood and appears as a King. It has been confirmed that this stranger is Scythe, which was suspected anyway since he knows of Rose and her brother/sister and has not made an appearance since the defeat of Jack of Blades in The Lost Chapters of Fable.

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