William Longshanks

*"As arrogant as a Thadrakos mecenas and as cunning as an Ahadi salesman"*

-Field Mashall Firefly, speaking of William Longshanks-

As many other people of high standing, William prefered all portraits of himself to follow the style of past centuries

## Further info

### Role/Jobs

Owner of several companies, Honorable Marshall of the Billmen

### Family

Rumors said he shared blood with the Empress

### Important actions

Great war of the North

**William Longshanks**was a high-class citizen, owner of several companies and later Marshall of the Eternal Empire. Rumored to somehow be related with the Empress herself, William was only a minor figure in the court of the Eternal Empire until his creation of the Billmen during the Great Northern War.

Previous to his rise to fame, William had tried to join the HM Imperial Army, showing much promise in the fields of logistics and engineering. A poor physical condition and poor leadership and people skills however stopped him from ever leading any front line troops. After several failed attempts to get a proper command, he left to become a manager in one of the blooming industries growing on the recently-conquered territories of the Empire.

Here, William showed his true skill, while also displaying a lack of empathy for workers and the "rules of the market". While loathed by nearly all of his employees, his ability to meet any demands for equipment made by the imperial army assured his stay at the head of a growing, industrial empire located at the imperial frontier. Seeing the possible dangers of the start of the Great Northern War, he sold or relocated much of his industry to the core world of the Empire before the start of the Bloody Push. This move allowed the empire to keep much of its industry, while William's fortune remained intact.

Ambitious and always eager to twist the laws to achieve his objectives, William Longshanks made as many allies as he did foes during his rise at the latter stages of the war in the North. Rumors about his eagerness to gain more power went as far as to suggest he was building support to one day assassinate the Empress and take her place as ruler of the whole Eternal Empire.

As the "Honourable Marshall" of the Billmen, William had nearly enough power to attempt such a thing. Despite his lack of any impressive military skills, his mastery of logistics and troops movements made it so his forces never faced the foe with inferior numbers. Longshanks knew where and when to place his troops, leaving the details to captains and commanders (few of whom he meet, let alone knew the names of). Assuring himself the obedience of the billmen through a mixture of extra salaries and propaganda, he could have taken over while the regular army battled the Dyss alongside the far-away frontier worlds.

As always, only William knew of his true intentions and his secrets dissapeared with him. Only a few weeks before the ending of the bloody war in the North was declared, William Longshanks banished from the Eternal Empire, never to be seen again. Some say assassins sent by the Empress herself killed him and got rid of the body. Others whisper Thadrakos assassins were behind his dissapearance, as they kidnapped him and dragged him back to territory belonging to the families, so he would "pay" the millions he owed to the oligarchs who had financed his operations during the war.