John William Bancroft ran an orphanage in a small village with his daughter Schaal. The village and orphanage were poor, partially because of the war with the Confederacy. Union soldiers drafted Will one day as he was compatible with Elaine's Incarnate research, and he willingly went as the government promised to give money to the orphanage and town, which would help everyone. Schaal promises she'll be here when he returns. He eventually does after the war but is trapped in his Incarnate form, a large brown dragon, Nidhogg, though his mind remains human. Everyone accepts her father back anyway, the villagers considering him a war hero...