Character Archive · Witz Family & Paladin
Phillip Witz
The Missing Father and Paladin
- Role: Rich’s father and an experienced Paladin
- Central mystery: his disappearance is tied to the Corridor of Keys
- Nemesis: Jezreel
- Family impact: his absence shapes Rich’s childhood and quest
The Missing Man at the Center of the Quest
Long before Rich understands the Paladin tradition, Phillip’s disappearance has already reshaped the Witz family. Rich’s desire to learn what happened to his father becomes one of the strongest personal motives pulling him deeper into the Corridor of Keys.
A Paladin Before Rich
Phillip is not merely someone Rich needs to rescue. He has his own history as a knight, his own Nemesis, and his own hard-earned knowledge of the conflict. That makes their eventual relationship more complicated than a simple reunion: Rich must learn how to be a son to someone who is also a fellow Paladin.
Deep Canon · Later-Series Spoilers
Later books reveal that Jezreel is Phillip’s Nemesis and that she once left him imprisoned for the Gigantaurs. By Bishop: Betrayal, Phillip fights beside Rich as the family’s private mystery becomes part of the larger struggle over the Maze, the Sovereigns, and the fate of the Corridor.
Michael D. Young 