Death is a recurring character in the Discworld series. He refers to himself as being an Anthropomorphic personification and is most notable for always speaking in capital letters.
The Duty
THE DUTY is what Death refers to as his task of ushering souls in to the next world. While Death will often delegate this task to a lower functionary it is expected that he will always personally attend the death of a wizard, witch or other significant person (such as a king or queen). Though he will harvest 'insignificant' souls, such as that of an insect himself from time to time in order to keep perspective.
The scythe, which Death carries, is the instrument used to harvest the souls of the dead. However, Death also carries a sword, which is only used on those of Royal birth.
Death's Domain
A large, cheery house (if made somewhat less cheery by being decorated almost entirely in tones of black), his house is called Mon Repos. Death resides here with Albert (Alberto Malich, founder of Unseen University), as well as the Death of Rats, and possibly Quoth, a raven. The rooms are significantly larger on the inside, though most mortals don't notice the extra space (as much as a mile) between the center of the rooms and the walls, or even walk through said space. Normal humans in Death's domain note that it has been constructed from an outside perspective, as though everything in it was created by someone with no concept of such things and merely had them described to them. Rooms include
- Death's study
- the kitchen (where Albert fries things)
- The Hall (where there is a grandfather clock with a scythe blade for a pendulum, counting the passing of seconds)
- The Hall of Lifetimers (may be the same room as the Hall), where the timers that show the passage of peoples' lives are kept
- The Library or Hall of Records, where books are kept that chronicle peoples' lives, past and present (at least some anthropomorphic personifications are listed here, as seen in the book Hogfather) and books on every subject.
The grounds include Binky's stable, the maze (which Death cannot understand, as he always knows where he is, and more importantly, where the maze is), and a patch of real earth dug as a watermelon pit (needs confirmation) by Albert. There are also opaque ponds on which skeletal fish swim, a tree that is missing several feet of its trunk (and none of its health) where Death made a swing for Susan, and, surrounding the domain to the mountains at the horizon, a field of golden wheat that is eternally ripe but never harvested (as created following the events of Reaper Man).
Family
Death has a daughter, called Ysabell, whom he adopted after her parents were killed in the Great Nef desert. He also has a grand-daughter called Susan who is the daughter of Ysabell and her husband Mort. Mort was once Death's apprentice, and he and Ysabel both died in a cart crash at the beginning of Soul Music. Susan occasionally must take over THE DUTY when Death becomes distracted by becoming overly philosophical, or taking too much of an interest in humans.
Death owns a horse called Binky.
Appearances
- The Colour of Magic
- Mort
- Reaper Man
- Soul Music
- Hogfather
- Thief of Time
- Going Postal
- Making Money
- Thud
Death is the only character to appear in every book in the Discworld series.