Death

### Relations

Elder God of Knowledge (Parent), William Wilson (Brother), Polaris (Off-and-On Romantic Partner), Azarath, Metrion, and Zinthos (Children)

### Appearance

Pale, hairless, androgynous, humanoid wearing a tattered cloak and wielding a massive scythe. Skeletal face.

## Powers

Death, as the embodiment and enforcer of death itself, wields incomprehensible power transcending the boundaries of magic, essence, and even the limitations of progenitors and constellations. Death can kill any living or unliving thing (save only for the Elder Gods and their chosen Fateweavers), and otherwise has the same powers that their Reapers have. Death’s position is unique in that he holds sole arbitration over the return of souls from the Afterlife, an action which he takes gravely seriously and has (to date) never exercised.

## Personality/Appearance

Death seldom ever appears to mortals, only doing so in dire circumstances or if somehow called. When he does, he speaks only when necessary, and exhibits a rigid stoicism. The only desire he willingly expresses is to maintain the balance of life and death.

Death appears as a pale, hairless, androgynous, humanoid figure, enveloped in a tattered cloak and wielding a massive scythe. Death lacks a face, instead bearing only a skeletal visage.

## Relations

### Parent and Sibling

Death was created by the Elder God of Knowledge to keep the populations of the universe in check, a duty that he takes extremely seriously. He also views William Wilson, another creation of Knowledge, as a brother of sorts, and treats him as such. When Death was mortally wounded during the Deathless Days, his first instinct was to seek out Will for help.

### Children

Death has three main creations, aside from the Reapers and Greater Reapers, known unofficially as the greatest reapers. These are Azarath, the Greatest Reaper of Life; Metrion, the Greatest Reaper of Undeath; and Zinthos, the Greatest Reaper of Death. Death created these children to help him further maintain the balance of life and death. Azarath and Zinthos, being inherently aligned with Death’s goal, have been incredibly helpful in managing the souls of the universe. Metrion, created solely to track the different ways people cheat death and to combat them, took pride in that which he was made to combat and embraced undeath as a universal good. As a result, Metrion frequently defies both Death’s order and Death himself. Such defiances have enormous repercussions, such as the introduction of undeath runes to certain sects of rune knights and the events known as Darkfell. Death has a low opinion of Metrion, and currently keeps him imprisoned in the Soul Plane in a fortress of iron blades.

### Polaris

The Elder God of Madness created Polaris, originally known as “Everlife”, as the antithesis to Death. An undercurrent of antagonism tainted most of their early interactions, as Everlife’s duty ran strictly counter to his own. In the millennia that followed the birth of the Beast Below, however, their relationship warmed. In the 9000s A.B., however, Polaris petitioned death on behalf of Atlus to bring back a long-dead family so Atlas could grant a wish. Death adamantly refused, and their disagreement boiled over from argument into outright brawl. Death threatened to wipe out the Constellations, and nearly killed Polaris, but Polaris struck Death with the Axe of Doom and fled. This attack cut Death’s face clean off, leaving only the skeleton beneath. To keep Death at bay, Polaris erected a barrier around his home plane, the Astral Plane, to keep Death out. The two remained apart for a thousand years, until the planar collision in 10,015 A.B. shattered the barrier. With the gate lifted and hostilities somewhat cooled, Polaris and Death maintain a very rocky love-hate relationship (which even blossomed into a very short-lived romance).

## History

### Creation

Death was created by the Elder God of Knowledge to maintain populations and bring order to reality.

### Interaction with the Aryunar (< 9,000s A.B.)

At some point, Death interacted with the nomadic Aryunar culture that inhabits southwest Eriptor. This led to them worshipping Death as a deity, and at least their Death’s physical appearance matches strongly with that of Death before losing his face.

### Fight with Polaris (9,000s A.B.)

In the 9000s A.B., Polaris petitioned death on behalf of Atlus to bring back a long-dead family so Atlas could grant a wish. Death refused, and their disagreement boiled over from argument into outright brawl. This led to Death losing his face, and Polaris sealing himself and the Constellations within the Astral Plane.

### Darkfell and Prelude to the Planar War (10,014 A.B.)

In the aftermath of Darkfell in 10,014, Death imprisoned Metrion in the Soul Plane to ensure he could not cause another catastrophe.

After imprisoning Metrion, Death appeared to the Binturians to warn them of the coming Planar Collision.

### Stolen Souls (10,017 A.B.)

On All Hallow’s Eve, 10,017 A.B., a Reaper, who decided that the Binturian Party had cheated death too many times, went rogue. This Reaper, named Korja, stole the consciousnesses of some of the Binturians’ loved ones from the Afterlife, gave them souls for stability, and pulled the Binturians into an isolated part of the Soul Plane. Empowered by the unusual energies and thinned planar barriers that All Hallow’s Eve grants, Korja shut Death out of this space and pulled the Binturians into it. He offered them a choice, either die or their loved ones would suffer even in death. The Binturians, naturally, objected to this, but the Binturian Morgan attempted to reason with Korja and successfully talked him down. When All Hallow’s Eve ended, Death surged into the space Korja occupied and prepared to obliterate him, but Morgan (then a mortal) talked him down as well and the three came to a mutual understanding. Korja was punished but not killed, and he works as a Life Reaper now.

### Deathless Days (10,019 A.B.)

By 10,019 A.B., breaching holes in the barrier surrounding the Material Plane constantly for two years had drained Death of nearly all his energy, and he collapsed. As a result, Reapers could not remove or add souls to the Material Plane. In order to save his life, Death’s most devoted follower of the Aryunar, the Binturian Naimuna, infused the Eye of the Conduit into Death. As thanks for her help, Naimuna was rewarded with a shield bearing Death’s lost face.

### Present Residence

Rejuvenated and empowered by the Eye of the Conduit, Death now resides in the Soul Plane and acts as its patron god.

## Further Information

* Axe of Doom
* The Binturian Party
* Constellations
* Darkfell
* Deathless Days
* Elder Gods
* Elu
* Metrion
* Planar War
* Reality
* Soul
* William Wilson