Capítulo 4
Learning the Trade
Death takes Mort on his first assignment, explaining that time is merely an invention of mortals and not truly important. They arrive at the castle of Sto Lat where King Olerve the Bastard is about to die, poisoned by his ambitious cousin, the Duke of Sto Helit. Death produces an hourglass labeled with the king's name, showing little sand remaining. In the great hall, courtiers unconsciously avoid seeing Death and Mort as they move through the crowd.
As Death prepares to take the king's soul, Mort watches the process with fascination. The king's spirit becomes increasingly diffuse until it collapses into a tiny brilliant pinpoint that Death gently catches and stows away. When Mort asks what happened to the king, Death simply replies "ONLY HE KNOWS." Moved by compassion, Mort attempts to interfere with the process, earning a stern rebuke from Death who explains that "TO TINKER WITH THE FATE OF EVEN ONE INDIVIDUAL COULD DESTROY THE WHOLE WORLD."
Days pass as Mort settles into his apprenticeship. Between duties, he assists Albert, works in the garden or stable, and discovers Death's extensive library filled with biographies that write themselves-completed for the dead, blank for the unborn, and actively writing for those still living. During this time, Mort catches glimpses of Princess Keli, the king's daughter, and finds himself increasingly drawn to her.
Eventually, Mort requests an afternoon off, surprising Death who can't understand why he'd want to leave when he has "EVERYTHING YOU NEED RIGHT HERE." Nevertheless, Death grants permission until sunset, giving Mort a bag of gold coins and sending him directly to Ankh-Morpork. Determined to see Princess Keli again, Mort acquires a fast horse and races toward Sto Lat, narrowly escaping thieves in the city's dangerous Shades district by accidentally walking through a solid wall-the first sign that his apprenticeship is changing him in unexpected ways.
Capítulo 5
The Fateful Decision
Death inspects the hourglasses in his lifetimer room, accompanied by Albert with the great ledger. The endless rows of hourglasses create a heavy, dull roar as they pour away mortal time. Death identifies three souls to collect that night-Goodie Hamstring (a witch), Abbot Lobsang (a reincarnating monk), and fifteen-year-old Princess Keli. Contemplating the princess's hourglass, Death experiences an unusual moment of sadness, surprising Albert. Despite Albert's concerns about Mort's readiness, Death decides to send his apprentice on solo assignments, stating, "People can't expect to have me running around after them all the time."
Mort's first solo assignment begins with Goodie Hamstring, an elderly witch who accepts her death peacefully. After collecting her soul (which transforms into a beautiful young woman), Mort travels to the Temple of Listeners in the mountains near Cori Celesti. There he collects the soul of the 88th abbot, who explains he's been reincarnated dozens of times and asks to be dropped off at a nearby village where he's "being conceived about now."
The third assignment is Princess Keli, and here Mort makes a decision that will change everything. Arriving at her bedchamber just as an assassin is about to kill her, Mort is overcome with emotion. Instead of collecting her soul as duty demands, he slays the assassin, saving Keli's life and creating a paradox in reality itself. The universe "knows" she should be dead, but Mort has forced a different outcome.
The consequences of this action begin immediately. When Mort returns to Death's domain and checks Princess Keli's biography in the library, he discovers it still records her assassination at fifteen and describes the subsequent political consequences. Reality is attempting to heal itself, creating a bizarre situation where Keli exists inside a shrinking bubble of altered reality centered on Sto Lat, while outside this bubble, history proceeds as if she died.
Capítulo 6
Reality Unravels
Mort's interference with Princess Keli's death has split reality in two: within Sto Lat she lives and rules, while in the outside world she's dead and the duke reigns. These dual realities coexist, separated by a shimmering historical event horizon twenty miles from the city that's slowly advancing. After completing his assigned collections, Mort discovers this boundary-a silver mist cutting across the cabbage fields. When he tests it with a stick, it creates strange ripples; an owl passing through momentarily vanishes before reappearing.
Inside Sto Lat, Princess Keli faces bizarre challenges as causality struggles to correct itself. Though Mort prevented her death, the universe still "knows" she's dead. The court unconsciously treats her as deceased-courtiers give odd looks, the Chamberlain orders the flag flown at half-mast, servants walk softly, and meals consist of funeral meats. When she confronts the staff, they briefly acknowledge her before forgetting her presence again.
Desperate, Keli seeks help from Igneous Cutwell, a young wizard who can still perceive her. Cutwell explains the phenomenon and attempts divination to understand what's happening. His fortune-telling yields troubling results: when Keli draws from his Caroc deck, she pulls the Death card three consecutive times. Alarmed, Cutwell carefully reshuffles the deck, finding only one Death card remains.
Meanwhile, Mort is undergoing his own transformation. His appearance is changing-he moves with confidence and looks unnaturally solid, as if more real than his surroundings. He begins speaking in Death's distinctive capitalized voice and displaying Death's powers, such as walking through solid objects. These changes alarm Ysabell, who realizes Mort is gradually becoming Death himself as he performs the role.
As the reality interface continues to shrink toward Sto Lat, Mort realizes he must find a way to save Keli permanently before the bubble collapses completely and she ceases to exist. His search for a solution leads him to suspect that Albert-Death's seemingly humble servant-might hold the key.
Capítulo 7
The Secret of Albert
In Death's vast and mysterious library, Mort and Ysabell make a startling discovery while poring through ancient texts and dusty tomes. Albert, Death's seemingly ordinary manservant, is revealed to be none other than Alberto Malich the Wise - founder of Unseen University and arguably the most powerful wizard to ever walk the Discworld. Two thousand years ago, at the height of his magical prowess, Alberto attempted an ambitious and dangerous spell meant to grant him immortality. The spell backfired spectacularly, instead summoning Death himself. Faced with his own mortality, Alberto struck a clever bargain: he would serve as Death's servant in exchange for sanctuary in Death's domain - a timeless realm where his remaining lifespan of ninety-one days would never tick away.
When confronted with this revelation, Albert becomes defensive and bitter. Despite Mort's passionate appeals to his former greatness and the legacy of the university he founded, Albert steadfastly refuses to assist in saving Princess Keli. His fear of returning to the mortal world - where his precious ninety-one days would begin counting down - outweighs any remaining sense of duty or heroism. Meanwhile, Death has embarked on an unusual sabbatical, immersing himself in mortal experiences with childlike curiosity. He tries his hand at fishing in quiet streams, awkwardly attempts dancing at country festivals, loses money at gambling halls, and samples various alcoholic beverages with increasing enthusiasm. Most notably, he takes a position as a cook at Harga's House of Ribs in Ankh-Morpork, where his supernatural abilities result in perfectly cooked meals materialized at impossible speeds. He develops a particular fondness for feeding the city's stray cats, showing an unexpected tenderness that hints at his growing fascination with mortal life.
The absence of Death creates a critical situation as the reality interface around Sto Lat continues to collapse. Mort and Ysabell find themselves forced to assume Death's vital responsibilities, including the complex task of maintaining the Balance. The "nodes" - intricate mathematical calculations that ensure death occurs precisely when life should end - must be calculated daily to prevent cosmic chaos. These calculations appear as elaborate, spider web-like patterns in Death's massive ledger, incomprehensible to most mortals. Ysabell surprisingly reveals her ability to interpret these complex patterns, having quietly learned their meaning during countless hours spent doing her needlework in Death's study while observing his work.
After Mort and Ysabell leave to fulfill Death's duties across the Disc, Albert makes a momentous choice that will have far-reaching consequences. In a secret chamber, he unearths his ancient wizarding apparatus - items untouched for two millennia. With practiced precision, he draws an octogram on the floor, its lines glowing with magical potential. Summoning octarine flames - the color of magic itself - he transports himself back to Unseen University, materializing in the exact spot he vanished from two thousand years before. His ambitious plan involves performing the Rite of AshkEnte - one of the most powerful spells known to wizardkind, capable of summoning and binding Death himself. This desperate gambit could either save or destroy everything, depending on its outcome.
Capítulo 8
The Speed of Night
As Mort and Ysabell race to complete Death's duties, they realize they're running out of time to save Princess Keli. The coronation ceremony in Sto Lat proceeds awkwardly as the reality interface approaches, swallowing everything in its path. Inside the palace, chaos erupts when a wine-drunk elephant (the sacrificial animal) goes berserk, destroying the altar before charging through the city. As Keli and Cutwell recover from the confusion, the Duke of Sto Helit appears with armed men, announcing he'll claim the princess died in the elephant incident.
Meanwhile, Albert succeeds in summoning Death, who appears wearing an apron and holding a kitten, furious at Mort for "STEALING MY DAUGHTER, INSULTING MY SERVANTS, AND RISKING THE FABRIC OF REALITY." Death takes Albert back to his domain, leaving the wizards of Unseen University to replace Albert's statue with a gold one-locked in the deepest cellar, with the door welded shut and bricked up.
After the summoning separates Mort's Death-aspect from himself, he awakens in the desert beside Ysabell with a pounding headache. They realize it's midnight, and Mort initially despairs at being too late to save the princess. But suddenly, a "microscopic spark of hope" ignites in him as he looks toward the horizon. Despite being nearly across the Disc from Sto Lat, Mort realizes something crucial about time and distance: they can use "the speed of night" to reach their destination.
Night rolls across the Disc, spreading like pools of darkness. Light on the Discworld moves slowly through the magical field, taking its time. Midnight glides across the landscape as Binky, carrying Mort and Ysabell, races even faster. They travel in silence, surrounded by crackling serpents of rainbow light. Approaching Sto Lat, Mort spots the dome of reality squatting over the palace like a collapsing jellyfish.
With minutes remaining before reality collapses completely, they burst through the palace gates and through the interface, finding Keli, Cutwell, and the Duke inside. As the reality interface shrinks around them, Keli insists on being crowned before dying. Mort, exhausted and desperate, declares Cutwell a priest and Ysabell finds a battered gold circlet. Cutwell performs a makeshift coronation using a flea-removal spell as impressive-sounding words. As the interface closes in, they pile onto the overloaded Binky-Mort, Keli, Cutwell and Ysabell-and flee through the shrinking reality bubble before a hole of blackness rushes out of the sky and catches them.
Capítulo 9
The Final Confrontation
The group arrives at Death's domain, finding the vast obsidian halls eerily silent. The familiar blue-white glow that typically illuminates the endless corridors has dimmed to a threatening gloom. As they cautiously enter the study - its walls lined with countless hourglasses marking every life in existence - Death materializes with terrifying suddenness. His eye sockets blaze with cold blue fury at Mort's betrayal, and the very air seems to crystallize around them. He towers over them like a cosmic force, his presence filling the room as shadows writhe and deepen in every corner.
Death's examination of Keli is methodical and unnerving - like a scientist studying an anomaly that shouldn't exist. His attention shifts to Ysabell with particular intensity when she steps forward, voice trembling but determined, to declare her love for Mort. The confession seems to darken Death's mood further. His strike against Mort comes with supernatural speed - a backhand that burns with the absolute cold of deep space, leaving frost crystals on Mort's skin. Death's accusations echo through the chamber: the seduction of his daughter, the abandonment of sacred duty, and most grievously, the creation of dangerous reality distortions that threaten the fabric of existence itself.
The challenge comes when Death claims dominion over them all. Mort, drawing himself up to his full height, invokes the ancient rights of equality between apprentice and master. Death's acceptance transforms the confrontation into something more formal - more terrible. They proceed to the Long Room, a vast chamber housing the hourglasses of every living being. Death wields his scythe with practiced precision while Mort brandishes the sword of office, its edge gleaming with borrowed power. Their duel becomes a dance of mortality itself - each clash sending shock waves through the hourglasses around them. Reality buckles and shifts with each blow: in distant places, a falling mason suddenly finds himself safely on the ground, while elsewhere a healthy man clutches his chest and collapses.
Mort fights with everything he's learned, displaying skill that surprises even Death, but the outcome seems inevitable. Death's millennia of experience manifest in an economy of movement that gradually overwhelms his apprentice. When Mort finds himself cornered, sword tip at Death's throat after a stumble, he makes a choice that changes everything - he lowers his weapon. His words - "There's no justice. There's just you" - echo with profound understanding rather than accusation.
Ysabell's intervention proves crucial. She confronts her father with centuries of pent-up emotion, her slap resounding through the chamber like thunder. Her accusation of hypocrisy - that Death himself has altered fates while condemning Mort for the same - strikes deeper than any blade. Death's initial dismissal, his claim that even gods must eventually answer to him, carries less conviction than before. Something in Ysabell's raw honesty reaches past the avatar of mortality to touch whatever remains of the being beneath.
The turning point comes when Death inverts Mort's empty hourglass - a gesture heavy with symbolism. This act of mercy reveals Death's deeper purpose: his search for a successor wasn't merely about finding someone to continue his duties, but about understanding humanity itself. Through Mort's actions - particularly his willingness to sacrifice everything for love - Death gains insight into the very souls he's been collecting for millennia. He chooses to continue his eternal duty, but now approaches it with newfound wisdom about the precious, fleeting nature of the lives he must end.
Capítulo 10
A New Beginning
In the great hall of Sto Lat, a celebration unfolds with candlelight and music. Mort and Ysabell have married, with Mort now bearing the title Duke of Sto Helit-complete with an unusual coat of arms featuring crossed scythes on an hourglass. Queen Kelirehenna I makes her appearance, transformed with more flattering clothes and hairstyle. Cutwell has become "Royal Recognizer, Master of the Queen's Bedchamber," abandoning magic to become "the real power behind the throne."
As the reception continues, Death himself arrives, explaining he didn't attend the ceremony thinking it inappropriate but couldn't miss his daughter's wedding entirely, having received his first-ever invitation "with gold edges and RSVP." Death admits he thought Mort would marry the princess, but Mort explains they decided not to rush into things just because of a rescue. Death approves, noting he's decided to stop interfering in human affairs except officially, as it was clouding his judgment.
Death presents two wedding gifts. First, a three-inch globe resembling a pearl with swirling silver shapes inside-a "Pearl of Reality" made from the actuality Mort created. Death explains it contains the seed of a new universe that might one day explode into existence when this reality ends. His second gift is personal: a leather-bound book titled "Mort" containing Mort's life story with many blank pages yet to fill.
When Mort inquires about how much time he has left, Death assures him it's sufficient, adding that "mathematics isn't all it's cracked up to be." Death declines future christening invitations, claiming he lacks "the right kind of knees" for grandfatherhood. With a handshake and a preference for "au revoir" over "goodbye," Death departs, possibly smiling genuinely for once.
Through this adventure, Pratchett delivers a profound message about the nature of death and life. Death isn't merely an end but a necessary transition-a role that requires both duty and compassion. Mort's journey from awkward apprentice to confident adult mirrors our own growth in facing mortality. And perhaps most importantly, the novel suggests that even Death himself can learn something about what it means to be truly alive.
