Mort

Mort, short for Mortimer, is the overly-thoughtful son of a farmer in the Octarine Grass Country, near the Ramtops.

Having proved himself unworthy as a scarecrow and being the last person left at the Sheepridge hiring fair, Mort was chosen, during the magically lengenthed remaining seconds before midnight, by Death to as his apprentice.

Mort is described as being very tall and skinny, with muscles like knots in string. He has a shock of bright red hair, and looks as if he is made entirely of knees. Mort started off at the bottom, as Death apprentice, learning to accept his position while mucking out the stables, and trying to ignore Ysabell, Death's adopted daughter.

When Death felt in need of a break, Mort took over The Duty. Unfortunately for Mort, his feelings for a teenage princess got in the way of his job and he started off a chain reaction of events. Reluctant to tell his master he tried various methods to fix the situation, including the appointment of a wizard to help people recognise the queen - who had been fading out from most people's reality.

After fighting and losing to Death, Mort was given another go at life when the Death turned over his Lifetimer. This allowed him to stay in the world of the living, but with one inevitable consequence: he would die when the number of years from that point onwards equalled the number of years that he had already lived.

Mort left Death's service and married Ysabell. The couple were given the title of Duke and Duchess of Sto Helit, and later became the parents of Susan Sto Helit. Mort, along with Ysabell, met his end after a freak accident sends his carriage plunging into a ravine.