| “ | A world heading towards death, and a world steeped in death. How canst thy life shine so brilliantly amidst it? Show me... thou blue knight filled to th'brim with death...! | „ |
| ~ Death |
Death, also known as The Pale Rider or The Pale Horseman, is the leader of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Death is also the child of Satan by way of Sin.
Overview[]
Riding upon her pale horse named Despair was the most famous of all the horsemen and the only one to be specifically named in scripture, Death, being given authority to kill men and animal alike the fearsome spirit was accompanied by Hell itself and was said to sweep across the land. She is the last of the four horsemen, for she brings the final stroke to the lives of those subjected to the other three.
Whenever Death passes through a town, the number of deadly diseases grows, there is an increase in the number of life-taking accidents, and a sense of looming despair follows her wherever she treads. Although she does not seek to increase her own power, just being in her presence drains even the greatest man of his strength and will to carry on.
Description[]
Unlike the other three, she is not described carrying a weapon or other object, instead she is followed by Hades (the resting place of the dead). However, illustrations commonly depict her carrying a scythe (like the Death), sword, or other implement.
This fourth, pale horse, was the personification of Death with Hades following him jaws open receiving the victims slain by Death. Its commission was to kill upon the Roman Earth with all of the four judgements of God—with sword, famine, pestilence and wild beasts. The deadly pale and livid appearance displays a hue symptomatic of approaching empire dissolution. According to Edward Bishop Elliott, an era in Roman history commencing within about 15 years after the death of Severus Alexander (in 235 AD) strongly marks every point of this terrible emblem.
Personality[]
Death is described as an arrogant, sarcastic, cold and calculating entity who is mainly focused at the task at hand. Death is also regarded as the most serious of the Horsemen, and seems to take charge the moment they are assembled. She stands apart from the others, with Conquest noting that Death "was never really one of those kinds" which indicates that Death has little to no care with how people view her.
She is typically extremely ruthless and fierce, and has stated that victory by any means is preferable to her than losing. Though she was called honorable once by Conquest, Death herself has indicated that she believes honor to be a fool's prize. Moreover, whereas War sees killing as an art, Death sees killing as her duty.
She speaks with a dangerous undertone, and is harsh and cold with words. As a result, everyone fears her. However, Death seems to have respect for those she deems as worthy warriors in a manner similar to War. Death holds the kingdom of man in moderately high regard, more to the point, she has an unspoken respect for mankind in general, shown while citing their underlying potential as she passed through their structures and works in the early 1700s.
Powers and Abilities[]
Death is undoubtedly the most powerful of the Four Horsemen, surpassing all of her siblings with only War being the second most powerful. It is said that despite the enormous power that the other three horsemen possess they still obey their oldest and first, that being Death herself. Being the horseman of death, she could take the lives of anyone that are near her and could also raise the dead to fight in her stead. Death, out of all the other horsemen, was the most difficult challenge for some of the combatants of the Dark Knight Initiative.
Befitting her status as Death, she wields an enormous scythe that also has the ability of shapeshifting as it can be split into two smaller scythes or a lance that bears two scythe-like blades from each end. The scythe is capable of severing the soul from the body with its potency being so great that it weakens the protection charm, bestowed by John Constantine, dramatically with only several strikes. Her fighting style tends more towards speed than power, as opposed to her brother War, being far more agile and efficient in her ways of killing and fighting. Death is such a powerful and proficiently skilled fighter that she was effortlessly capable of putting the combined might of the Sun Moth, Spawn, along with Klaus and Steven Starphase from Libra, on the constant defensive. Even Alucard struggled greatly against her with it being implied that his immortality would not be his saving grace the longer the fight drags on.
Due to her power over death, Death has demonstrated the power to summon and use the spirits of the dead. She cannot, however, restore the dead to genuine, independent life, and its only tempotary as any summoned spirit will fade. She was also capable of summoning ghoulish constructs at will, and could summon small armies worth of them. She could also summon bone storms similar to her wards but on a lesser scale. However, she only uses such abilities if she finds herself sufficiantly backed into a corner by her opponents which, in such instances, is some of a rarity further demonstrating her supreme power.
Quotes[]
| “ | When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come and see!” I looked and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine, and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth. | „ |
| ~ Revelation 6:7-8 |
| “ | One of the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse, he rides a pale horse and represents death. He has the power to destroy life. | „ |
| ~ The Demonic Compendium. |
| “ | So... a son of man hath called me from one underworld to another... I am the Pale Rider, one of the Four Horsemen. The end times approacheth... | „ |
| ~ Death. |
