Mortis

He arrived last among the Shapers, and he arrived quietly. No storm announced

him. No light heralded his coming. Mortis simply appeared at the edge of the

world and waited. The others understood immediately. Without him, nothing Vita

created could change. Without him, the old would never make way for the new.

Without him, the world would fill and fill and fill until it collapsed beneath

its own abundance. Mortis is not cruel. He does not enjoy his work. He is

simply necessary — the period at the end of every sentence, the silence after

the last note, the sleep that follows the longest day. Those who fear him

misunderstand his purpose. He does not take life. He completes it. Every

ending he grants is a door through which something new can enter. The world

turns because Mortis allows it to. Without death, there is no room for life.