Mort

Mort (short for Mortimer) is a scrawny, peasant boy from Ramtops on Discworld. He has red hair, freckles, and limbs that seem to contain extra joints. He is well meaning, but has no mind for agriculture. Learning to read seems to have overheated his brain, making him dangerous because he wants to understand the logic underlying the universe. On his uncle's advice, Mort's father, Lezek, takes him to a job fair where no one shows an interest. At midnight, Death rides up on a great white horse, having seen Mort playing in the fields and deciding he is to be his apprentice. Mort's father, who cannot see or understand Death properly, advises Mort to go along, perhaps marry his daughter, and inheriting his mortuary workshop. No one, including Death, can remember Mort's name, and he automatically provides it whenever they call him boy or lad. Eventually, his resentment...