The High House Death is a Realm and House of the Deck of Dragons in Steven Erikson's fantasy series Malazan Book of the Fallen.
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The god of Death, Hood, was once a Jaghut (King of the Ice Hold) before ascending to rule the Realm of Death. Though generally distant from the lives (and deaths) of humans, Hood will sometimes send an emissary to collect a particularly noteworthy soul, and in extremely rare instances greet or collect the soul himself (like Toc the Younger and Beak). Hood is an opponent of The Crippled God.
On occasion, rare souls have escaped Hood's reach. Among them are the souls collected by Karsa Orlong (and his companions Bairoth Gild and Delum Thord, now existing within his flint sword) and the twelve souls residing in the body of Quick Ben along with all those in the continent of Lether as effect of the Omtose Phellack ritual of the Jaghut Gothos.
In Toll the Hounds Hood finished in Dragnipur and could thus summon the army of the death inside the sword to fight Chaos
As of Toll the Hounds, the Queen of High House Death is unidentified.
Formerly Dassem Ultor, First Sword of the Empire and Supreme Commander of the Malazan forces. Hood made Dassem his Knight of Death. Ultor was broken by Hood’s taking of his daughter at the time of the most recent Chaining of The Crippled God. Ultor recovered his daughter and took her to Tremorlor. What Hood did to her is a matter of speculation, but she was only clothed in underdressings and her armor was gone, leaving vicious wounds showing on her slender body. Dassem renounced the title, swearing a vow of vengeance against the Lord of Death himself. He was purportedly killed at the siege of Y'Ghatan by Surly, leader of the Claw (later Empress Laseen), but survived and became Dessembrae, Lord of Tears. He is still alive under the name Traveller, the defender of Drift Avalii with the sword named Vengeance otherwise known as Grief.
Currently, Baudin - first seen in Deadhouse Gates, where he is charged with the protection of Captain Ganoes Paran's and Adjunct Tavore Paran's sister Felisin by the latter. He is well qualified, for his father was a Talon, originally created by Dancer, the current Patron of Assassins.
Baudin is now the Knight of Death with two swords permanently placed in his hands. He is seen in this role in Memories of Ice, on the continent Genabackis. Baudin is actually dead, and in this role unable to sleep or release his swords, one of which is bent after hitting a stone pillar during combat.
For unknown reasons, in Toll the Hounds Baudin switched places with the Seguleh Second, becoming the Soldier.
As of Reaper's Gale, the Magi of High House Death is unidentified. However, the Magi was at some point Talamandas, the sticksnare, seen during Memories of Ice.
Once the Jaghut Gethol, but since moved to the position of Herald of High House Chains. As of Toll the Hounds, the position of Herald of High House Death is held by Toc the Younger.
The Soldier is the Seguleh Second, a tall horseback rider wearing black, ornate armor, a dented helm, open-faced to reveal mostly bone, a few strips of flesh hanging from the cheek ridges, tendons binding the lower jaw, and blackened filed teeth. He bears swords at his back, throwing axes, a long bow, a short bow, and a knife-studded belt, from which hangs a cracked, smudged enamel mask, with a single streak of red paint along one cheek. He rides a dark grey undead horse with the hide worn away in places, exposing tendons, muscles, and ligaments. The Soldier of Death is currently hunting Skinner, an Avowed of the Crimson Guard.
For unknown reasons, in Toll the Hounds the Seguleh Second switched position with Baudin, becoming the Knight.
As of Toll the Hounds, the Spinner of High House Death is unidentified.
The builder of barrows, a promise of death not to one or a few but to many. The role had been assumed by Whiskeyjack who’d previously been a carpenter, but became a soldier. Korlat describes him as having the hands of a mason, strengthening the reference to his being the Mason of High House Death.
In Toll the Hounds, the role of Mason was briefly filled by Thordy.
"The blood on her hands is not her own, the crime not its own. The cloth against her eyes is wet." This is a description of Sorry/Apsalar who was possessed by Cotillion and committed murder in her body.
Sorry was a young girl, living with her father in the region of Itko Kan on the continent of Quon Tali, who was possessed by Cotillion while walking home from the market in the company of a seer. Upon being possessed, she went to a recruitment station to join the Malazan Imperial Army. She was assigned to the Bridgeburners under the command of Whiskeyjack. She was an outcast in her squad, with her squadmates keeping distance from her cold-heartedness. She killed Oponn's soldier, Captain Paran, with two knives to the back, and in Darujhistan, was involved in a prey/predator relationship with Crokus. Outside Darujhistan, she was freed from possession at the command of Anomander Rake to Cotillion.
Upon being freed, Sorry, who'd changed her name to Apsalar, presumably no longer occupied the position of Virgin of High House Death. It is possible that the position was taken by Dunsparrow, Whiskeyjack's younger sister, a Malazan officer who became the lover of Leoman of the Flails.
As of Dust of Dreams the position of Virgin of High House Death is known to be taken by Sinn.
The Realm of Death has not appeared in the series, but Erikson has revealed that the contents are a bloody wasteland.[1] The gate to the realm takes different forms depending on the individual approaching it. For one individual it appeared as an archway made of glowing silver, for another, an archway of naked human figures, stained black with peat, who moan and squirm endlessly. The appearance may be influenced by the culture of the beholder, as a Rhivi described the gate to Ganoes Paran as the 'Arching Trees' of Death.
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