In THE LAST GHOST, the Death that comes to end a person's life depends on the nature of the cause of death. There are 16 deaths, called Fatalities, in the book. Over the next 16 days, we will meet one Fatality each day, and discuss which heartbreaking fictional character death belongs with each character.
Meet the Ninth Fatality, War, Commonly Referred to as Bellem
"Although they typically stayed human sized for convenience, the Fatalities were any size that they wished, death’s shadow could be massive enough to destroy an entire city at one time, or small enough to squeeze through the smallest crack in an impenetrable fortress. Deaths’ ability to reach their cases is the strongest magic in the world. Space and time were not boundaries for Fatalities, they had only one real rule…"--The Last Ghost
Bellem is also an expected death. According to the ICD-10, Operations of War, relates to the circumstances of the injury, not the nature of the injury, and is an external cause of morbidity.
War also is one of the more common causes of death—and is probably the most common death for minor characters. Main characters usually make it through okay, with some notable exceptions.
*SPOILER ALERT*
For instance, Theoden in The Lord of the Rings. His death is so heartbreaking because he had finally thrown off Saruman, and Wormtongue, and was back to being a good and fierce king for Rohan.
Tragically, he dies at the Battle of Pelennor Fields, where he slew the Black serpent. He is avenged by Eowyn, but it is still very sad.
"Out of doubt, out of dark, to the day's rising
he rode singing in the sun, sword unsheathing.
Hope he rekindled, and in hope ended;
over death, over dread, over doom lifted
out of loss, out of life, unto long glory."-The Return of the King, Tolkein
As you may be deciding now, it can be tricking to decide what death gets what fatality. For instance, in Gone With the Wind, did Charles Hamilton die of War because he was at the front for the Civil War, or did he die of sudden sickness because he cause of death was pneumonia?
What other characters do you think would have received Bellem? What heartbreaking deaths are you still not over?