Fate

From Discworld & Terry Pratchett Wiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

One of the more powerful gods on Discworld, although he may also be classified as an anthropomorphic personification. He plays games with the other gods, and very often wins. Just about the only god who can beat him at a game is the Lady, and so the two are bitter rivals. Like all true good sportsmen, however, Fate and the Lady are always very polite when they play against one another. That does not imply that either of them plays fair. Cheating is acceptable and customary in the games of the gods, and Fate appears to cheat very often. One time, he went as far as going to Death and demanding of him to be sure that Rincewind (favorite playing piece of the Lady's) is dead.

In appearance, Fate looks like a middle-aged man with graying black hair and eyes black from edge to edge, with some tiny bright dots; these eyes of his might be a window to the endless space and the stars contained therein, or it may be something else altogether.

It is said that you cannot cheat Fate, although Cohen has done so, and it could be argued that Rincewind has done the same. If you do cheat Fate, it is not said anywhere that Fate's subsequent opinion actually matters.

There is apparently a temple to Fate in Ankh-Morpork where his worshippers as described as grey faced men meeting for pre-ordained rites.