Azrael — Death
The Dying Raven
Four Horsemen AU (Hazbin Hotel)
“Lie if thou will. It shall not avail thee. For when I come, Death will have listened, and thy judgment shall be done.”
Here is Azrael! Our horsemen of Death... now she is not judgment nor an executioner. She is just the end.
Azrael is actually the archangel of death AND a horsemen of the apocalypse. She is the only horsemen to have two duties. The reason I chose to make them the same person was to exemplify Heaven’s very interesting hierarchy and politics. Which I will slightly dive into with this AU.
Now her job is to be the ferrymen, she is the one who takes you to purgatory and once divine judgment is made you are delivered you to heaven or hell. In purgatory though, she will met you and just talk. She never judges regardless of who you are or what you have done. Azrael is compassionate and spiritual.
To Azrael, death is not cruelty. It's beautiful, as it is the moment when sin and virtue, are stripped bare, and the soul is seen exactly as it is.
💀Appearance
Azrael is quite tall and willowy, standing at 9’8 feet. She is also the only horsemen with wings due to being an archangel.
Azrael has three sets of wings, two black raven wings and a set of golden wings. This is to show her level of power and the show she is still divine depsite the nature or her job.
Her face is reminiscent of a porcelain mask, emotionless and expressionless.
Elements of her robe and gown are designed to have water or wet elements to them. This is influenced by the fact that each horsmen also subtly represents an element, she is water.
Her main colour is deep bluish black with accents of gold and light blues.
Her halo is double gold circlets with jewels. Her more extravagant halo is a symbol of her age and power.
Hands are skeletal, and the only characer with five fingers. Paying homage to the grim reaper imagery and the fact she carries human souls in her hands.
She has golden eyes with no iris like the Speaker of God. When angered or emotional her iris does appear.
ANd just a little height comparison ahahah I made this while I was designing Azrael so her designed has changed a little bit since and I don’t feel like updating it ahah (IGNORE THE NAME RAZIEL THIS IS MEANT TO BE BELLUM AKA WAR)
Serox is tiny lol
🧠 Personality
Azrael is the quietest of the Four Horsemen... and yet she is the most feared. Being the only being who cannot be conquered through the one thing that every living thing has to experience... death.
She is very compassionate and spiritual. As per her archangel job, I would decribe the way she talks to humans like a wise cab driver at midnight that you weren't entirely sure if that was god you just spoke with and not some old guy in his 50s. Azrael likes teaching humans, and helping them understand the complex emotions tied to death and loss.
In heaven she speaks rarely, and when she does... well she does not have a lot of patience for angels. Generally she does not tolerate theatrics, lies, belitting or false righteousness. Trust she will put you in your place if you overstep
She does not punish thooughit is beneath her, however she will threaten and correct you. And she can get angry, you just have to know what buttons to push.
Don't underestimate her though, this version of Azrael is the same one who smited the first borns of Egypt. She is very much capable of killing and doing as much harm as her fellow horsemen, she just chooses to be nice.
📚 Name origin
The name Azrael is directly from Islamic, Jewish lore & text and some New Age traditions on the Angel of Death.
⚖️ What's her role and influence?
Within the Four:
Azrael (Death) is their "leader", even more so the final authority. She is the oldests and rarely speaks, but none of them ever cross her. She is the ferrymen of the dead and uses reapers to collect the dead and bring them to purgatory.
Azrael is in charge of them, and thus she is the one holding their leashes. She is not a very proactive leader, however after eons together and being at the end of heavens mockery the other three horsemen are endlessly loyal to her. They would defend her and she would do anything for them. Anything.
Her main domain of existence is Purgatory, she does not like going to Heaven unless the other horsemen are there and she never visits hell unless its extermination day.
In Purgatory when she talks with souls she documents that souls virtues and sins, writing details about their life and what will be the factor that sends them to heaven and hell. She is unbiased. These documents once filed, are sent to either heaven or hell once said sou has been judged.
(This passage is repeated in every post about the horsemen if you have read it on the others just skip!)
The Horsemen actually almost never work together.
When they do, it causes events on the scale of the Plagues of Egypt sooo mass suffering, collapse, and irreversible damage. Historically, Heaven avoids letting them act as a unit for that reason.
Most of the time, the Horsemen are on Earth, working individually. They influence humans, decisions, systems, and events. One Horseman is manageable when they work independently, four at the same time on the same project…yeah no.
However they do return to Heaven occasionally, mainly to rest, to see their siblings, and to be reunited with their horses. Those moments are rare and tightly controlled.
🔥 Connection to Hazbin Hotel Universe
In this AU, Sera calls all four back to Heaven at once. Not to unleash them but to deliberate.
They are among the most powerful beings Heaven has, capable of creating disasters on a mass scale. Sera’s plan is to use that power to devastate Hell before the war escalates further.
And the problem isn’t whether the Horsemen can do it. It’s whether bringing them together at all is already a mistake.
Azrael is the least interested in this war.
Extermination to her has been inefficient. Sinners die a final death and she then ferries them to the inferno for eternal punishment or to Paradiso as a reward. Nothing comes to fruition from the exterminatin except more work for her.
What unsettles Heaven is not just her power, but her allegiance. Azrael does not take sides in the war. And this terrified the likes of Sera and other angels. For if death is not on their side... what does that mean for them?
🗣️ Voice & Vibe
Azrael speaks with a very soft, airy, ancient voice. Often sounding like a biblical scripture. Her words are never wasted. She does not raise her voice. She does not need to. Her mere presence commands but unlike the speaker of god who is warmth and light... Azrael often instigates an old instinct … like a primal fear of a predator watching their prey. She makes a chill go down your spine.
There is a scene from the one of the things i've written for this AU where Adam is discrediting Charlie and belittling her ideas of redemption, Azrael butts in and says:
“If even the holy may fall, who is he that judgeth the sinner unfit to rise, oh great first man.”
She references the fact that Lucifer fell and if he can why can a sinner not rise? It's a point I've wanted forever for the show to point out !! Maybe this is importanttt
🐎 Stillwater - Azrael's Unicorn!!
This is Stillwater, Azrael's mount! He is a Unicorn that is inspired after ancient unicorns and kelpies rather than modern depictions. His body is tall with pronged, almost cloven hooves adapted for wet ground and riverbeds. His horn is twisted and uneven, spiralling forward.
His coat is mottled in sickly blues and green-greys, the color of a corpse suspended too long in cold water. The fur clumps slightly along his legs and underside, as though perpetually damp. Moss, algae, and small lily pads cling to his flanks, mane, and tail. He smells faintly of stagnant water.
He is very patient and quiet horse, and Azrael actaully very rarely rides him often instead letting the souls she ferries to purgatory ride him. He's a good boy.
I often listened to billie eillish songs when drawing or writing her character, her voice being so airy and etheral suited Azrael to me. Bury a friend is like scary Azrael and what was i made for... sad azrael :(
MASTERPOST
FAMINE - MOROS
DEATH - AZRAEL (YOU ARE HERE)
PESTILENCE - SEROX
WAR - BELLUM