Be aware that this trope is naturally prone to SPOILERS.
Times where someone takes up another's quest, mission or legacy after their death in Literature.
- In The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier and Clay, Joe Kavalier and Sam Clay are the creators of the Golden Age hero The Escapist, whose origin embraces this trope: escape artist Max Mayflower, aka Misterioso, was shot by a sniper while in the midst of performing an elaborate escape onstage. As he was led offstage by his assistants, Max convinced his nephew Tom to finish the act wearing Max's Misterioso costume. Tom, who before had been crippled, was able to perform the rest of the show flawlessly, as becoming Misterioso somehow restored his strength and cured his legs. Later, before dying of the gunshot, Max revealed to Tom that he worked for The League of the Golden Key, an organization that worked to liberate people who have been enslaved or wrongly imprisoned. His killer was a member of an international slave ring called the Iron Chain. With Max's death, Tom took his place in the League, forging the identity of the Escapist.
- In Animorphs, an injured Elfangor gives the kids the power to morph only minutes before Visser 3 eats him. It's made more literal since one of the kids, Tobias, is Elfangor's son, though he doesn't find that out until later. Elfangor realized it, though Tobias has his doubts.
- In The Book of the New Sun, in book IV the dying Autarch passes his throne and his memories to Severian. It shouldn't be a surprise since we were told it would happen at the start of book I, and the Autarch has known all along who his successor would be, but given the amount of obfuscation involved...
- In the beginning of Cyteen by C.J Cherryh, Ariane Emory dies. Before she died, she had been working on a project to clone herself, and the project is continued after she dies.
- In Dragon, Napper tags along when Vlad leaves the skirmish line to go after Fornia and is killed Deader than Dead by the enemy warlord's Morganti weapon. Although Vlad has no intention whatsoever of taking up Napper's profession, he does pick up the fallen soldier's dropped broadsword and attack Fornia with it.
- The Dresden Files: Knights of the Cross, each of whom weilding a Sword with a Nail from the Crucifixion of Jesus Christ in its hilt, know their Swords must go to the right person when they die or retire. If they can, they will select someone to be The Chooser of the One. The position of Knight of the Sword is also one which needs not be to their death. Some Knights will take up the Sword for one crucial mission and then return it.
- During Changes Karrin Murphy and Susan Rodriguez take up the Fidelacchius the Sword of Faith, and Amoracchius the Sword of Love, respectfully. They are both wary to take on the mantle, but the direness of the situation compels both to become Knights for this one job.
- In Skin Game, Butters takes up Fidelacchius after Karrin is injured. Word of God is that Butters will be a Knight until he dies.
- Fear Street Cheerleaders by R. L. Stine does this halfway through the first book, with the seeming protagonist boiled to death, but her sister continuing to fight the being that killed her.
- Green Rider: A fallen messenger gives a girl his magic brooch and Cool Horse so she can carry his message for him. Turns out that the brooch is magic and carries a Call with it.
- In Guardians of Ga'Hoole, Soren takes up the battle claws of Ezylryb after the old owl's death. He wears them during the final battle against Nyra's forces.
- Played With in a literal way in Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. When Harry goes off to let Voldemort kill him, he tells Neville Longbottom to make sure that Voldy's pet snake and Soul Jar Nagini is killed. After everyone observes Harry's (not quite) dead body, Neville pulls out the Sword of Gryffindor and decapitates Nagini, paving the way for Harry to come back and finish Voldy off.
- This is actually what John McCrae's poem In Flanders Fields is about (a dying soldier urges others to take up the fight), though most people only know the first verse, which is the bit about the poppies.
- Sam in The Lord of the Rings becomes the Ringbearer after Frodo seemingly dies. However, they later meet again, and Sam, so to say, "gives the sword back" to Frodo. Sam also takes Sting, Frodo´s actual sword, and this he keeps for the rest of the journey, only giving it back to Frodo after the war is over.
- Nibelungenlied: After Siegfried was murdered by Hagen, his widow Kriemhild wielded Siegfried's sword Balmung and killed Hagen with it.
- Throughout the Redwall series, various characters have gotten messages from Martin, either written down or in dreams, telling them to take up his sword and defend Redwall Abbey. Martin has been dead for a long time so he gives his "sword" (both literal and metaphorical) to several people over the generations. One of them was his own reincarnation.
- Sharpe: As mentioned in the Film section, Sharpe receives his dying captain's old cavalry troopers sword (bear in mind both are infantrymen and it is 35 inches long) in Sharpe's Rifles.
- The Wheel of Time:
- Faile promises this to Perrin- it's a Borderlander thing.
- Lan was given his father's sword while still in the cradle!
- Rand has a really weird form of it. The person encouraging him to take up his sword is Rand's past life.
- Those Who Walk In Darkness: Bullet O'Rourke is a Noble Bigot with a Badge who unintentionally sets in motion the story's conflict. Halfway through the sequel, What Fire Cannot Burn, she gets killed by a vigilante, and is replaced by her former sidekick Aoki, who wields her BFG.
- In Dan Abnett's Warhammer 40,000 novel Brothers of the Snake, several marines in Damocles die on different occasions. On the first, Priad is told that he must take up leadership and receives the claw which the leader of the squad always carries; on the second, the survivors seek new ones to take their place.
- In Graham McNeill's Warhammer 40,000 Ultramarines short story "Chains Of Command", Captain Idaeus hands his sword to Uriel before he makes his Heroic Sacrifice to bring down a bridge.
- Warrior Cats: this is what Tigerstar intends for Brambleclaw, Hawkfrost, Tawnypelt for a short time, Jayfeather for a short time, Lionblaze, and Tigerheart. He succeeds with one of them.
- In Dan Abnett's Xenos, Voke, who may be dying, asks Eisenhorn to sponsor a protegee of his, if necessary. Besides providing for the future, this is also a gesture of respect, because of their conflicts earlier in the novel and Voke's then expressed opinions of Eisenhorn's methods. (It turns out not to be necessary.)
