Reaper

"A big job can't be done alone."

- Death.

The Reapers, also known as Grim Reapers, are the creations and servants of Death and the counterpart of the Gifters.

Overview
The Reapers assist in maintaining the Natural Order and are completely neutral, aligned with neither Heaven nor Hell. Reapers are required for death to occur, they wait until a person meets the end of his or her life (either through accident, or simply the natural end point of that person's life) and then touch the person causing them to die. All Reapers serves Death no matter what but some may also serve Chthonic Gods, like Hades or Pluto, due to their connection with the concept of death.

Reapers are seen as a collectors of souls, the messengers of the dead, and most important of all the guides that come to all mortals. It is not the Reaper's place to judge souls, nor is it the entity's role to aid or hinder mortal affairs. Put simply the Reaper's task is to appear to the dying and guide them to their final destination where they would be judged accordingly by higher powers. Reapers also generally appear when Death has other matters to attend, most notably ones that concern the balance of the Natural Order as a whole and thus requires his full attention.

Reapers are also impartial in other ways, and rarely interfere in any manner other than performing their duties, and although they have the power to, they do not kill people before their time. However, there is one possible account of a Reaper ignoring the Natural Order, when that one Reaper who had been bound was freed, he quickly turned on and killed the person who bound him. This is the only known occasion of any Reaper ever being the cause of a person's death. As the person in question had forced the Reaper to go against the natural order by taking those in the place of others whose times were up, this can be an exception.

Description
It is unknown exactly how they came into existence although it is believed that they were created by Death. However, Death never confirmed nor denied this fact but all he did confirm is that Reapers follow his rules and they are the ones that are summoned by him. Reapers appear to serve as heralds of Death, for when one is on the verge of dying or is currently dying, a Reaper appears before them and awaits the arrival of their Master. Reapers can also collect souls without the need to wait for Death but this only occurs when Death gives them him approval to do so.

Reapers dwell within Death's domain which is simply referred to as the Realm of Death, or the "The Light at the End of the Tunnel", and aid in the maintenance of his abode much like how God's servants tend to the maintaining of the Abrahamic Heavens. While they are regarded as servants of Death, they can also be Death himself. This is a concept that is not fully explored since it is quite metaphysical, but according to Death, he states, "I am there for everyone. Just as my Reapers are there for you, so too am I. Because I'm also the Reapers you see."

Although the Reapers normally come to those already dying it has been noted that on rare occasions Reapers have the power to kill someone, though the entities rarely (if ever) do this out of malice. Due to the Reapers appearing in a vaguely human form there are many tales in which these beings can be tricked or bribed into freeing a person (which is where the phrase "cheating death" likely came from). For the most part, however, Reapers were seen as unable to be reasoned with and an inevitable part of being human.

Personalities
Reapers are completely neutral beings, not caring for deals, fate or even each other at times, all they care about is maintaining the "Natural Order" of life and death. Although sometimes uncaring, Reapers generally sympathize with their victims, but refuse to make allowances, regardless of who or why.

Reaper Sub-Species

 * Grim Reapers - Lowest tier of reapers, mainly deals with reaping souls of the recently deceased.
 * Archreapers - Highest tier of reapers, mainly deals with countering world-wiping threats that may affect the natural order.
 * Shinigami - Japanese reapers that mainly deals with destroying corrupted souls as well with reaping souls.
 * Reaper Creatures - Reaper in the forms of natural and supernatural creatures, e.g. a lion or a mermaid, gaining their powers and traits.

Notable Reapers

 * La Calavera Catrina
 * Shinigami
 * Departure
 * Horsemen of the Apocalypse
 * Death - Pale Rider
 * War - Red Rider
 * Famine - Black Rider
 * Conquest - White Rider
 * Pestilence
 * Other Horsemen of the Apocalypse
 * Santa Muerte
 * Ankou
 * Thanatos
 * Mors
 * The Brothers Death
 * The All-Death
 * The Great Death
 * The Small Death
 * Death
 * Bonesworth
 * Grim

Quotes

 * "Reapers aren't Death. Well, not exactly. They're more like servants of Death. They're the flock of ravens that follow the Grim Reaper everywhere like in those newspaper comics. They're his messengers. His heralds. When one is nearby it means he's well on his way, too. There's no use in tryin' to outrun 'em or bargain with 'em. Once they've got ya it's all over. And if I'm bein' honest, I'd rather be around their boss. Bloody bastards creep me out." - John Constantine.


 * "Don't ever associated our great lord Azrael with those nasty, low-life soul-snatching crows ever again, lest you want me to put a pickaxe through your teeth." - An angel.


 * "Well, look on the bright side. At least you haven't been enslaved by some bloody idiot and a blond-haired spawn of Satan... yet." - Diana Black.

Trivia

 * Reapers are not the same as Psychopomps though they are allies with them.
 * This is the same with Reapers and Angels of Death though they are more similar due to both having personal connection with Death and possessing a job in reaping the dead.
 * It is believed that Il Separatio is also a reaper but this is currently being disputed.

Image Sources

 * (Servant of Arioch.jpg) Servant of Arioch by Andrea Christen
 * (Reaper.png) Reaper by ???
 * (Menacing Reaper.jpg) Creepy Reaper by ???
 * (Don't fear the reaper.jpg) Grim Reaper from Darkish Gallery of Gramho
 * (Grim reaper mermaid by irenhorrors dejve85-fullview.jpg) Grim Reaper Mermaid by IrenHorrors
 * (Halloween 2016 scarecrow reaper by darthguyford damhx45-fullview.jpg) Halloween 2016 - Scarecrow Reaper byDarthGuyford