Reapers

The sword and shield of the Fate God that they serve, the Reaper is the self-appointed protector of Genesis and its people.
Not truly a race so much as a long line of individuals fulfilling the role of Fate's servant, Reapers are still biologically distinct enough from the humans they spring from that they merit proper definition. They begin life like any other mortal, but being born into one of seven ancient bloodlines means that they have the capacity to be chosen as the next Reaper when their predecessor dies or otherwise gives up their role; once taking up the mantle of Reaper, they're changed on a fundamental level to better fulfil their duties.

Typical Physical Characteristics

Reapers start out as human, and as a result can span the full range of human ethnicity; their ancient bloodlines originate all over the world, and there's been plenty of movement and spread in the millennia since. They're typically in good shape and athletic due to the demanding nature of their work, but can range from robust and strong to slender and diminutive depending on the individual. Though their natural eye color varies widely, when acting as Reaper or using their natural ability to see fate it changes to a distinctive black-ringed gold that's faintly luminous and resembles the eye of a bird of prey. These eyes are extremely striking and are considered the single most iconic identifying feature of a Reaper aside from the distinctive pendant that's a symbol of their mantle.
Reapers' appearances follow some basic conventions but are unique to each individual. Notably, each Reaper displays certain aspects of the animalistic spirit they bond with as part of the Hidewalker's Gift (described below aspects are unique depending on the nature of the spirit, so a wolf-bonded Reaper may exhibit sharpened nails and teeth and coarse, furlike hair while a crow-bonded Reaper may exhibit wings and feathers intermingled in their hair. These traits can range from subtle to overt, and can generally be exaggerated or suppressed at will though rarely fully eliminated.
By design, Reapers are profoundly magical due to the influence of the Hidewalker on their underlying bloodlines. Even human members of these lineages have a greatly increased capacity for natural magic, while those who act as the Reaper are further strengthened by their direct connection to Fate's power.

Innate Abilities

Once called to serve Fate and taking up their mantle, a Reaper gains a number of powerful abilities in order to help them carry out their duties. On the most basic level they gain the ability to 'see' or sense the flow of fate, helping them seek out the fate-dead whose destruction is their main purpose. Their strength and reflexes are enhanced, and they benefit from a sort of inherited muscle memory from their predecessors that greatly improves their skill when fighting with the Red Blade; the Red Blade is the ancestral weapon of the Reaper, a red-tinged dagger with the unique ability to send a soul directly to the afterlife. Reapers also gain powerful fasthealing, with most injuries closing in a matter of minutes.
On the more potent end, Reapers have a number of skills that stem directly from the gods that they serve. They can travel through the shadows and in and out of the Worldshadow itself with no restriction. After communing with the Hidewalker and receiving his approval they gain the ability to take on a powerful animalistic form referred to as the Hidewalker's Gift. And finally and most crucially, they are able to directly call on Fate's divine power in order to supplement their own strength; this ability to channel the power of a god directly can be absolutely devastating, but takes a heavy toll on the Reaper's physical body and is only used in the most dire circumstances or at the god's direct command.

Life Cycle

A Reaper's life cycle is hard to define, since most of the bloodlines spend their lives as nothing more than slightly more long-lived humans. However, if called into service a Reaper's longevity is drastically affected. They will continue to mature as normal until reaching their prime and then age very slowly, remaining very physically fit and strong long beyond the point where a human becomes elderly. A Reaper has the capacity to live 200 years or more, though most die violently long before this point at the hands of Seraphs or the myriad other dangers they face.
Reapers are sterile once awakened, and produce no children after this point. Some have children while still human, since the average age of a Reaper taking up the mantle is 20-30; after this point, however, their lives belong fully to the god and they'll typically part ways from any existing family in order to help keep said family safe.

Reputation

Within Genesis and the magical communities of the Old World, the Reaper is a figure of mixed awe and fear. They hold great respect as the direct representative as the leader of the Great Gods, and hold a status equivalent to or slightly exceeding royalty; they're also seen as the protector of Genesis and its people, both from external threats and the natural disaster of the fate-dead, for which most are profoundly grateful. A Reaper is unmistakable in their traditional black-and-red garb, and most treat them as a combination of religious figure and celebrity.
However, there is the inescapable fact that the Reaper's primary business is death. The fate-dead can be anyone, occurring through an inexplicable process that has very little regard for a person's demeanor, age, or general innocence; worse still, those who are fate-dead often have no idea that they've come out the victor in a vicious struggle to cheat their own fate. As a result the Reaper's appearance in a community can be a source of dread. Nobody knows who they've come for, and the fact that they come for beloved friends and family as often as they do for outlaws or villains is a potent reminder that Fate is not always kind. The grim reality of what they do means that Reapers are always one step removed from a population that can't help but feel an instinctual fear in their presence.

Societal Structure

Reapers have no real societal structure due to being a hereditary, solitary position. The closest they get to community is in case of one Reaper training a future predecessor; this practice has largely fallen by the wayside since the Shattering, since the division of the world has indirectly led to Reapers living shorter lives with more unexpected, violent ends. It's become rare that they have a chance to pass on their mantle before their death.
Even within society as a whole, it's more often for the Reaper to come and go rather than be a part of any larger community. Some are more social than others, but at the end of the day it's a protective measure for those around them that they never get too close. They have no family, few close friends, and little in the way of any real places that they call home.

Social Norms and Values

For more specific racial customs, see Reaper Customs.
TRADITION AND CEREMONY
Though they all approach their duties in slightly different ways, being the servant of a god means that the Reaper is highly tied to a great deal of ritual behavior. They have a number of specific ceremonies that they're in charge of carrying out, as well as highly specific procedures they have to follow in dealing with the fate-dead and other restless souls. For most Reapers, who often struggle to some degree with the nature of their role and have no others who truly understand what it is to be what they are, ceremony can be a source of comfort that reminds them that they're not the first to walk that particular dark and lonely road.
LOVE, SEX, AND MARRIAGE
Reapers consider a family a luxury they can't afford; for their own sake, but more importantly for the sake of the family who'd be far more vulnerable than the Reaper themself. As a result they don't have spouses or children, and tend to sever ties with any they might have had before taking up their mantle.
While a Reaper will sometimes have a lover or casual sexual partner, it's commonly a onetime thing or sporadic on-again, off-again sort of relationship; their duties take them across the length and breadth of the world constantly, and between that and the dangers of emotional attachment it's simply neither easy or practical to have a longterm relationship. The simple fact of being the Reaper can also be factor that makes a romance difficult. While many people find the power and celebrity of the Reaper enticing in a dangerous sort of way, that persistent underlying fear that many feel around Fate's servant is hard to overcome.
CRIME AND PUNISHMENT
As Fate's servant, the Reaper is considered above mortal law and answers only to their god. While a matter of respect to the divine, this is also a matter of practicality; gods help those who'd try to stand in a Reaper's way. Thankfully, it's rarely an issue. In addition to the fact that they're typically solitary, Reapers have little inclination or motivation to break mortal laws outside of the grim necessity of their duties.
When a Reaper does kill, it's understood that it's a necessary thing; Reapers kill the fate-dead, who pose enough of a threat to those around them that their death is in the best interests of the community. Outside of this, they may sporadically involve themselves in mortal affairs for the sake of righting perceived wrongs, but this sort of involvement often takes the form of hunting down lawbreakers or defending those in danger; they typically act without any sort of malice or premeditated ill intent, meaning that even when it involves breaking laws most are willing to look the other way.
DEATH
Reapers are heavily involved with death for obvious reasons, and have more reason than most to believe that the dead find peace. Many struggle with the morality of killing in their early years as Reaper, but eventually come to accept that they act with as much kindness and mercy as they can while carrying out a necessary task that saves more lives than it takes. Over time they come to accept both the inevitability and mercy of death, understanding that many of those who they kill would be devastated to know that they bring ruin to all around them. Reapers are strictly utilitarianism in their beliefs, and believe that it's their duty to bloody their own hands in order to preserve both the innocence of those they kill and the lives of all around them.
In spite of their close relationship with the Cycle God and his servants, Reapers know nothing more about the realities of what comes after death than any other mortal. The only thing that they know is that whatever awaits isn't for them; Reapers burn out in their final moments of life, destroying their soul completely and leaving nothing to linger as a ghost or travel onwards to the afterlife. It's just another price they pay in service to Fate, and most are at peace with it.

Lineage

Reapers aren't truly a race, but rather a line; one mantle, passed unbroken from individual to individual since the role of Fate's servant was first created in the distant past. For a full list of Reapers in order of their reign, see here.

Relevant Articles

PEOPLE
Artemis Hunter
Kenneth Hunter
Wynn Khajib

LOCATIONS
The Worldshadow

OTHER
Alarand
Lore
Siarus
The Skinwalker
The Fate-Dead
Seraphs