Our Reapers Are Different

In Greek mythology, Charon escorted the dead across the River Styx to the Underworld. In Ancient Egyptian culture, Anubis weighed the soul against the feather of truth to help mortals into their next step. In European cultures, the Grim Reaper takes souls and escorts them into the next plane of existence. Death looms at the end of a lifespan, but a soul cannot go on alone. Therefore, it is on the psychopomp to escort them safely into the unknown.

A psychopomp is a guardian and can take many forms depending on where they reside. All psychopomps have mild shapeshifting abilities, but most prefer to stay in one form. Different types of humans are the most common types of psychopomps, but others prefer to take the form of animals such as birds, dogs, or horses.

Psychopomps are immortal and exist alongside humans, most choosing to live as one. It is not the blood that makes a psychopomp, but typically an object such as a piece of jewelry. This allows the psychopomp to see lost souls and keeps them in a sort of stasis, keeping their immortality- Kind of like a lich, but not really. Stealing a psychopomp's tether usually comes with grave consequences.

For as long as humans have existed, living and dying, psychopomps have been present. They are not typically born nor created, and it is not uncommon to see a psychopomp living in the modern day that has been alive since the birth of humanity. However, it is possible for a psychopomp to be created. It is not impossible for a psychopomp to bear young, and most psychopomps pass their title onto one of their offspring. Other psychopomps pass their titles onto the dying, those that they believe deserve a second chance. When this happens, the psychopomp gives the mortal their tether to immortality, living the rest of their own life as a mortal while the new psychopomp takes their place.

There is very little competition between psychopomps, yet most prefer not to interact with each other. As such, it is most common for there to be only one in a given city or town. However, this rule is not a hard and fast one, and it is not unheard of for two or more psychopomps to work together and watch over a town.

Psychopomps are not allowed to interfere with the doings of mortals. While they may interact with them and fall in love, their code says that they are not allowed to do anything that would cause or prevent death. What happens must happen, whether they want it to or not.