Waasigan

A powerful Reaper about whom relatively little is known, Waasigan's reign is remembered through myth and legend as much as it is through written record. His greatest legacy is the stormcrow race of Genesis, descendants of his marriage with a human woman.

Personality

The few firsthand accounts of Waasigan are primarily elven, and describe the Reaper as a charismatic person whose sincerity and strength of character drew others to him. He was said to be open and approachable on an individual level, but filled with enough devotion in his service to Fate that he often felt a step removed from those around him at all times even when not intending to. He's vividly described as a Reaper who truly reminded others of what that title meant: the mortal representative of a god, human and other, a source of wonder touched with fear.
While myth-accounts of him among stormcrows, shapeshifters, and the Anishinaabe people of his homelands echo this same sense of reverence, they also suggest that Waasigan had more of a human presence beyond his role as Reaper. Stories of his love and marriage speak of him being a known figure in an everyday sense, and generally being far more involved in the mortal world that many other Reapers.

Abilities

As a Reaper, Waasigan had the ability to see the flow of fate, a powerful link to his god, an instinctual proficiency for weapons, fasthealing, and more. His associated eagle spirit meant that he had large, powerful wings which he was rarely seen without, granting him the ability to fly for long distances with relative ease. Legends about Waasigan also mention that he frequently shapeshifted into a huge black eagle, though it's not clear whether this was using the Reaper's traditional Hidewalker's Gift or whether it was using his own magic; it's thought that the amount of time he's reported to have spent in this other form must have been greatly exaggerated if the former, due to the heavy toll that overuse of the Gift takes on a Reaper's stability and sanity.
Waasigan was already becoming a powerful mage in his own right by the time he became the Reaper, and he continued to hone these abilities over the course of his life. He had a strong affinity for Casting and Calling that he used in the form of weather magic, and was able to raise storms out of a clear blue sky and manifested lightning that became tinged with the distinct gold of Fate's power.

Backstory

Waasigan was born and raised somewhere in the Great Lakes region of North America as a member of the Ojibwe Bear Clan. From an early age he's said to have loved storms and the associated legends of the animkiig or thunderbirds, resulting in his given name's rough translation of 'lightning'; it's speculated that this ongoing fascination may have helped result in his own later Reaper spirit taking the form of an eagle or great bird. It also influenced his magic, which manifested at an early age and set him on a path to becoming a powerful mage.
His particular tribe had a good relationship with the area's shapeshifter population, and it's generally thought that he learned more about the gods of Genesis than he might have otherwise as a result; as a whole, he's said to have had a great respect for the myths and worship practices of both his own people and those of the shapeshifters. In turn, this likely helped smooth the transition when he was chosen as Fate's servant as a young man and took up the mantle of Reaper as he didn't necessarily see the gods of Genesis as distinct from so much as another expression of his own people's beliefs.
Though it's known that Waasigan was a powerful and effective Reaper, little of the details of his reign are known. General recollections tell of him being a familiar figure among the communities of his homelands, but he seems to have travelled elsewhere only in service of Fate and visited the historical strongholds and elven courts of Genesis only in passing. When it came to his personal life, he seems to have stayed mostly in the confines of the North American continent and many details have been lost as a result.
The best-known parts of Waasigan's life concern his courtship and marriage to an Ojibwe woman called Miigwanikwe. According to legend, while flying across the land in eagle form Waasigan saw a beautiful woman sleeping in a clearing in the forests below. He was so struck by her loveliness that he landed near her, meaning to transform before she awoke so as not to frighten her; Miigwanikwe, however, was woken by the sound of his wings and though she was surprised didn't show any fear at the sight of the great bird. Intrigued by both her courage and beauty, Waasigan left without revealing himself to be the Reaper and made note of the village she returned to. He later traveled there in human form, still not making his true nature known, and introduced himself to her as though they'd never met.
Miigwanikwe quickly fell in love with the handsome man, and Waasigan courted her as a human; at the same time, he would often appear to her as the black eagle, and Miiganikwe came to consider the great bird a familiar and welcomed sight. After many months, Waasigan asked her to travel alone to the clearing where he'd first seen her and wait for him there. He finally revealed himself as the Reaper, both eagle and man in one, and asked for her hand in marriage because she was someone who unreservedly loved both sides of him. Miiganikwe agreed, and in spite of the unspoken tradition against the Reaper having a family the two were wed and lived happily together.
Though it's not entirely clear how it happened considering the fact that the Reaper is typically sterile, Waasigan and Miiganikwe had four children together; two sons and two daughters. According to legend, their sons were born in the form of eagles like their father, and their daughters were born human like their mother. As they grew, their children were dissatisfied with the differences between them. The boys wanted to experience the lives that a human could lead and an eagle could not, and worried that they would never find wives of their own. The girls, human-formed, envied the wings of their father and brothers and wanted that same gift of flight.
Supposedly it was Miiganikwe, a powerful mage in her own right, who made a solution. She collected Waasigan's fallen feathers that he shed when he transformed between bird and man and wove them into cloaks full of magic, and gave them to their daughters so that they too could change into great birds. Then she plucked the feathers from her sons and wove those into cloaks as well; when stripped of their feathers, her sons became human and had the great gift of the feather cloak to share with the women they chose as wives.
While Waasigan's bloodline apparently bred true and resulted in the current-day race known as the stormcrows, the rest of his life fades into legend and little more details are known. He continued to be a mighty protector of the land and its people for all his days, bringing an end to conflicts by sweeping across the land as the great black eagle on the front of a raging storm, and was known and respected long after his death. Stormcrow legends believe that a Freed Spirit known as Great Shadow in Ishemin Shard is some sort of remnant of Waasigan, but the general understanding that Reapers burn out upon death seems to contradict this.

Important Relationships

MIIGANIKWE
Waasigan's beloved wife, and the subject of many stories in her own right. Miiganikwe is described as a talented mage who made the first feather cloaks, extraordinarily beautiful as well as fearless and never shying away from her husband's dual nature. She's sometimes referred to as the Weaver, weaving magic and bonds between Reaper, stormcrows, and humans with equal skill.

Basic Information

Name: Waasigan, the Eagle Reaper
also the Black Eagle, Sky Fire

Race: Reaper, formerly human
Sex: male
Age: ~130 (deceased)

Storyline: Bloodlines Apocrypha