Lethe alpha literally means "un-forgetfulness" or "un-concealment". Lethe, the river of forgetfulness, was one of the five rivers of the Greek underworld, the other four being Styx, Acheron (the river of sorrow), Cocytus (the river of lamentation) and Phlegethon (the river of fire). According to Statius, it bordered Elysium, the final resting place of the virtuous. Ovid wrote that the river flowed through the cave of Hypnos, god of sleep, where its murmuring would induce drowsiness. The shades of the dead were required to drink the waters of the Lethe in order to forget their earthly life. In the "Aeneid", Virgil
Children of Blood and Bone making it easy for bothering African and Western readers to understand they help souls pass on. They can understand the soul's needs and emotions. Having an intimate connection with the dead, they can bend souls to their will. Reapers can command animations made from earth and the souls of the dead or just souls in the form of shadows. Their powers feed on their rage, but there is also a peaceful use for their magic. Zélie demonstrates the empathy Reapers have for passing souls. They feel what they need and can feel if they are too "weighed down by sin