Nephilim (Species)

"*And there we saw the Nephilim and we seemed to ourselves like grasshoppers, and so we seemed to them.” - Numbers 13:33*

A **Nephilim** are a hybrid race of supernatural creatures who are half-mortal, half-angel. They possess mortal souls and are still vulnerable to old age and death; however, the spark of angelic grace bestows heavenly power that allows to work powerful magic. They have the best traits of both species; they are spirit and flesh entwined, beings of both free will and divine grace.

## History

Note that the following is only legend.

The first Nephilim originated in the earliest days of humanity, not long after the Disaster of Eden. In those days, angels more commonly walked the Earth. Many humans worshiped the angels as gods and many offered themselves to the angels in the hopes of gaining favor or power. These unions resulted in Nephilim: powerful human/angel hybrids who possessed the power of an angel with the free will and ambition of a human. Needless to say, it didn't end well.

It was hoped by the angels who sired the Nephilim that they would be better able to protect the Earth from evil but the Nephilim quickly fell into darkness. Their numbers were great, as were their powers, and they quickly grew to become conquerors. It got so bad that God Himself had to intervene, sending a great Flood to destroy them.

In the wake of this, it was made law that angels were forbidden from creating Nephilim. The punishment for doing so was exile for the angel and death for the Nephilim. Of course, Heaven isn't perfect and a few have managed to slip through the cracks now and then, and bloodlines descended from them survive still throughout the world in certain magical families.

## Breeding

A Nephilim is the result of the union between a female human and male angel. Human males are unable to fertilize female angels, thus, nephilim cannot be created in such a way.

Any sort of angel can create a Nephilim, even a Cherubim. The power of the nephilim depends on the angel who sired them. Thus, the nephilim child of a Cherubim will be very powerful but nowhere near the level of a nephilim child of an archangel. A nephilim does not develop any faster than a human child, but the pregnancy tends to be a bit rougher. Strange omens often spring up throughout the pregnancy. Mothers rarely survive the birth.

A nephilim can breed like any human. Their nature does not make them any more or any less fertile than a human. They tend to quite readily indulge in "sins of the flesh" and their innate grace makes them alluring to humans. The result of a nephilim - human pairing is what is known as an Aasimar, which function similarly as a **Legacy**; that is, an Aasimar possesses aspects of a Nephilim's power but are nowhere near as powerful. As time goes on, the bloodline will thin and the divine spark will manifest only in the occasional sorcerer.

Most curiously, two nephilim mating does not result in another nephilim but an Aasimar. There's much speculation as to why this is. One leading theory supposes that the spark of grace naturally erodes with every passing generation due to the introduction of human genes, but this is only speculation.

## Characteristics

As stated, Nephilim are the product of a human/angel pairing. The offspring has a soul, as all mortals do, but they also receive grace from its angelic parent. This grace fives Nephilim access to Enochian magic and other angelic powers, fueled by the power of its human soul. This makes Nephilim extremely dangerous, even to angels, especially in numbers.

Nephilim tend to be aggressive and arrogant. They are often keen observers of human nature and many are prone to losing themselves in emotions like anger or sorrow. Many burn out quite quickly, their power and hedonism consuming them. The rare few to make it past adolescence are those who either overcome this basic nature or those who have the support and guiding hand of another nephilim.

### Appearance

Unlike full angels, Nephilim do not have a divine form; they are tied to the flesh they were born in. Strangely, they do not possess any of the physical characteristics of their angelic fathers; they inherit their mothers' physical aspects almost exclusively. The exception seems to be the eyes, which are occasionally the brilliant color of their father's.

They also possess wings which, unlike an angel, are not invisible. These wings are large and usually have white feathers. These wings manifest in times of stress or great danger, though the nephilim can manifest them at will with some training. These wings are technically not material and do not harm the clothing of a nephilm when manifested.

## Powers & Abilities

The power level of a Nephilim depends on how strong their angelic parent is. Generally speaking, Nephilim are more powerful than many supernatural creatures. As they mature, they gain access to more power, a prospect that makes a lot of people very nervous.

* **Angelic Grace:** Nephilim possess angelic grace along with a mortal soul. For this reason, nephilim can touch objects, speak words, et cetera, meant for angels without ill effect.
* **Astral Perception:** A nephilim perceive the true form of angels and demons.
* **Enhanced Durability:** While not invulnerable, nephilim are capable of taking a horrifying amount of punishment. They can withstand pain, injuries and blood loss beyond that of a normal human. They also recover from injury much faster than a human, healing from an injury in a matter of days that would take a human weeks or more.
* **Enochian Magic:** The angelic spark within a nephilim allows them to work Enochian magic in the form of rituals.They also inherit some other potent magical effect from their divine parent, such as biokinesis, elemental control, enhanced strength, or something in that vein.
* **Smiting:** Like an angel, nephilim can draw upon the power of their grace in order to smite evil. This ability is not as powerful as a true angel, given their mortal nature, but it is still an extremely potent ability.
* **Wings:** Nephilim can manifest a pair of divine, birdlike wings, giving them the ability to fly. They can use the size of their wings to enhance their strength and overpower larger opponents. Their wings allow them to seamlessly glide in any direction, which allow them to swoop down and grab objects or people from the ground with ease. Despite their size, they move as it weightless.

### Weaknesses

#### Harming, Misleading, Banishing and Trapping

* **Angel Trap:** A way to trap a nephilim that functions identically to a Devil's Trap.
* **Anti-Telepathy Sigil:**By tattooing this sigil at the vase of the skull, on the back on the neck, the nephilim cannot read their mind.
* **Blessed Salt:** Salt blessed by a certain ritual is capable of holding nephilim at bay like salt can hinder a spirit.
* **Enochian Sigils:**Certain enochian sigils are capable of preventing a nephilim from detecting or finding them. They can also be used to prevent angels from entering a building, to harm or weaken a nephilim and to prevent an angel from hearing anything within a warded area.
* **Gold:** Gold can also be used to bind a nephilim.
* **Hexbag:** A hexbag can be used to prevent nephilim from detecting and finding someone.
* **Holy Fire:**Encased in a circle of flames created from Holy Oil, a nephilim is trapped. The trapped nephilim cannot use their powers on any entity outside the circle. Touching the flame will kill the nephilim.
* **Magic:** Magic can still affect them, as nephilim are still part mortal.
* **Staff of Moses:**Can be used to nullify a nephilim's powers entirely for a short time, effectively making them mortal.

#### Destroying

* **Angelic Blades:** These blades, borne by angels, can kill a nephilim outright.
* **Blood Loss:** If a nephilim is severely wounded and bleeds out before they can heal, they can die.
* **Death's Scythe:**This weapon is capable of killing nephilim.
* **Demonic Black Hellfire:**This light, created by Archdukes, is lethal to nephilim.
* **Demon Blades:**These blades are fatal to nephilim if stabbed through their hearts.
* **Desecrated Weapons:** Humans and demons can wield Desecrated Weapons against nephilim.
* **Higher Beings:** God and other higher beings can destroy a nephilim.
* **Obsidian:** Weapons forged of obsidian can nullify their natural healing factor and disrupt their enochian magic.
* **Staff of Elijah:**This staff, also known as the Staff of Banishment, can be used to destroy a nephilim.
* **Weapons of Heaven:**Certain Weapons of Heaven can slow down, injure, trap of banish an angel.