I don't own the Royalties, only a copy of DMC4, while my sister owns most of the books. I do not own any recognisable characters, and any own characters are not created with the intention of copying existing persons or characters. Inspiration may, however, be taken from a variety of sources, and flattery through imitation is intended.
"Talking"
'Thinking'
"Telepathy"
"Demon Lords/Deities"
A Brief History Of The Shadowhunters. – Excerpt from "The Shadow Hunt, an anthology compiled by the Consuls of Alicante"
The first appearance of Nephilim dates back to Biblical times, as recorded by Solomon the Wise. A "Nephilim" is defined as a "mortal born of Angel's blood". The first Nephilim, unlike their demigod cousins from the other pantheons, were deemed "artificial" as they were one hundred per cent human before they ingested Angelic blood. Later, in the medieval period, the Grigori (or Watchers) left Heaven's Light and took mortal lovers. Their children are now referred to as "Cambions" the Gaelic term of similar meaning.
When Raziel, The Angel of Mysteries, first treated with Johnathan Shadowhunter in the century following the birth of Christ, he gifted Man with Three Artifacts: A Chalice that contained his own blood, his sword, Maellartach, and a Mirror that could be used to talk to him. Those who drank of the Chalice – and survived – became Raziel's champions, the Nephilim order later known as the Shadow Hunters.
Of those first few Nephilim, Raziel chose those among them who sought the Mysteries of the World and bestowed upon them his personal blessing. Gaining a form of immortality, telepathy and insight akin to Solomon himself, the Silent Brothers were the first sect within the Clave.
Near a millennia later, The Abrahamic Faiths clashed with the Pagan Religions of Central and Northern Europe. Assimilating these peoples, some of their traditions and concepts were adopted by the rising Faith of the One God.
At this time, 2 new sects formed within the Clave. Unofficially founded by a Changeling swordsmith, the Faë Vivian, the Iron Sisters took upon themselves the task of Forging weapons for the Shadow Hunters.
The other sect, also an all-woman group, was born from those female Nephilim who had a gift for Runecraft but were shunned by the Silent Brothers because of their gender. Taking the name "Rune Witch", these women could shift the tide of a battle with their magicks.
During the Crusades, the fourth and fifth sects were formed.
Men and Women who stand steadfast in the face of Insurmountable Odds, Nephilim who fight sword to claw with demons and downworlders, the Paladins are the vanguard of the Clave. Specialising in melee combat, a single Paladin is considered the equal of an entire squad of regular Shadowhunters.
Support from range, raining fire and steel from the heavens, the Dragoons fought initially with bows and arrows. Their arrows can bring even draconic demons to the ground.
In the Renaissance, after Raziel and Sparda stormed Temen-Ni-Gru, the sixth sect formed under the guidance of the Face of Renaissance, Leonardo da Vinci. The Artificers work in conjunction with the rune witches to craft tools to make easy a Shadow Hunter's life and work.
Unfortunately, the World War era hit the Clave just as hard as it did the Mundane populace. We lost more than half our numbers and gained little from the technological advances of the Mundane World.
In the Ashes of War, Valentine Morgenstern, a once-rising star, founded The Circle, a sect that would supposedly usher in a new age for the Nephilim.
One must wonder, despite The Circle disbanding, and Valentine being slain by the Angel himself, did his machinations not pave the way to a Brave New World?
Mission 2 – From the City of Glass to the Bloody Cemetery
2 Weeks ago- Alicante
"Rune Witch! Madam Rune Witch!"
Clary turned to the source of the shouts, a young Nephilim dressed in loose grey training gear. Small rune marks peeked out from his sleeves, none marking his forearms yet.
"Yes-?"
"Ah, sorry ma'am! I was sent to fetch you, ma'am. There's an… Iron Sister looking for you, ma'am! At the Institute!"
"Thank you. On your way."
The youngster bolted off, no doubt to regale his friends of the fact that he spoke with the Rune Witch. Clary watched him disappear into the City, then turned to the City Centre.
Across the City of Idris, construction teams built and rebuilt, the City itself was growing to new heights. At each Cardinal point, massive portal blocks were being built, both to control inflow into the city and to give any newcomers a choice look upon the famed City of Glass.
Approaching the Institute, now a massive tower in the centre of the City, the Academy had been rebuilt. The next generation was set to contain more Paladins and Dragoons than any before it. A large market square had formed in front of the Southern wall – and entrance – to the Institute. Stalls managed by downworlders of near every kind littered the square. A werewolf could be seen running a Chinese food stall – probably a member of Maya's pack. Across from him, a young-looking warlock advertised lessons in rudimentary spell circles – a first in Alicante.
Clary took in the smells and sights of the City, comparing it to how it was when she first came here a decade ago. Then, the City was still, a few Nephilim moving from their homes to the institute and back. Now it was alive and thriving.
The Institute itself had been rebuilt after the chaos of the last decade. It now stood at over 60 metre in height, the walls shining with the signature glass that gave the city its name. From her office at the top of the building, the Consul could gaze upon the entire Eastern side of the city. The roof, if it could be called such, was a massive observatory giving an unmatched view of both the City of Glass and the heavens above.
Waiting in front of the tower stood her husband (and Clary still shivered a bit at being able to call Jace hers), and the Lightwood siblings, Alec and Isabelle.
"Clary! What took you?"
"I only just heard that I had to be here like 5 minutes ago."
"Well, let's go find this Iron Sister before she uses us to fuel her forge."
"Please, Alexander, any good smith knows that corpses do not make a hot enough fire for Seraph Steel," A tall, well-muscled woman had appeared in their midst. One foot on top of a pile of boxes, her sharp eyes examined each of them. Evidently, she found what she was looking for, as she nodded to herself.
"Let's make this quick. I have places to be that are not here. First, each of you gets a box."
She lifted her foot off of the pile and passed a box to each Nephilim. The longest went to Jace, the widest to Alec, the smallest to Clary and the last to Isabel.
"These were forged for each of you with the aid of the Dwarves. You will have to name them yourself; you should at some point know what to call them. Their abilities will become available once you have discovered that name. Do not shame Our craft and misuse these weapons."
With that, the Iron Sister seemed to fade from view.
"Well; that happened. Did anyone know that we were getting new weapons?"
"Not a clue. Let's see what we've got!" Jace's excitement was palpable.
As one, the group opened their boxes.
Jace lifted out a sheathed longsword. The sheath – made of golden wood - was oddly shaped; a leather baldric fused a full third of its length. An open grove ran down the same distance along the one side, a flange lining the edge of the grove. The hilt, crossguard and pommel were made of Seraph steel, and completely unadorned. When Jace drew the blade, the Seraph Steel blade shimmered, as if in candlelight.
Alec withdrew a pair of Tonfa. The hafts were made of the same golden wood as Jace's sheath. The ends were capped in Seraph Steel, with filigree lining the length of the weapons.
In Isabelle's hands sat a Seraph Steel whip sword, made up of interlocking segments with a small ruby was set in the pommel. It came with a broad leather belt that had a steel clip next to the buckle.
Finally, Clary held a knife. The blade itself was plain, while the handle appeared to be made up of twisting glass tubes. Its sheath was attached to an armband which also had glass tubes lining it.
Alec spoke up as they took in the implements of battle, "Personalised Seraph weapons… These haven't been given to any Shadow hunter since…"
"Before the World Wars. And the last one to be wielded in battle was lost during the Somme," Alec was interrupted by the Consul, who had appeared at the main doors to the institute.
"You lot can gawk over your weapons later when you are not blocking entry to my Institute. By the way, I want the four you and Mr Lewis at my office tomorrow. I have a mission for you."
Three days later
The moon shone down on an empty parking lot. The walls along three of the sides were covered in graffiti. Hidden beneath the paint, a circle of runes lit up.
A shimmering portal spun to life, lighting up the area. 6 figures emerged, the portal closing behind them.
"Welcome, ladies and gentlemen -and Jace-, to Redgrave city. Remind me again why your Consul wants you to come here of all places? It's called the Bloody Cemetery for a reason you know."
"Madam Penhallow wants to know why there has never been a Shadowhunter Presence here, but no reports have ever been seen of any demon activity…"
Magnus laughed, "That's a good one! No demon activity… in Redgrave!"
The shadows around them rippled.
"This place, Redgrave, the Bloody Cemetery, is built on top of a Hellgate. A portal to the First Ring of Hell bypassing Limbo. You really think that there has never been a demon sighting here?"
Shadows pooled together around them. Clawed hands erupted from the shadow before digging into the ground.
"It just so happens that there are downworlders here who prevent anything from leaving the city. Oh, and you guys might want to get ready to fight…"
Reptilian demons rose around the group, spittle flying from snarling maws, claws clattering on the tarmac road and tiled pavement.
Quickly shifting into a defensive circle, weapons drawn and facing outward, the group judged the situation.
"Well, Shit"
"Language, Jace"
"Simon, Alec, what have we got?"
"They're unnamed, Beast class. Possibly Sleestak."
"20, 21, 23 and 24 - two dozen of them. No pack alpha."
"Right: Alec we'll try and break through, get some altitude- watch for any fliers. Magnus, if you feel like helping, AoE and healing. Izzy, Jace, Simon- let's do this! LIGHT"
A flash of light exploded from the redhead, spurring the rest into action. 2 rushed forward into the demons, steel flickering with white light around them. The tall dark-haired male drew an arrow, aimed upwards and loosed an arrow at a balcony two stories upward. A knotted rope trailed from the arrow, which he grabbed as it impacted the concrete. Inertia hauled him upwards towards the balcony. Alec threw himself onto the balcony below where his arrow had struck the wall. Landing on the railing in a crouch, he spun around, knocking an arrow and aiming down at the street.
Down below, the rest had drawn battle lines. Jace had his short sword jammed into a demon's torso and was using the thing as a meat shield to fend of the others. Isabel spun her electrum whip, spinning it around her body, a web of gold deterring any demons from approaching her. Simon held a regular seraph blade in one hand, and a collapsible riot shield in the other. A hastily drawn 'faith' was on the shield in blood. Clary, behind Simon's guard, hastily flipped through her Grimoire –The Crimson Tome- looking for a specific rune.
*HOOOOONK*
A white RV with neon writing along the one side launched over a bump in the road, swerving hard to the right. A silver-haired youth – probably of a similar age as the Shadowhunters – hung out of the passenger window. A red and silver revolver roared in his lone hand. The driver – an olive-skinned woman – laughed maniacally, pulling the RV in a tight doughnut. The rear end of the vehicle smacked one of the demons, throwing it into a wall.
"What. The. Hell?" Jace stared at the RV, not comprehending what exactly had happened.
The Silver-haired man, having fully removed himself from the van during the spinning, had a demon by the throat.
"How many times must you bastards be shown the door? Redgrave has a Sparda again, and you fucking demons are not welcome!"
Two ethereal blue arms emerged from his back. They were clawed like a bird's foot and had large glowing feathers growing from the forearms. With one claw, the Sparda took the demon from his fleshy human hand, and with the other, he tore a hole in reality. Winding up, he threw the Sleestak back into hell and sealed up the hole behind it. He turned to face the Shadowhunters, a feral grin upon his lips. The grin faded when he saw that between the five of them, the Shadowhunters had eliminated the remaining demons, and the archer was climbing down his rope.
"Right, what are you shitheads doing in Redgrave, and why the fuck do you stink of Light?"
The driver of the RV came up behind him on the left, placing her hand on his shoulder.
"Sheesh Nero and you kiss Kyrie with that mouth?" She looked at the group, who had cleaned their weapons, and were trying to present a united front, "So, who're you lot, anyway- wait is that- is that- Magnus Bane!?"
The warlock in question bowed at the waist with a flamboyant flourish of his hand. Alec smacked the back of Magnus' head as he straightened up.
"Magnus Bane? High Warlock of Brooklyn?"
"That is indeed me, my dear boy. Tell me, is Dante around?"
"Dante's been stuck in Hell for the past 6 years, he's probably not coming back for a while. My name is Nero, Acting High Warlock of Redgrave. Now, again, why are there Cambions in Redgrave? Are you trying to rupture the Hellgate?"
"We're Nephilim actually…" Jace tried to interject.
"Doesn't matter. You have angel blood, and it's making the demons antsy. Normally, I'd boot the lotta ya back to Alicante, but seeing as you have a High Warlock with you, you had better get in," He turned to the woman next to him, "Nico, let's get back to the shop. Lady ain't gonna be impressed, but it's probably for the best."
The two climbed back into the van, Nero slapping the stylised logo as he passed it. Their attention drawn to it, the group read the neon cursive,
~Devil May Cry~
"Well, you waiting for an invitation from Gabriel herself? Get in!"
At Nero's shout, Magnus ushered the group into the vehicle. It was a bit cramped, what with 8 people pile in, but they made do.
The moment the door slammed shut, Nico put pedal to metal, sending the van off with a harsh squeal.
The Alicante group fell over each other, a tangle of limbs and weapons in the back of the van.
"You lot better not trash any of ma gear, ya' hear?" Nico yelled back at them before turning her attention to Nero (keeping half an eye on the road), "Wow. I woulda thought Nephilim would be able to handle ma driving. What ya think, Nero? C rank?"
Nero scoffed, "The Warlock is S-minus, bishop class. The kids? I wouldn't put them past C-minus."
"Daaaamn. That low?"
"Look at them, Nico. You really think they are full C-rank?"
Simon, having managed to extract himself and Isabelle from the mess, knocked on the divider board behind Nico's seat.
"Uh, hi. Simon Lewis. You said your names are Nero and Nico?"
Nico glanced back, then returned his gaze to the road, "Yeah. What do ya want?"
"I was wondering what you meant by ranks and classes?"
"Oh, that. It's a system my Uncle thought up to gauge threats."
"So what, C is lowest, S highest?"
Nico barked out a laugh, "Ooh, let me tell 'im, Nero"
"Yeah, whatever."
"Ok, so. D is lowest. Means a threat to a regular human. C means a threat to your average beastie or a group of regular humans. Yanno, like a lunatic with a machine gun. B is when you get real. Like able to decimate a city block without really trying.
A's are things that can threaten entire cities jus' by showin' up. S rank are the game-changers. They can potentially damage the fabric of reality itself. EX are outliers, peeps who can deal more damage than S, but only under certain conditions. Anyway, we're here!"
Nico slammed on the brakes, the Alicante group flying forward in Simon, who in turn was squashed up against the front seats.
Nero glanced back at them, before exiting the vehicle.
"And these are supposed to be the best Alicante can offer…"
The building loomed over the group, the atmosphere helped by the heavy clouds blocking the night sky. Nero walked up the stairs to the double Oak doors, quickly followed by Nico.
"Well? Come in, already!"
The Shadowhunters (and Magnus Bane) looked at each other, before entering the building. They were greeted by a large office room, 6 desks arrayed in a semi-circle facing the door.
First, on the left, a dark-haired woman had what looked like a cannon or rocket launcher in pieces on her desk. With practised motions, she wiped down each part and placed them in neat rows.
The second, a blond woman in a black leather corset and pants lounged with her heeled boots up on her table.
Between her and the third desk –empty- a heavy metal door was bolted shut.
On the fourth desk, a lone bound book sat. A capital 'V' was imprinted in the cover.
Nero went to the fifth desk, placing his revolver on it. He collapsed into the swivel chair, causing it to spin slowly. Behind him, an open doorway revealed carpeted stairs leading to the upper floors.
At the sixth and last desk, a blonde girl in her late teens was talking on an old fashioned dial phone, while typing on a high tech laptop.
Nero completed his spin and sat up straight, clasping his hands on his desk,
"Welcome to Devil May Cry: Unorthodox Pest-Control, Demon-Hunters Extraordinaire and all-round supernatural Problem solvers."
A/N:
And that's Mission two. This one took forever, then tried to run away with me. Go figure.
I have added character introductions to this Chapter and Mission 1. This is to help out people who are not completely clued up on either DMC or the Mortal Instruments.
You may notice that this is part of a mass update today. The past few months have been rather chaotic for me, culminating in the Remembrance Day parades of this month. If you know any servicemen or -women, be they currently serving or veteran, Military or Emergency Services, thank them. They have sacrificed far more than you will ever know.
Anyway, the mass update is in part an apology for the lack of updates from me and part me clearing out my think tank on my hard drive. The updates are as follows:
Code Geass: The Art of War - Chapter V
Shadow Hunter May Cry – Mission 2
Heavy Lies the Crown
The Price of Heroism
The "Personalised Seraph Blades" are the Angel/Nephilim answer to Devil Arms.
In the Mortal Instruments books, a Seraph Blade is forged by the Iron Sisters, the prepared by a Shadowhunter with runic enchantments. In combat, the Shadowhunter will invoke an Angel's name, activating the Blade. It can then be used to kill lesser demons and banish higher demons.
The Personal Seraph Blades are crafted specifically for an individual. The individual will Name it, thus unlocking its power/potential (Somewhat similar to Shikai in Bleach).
On that note: I have names decided already for each weapon. Anyone who can guess the name of a weapon gets to hear the ability of that weapon before I get there in the story.
I deliberately referenced 1 anime and 1 video game. Kudus to you who spot them.
Character Introductions:
Name: Clarrisa Herondale, nee Fairchild
Alias: Clary
Title: Rune Witch
Species: Nephilim
Seraph Weapon: Unnamed dagger
Linage: Raziel, Ithriel
Overall Rating: C+ Rank – As a Nephilim Rune Witch, Clary is quite capable of holding her own with most of the tougher foes a Shadowhunter may be expected to face
Name: Jace Herondale
Alias: N/A
Title: Paladin
Species: Nephilim
Seraph Weapon: Unnamed longsword
Linage: Raziel, Ithriel
Overall Rating: C+ Rank – Jace is hailed as the most powerful Shadowhunter since the pre-Industrial era, and rightfully so.
Name: Alexander Lightwood-Bane
Alias: Alec
Title: Dragoon
Species: Nephilim
Seraph Weapon: Unnamed Tonfa pair
Linage: Raziel
Overall Rating: C Rank – Alec is skilled at ranged combat, however his skill lies in his knowledge of Downworlders. While he knows far more than most Nephilim, there is much he does not know yet.
Name: Isabelle Lewis, nee Lightwood
Alias: Izzy
Title: Paladin
Species: Nephilim
Seraph Weapon: Unnamed whip sword
Linage: Raziel
Overall Rating: C Rank – Isabelle is a highly capable fighter, specialising in improvised weaponry. Some say she has killed lesser demons with nought but a high heeled shoe…
Name: Simon Lewis
Alias: N/A
Title: N/A
Species: Nephilim, (?)
Seraph Weapon: N/A
Linage: Raziel
Overall Rating: C Rank – Simon is above average for a first-generation Shadowhunter, however, he has an untapped potential…
Name: Magnus Bane
Alias: N/A
Title: High Warlock of Brooklyn
Species: Warlock – Class: Bishop
Devil Arm: Unknown
Linage: Asmodeus
Overall Rating: S- - Magnus Bane is one of the oldest known Warlocks in existence. As such his knowledge of Magic makes him incredibly dangerous when he enters the battlefield
Name: Nero
Alias: N/A
Title: Acting High Warlock of Redgrave
Species: Warlock?
Devil Arm: N/A
Linage: Sparda; Vergil
Overall Rating: A+ - Nero is young for a warlock, however, he has helped prevent at least one Doomsday event so far. As the only Sparda currently on Earth, he is not to be provoked unnecessarily.
Name: Nicoletta Goldstein
Alias: Nico
Title: N/A
Species: Human
Overall Rating: C- - Nico is primarily an Arms-smith and Artificer. Her limited combat experience does not mean she is incapable of defending herself, especially when she is behind the wheel of her beloved van.