Nephilim

Nephilim
Shadowhunters, also known as Nephilim, are a secretive race of beings who are humans born with angelic blood. They are the appointed warriors on Earth of the Angel Raziel. They are appointed specifically to control and preside over the Shadow World, as well as over the demons and Downworlders who inhabit it. They have fought the demonic forces valiantly for well over the span of a thousand years, creating their own culture and civilization within human society. Their mandate is to keep the peace in the Shadow World and keep it hidden from the mundane world while protecting the inhabitants of both worlds.

Despite their ancestry, Shadowhunters are mortal and therefore vulnerable to old age and death; however, their angelic blood endows them with special abilities that allow them to achieve feats beyond humanly possible through the application of angelic runes. There is another, uncommon race of nephilim. Those born of fallen angels and mortal man, they appear to have little connection to the angelic powers of other nephilim. However they are known for great feats or strength. The nephilim that are the children of an angel and shadowhunter are rare, only seven are in current existence (That are known.). They have some powers of their angel parents such as controlling the heavenly fire their parents would be able to passing through realms with ease. In Jacob's case his father being death he can enter the realm of death and can see all of the hidden worlds mixed with the actual world. In other cases such as Esme the daughter of Cassiel her powers are unknown yet thought to match those of Jacob. The nephilim have the ability to fly, teleport and are as strong as high ranking angels or the biblical giants in some cases.

The Lyre:
The Lyre of Gabriel was created to ease the pain of the fallen Watchers that God had imprisoned and tortured for their sins, when the Lyre is played by a nephilim they gain the strength of a biblical giant and wings along with hearing the voices of fallen angels when they let the lyre play through. They can even hear the Lyre after it has been played as a constant calming melody trying to lure them into a false sense of security so the fallen angels stuck in their heads can cause them to abandon  their humanity and become monsters that will free them. Those that play the Lyre and are born of the angels and nephilim no longer age. Most aging stops at eighteen to twenty one years old.

Nephilim Rankings
All Shadowhunters who recognize the authority of Idris make up the Clave. While Clave members hold a sway in decisions made regarding important matters relevant to their race, final decisions are made by the Council. The Consul and the Inquisitor are also important figures in the organization. They meet in the Gard at Alicante, Idris. Although Shadowhunters are all welcome to the meeting, some Shadowhunters choose not to attend. When Shadowhunters reach adulthood at the age of eighteen, they declare their allegiance to the Clave and become full Clave members, with rights to contribute to any Clave issue under discussion. They continue to be members unless they choose to renounce their membership for some reason, or are dismissed.

The Council
The Council is the governing body of the Clave. They write the laws, known as the Covenant, to which Shadowhunters and Downworlders must abide. The Council also signs the Accords and dictates decisions for all Shadowhunters and Downworlders. Local Enclaves choose representatives to sit on the Council, which deals with matters of immediate import that are not large enough for the entire Clave to become involved. Enclaves may decide for themselves how to appoint their Council representatives. Most times, this is accomplished with a simple vote or by the Conclave head appointing a chosen delegate; sometimes, the Conclave head sits on the Council herself/himself.

The Puritan Order
The Puritans are a race of nephilim that have been newly formed within the year 2015 by the council and Clave. The men and women that form this group are nephilim with special abilites, from powerful runes to expertise in certain ways of combat. Each Puritan fits into nephilim society like any other, they are secretive and do not flaunt their position. Most of the order is under construction. The Puritans are headed by three Magus, two Magus serve under the head Magus. The current head Magus being Jacob Branwell who is searching for one other, the second Magus is Trista Herondale. Each Magus runs a chapter of Puritans, these chapters consist of hand picked troops by each Magus. The main criteria for a Magus is being able to use angelic powers and being of the direct line of an angel. Such as the angelic nephilim that are born of angel and shadowhunter, thus creating new races of shadowhunters such as Sariel and Cassiels races. The Puritan order is called upon by the Consul and Inquisitor along with the council when greater demons threaten the world. They rebuke the darkness with the ways of heaven and without emotion. Under the three magus are the ten Chaplains, each Chaplain controls one of the ten chapters of sword brothers and sisters. Any Chaplain can be called upon by either of the three Magus or the Consul themselves to act out on behalf of the clave. The ten chapters of the puritan order are of a hundred each, filled with the vanguard of soldiers known as sword brothers or sword sisters. These are the soldiers that have been risen from Neophytes also known as initiates, each sword brother may take upon a neophyte if they wish to. Even though the max limit for sworn in puritans happens to be a thousand the clave does to turn a blind eye to the number of neophytes that may also be given the position of Crusader. An initiate that holds the same honors of a Puritan sword brother but not the runes. The Magus bare silver runes upon black armor, each is required to also have the Chi Rho rune placed upon the right shoulder pad of their armor. The Chi Rho is also placed upon the bare flesh of all puritans. Chaplains bare the silver four circle clave mark upon their left shoulder like that of the magus but upon their right a red rune in the symbol of an iron cross takes it's place. All Puritans bare the four C (the symbol of the Clave) rune along with a red rune upon their right shoulder pad for the institute they came from. Initiates bare no silver runes upon their armor while Crusaders bare a white shield upon their right pad.

The Inquisitor
The Inquisitor is a high-ranking official of the Clave, wielding authority outside of the government of the Clave and Council. The Inquisitor investigates Nephilim for the Clave, making sure that they have not broken the Covenant or the Accords. The Inquisitor typically serves as the prosecuting attorney on Shadowhunter trials, and is thus, along with the Silent Brothers, legally permitted to use the Mortal Sword on Shadowhunters to compel the truth out of them. The Inquisitor may also choose to recommend or request the punishment or sentence in some cases, though these also require the approval of the Council. The current Inquisitor being Robert Lightwood. The Inquisitor always resides within the nephilim city of Alicante unless needed else where, the inquisitor is also known for the ability to call upon any nephilim in question and seemingly cause other nephilim to stay their hand from aiding them on the spot. Most likely in fear for being put on trial for the same charges.

The Consul
The Consul is the highest appointed official in the Clave. Every Consul is voted into office by the Council, with the previous Consul often holding a say in who their successor would be, recommending or disagreeing with a nomination. The term lasts for ten years, though he can be put out of office by a vote of no confidence. The Consul is something like a prime minister; he/she wields little executive power but rather serves to preside over the Council, to officially tally its votes, and to help interpret the Law for the Clave. He also serves as an adviser to the Inquisitor, and is intended to be a consulting mentor for the heads of Institutes. His only real source of direct power is his authority to call the Council to session and to adjudicate disputes between Shadowhunters. Also, alongside the Inquisitor, the Consul oversees trials held by the Council. The Consul may also appoint a Shadowhunter as head of an Institute and can decide the next Inquisitor when the previous one dies.

Idris
Idris is the Shadowhunter home country, a sanctuary hidden from the mundanes, given to them by the Angel Raziel. Its capital, and only city, is Alicante. The country is said to be surrounded by mountains with passes which can only be traversed through during high summer.

Most Shadowhunters come from Idris, and many grow up and train there. Hodge Starkweather, was cursed to never leave the Institute during his exile as punishment, he was particularly banned from Idris, seeing it as a heavy punishment as most Shadowhunters who grew up here long to be in their home country.

Idris is located in Central Europe, between Germany, France, and Switzerland. Because of the wardings placed around the country and all of its borders, mundanes who come close to crossing it are instantly transported through to the other side of the barrier; therefore few mundanes know about it. A counterpart to mundane globes can be found in Institutes' libraries, which includes other lands that are part of the Shadow Realms.