Kazimir laid in his bed, weary from another long day of patrols and dealing with this nagging tension that appeared to rise around him. He thought it a good idea to visit the church tomorrow. What better place to hunt down some answers about Nephilim.

He drifted away to a deep slumber, but his dreams were invaded but a forgotten entity. It was the riverside spirit looming in his mind, “Kazimir, the time has come. Return to me at the river,” the spirit whispered.

Kaz sat up in his bed, sweat rolling down his forehead, “The river spirit,” his memory started to return to him. “That’s right. The lost loved one. He said he would be back to contact me.” He then remembered that he was to contact inspector Nilan with any information he had about the event. The mage rolled out of bed and threw on his outfit. The rune knight badge safely tucked behind his scarf.

He left his apartment and searched the streets, asking some of the other pages until he was directed to Nilan. The wind mage had woken up still in the dead of night. Clouds hovered overhead full of moisture and ready to rain at any moment. The air was still, leaving an ominous punctuation to accompany the eerie spirit’s request. The inspector gestured for Kazimir to come over and finished speaking with a couple others with him that broke away.

“Kazimir, I was told that you would have something for me. Seems that time has come,” the inspector said.

“Yeah. The spirit visited me in my sleep. It’s called me back to the river,” the wind mage replied in a calm voice but one that was ready to get this resolved.

“Alright just walk me through everything so far,” the inspector had a kind tone and asked each question with care. He still carried Dracol’s notes and flipped through them as Kaz explained the situation in as much detail as he could. The inspector nodded and wrote in his own notes as Kazimir spoke.

“Kazimir, you have given me some valuable information. May I come with you to the river and we can investigate this together. You seem to have some deeper connection to this entity and it does seem to want you there?” the inspector asked as kindly as the rest of his questions.

“Of course. Hopefully we can put and end to this tonight,” Kazimir replied as he turned to head toward the river with the inspector beside him.

The two arrived at the river as droplets of rain began to fall. It was a light drizzling that was more of an annoyance than a hindrance. The two were both focused enough on the task at hand to pay it no mind.

Waiting for them at the beginning of a bridge leading over the river was the spirit. This time it stood in a human form. It still had a strange and spectral aura around it that gave away its supernatural connection

WC 500

The spirit was a very young boy with cyan eyes. He wore robes made of a thins fabric and sat on his knees waiting for them to come closer. The inspector stopped a few feet from the bridge, letting Kazimir take the lead. The knight sensed the hesitation of the inspector. Something expected as this was probably far beyond his normal work. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the shaken expression on the inspectors face at seeing the ghostly figure. Even in a world full of magic there are still things that can capture awe.

Kazimir closed the distance to the young boy spirit. The spirit turned its attention to the wind mage, alerted by Kazimir’s boot crossing the threshold of the bridge. He stepped onto the water soaked wooden boards and the spirit pointed out onto the river. Another spirit hovered over the slowly flowing water. “There it is Mage. There is the tainted spirit. If you don’t act fast it will,”

The young spirit barely had a chance to finish when the tainted spirit dashed forward beneath the bridge and out of sight. Kazimir turned around to see if it came from behind but saw nothing. He was about to clap, sending his senses out around him when he got his answer. The dark-haired spirit’s face phased through the wood of the bridge at Kaz’s feet. The wind mage met its gaze. The tainted spirit was expressionless, and its shoulders emerged covered in dark clothing. It rapidly reached its hand upward aimed at Kazimir’s torso. His reflexes kicked in and he leaped backward onto the railing of the bridge. It creaked under his weight.

The spirit fully emerged. Its dark form shrouded with tattered spectral black cloth twisted around it. The spirit gave chase as Kazimir dashed down the railing of the bridge. It was fast, but the wind mage’s training paid off as he barely outpaced. The spirit continued to give chase as Kazimir flipped through the air to land on the opposite railing. He looked back at the good spirit of the child for answers. Hoping he would find something to help him.

The cyan eyed spirit mouthed a simple phrase. One that even the most basic of lip-reading skills could translate, “Fight.” It was now that the inspector joined the fray. He was impressed at the speed of the knight and the evil spirit but was no slouch himself.

The spirit broke away from its chase with Kazimir and split its attention between the good spirit of the boy and Kaz. It extended both its dark spectral arms to an incredible length. They reached out like spears attempting to pierce them both. The inspector brought out a nightstick and deflected the spearing strike aimed at the boy.

Kaz smiled seeing that the inspector was capable of holding his own and he could focus his full attention on the spirit. A flurry of ghostly spears stabbed at each of them with ferocity that matched the evil of the spirit.

WC 500

The inspector kept defending the strikes while protecting the child. Only minor cuts got through as the tainted spirit had to split its attention. Kazimir hadn’t encountered a fighting style like this one before. His superior speed allowed him to dash and roll out of the way. The spirit's attack leaving behind gashes in the wood.

Things were starting to escalate, and the bridge would fall prey as much as the child spirit and the detective if Kazimir didn’t pick up the pace. This was as good a time as any to see just what this blessing was all about and what better way to do it than to cleanse an evil spirit.

He jumped into the air using the force of the wind he generated beneath him once airborne he launched a cutting blade of wind that severed the spectral arm that was attacking the inspector. The remnants of the shadowy arm retracted toward the evil spirit.

The cutting wind crashed into the bridge splintering the wood and creating a line that warned the spirit not to cross it. The wind mage spun in the air and closed his eyes as he rolled out of the way of another spear hand attack from the enemy. He felt his power churning inside and the divine blessing swelling to the top. “I call upon the blessing…of wrath.” His aura sprang to life and the wind around him became more turbulent. He felt a divine anger flood over him as he landed on the bridge on one knee with one hand planted on the ground.

He brought his head up and opened his eyes revealing the intense white glow of heavenly fury. The inspector fell backwards overwhelmed by all that had happened this night, “an…Angel?” he questioned.

Kazimir stood up to stare down the tainted spirit. He looked at his hands and felt all of his abilities rising to a slightly higher level. The spirit charged forward but his speed was slower than before. Kaz exuded an aura that effected the evil that preyed upon him.

He lunged to the side avoiding another blow and landed back onto the railing. This time the spirit launched another attack but Kaz shot out a rapid gust of wind knocking the arm away. He knew he couldn’t really let loose or the bridge would be in danger. Instead he used the split-second opening from the deflected arm to move in close to his target. He stepped in into striking range and the tainted being whipped its long arm around.

The spirit was in front of him, but the long shadowy arm had curved around to thrust at him from behind. Kazimir made two small circles with his hands and thrust them forward. One at the dark spirit and the other at its piercing arm. An eruption of wind blew forth devastating the arm and tearing into the evil spirit, “Twin Cyclone,” Kazimir said.

The spirits final arm made of darkness dissipated in the air and its body collapsed to the ground.

WC 506

The tainted spirit returned to a human looking form. It had green eyes and blond hair. The peaceful looking being now wore a long brown trench coat. The original cyan eyed spirit sat beside its spectral friend, “Thank you for saving him. I am so glad that neither of you were injured. You are a talented warrior, Kazimir. You have done me a great deed this day that I shall not forget,” The spirit was over joyed, and that level of gratitude was reflected in its voice.

The wind mage cancelled the divine blessing and returned to his normal state. “It was my pleasure. I’m glad I could be of assistance,” he said all the while thinking about how this new ability felt to him. The power to almost become an angel. This is what it meant to be Nephilim.

“Please come closer so I can give you both a gift. I can restore a lost or fading memory to you. All you need do is think on it,” the spirit offered. Nilan didn’t hesitate to step forward taking of his hat. “I…I would like to see my wife.” The spirit rose its hand and Nilan seemed to move into a trance. It was a blissful look on his face as the memories of his wife ensnared him and drifted him away to happier times.

Kazimir pondered for a moment. All the memories he needed to know he already remembered but there was one thing that he was curious about. “Show me if I have any memory of my true parents. Before I was given away,” he requested. The spirit rose its hand and Kaz was taken away.

He saw himself being carried through the woods. In the arms of a woman running hastily. Constantly looking behind, her. A sudden stop jarred the small child form of kaz.

“We won’t be able to make it. Please take him. Raise him in the village. I beg you,” the woman pleaded with another man standing tall. The man was the future clan Byakko clan leader.

That was all as Kaz awoke from the trance. The mage staggered backwards with the newly discovered clue to his past. He wasn’t given away as a baby he had just forgotten. Nilan began to question him before he could think on it any longer. Kaz gave him all the answers he needed. The inspector was bursting with happiness.

Once it was all over, Kaz was rewarded by the inspector who was also glad that this was behind them. He was still grinning ear to ear at seeing his wife.  Finally, the mage returned home to get his rest after the disturbance. Although he wouldn’t be able so sleep to easily now thinking of the memory revealed to him. “So that’s what you looked like…mother.” Even now that he knew it there was little he could do with the information, but it brought him a peace of mind that he hadn’t thought it would. Morning was coming quickly but maybe it was time for a day off.

WC 510
Total WC 2016