Background: Ka'shi'an/Cassian
As angels go, Ka'shi'an or Cassian, Malakite of Michael is still comparatively on the young side...taking into account the amount of time since the Fall. Having said that, however, he has been incarnate in the Corporeal world on and off since the first half of the sixteenth century. He was partially created from the forces of the Mercurian Tierna, and the Malakite Afsath, and existed in the Groves as a pupil to Shakiel, a senior Michaelite Makaite, for a while before he first became incarnate, making Cassian currently close to five hundred years old.
His first experience of incarnation was rather shorter than intended. After all, England in the 1530s was something of a dangerous place, especially if you managed somehow to upset King Henry VIII, and alas beliefs that could be said to be tending towards the angelic were just a little too Catholic for the tastes of the time, especially given how keen newly-assigned angels have a habit of being. His vessel died in 1535, around the same time as Thomas More.
It took Cassian a while to recover from being beheaded on Tower Hill, but then, it was his first tour of duty, and Malakite or no he hadn't gotten used to the death thing at that point.
His second time out, he was rather more successful. His Superior having seen that Cassian hadn't done so well in Europe, he was sent to the other side of the world, and was incarnate in 1570 as a young Japanese boy in the household of one of the great houses. He worked hard, watching out for the influence of the Enemy, and developing martial skills which would help him in this and future incarnations - skills he didn't get around to learning properly on his previous trip to the Corporeal. After he had been there for about eight years, he had cause to be in battle for his Corporeal overlord, and ended up saving Lord Omi's life. He was made Samurai, and served both his earthly master, and more importantly his Heavenly one - and especially keeping an eye on those pesky Jesuits, who had far too much of Dominic about them for Michael's liking - for another forty years, before dying in battle in 1618. This time, the shock of death was less traumatic, and Cassian - or, as he thought of himself after forty years in Japan, Ka'shi'an - was only out of things for about five years that time.
Michael decided to send him back to Europe next, but was still wary about sending his servitor to England, so Cassian was assigned to France, arriving in Paris in 1623 as Robert le Casse. He became part of the military hierarchy, to enable him to carry out his oath to train the mortals to stand up to the Enemy, and served faithfully, until once again he died in battle, about 1633.
By now, Michael was beginning to realise that this particular Malakite had some potential, and decided to keep an eye on him. He was assigned back to Japan in 1635, and was in the country when all foreigners were excluded in 1641. This set alarm bells ringing, and over the next few years Ka'shi'an came across rather more of the Enemy than he had on his previous stay. That sojourn came to an end in 1648, when he ended up one on one with a Habbalite. Both Corporeal vessels were destroyed, and the battle went to the Celestial. Ka'shi'an managed to destroy his enemy. Just. He was badly hurt in the process, and his Celestial forces were all but destroyed. Five minutes more, and he would have been no more.
Michael saw what Ka'shi'an had done, and as a reward for his services, he granted his servitor the Attunement of the Ofanim to strike first in battle.
For the next half-century or so, Cassian was assigned down on the Corporeal for the majority of the time, to give him time to rebuild the damage he had taken on the Celestial. The Malakite worked his way through a variety of vessels in a variety of battles, both in the East and the West, becoming hardened to Corporeal loss, and became strong in Corporeal forces, while his Celestial ones slowly worked back to the strength an angel should have.
Once Michael was satisfied, he gave Cassian another assignment in France: during the early years of the eighteenth century, worship of the Enemy was strong in Paris, and a Malakite on the scene would help to keep the situation not only under control, but hopefully deal with it. By the early 1720s, it was obvious that Cassian had been doing his job with dedication, although Michael kept him in situ for some years after that - just as well, as he was there to finally destroy the last of the Enemy's agents there in the early-1740s, although it cost him the life of his vessel to make sure that the threat was gone.
After that, Ka'shi'an was returned to the East, living in Japan and China and keeping a watchful eye on things. Enemies did show their faces, but the majority of them didn't survive too long afterwards. Admittedly, he lost a few vessels in the process, but none as catastrophically as in 1648, and in the meantime, his skills were improving, and his forces were increasing.
He was pulled back to Europe in 1788, with the problems in France fast coming to a head again, and he was active during the Revolution, as it seemed likely that certainly minions of Saminga and quite probably those of others of the Enemy Princes were likely to be active there. He defeated two or three, but once again he dived in over his head, this time against a Shedim, and once again it came down to a battle on the Celestial. With his usual Malakite bloody-mindedness, he defeated his enemy, but once again he was injured in the process, his Celestial forces again taking the brunt of the damage.
By now, Michael was beginning to get a little worried about this particular servitor: sure, he was good at what he did, but he did have a habit of getting in over his head...even for a Malakite. He decided that Cassian needed a couple of slightly quieter tours of duty, and sent him to England. Of course, he wasn't counting on the Napoleonic Wars...
Cassian enjoyed himself thoroughly during the Napoleonic Wars, and the three vessels he got through in the process all distinguished themselves on the field of battle. He stayed in the fourth until 1830, when it met with a fatal accident.
Later, he discovered it wasn't an accident. He learned that he had attracted the attention of a Balseraph and a Calabite, who had decided to take him out of the Game, and over the course of his next several vessels, it was these two who plagued him most. The Calabite died first, in the Russo-Japanese war of 1904. That battle left Cassian weaker than he was used to being on the Corporeal, while once again his Celestial forces had only really made their way back to "acceptable" in his mind. After that he took his time about chasing his other nemesis, in and around spending some time in the Groves improving his martial skills and training others.
Once Michael had seen that Cassian was in over his head - yet again - with his remaining enemy, he made sure that his servitor was incarnated as a young Englishman, present to serve at the tail end of the First World War. From there, Jack Casey was taken into the British forces, and as well as training them, they trained him as a potential agent to infiltrate Germany. With the rise of the Nazi party, Michael nudged things along a bit, and Cassian was active in Germany, acting against Hitler and his minions...and their likely Enemy backers... This gave him the chance to wait and seek for his Balseraph enemy.
He found him in 1944, in the person of one of the propagandists working for the Reich. The inevitable happened, and they ended up in a fight to the death. The Corporeal vessels died first, and then, after a brief sojourn onto the Ethereal, where Cassian was stronger than his opponent, the battle again ended on the Celestial. It was the third and latest time that Cassian has come within a hairsbreadth of ceasing to exist, and it was the closest of all. However, the Balseraph was defeated, and Michael again found his staunch servitor lying injured on the planes of the Celestial.
Michael saw that the battle had been a fierce one, and that Cassian had fought well, and as a reward gave him an Attunement as his servitor...that of proficiency with any weapon of his choice. He was a little surprised when Cassian chose to take it in unarmed combat, specifically Karate.
Ka'shi'an's last incarnation, before the current one of Case Kennon, was back in Japan, where he was part of the American forces left there after the War in 1945. Rather than acting as conqueror, however, Casey Blackwood did what he could to minimise the hostilities: to make sure that the Enemy couldn't play on the resentments of the defeated people. That, and to continue his work in training the mortals to fight the Enemy, and trying to stick up for the rights of the weaker ones. During the mid-80s, Blackwood ended up back on American soil, teaching both at West Point, and down at Gitmo - the Marine base in Cuba. He trained Marines for Operation Desert Storm, again with the aim of helping them fight the Enemy. That incarnation finally died of old age...a rarity for a Malakite, but then Michael did want to give him time to heal... in 1992.
After that, Cassian remained with his Superior on the Celestial, working as a tutor in the Groves, until it was time for him to take his place once more on the Corporeal.
Case Kennon came into existence in mid-95, initially in London. Then, about three months ago, his Superior assigned him to that hotbed of trouble known as Southampton. At the time, Cassian could not understand why the Archangel Michael would be interested in such an out of the way place, but he did as his Superior had bid, and set himself up in the city. However, what with demonic pizza delivery interference, and the small matter of a nascent tether to Saminga, let alone outcast Seraphs, powerful Ethereals and Vapulan plans, the last couple of weeks have told Cassian everything he needs to know about why he's needed here.
He is currently to be found running a martial arts dojo slightly off the university campus, where he teaches Karate and Kendo - both skills he has learned in his years when incarnate in the East. In addition to working at the dojo, he also teaches martial arts classes at the university sports centre, and runs free self defence classes at a variety of churches around the area.
In appearance, Case stands about 5'10", and seems surprisingly solid and well built for someone of his height, while still moving with the grace of an experienced martial artist. He has dark brown hair and hazel eyes, and there is a Eurasian caste to his features...after all, Michael knows that this particular servitor has spent as much of his Corporeal time in East as West, and usually builds that into his vessel to some degree.
Case will often be found wearing either bike leathers, or his martial arts gear, which has a very prominent black belt, with distinctions for at least three Dans. He usually travels around by bike...his new BMW 1000 having been a gift from Michael after he managed to trash his previous bike going one on one with a Calabite.
He lives in a moderate-sized, three bedroom apartment a short bike ride from the dojo. He has something of a collection of antique weapons, both Eastern and Western, and mainly swords although there are a few firearms, hanging around the large lounge. Pride of place is given to a pair of antique Japanese weapons: the Dai-sho of a Samurai...although for some reason, the katana is often missing...
He shares the flat with one and a half flat mates: Nathaniel, Malakite of Gabriel and an old acquaintance, they having first met in the Groves when Cassian was a trainer and Baa'ra was being newly trained; and Lucas, a newly minted Ofanite of Gabriel who stays over quite a lot of evenings. They get on reasonably...at least, as reasonably as a pair of Malakim are likely to get on in an enclosed area with an Ofanite to keep them company.
In all his incarnations, Cassian has been a faithful servant of his master: and has done his best to live up to his personal oath of helping teach mortals to fight the Enemy, as well as standing up for the rights of those too weak to stand up for themselves, and if, along the way, he has occasionally fallen slightly foul of the sin of pride...well, he is a Michaelite, so that comes as part of the package.
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Feather and Bone