Fiction:The Firmament/Rephaite

Rephaim (s. rephaite), sometimes given names such as angelborn, are a rare form of plane-touched humanoid who shares ancestry with angels.

Biology
Rephaim vary greatly in individual appearance from one another, depending not only on the ethnicity of the mortal parent but also the type of angel they descend from. These differences can span a wide range, but most often are exemplified by an unearthly beauty, hair that shines like metal, strange eye color, or even glowing golden halos. In many cases, a rephaite's beauty is not due to physical traits but rather to a supernatural tendency among others to interpret their features as beautiful or attractive.

Rephaim are created due to residual angelic influence in a bloodline. Most descend from clerics and priests of good gods who work alongside angels regularly, while others are the direct descendants of a nephilim.

Culture
Rephaim are often treated as living miracles. This tends to result in them being outcasts among their peers during their formative years and being given a significant amount of strange attention from the superstitious who look to receive a blessing from the descendant of an angel. They often have high expectations placed on them from youth, and envy and resentment from their peers can cause them to face stigmas in their communities. Because of their association with goodness - even though they possess normal moral compasses -, rephaim are sometimes targeted for killing or capture by evil beings, usually demons. The traits afforded to rephaim by their heritage, such as their beauty, often cause them to be targeted by slave trade.

Religion
Rephaim who embrace their angelic heritage gravitate towards worship of the archangels and gods such as Aldirei and Shenryundi. Some hope that, by doing so, they may ascent into full angels and discard their mortal halves, while others simply do so out of identifying themselves with these deities.

Relations with other races
As noted above, the birth of a rephaim is treated both as a boon and as a curse by certain communities. Such individuals tend to connect more easily with other half-breeds and plane-touched races due to feeling more familiar with their own existence.