The Shadowhunter's Codex (14 page)

This is particularly important because newly made werewolves do not normally transition gently into their new lives. Along with the lycanthropic response often comes uncontrolled aggression and rage, suicidal anger, and depression. This raft of emotions is both terrible and potentially dangerous in the hands of a newly strengthened and powered Downworlder who no longer knows his own strength. Thus, newly made werewolves must be treated with caution. The Praetor Lupus has taken responsibility for self-policing the Downworlder community of both fledgling vampires (see “
Vampires
,”) and newmade werewolves, and can be of assistance in particularly difficult cases.

By all reports the first Change is the worst because it is a new experience, but let us be clear that the lyncanthropic Change is always a trauma. The stretching and reshaping of muscles and bones is very painful, especially the realignment of the spine. Human teeth are pushed out of the way by wolf fangs painfully tearing from the gums. This and the brain chemistry changes cause most werewolves to go into a fugue during their first Change, and they lose all memory of what they have done as wolves. This is when lycanthropes are at their most dangerous—when they do not yet have control of their Change and cannot yet retain their human mind when Changed.

Worse, most newmade lycanthropes do not yet have a pack affiliation and thus don’t have access to information that would help them understand their Change. This is why we recommend mercy to new werewolves even though rogue Downworlders are technically not protected by the Accords. Newmade werewolves are literally not in control of their own faculties. The Praetor Lupus helps enormously in finding and rehabilitating these rogues, and a captured rogue werewolf should usually be brought to a local Praetor office or representative rather than to the nearest pack.

The Praetor has been very successful in their mission and has made werewolves the model Downworlders of self-policing; in most parts of the world, it’s rare that Shadowhunters need to be called in to deal with a rogue werewolf, a massive change since the creation of the Praetor. However, even the most controlled werewolf will still be forced into a Change by the full moon, if only on the exact night of the fullest moon. There is, therefore, no such thing as a perfectly safe werewolf.

Moreover, there is no such thing as a safe werewolf pack. There is an inherent violence at the center of traditional werewolf organization: A pack leader can be challenged to mortal combat by any member of the pack, at any time, for leadership of the pack. Apart from making the entire social structure of werewolves centered around ritual killing (an unfortunately common thread in Downworlder cultures), this also means that the werewolf population is constantly committing what mundane society would label as murder in the first degree, and such behavior may attract the attention of mundane law enforcement. Here we may find ourselves needed to perform some glamours and protections to keep the Downworlder and mundane populations away from each other.

An experienced werewolf, one in whom the Change is a well-known companion rather than an unwanted invader, can often learn more advanced shape-shifting—for instance, Changing only one hand into a wolf’s paw to cut something with its claws.

Traditionally werewolves and vampires maintain an intense hatred for one another, which is believed to be inherent in their respective demonic infections, but there are places in the world where the two groups get along and are even allies, such as Prague.

Werewolves are mortal and will age and die like any other humans. They are also able to bear children, to whom they
do not
pass on lycanthropy. They can have offspring with a Shadowhunter as the other parent, and since Shadowhunter blood always
breeds true, the child of a werewolf and a Shadowhunter, however rare, will be a Shadowhunter.

WEAKNESSES

In addition to their supernatural strength, grace, and reflexes, werewolves have the same unnaturally accelerated healing abilities as most other Downworlders. They cannot regenerate—if you cut the arm off a werewolf, he will not grow back a new arm—but they can recover from most mundane wounds. The only ways to permanently wound or kill a werewolf are either with the angelic fire of the seraph blade or, more famously, with pure silver. Silver is associated with the moon, and wounds made with silver weapons will cause werewolves not only permanent damage but also great pain. Any Institute will be found to have a cache of silver weapons in place for just this reason.

Showed this section to Luke, and he yelled and paced around for half an hour.

I took notes.

It’s your diligence as a student that astounds me, really. Also, definitely get Simon a satin cape.

You know he wants one.

THE PRAETOR LUPUS

The Praetor Lupus is the first and largest self-policing organization of the Downworlders. It has grown from a tiny force begun in London in the late nineteenth century to a worldwide organization. The name suggests an old, even ancient, organization, but in fact the Praetor Lupus—“Wolf Guard”—was founded only 150 years ago, and its name is not ancient, but rather reflects the Victorian vogue for all things classical. The founder, Woolsey Scott, was a wealthy werewolf of London and began the Praetor in response to his brother’s dying wishes. The self-declared mission of the Praetor is to track down “orphaned” Downworlders—newly made werewolves, fledgling vampires, and warlocks who have no knowledge of their people—and to help them take control of their powers and become connected with a clan or pack or mentor warlock.

• 
Apparently overstates the danger of single rogue werewolves. Codex acts like they are like shark in
Jaws
, just efficient killing machines. Most rogue werewolves in cities are shot by cops; most rogue werewolves in woods/on farms starve, die in fights with bears, etc.

• 
Praetor originally about saving werewolves from being killed by their condition, not saving mundanes from effects of werewolves.

• 
The “model Downworlder” status that Codex condescendingly suggests is actually really offensive.

• 
L. will show them where they can put their model Downworlder status.

• 
This is why the Clave blah, blah, blah Council blah, blah. In my day blah, blah, blah uphill both ways in the snow.

• 
Possible Hanukkah gifts for Simon: new Tezuka box set? silly winter hat? black satin cape? blood?

The Clave and the Praetor have an uneasy relationship, despite their many goals in common. The Praetor prefers to operate without supervision and is very secretive about their methods and their membership; this secrecy makes the Clave uneasy, since Shadowhunters are meant to be the chief protectors of Downworld and we believe in openness and disclosure whenever possible. The Praetor argues, for their part, that their goal is to save rogue Downworlders
before
they have run afoul of Covenant Law, and that close oversight by the Clave would damage their ability to protect their charges. Despite the Accords, over the years the Praetor has become more secretive as it has grown.

The symbol of the Praetor Lupus is easily recognized, and is worn with much pride by its members. The symbol is an imprint of a wolf’s paw adorned with the slogan
Beati Bellicosi
, “Blessed Are the Warriors.”

Showed
this
page to Luke. He turned purplish and told me to show it to Jordan. Notes from talking to Jordan: Praetor not actually that secretive. Secretive from Clave specifically. What Clave calls secrecy, Praetor calls not telling Clave every single thing about themselves and their operations. Claim of Clave’s love of openness obviously some kind of joke. Don’t need werewolves to teach me that.

VAMPIRES

DO NOT SKIP. Simon is not a textbook-level source on vampires!

DO NOT SKIP.

You must only stroll, mosey, or hop.

Vampires are victims of another demonic infection, which turns them into drinkers of blood. They possess retractable razorlike fangs that are deployed when their bloodlust is roused. These they sink into a surface vein of their victim, and then the vampire consumes that victim’s blood to his or her satisfaction. The act of drinking blood brings a rush of energy and vitality to the vampire. Experienced vampires can resist this rush and cease their drinking in order to leave their victims alive and able to recover, but new vampires may have trouble controlling their urge to drink their victims to the point of death. Worse, after the initial sting of a vampire bite, the poison contained within vampire saliva dulls the victim’s pain and may make the experience pleasurable for the victim. The poison acts as a muscle relaxant and a euphoric, and even a strong Shadowhunter will respond to its effects. A well-Marked Shadowhunter can, of course, retain her consciousness much longer than a mundane, but there is still a heavy risk associated with being bitten.

Unlike werewolves, vampires are considered to be “undead”; that is, their bodies are no longer alive in the sense that ours are. Their human souls reside in animated corpses, kept intact and animate by the demon disease. They cannot bear children and can create new vampires only by their infecting bite.

IF YOU MEET A VAMPIRE

Do not look the vampire directly in the eyes. Do not expose your neck or the insides of your wrists to the vampire. Do not go with a vampire you don’t know to a second location strange to you. Do not drink from a goblet given to you by the vampire, no matter how much they insist it is safe. There is no need to be deferential, but they do not take insults lightly. Do not mock the vampire’s hair or clothes. They place an enormous weight on whether they are being treated respectfully, and while under the Law they may not harm us, it is usually wise to avoid earning the enmity of a vampire.