The Shadowhunter's Codex (2 page)

NOTE:
USE YOUR JUDGMENT. Your name must be approved by those evaluating your petition for Ascension. Do not try to name yourself Dragonrider or Firedance or Elfstar. Nephilim are meant to be inconspicuous. Obviously things such as Hammerfist or Bloodsteel should also be avoided.

ALDER

APPLE

ASH

ASPEN

BAY

BEAR

BLACK

BLOOD

BLUE

BOW

BRANDY

BROWN

BULL

CAR

CART

CHERRY

CHILD

COCK

CROSS

DOVE

EARTH

FAIR

FISH

FOX

GOLD

GRAY

GREEN

HALLOW

HAWK

HEAD

HEART

HERON

HOOD

HUNTER

KEY

LAND

LIGHT

MAPLE

MARK

MERRY

NIGHT

OWL

PEN

PINE

RAVEN

RED

ROSE

SCALE

SCAR

SHADE

SHADOW

SILVER

STAIR

STARK

STORM

THRUSH

TOWER

TREE

WAIN

WALKER

WATER

WAY

WEATHER

WELL

WHEEL

WHITE

WINE

WOLF

WOOD

WRIGHT

YOUNG

What is your Shadowhunter name?

Fairchild.

Can’t believe you actually wrote that in.

Definitely either STORMWALKER

or NIGHTRAVEN—what do you think?

BLOODSUCKER fits.

Not cool bro

THE SHADOWHUNTER’S GLOSSARY

Shouldn’t that be “glossarie”?

The world you are entering is a secret one. It is kept hidden from the vast majority of the mundane world, who do not know even that our kind exist, much less the many varieties of
monster
HANDSOME INDIVIDUAL among whom we are responsible for keeping peace. Naturally, the denizens of that world may make common reference to places and things with which you are not yet familiar. We thus provide this handy short guide to some of the more common terms, which will be explored in more depth in later chapters as warranted.

Well, thank goodness.

Hey.

I don’t know you. I can’t guess who you might be. But I’m done with this Codex now, and I think it’s time I pass it on.

Okay, I’ve written all over it. And . . . drawn all over it. But I think it’s better than a fresh clean Codex, because I’ve corrected some stuff and added some things. I think it’s more true, has less of the political stuff the Clave puts in to make themselves look good.

So this is yours now. Whoever you are. If you need to find this, you’ll find it.

Anyway, welcome. This is the Codex. I always thought it was like this great tome of wisdom, but it’s more like an army field manual—how you teach someone to be a Shadowhunter when you’re already being chased by demons. So I’m not the usual reader. Luckily, Jace has added some notes too. He’s taking my training a little too seriously, by the way. I think it’s because everyone already thinks we’re just pretending to train and actually making out. So, he’s Jace, he has to prove them wrong. Hence real serious training. Which is why I am writing this with an icepack on my hip, by the way.

Simon has appeared to announce that the Codex reminds him of a Dungeons & Dragons manual. “Like, you know, it tells you the rules. Vampires are weak to . . . fire! They bite you for 2d10 damage with their vicious fangs!” Now he is making a bitey face at me. He kind of looks like a hamster. Seriously, I love Simon, but he is like the worst vampire ever.

Simon, you don’t have to make pretend fangs with your fingers. You have actual fangs.

Why Do People Become Shadowhunters, by Magnus Bane

This Codex thing is very silly. Downworlders talk about the Codex like it is some great secret full of esoteric knowledge, but really it’s a Boy Scout manual.

One thing that it mysteriously doesn’t address is
why
people become Shadowhunters. And you should know that people become Shadowhunters for many stupid reasons.

So here is an addition to your copy.

Greetings, young aspiring Shadowhunter-to-be—or possibly already technically a Shadowhunter. I can’t remember whether you drink from the Cup first or get the book first. Regardless, congratulations. You have just been recruited by the Monster Police. You may be wondering, why?
Why of all the mundanes out there was I selected and invited to this exclusive club made up largely, at least from a historical perspective, of murderous psychopaths?

Possible Reasons Why:

1. You possess a stout heart, strong will, and able body.

2. You possess a stout body, able will, and strong heart.

3. Local Shadowhunters are ironically punishing you by making you join them.

4. You were recruited by a local Institute to join the Nephilim as an ironic punishment for your mistreatment of Downworlders.

5. Your home, village, or nation is under siege by demons.

6. Your home, village, or nation is under siege by rogue Downworlders.

7. You were in the wrong place at the wrong time.

8. You know too much, and should be recruited because the secrecy of the Shadow World has already been compromised for you.

9. You know too little; it would be helpful to the Shadowhunters if you knew more.

10. You know exactly the right amount, making you a natural recruit.

11. You possess a natural resistance to glamour magic and must be recruited to keep you quiet and provide you with some basic protection.

12. You have a compound last name already and convinced someone important that yours
is
a Shadowhunter family and the Shadowhunteriness has just been weakened by generations of poor breeding.

13. You had a torrid affair with a member of the Nephilim Council, and now he’s trying to cover his tracks.

14. Shadowhunters are concerned they are no longer haughty and condescending enough—have sought you out to add a much needed boost of haughty condescension.

15. You have been bitten by a radioactive Shadowhunter, giving you the proportional strength and speed of a Shadowhunter.

16. Large bearded man on flying motorcycle appeared to take you away to Shadowhunter school. (Note: Presence of flying motorcycle suggests bearded man may be a vampire.)

17. Your mom has been in hiding from your evil dad, and you found out you’re a Shadowhunter only a few weeks ago.

That’s right. Seventeen reasons. Because that’s how many I thought of. Now run off, little Shadowhunter, and learn to murder things. And be nice to Downworlders.

PEOPLE AND PLACES

We are called
Nephilim
or
Shadowhunters.
We are the children of men and
angels
; the Angel
Raziel
gave us our power.

Our primary mission is to eliminate
demons
, who come in a large variety of species and forms. We also seek to keep the peace among several populations of demihumans, known collectively as
Downworlders
. These groups are
werewolves, vampires, faeries,
and
warlocks.
We preside over a treaty known as the
Accords
that ordains how we and all of these groups may interact, as well as each group’s rights, responsibilities, and restrictions. The Accords are revised and signed every fifteen years by representatives of the Nephilim and all Downworlder groups.

We have our own secret country, which is hidden in Central Europe and is known as
Idris
. Its capital city—indeed, its only city—is named
Alicante
, and that is where the Council resides, and where Clave meetings are held (see below).

Most Shadowhunters spend their younger years as warriors. The exceptions are the members of our two monastic orders, the
Silent Brothers
and the
Iron Sisters
. The Brothers serve as our keepers of lore and knowledge: They are our librarians, our researchers, our medics. They reside in the
Silent City
, a place deep underground, many of whose levels are kept secret even from normal Shadowhunters. The Sisters design and forge our weapons; they are the keepers of
adamas,
the holy metal given by Raziel for our use. They reside in the
Adamant Citadel
, which is even more hidden than the Silent City; except for a single receiving chamber, it can be entered only by Iron Sisters.
Obsessed with secrecy? A little?

CLAVE, COUNCIL, CONSUL, COVENANT

The
Clave
is the collective name for the political body made up of all active Nephilim. All Shadowhunters that recognize the authority of Idris—and this should be all of them in the world who remain Shadowhunters—make up the Clave. 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. The Clave keeps and interprets the Law, and makes decisions about the guidance of the Nephilim through history as it unfolds.

What if you don't declare allegiance?

That’s called “leaving the Shadowhunters.” It’ll be covered later.

Smaller, more regional groups of Shadowhunters, for instance the Shadowhunters of a specific country or sometimes of a particularly large city, are collected in what are called Enclaves in most of the world, and Conclaves in the Americas and Australia. These regional groups coordinate their own local decision making and organizational structures as they see fit, although the Clave as a whole is responsible for placing Shadowhunters in charge of specific Institutes. The Clave may intercede in cases where an Enclave or Conclave is organized in some way that is against the spirit of the Nephilim as a whole (for instance, in cases where some individual Shadowhunter has tried to seize dictatorial power over nearby Downworlders, as with the infamous cult of personality and human sacrifice declared by Hezekiah Short in the Mayan ruins of southeastern Mexico in the 1930s).

The term “Clave” comes from the Latin
clavis
, meaning “key,” and its use in such terms as “Enclave” and “Conclave” refers abstractly to the idea of an assembly “under lock and key”—that is, meeting in secret. The Clave is, so to speak, the great secret of the Nephilim; with the key of the Mortal Cup, one earns entrance to its chambers.