An Illustrated History of Notable Shadowhunters & Denizens of Downworld Read online

  Grace Blackthorn

  Born

  1886

  Species

  Nephilim

  Favorite weapon

  Hairpins

  Family

  Cartwright, Blackthorn

  Grace had one hobby she retained from before she was adopted by Tatiana Blackthorn. She would gather flowers, leaves, and vines, and twist them together into elaborate crowns. Her adoptive brother, Jesse Blackthorn, and Tatiana were not generally willing to wear crowns, so Grace kept most of them, hanging them on nails driven into the walls of her bedroom.

  James Herondale

  Born

  1886

  Species

  Nephilim

  Favorite weapon

  Throwing knives

  Family

  Herondale, Gray

  Some of James’s fondest memories are of his parents, Will and Tessa Herondale, reading out loud to him and his sister Lucie. The four would read together almost every evening, snuggled onto the sofa in front of the hearth. James and Lucie took turns reading once they learned how.

  Jesse Blackthorn

  Born

  1879

  Species

  Nephilim

  Favorite weapon

  Unknown

  Family

  Blackthorn, Lightwood

  Jesse Blackthorn was raised in isolation, with only his mother Tatiana and his sister, Grace, for company. In this bleak environment, Jesse had to find his own happiness wherever he could. Frequently confined to bed because of illness, Jesse perfected his own paper-folding and cutting technique, making plants and animals from scraps of newsprint.

  Lucie Herondale

  Born

  1887

  Species

  Nephilim

  Favorite weapon

  The pen

  (mightier than the sword)

  Family

  Herondale, Gray

  Lucie loved writing ever since she could hold a pen. One of her prize possessions was a thick blank book that her brother, James Herondale, gave her for her eighth birthday. She kept it next to her bed, and copied only her favorite pieces of her own work into it. When Lucie was in her teens, she penned a novel titled The Beautiful Cordelia that reached a length of two thousand pages.

  Matthew Fairchild

  Born

  1886

  Species

  Nephilim

  Favorite weapon

  Rapier

  Family

  Fairchild, Branwell

  Matthew was very close with his father, Henry Branwell, but this closeness was not always easy. Matthew found himself caring for his father; making sure Henry ate and slept and didn’t set himself on fire. This responsibility was a heavy one for a young child, but Matthew handled it with determination. A core as solid as iron lay under his flamboyant nature.

  Sona Turan Carstairs

  Born

  1850

  Species

  Nephilim

  Married names

  Verlac, Carstairs

  Favorite weapon

  Shamshir

  Family

  Turan, Unknown

  Born in Tehran, Sona was an only child who grew up accustomed to getting her way. After the death of her first husband, Theodor Verlac, she married Elias Carstairs, who refused to believe the rumors that Sona had poisoned Theodor.

  Thomas Lightwood

  Born

  1885

  Species

  Nephilim

  Favorite weapon

  Broadsword

  Family

  Lightwood, Ashdown

  Thomas Lightwood was unhealthy when he was a child. His concerned family kept a close eye on him—a little too close. Thomas craved solitude, and was frustrated by the constant attentions of his older sisters. One day when he was left unattended, Thomas found a hole in a crumbling wall in the garden. The opening, obscured behind an evergreen bush, led to the surrounding forest. Thereafter, when Thomas was in need of peace and quiet, he’d slip away and walk among the trees of Idris, composing songs and stories in his mind.

  The Mortal Instruments

  Alexander Gideon Lightwood

  Born

  1989

  Species

  Nephilim

  Favorite weapon

  Bow and arrow

  Family

  Lightwood, Trueblood

  Alec’s seemingly endless supply of faded, unraveling sweaters don’t reflect his vibrant nature. His whimsical streak was apparent when he threw a surprise birthday party for Magnus Bane where the guests were almost exclusively cats, as a reversal of Magnus’s own history of throwing elaborate birthday parties for Chairman Meow. Chairman Meow was not amused.

  Aline Blackthorn Penhallow

  Born

  1990

  Species

  Nephilim

  Maiden name

  Penhallow

  Favorite weapon

  Blades

  Family

  Penhallow, Ke

  Making the best of a terrible situation, Aline picked up a new hobby early in her time on Wrangel Island: ice sculpture. Aline excels at the detail-oriented work, and uses a variety of weapons for carving. Her best known piece is her rendering of Jonathan Shadowhunter, carved entirely with seraph blade, but her favorite subject is her wife, Helen Blackthorn.

  Amatis Herondale

  Born

  1967

  Species

  Nephilim

  Maiden name

  Graymark

  Favorite weapon

  Short sword

  Family

  Graymark, Unknown

  When Amatis was a child, she often devised games to keep her younger brother, Lucian Graymark, entertained. A particular favorite was “Elphas and Baba,” in which Amatis and Luke would pretend to be the ancient warlock siblings Baba Agnieszka and Elphas the Unsteady. The game generally involved Amatis (as Baba) ordering Luke to collect unusual objects to use as spell components. Occasionally when Luke was in a bad mood, Amatis would let him play Baba, and he delighted in making bizarre demands of his sister.

  Asmodeus

  Born

  Unknown

  Species

  Prince of Hell

  Favorite weapon

  Unknown

  As a Prince of Hell, Asmodeus has an insatiable hunger for the suffering of humans. Indeed, any sort of strong emotion feeds him. A sixteenth century seeress delivered a prophecy that his addiction to the emotions and memories of humans would be his undoing, but he remains unconcerned. Asmodeus isn’t one to trouble himself with pathetic human superstition.

  Bartholomew Velasquez

  Born

  1988

  Species

  Werewolf

  Favorite weapon

  Wolf form

  Bat Velasquez has an independent streak that makes him stand out among the werewolves of the New York pack. The majority of werewolves rely heavily on a pack for food, shelter, and emotional support, and give up most of the connections to their former lives. Bat has never been willing to give up his earlier lifestyle and passions. Rather than living with the pack, Bat has an apartment of his own. He has an active creative life as a DJ. His willingness to blaze a middle way through the dichotomy of human/werewolf has enabled him to make important contributions to the re-establishment of the Praetor Lupus.

  Brother Zachariah

  Created

  1878

  Species

  Nephilim

  Favorite weapon

  Staff

  Family

  Carstairs, Ke

  Joining the Silent Brothers is no easy task. There is a steep learning curve, especially in the first decade of service to the Brotherhood. While he struggled with his personal transformation, Brother Zachariah brought the gift of perspective to the other Silent Brothers. Isolated as they are, it had been decades since the Brothers had lived beside a Shadowhunter whose humanity remained so close
. Brother Zachariah’s presence reinvigorated the Brothers, reminding them of the preciousness of the life for which they study and fight.

  Camille Belcourt

  Born

  Unknown

  Species

  Vampire

  Favorite weapon

  Manipulation

  As an ancient vampire, Camille had many opportunities to reinvent herself. A little known chapter of her history was her ill-fated brush with millinery. In the early 1800s, Camille began designing extravagant hats. For vampires, she favored rich colors and jewels to contrast with their unnatural pallor. For werewolves, earth tones and striking textures were employed. Camille did not often have the opportunity to design for warlocks, but when she did she made reference to the magical specialties of her clients in the materials she chose. The hats she made for the fey often featured moss and enchanted, undying flowers. All of her hats had magic woven through them, and it was those enchantments that brought this chapter of her life to a sudden end. Quite a large number of the hats began to move of their own accord, and some became aggressive. No warlock has admitted to helping Camille create these unfortunate hats, and she has never revealed the identity of her magical helper… possibly because she enacted some horrible revenge upon them.

  Catarina Loss

  Born

  Unknown

  Species

  Warlock

  Favorite weapon

  Unknown

  Catarina’s specialty is healing magic. She has worked in a wide variety of medical settings in the mundane human world, from field hospitals in times of war to state-of-the-art clinics. In cases of extreme need, Catarina has even used portal magic to treat and extract earthquake victims, but the risk of using such magic is great. In general, Catarina prefers to hang back until her healing magic will count the most. Because of her involvement with mundane institutions, Catarina has expertise on navigating the mundane world that many individuals from the Shadow World lack. She’s a great resource to mundane humans, Shadowhunters, and Downworlders alike.

  Céline Herondale

  Born

  1971

  Species

  Nephilim

  Maiden name

  Montclaire

  Favorite weapon

  Unknown

  Family

  Montclaire, Unknown

  Céline struggled with not belonging during her early life. She grew up in an abusive situation, with parents who treated her brutally and rarely showed her any kindness. As a child, Céline often ran away from home, sometimes staying away for days at a time. Though she was frequently hungry, those days of solitude were her rare moments of peace. In the many stressful moments of her life, she would recall those days spent walking in the forest or along roads, blissfully anonymous. She could be anyone, going anywhere. Before meeting Valentine Morgenstern and joining up with the Circle, Céline was considering continuing her path of solitude and becoming an Iron Sister, but after her hellish upbringing she chafed at the idea of the discipline required. The Circle gave her a place to belong without total isolation, where she had friends and comrades. She threw herself into their world, unaware of the devastating consequences her loyalty would have.

  Chairman Meow

  Born

  2005

  Species

  Cat

  Favorite weapon

  Innate charm

  The warlock Magnus Bane found Chairman Meow abandoned in an alley near his apartment building. Chairman Meow was in a dilapidated cardboard box along with three other kittens. After several days of four-kitten hijinks, Magnus cast a spell to determine which of his neighbors were most in need of a kitten, and dispersed the other three to some very surprised mundane humans. Chairman Meow made it clear he had no intention of leaving by clinging to Magnus any chance he got.

  Church

  Born

  Unknown

  Species

  Cat (rendered immortal

  through necromantic

  experiments)

  Favorite weapon

  Teeth, claws,

  withering glances

  Church first came to Manhattan with the warlock Magnus Bane. While he did refrain from biting Magnus on the transatlantic voyage, he did suffer bouts of seasickness. If he had such capability, he probably would have chided Magnus about his frivolous decision to travel like a mundane “for fun.” Possessing no such faculty for reason, Church merely treated Magnus to some long, vicious stares.

  Church is currently retired and lives on the beach.

  Clary Adele Fray

  Born

  1991

  Species

  Nephilim

  Favorite weapon

  Short sword (Heosphoros)

  Family

  Fairchild, Morgenstern

  Clary Fray hasn’t let her responsibilities as a Shadowhunter interfere with her artistic life. After the Dark War, Clary set up a studio space in an unused bedroom at the New York Institute, near the music room. She devotes several hours a week to drawing and painting, and sometimes her mother, Jocelyn Fray, joins her. Jace Herondale often uses those same hours to play the piano.

  Clary was given her middle name, Adele, to honor her maternal grandmother, but the name has a long history among the Nephilim.

  Helen Penhallow Blackthorn

  Born

  1989

  Species

  Nephilim

  Maiden name

  Blackthorn

  Favorite weapon

  Seraph blade

  Family

  Blackthorn

  Banished to study the wards on Wrangel Island, Helen has struggled with the grief of being separated from her family. One saving grace is that she has developed a fascination with the wards themselves. Shadowhunters rely heavily on warding magic, but their understanding of it is relatively small. With Helen’s determination and focus, she’s on a path to become one of the foremost experts on wards. She hopes that this expertise will eventually entice the Nephilim to allow her to return home.

  Hodge Starkweather

  Born

  1971

  Species

  Nephilim

  Favorite weapon

  Chakram

  Family

  Starkweather, Unknown

  The Starkweather family has long favored isolation in the countryside of Idris. Hodge was often left to his own devices, and spent hours roaming the fields and forests. Plants and animals were of particular interest to him, and he became a skilled herbalist in his youth. Hodge had to go to great lengths to convince his parents to let him attend the Shadowhunter Academy, and when he did, it wasn’t an easy place for him to be. Those years spent in the wilderness and the apothecary turned out to be some of his happiest memories.

  Imogen Herondale

  Born

  1946

  Species

  Nephilim

  Maiden name

  Whitelaw

  Favorite weapon

  Seraph blade

  Family

  Whitelaw, Unknown

  Few individuals can claim to have seen the softer side of Imogen Herondale. Even before the tragic losses of her husband, son, and daughter-in-law, Imogen had a flinty personality. While impatient with nonsense and frivolous behavior, Imogen also had a surprising number of hobbies: watercolor painting, poison-mixing, darts, and classical piano.

  Isabelle Sophia Lightwood

  Born

  1991

  Species

  Nephilim

  Favorite weapon

  Whip

  Family

  Lightwood, Trueblood

  Isabelle Lightwood’s nerdy tendencies began long before she formed a close relationship with Simon Lewis. As a young girl, Isabelle was fascinated by the history of weapons. She balanced the time she spent doing physical training with hours in the library, reading about the evolution and practice of close-range combat. While not always the most attentive student, Isabelle’s attention to
anything involving weapons was, to quote her former tutor Hodge Starkweather, “terrifying.”