The Shadowhunters Codex Read online

Page 25

 

  The Great and Tragic Love of Jonathan Shadowhunter and David the Silent, by

  Clary Fray, Aged 17

  SIMON IT WAS BY SIMON NOT ME

  JONATHAN SHADOWHUNTER: I am Jonathan Shadowhunter, and I am about to form a holy order of warriors to defend Earth from demons! I am louche and aristocratic and callow!

  DAVID: Are you suggesting that only the combination of both your rash bravery and my levelheaded thinkiness can hope to defeat the darkness, rather than either alone?

  DAVID: I am David and I witnessed something truly horrific in a cave and as a result I have taken a vow of silence and sworn myself to killing demons. I am only thinking these things, rather than saying them out loud, because I have taken a vow of silence.

  JONATHAN: . . . No, but that’s much better than what I was suggesting, so let’s go with that!

  DAVID: We kill demons awesomely now! We go on adventures and repeatedly save each other’s lives!

  JONATHAN: I throw myself at demons indiscriminately!

  JONATHAN: Oh, David, I would trust you with my life!

  DAVID: Verily, you shall be killed if you keep doing that. You need an influence of calm and meditative spirit in this mission. It is not just a war; it is a holy war. Meditate with me.

  DAVID: Oh, Jonathan, I would sacrifice my own life for your holy mission!

  [He almost does. ]

  I regret nothing.

  JONATHAN: (weeping) David, you must return to me! I need you! I cannot do this thing without you!

  JONATHAN: This meditating business is very nice, and I feel more balanced and together than ever before, but have you noticed that we are supposed to be demon hunters but in fact neither of us has actually killed a demon in many moons?

  DAVID: Lo, I return!

  JONATHAN: Zounds! I feel a great stirring in my pantaloons!

  DAVID: What doth thy pantalo

  SIMON I WILL KILL YOU

  DISCUSSION QUESTIONS AND THINGS TO TRY

  1. With which of the founders of the Nephilim—Jonathan, David, or Abigail—do you feel a bond? Why? What about their lives can inform the way you live your own?

  Um, I guess Abigail because she’s the only girl, Codex. I mean, really? At least boys get two different people to choose from. Abigail’s defining feature is she’s female.

  Some would say Abigail’s defining feature was that she learned how to work the very material of Heaven on a forge, and then she built a gigantic fortress and never came out again. I don’t see that as a reason not to feel a bond with her.

  Where do you want to get lunch?

  My psychic vampire powers say you want noodles.

  I always want noodles.

  Your psychic noodle powers depend on them. True

  What are you guys, twelve? Stop passing the thing back and forth.

  * * *

  HISTORY OF THE CODEX

  Did You Know? How could you possibly care?

  The first edition of The Shadowhunter’s Codex is a hand-illuminated book written in Vulgar Latin, on pages of vellum. It can be seen in a carefully preserved display among the treasures of Alicante. For many years this first edition was believed to have been written by Jonathan Shadowhunter, in his own hand, and thus was dated to the late eleventh century. Modern research and dating techniques have, unfortunately, revealed that this date is not correct, and the first edition instead dates to the early thirteenth century, almost a hundred years after Jonathan Shadowhunter’s believed date of death. Its author and its illuminator, whether the same person or different, remain unknown. Many different Enclaves of Shadowhunters in Europe have laid claim to being the rightful inheritors of the original Codex, but no evidence has ever arisen to allow a definitive claim. In any event it is logical to understand the Codex as a document dating from after the deaths of the first Shadowhunters, when the Nephilim of Idris were actively working to find recruits to their mission and to drastically expand their numbers and their geographical reach. The Codex would have provided an expeditious method of teaching the literate, at the very least, about the Shadow World and its denizens.

  The first edition of the Codex produced on a printing press is not nearly as mysterious. The Codex was first printed, in German, on the presses of the Institute at Frankfurt-am-Main in what was then the Holy Roman Empire. It was brought to that Institute from Heidelberg, where a group of Nephilim had been studying demonology in collaboration with scholars of the university there. It is unknown how many copies were made, but of them, forty-eight survive. Of these, several can be found in Alicante, and at least one can be found at each Great Library. The rest are spread among smaller Institutes, mostly in Central Europe, and a small number of Shadowhunter private collections.

  This edition of the Codex is a minor revision of the twenty-seventh edition, first published in 1990. Only material related to the Ninth Accords has been added. I care.

  Don’t you quote Star Wars at me, Lewis.

  NOTES:

  DO NOT DOODLE IN THIS SPACE

  NOTES AREA

  Please use this blank space provided to practice Marks. Note: Please practice your Marks with a waster and not with a real stele. Paper is too fragile to withstand the force of heavenly fire.

  ARTIST ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Rebecca Guay provided us with the frontispiece, a study of the primary players from the Mortal Instruments books.

  Charles Vess supplied the endpiece, a similar study of the characters of the Infernal Devices. (That’s the London Institute they’re frolicking upon. )

  Michael Wm. Kaluta produced the chapter headings, and understood what we meant when we said, “Do it like an old-school gaming manual. ”

  John Dollar illustrated the history of the Nephilim, choosing what to illustrate from the text himself, rather than being given a specific list of requested subjects.

  Theo Black was commissioned to do two pieces of faerie-themed art and then sent us five. We used all five.

  Elisabeth Alba’s quickly dashed-off practice sketches were good enough to print, but we were glad we waited for the actual finished pieces. She contributed beautiful, mostly pencil-based work across the whole Codex.

  Jim Nelson also contributed beautiful work across the whole Codex, but most important, he added three new demons to the Shadowhunter universe. They are wonderfully disgusting and we are proud to have them.

  Cassandra Jean as Clary Fray. Cassandra Jean drew all over this thing, and filled the back of it with portraits.

  Michael McCartney at Simon & Schuster designed the book, placed the art, and was very, very patient with our many detail-oriented requests.

  And of course, thanks to Valerie Freire for her rune designs and her inspiration.