The Shadowhunter's Codex (8 page)

WEEKEND TRAINING SCHEDULE FOR: ME

8 a.m.: Woke up.

9 a.m.: Woke up again; got up this time. Breakfast (bagel, scallion cream cheese, tomato, coffee w/milk). Calisthenics (walked briskly to deli and back).

10 a.m.–10:15 a.m.: Yoga. Very centering.

10:15 a.m.–11 a.m.: Language study (Looked through Latin textbook, watched last forty-five minutes of
Gladiator
. Fight scenes very inspiring. Took some notes.)

11 a.m.–12 p.m.: Took sketchbook to Prospect Park lawn. Simon brought lunch (noodles I like from place right by his house). Drew kids playing cricket on lawn. Studied cricket technique for potential application in combat. Drew gladiators playing cricket. Synthesis.

12 p.m.–1 p.m.: Lab: Interviewed vampire re: vampire history and culture, vampire combat techniques, etc. Very edifying.

1 p.m.–2 p.m.: Urban exploration (Took subway into Manhattan.)

2 p.m.–4 p.m.: Literary research (Visited comic book store, bought several volumes of long illustrated study of medieval combat in Japan.)

4 p.m.: Healthy midafternoon snack (smoothie)

4 p.m.–7 p.m.: Watched research film in multiplex.

7 p.m.–9 p.m.: Dinner, tiny Korean place on Thirteenth, soup. (Soup is healthy!) Critiqued fight techniques seen in movie—very unrealistic.

9 p.m.–10 p.m.: Orienteering (subway home)

10 p.m.–12 a.m.: Talked on phone with primary Shadowhunter trainer, updated him on status. Planned training regimen for following day. Exchanged positive affirmations.

12 a.m.–2 a.m.: Read illustrated study of medieval Japanese combat. Cultural exchange with vampire re: illustrated study, vampire’s current boredom. Fell asleep, practiced difficult “balance phone on face” technique for indefinite period of time before it fell onto the floor and woke me up.

2 a.m.: A refreshing, well-earned sleep.

SUBJECTS OF NEPHILIM STUDY

This Codex intends to provide you, the newly minted Shadowhunter, with the basic knowledge you will need to survive and understand your new world and your new people. We cannot possibly provide a full course of training in these pages, and mere written instruction, without the help of a skilled instructor who could not only demonstrate techniques but evaluate your abilities, would be a disservice to the training you deserve.

Instead we here provide the outlines of a general course of Shadowhunter training, along with touchstone goals for beginners, for more intermediate students, and for those seeking true expertise. It can be difficult for new Shadowhunters to understand their own training progress. We do not have ranks, promotions, “belts,” levels, merit badges, or anything of the kind. Most of your fellow Nephilim have lived in our warrior culture their whole lives, and the qualities of the well-tempered Shadowhunter have been part of their upbringing. These suggestions therefore should not be taken as rigid requirements but rather as guidelines that may help you understand your progress as you train.

One final note for the especially ambitious Shadowhunter: No one can be an expert at all things. As you train, one of your goals will be to find those elements of Shadowhunter life that you wish to pursue more closely, because of either your natural aptitude in them or your interest in deeper study. All Shadowhunters should first aim to achieve at least beginner competence in all of these categories before seeking more advanced study.

MONOMACHIA (HAND-TO-HAND COMBAT)

Beginner
: Basic competence (“black belt” equivalent) in at least one Eastern martial art or Western fighting tradition. Ability to reliably fend off two to three simultaneous attackers.

Intermediate
: Competence in three to five mundane fighting traditions. Ability to reliably fend off five to eight simultaneous attackers.

Expert
: Competence in more than ten mundane fighting traditions. Ability to reliably fend off an arbitrarily large army of demons.

RANGED-MISSILE COMBAT

Beginner
: Competence with standard set of ranged weapons—longbow, crossbow, sling, thrown daggers, javelins, big heavy rocks.

Intermediate
: Competence with above while blindfolded.

Expert
: Competence with above while blindfolded and lying down.

STEALTH

Beginner
: Ability to pass undetected through darkened alley or room.

Intermediate
: Ability to pass undetected through darkened alley or room filled with small breakable objects precariously balanced atop other breakable objects.

Expert
: Ability to pass undetected through open terrain in broad daylight.

BLENDING AND CONCEALMENT

Beginner
: Ability to pass as a mundane in a typical public scenario (“driving a car,” “shopping for food,” etc.). Please see
Mundanes Do the Darndest Things
, 1988 edition, in your local Institute library, for suggestions.

Intermediate
: Ability to pass as a mundane at a small cocktail party or reception.

Expert
: Ability to pass as a mundane in the midst of a mundane demonic cult performing a human sacrifice.

AGILITY AND GRACE

Beginner
: Basic competence at acrobatics, tumble, trapeze, gymnastics, etc.

Intermediate
: Competence at above skills while wearing thirty kilograms of gear and several heavy weapons.

Expert
: Competence at above skills while wearing thirty kilograms of gear, several heavy weapons, a blindfold, and iron manacles.

ENDURANCE

Beginner
: Competence at improvised survival skills in typical harsh environments (e.g., high desert, drifting ice floe).

Intermediate
: Competence with above in extreme environments (e.g., inside a building that is on fire, free-falling from an airplane at high cruising altitude, in outer space, in Hell).

Expert
: Ability to withstand torture by Greater Demon while in above harsh or extreme environments.

TRACKING

Beginner
: Knowledge of tracking runes; ability to identify telltale signs of animal or demon activity and maintain pursuit.

Intermediate
: Ability to maintain pursuit while also evading similar pursuit by different animal or demon.

Expert
: Ability to maintain pursuit while in harsh or extreme environments (see Endurance, above).

ORIENTEERING

Beginner
: Intuitive grasp of altitude, cardinal direction, time of day, weather conditions, etc.

Intermediate
: Ability to find way to known safe location when dropped into arbitrary environment.

Expert
: Ability to find way to known safe location when dropped into extreme or harsh environment (see above).

OBSERVATION AND DEDUCTION

Beginner
: Basic forensics knowledge; ability to “read” the scene of a crime and reconstruct events there with high probability of accuracy.

Intermediate
: Ability to reliably identify revealing details of a scene that mundane law enforcement would typically overlook.

Expert
: As above, but while blindfolded.

LANGUAGES

Beginner
: Knowledge of several mundane languages, preferably a mixture of living languages spoken near your geographical base and ancient languages used in religious writings (e.g., Sanskrit, Hebrew, ancient Greek, Sumerian).

Intermediate
: Knowledge of the above and at least two demonic languages.

Expert
: Knowledge of the above, at least four demonic languages, and ability to intuit basic meanings from written or spoken language never encountered before.

DIPLOMACY

Beginner
: Ability to talk your way out of being eaten by a demon or killed by angry Downworlder horde.

A Quick Evaluation of Me and My Friends By the Above Scale:

Alec: Intermediate, Expert, Intermediate, Intermediate, Expert, Intermediate, Intermediate, Beginner, Intermediate, Beginner, Intermediate.

Isabelle: Expert, Intermediate, Beginner, Beginner, Expert, Expert, Intermediate, Intermediate, Intermediate, Intermediate, Beginner.

Me: Beginner, Beginner, Beginner, Expert (I am very good at blending in with the mundane world!), Serious Beginner, Beginner.

Intermediate
: Ability to talk your way out of being eaten by Greater Demon or killed by angry Downworlder political leadership.
Intermediate, Intermediate, Beginner, Expert (I am counting runes here, okay?),

Expert
: Ability to talk your way out of being eaten by Greater Demon or killed by angry Downworlder political leadership, and to convince said demon or Downworlders that letting you go was their idea.

Expert (at least compared to the rest of this group).

Me: Expert, Intermediate, Expert, Expert, Expert, Expert, Expert, Expert, Expert, Expert, Beginner.

Me: Vampire, Vampire, Vampire, Vampire, Vampire, Vampire, Vampire, Vampire, Vampire, Vampire, Vampire.

WHY DON’T NEPHILIM USE FIREARMS?

Guns are rarely used by Shadowhunters because, for our purposes, they normally do not work correctly. Etching Marks into the metal of a gun or bullet prevents gunpowder from successfully igniting. Considerable research has been done into this problem, with little success. The prevailing theories today prefer an alchemical explanation, contrasting the heavenly source of our Marks with the demonically allied brimstone and saltpeter that make up classic gunpowder, but this explanation does not, unfortunately, hold much weight. Demonic runes have the same impeding effect on guns as our own Marks, and the problem remains even with the use of modern propellants, which do not contain these supposedly “demonic” materials. This remains one of the great unexplained mysteries of runic magic, and researchers continue to pursue explanations and solutions to this day.

Guns can, of course, be successfully used to harm vampires and (with silver bullets) werewolves, but shots must be made with pinpoint accuracy. The risk of collateral damage and the difficulty of scoring a direct hit, combined with the understanding that Shadowhunter weapons will be overwhelmingly used to fight demons rather than Downworlders, has led to a general rejection of firearms as part of the Shadowhunter arsenal.

Finally, it is to the advantage of the Nephilim to have our weapons forged and built by the Iron Sisters as much as possible. Modern gunsmithing involves elaborate industrial machining that our traditional weapons don’t require, and if we were to have the Iron Sisters forge firearms, that would drastically change the Iron Sisters’ need for resources and equipment.

THE TRADITION OF THE PARABATAI