The Council Hall is where all Council meetings are held. It is located in The Gard in Alicante, Idris.
Description[]
The Council Hall is a horseshoe-shaped space with rows of benches giving way to a slightly raised dais with more benches and seats. Above the dais, there is a golden clock of fine scrollwork with a Latin phrase, "ULTIMA THULE", etched around the rim. The clock rings through the Gard sounding like the tolling of a huge bell. Behind the dais, there is a wall of windows giving out a view of Alicante below.[1] The chamber itself is big enough to accommodate all Clave members.
Before the creation of the Portal, there were entrances to the Hall throughout the world. A few of the locations include Westminster Abbey—reached through a secret passageway in the Pyx Chamber[2]—the Sagrada Família, and Saint Basil the Blessed. These entrances, however, were sealed upon the invention of the Portal.
History[]
In 1878, a meeting was held to investigate the events of Axel Mortmain's attack on the London Institute and whether or not disciplinary action should be taken. The warlock Tessa Gray was summoned for testimony, along with the rest of the inhabitants of the Institute. After it was decided that the Branwells be censored for a time, Benedict Lightwood questioned the Consul's decision and issued a challenge to take the position of Institute head from Charlotte and Henry Branwell. The Consul initially opposed the demand but was forced to appease as Benedict had support for an official challenge. He opted to assign them the task of finding Mortmain alone in two weeks or else they would lose the London Institute.
At the end of the fortnight another meeting was held to decide the fate of the Institute. The meeting was brief as though Charlotte did not fully accomplish the goal, Benedict was forced to rescind his claims. A vote was taken and Charlotte was able to keep her position. It was at this meeting that the Council first got to see some of Mortmain's inventions as one had observed it and made itself known at the end.[2]
Some time later, Charlotte had reason to believe that Mortmain was newly based in Cadair Idris. She had written to the Consul numerous times to try to gain assistance from the Clave in a fight against him. Unbeknownst to her, the Council was discussing a replacement for the Consul, and Josiah was doing all he could to change their mind of making Charlotte his successor. Once she realized she would receive no aid on behalf of him, she sent a letter out to all the members of the Clave, asking they join her in her attack and explained the situation. In his rage, Josiah called an emergency Council meeting at the exact time she had requested arms to join her with a mandatory attendance requirement. They met to discuss replacing Charlotte as head of the Institute, however, understandably, the Council was more interested in finding out the truth of Charlotte's accusations and why they weren't helping her. The meeting was interrupted by Mortmain's automatons which killed the Consul, Aloysius Starkweather, and several other Shadowhunters.[3]
In 2007, Clary Fairchild was interrogated by the Council at the Council Hall every day for keeping the secret of asking a wish to the Angel Raziel which consequently brought Jace Herondale back to life. Isabelle Lightwood was always waiting for her at the door of the Council Hall after every interrogation. [4]
Later that year, Sebastian Morgenstern had attacked several Institutes and Turned many Shadowhunters into Endarkened. A meeting was held to disclose the information and steps forward. The Blackthorn children and Emma Carstairs gave testimonials as they were the only known survivors of these attacks. Some days later, after an attack on the Adamant Citadel another meeting was held. Here is was discovered that Sebastian had broken into Alicante the night before, not just for his sister Clary, but also to kidnap the Downworld representatives. During this meeting, one of Sebastian's soldiers infiltrated the Hall and held Consul Jia Penhallow at knifepoint to issue Sebastian's demands that the Clave hand over Clary and Jace and accept defeat in order for leniency and the safe return of those representatives. The Council agreed to take the time he allotted to discuss their decision.
This was eventually voided when Jace and Clary had fled to face Sebastian on their own. After the major battle of the Dark War, the Clave met to discuss new terms with the fey after their betrayal of siding with Sebastian. This new treaty removed the faeries protections under the Accords, their right to bear arms, and made them responsible for paying reparations for the damages received during the war. Though the fey representative present—and some of the Council members present—argued that the terms were too harsh, the Cold Peace was passed. During this meeting, the fates of the half-fey Shadowhunters Mark and Helen Blackthorn were also discussed. To the dismay of their family, it was decided that Mark would be left with the Wild Hunt and Helen would be exiled to Wrangel Island.[5]
In 2010, a ceremony of Ascension for the students of the Shadowhunter Academy was held in the Council Hall. Since it was the first Ascension ceremony in decades, the Hall was packed with Shadowhunters wanting to see the spectacle themselves. Gen Whitelaw, Thomas Aldertree, Marisol Garza, and Simon Lewis successfully Ascended—Simon with all of his memories coming back to him during the ceremony. However, his roommate, George Lovelace, was not as lucky. The ceremony was cut short upon the screams of agony as he burned on the dais and died after drinking from the Mortal Cup.[6]
A couple years later, the Council met to discuss the actions of the warlock Malcolm Fade, among other topics. The Clave had heard rumors that Sebastian Morgenstern had left a weapon in the Courts of Faerie that could destroy all Shadowhunters. It was decided that Clary and Jace would be dispatched to investigate.
Another Council meeting was held not long after in which the Cohort planned to make a play for the Los Angeles Institute. The members of the Institute convinced Jia to allow for a testimonial from a faerie messenger to discuss the Blight that the Unseelie King was spreading and offer a collaboration with the Seelie Court. Their hope was that this could end the Cold Peace and bring their siblings home. However, the meeting was derailed by the testimony of the recently-resurrected Annabel Blackthorn. Julian Blackthorn had believed that with her story, they could discredit the Cohort and any claim to power they may try for. This led to the Cohort shouting insults and accusations and then simply throwing items at Annabel. Annabel's fragile psyche broke and, in her madness, she killed the Inquisitor Robert Lightwood and Livvy Blackthorn, before vanishing in a cloud of smoke to the Unseelie Court.[1]
Later that night, an emergency meeting was held to discuss electing a new Inquisitor. Horace Dearborn, the leader of the Cohort, made a case of why he should be their next Inquisitor and was voted in the following morning. During the week of his appointment, Horace held a couple meetings to fearmonger the Clave into implementing the Registry.
After the Cohort's parley, a meeting was called to decide the punishment of the Cohort and to elect another new Inquisitor, as well as a new Consul, as Jia planned to step down. The Clave decided a lenient punishment for the Cohort, believing that they were simply children who could be changed. After the Clave voted Alec Lightwood to be the next Consul, the Cohort threatened to kill themselves, forcing the others to decide if they would be willing to make a fresh start with their blood on their hands. They managed to force all those who opposed their beliefs to leave Idris; that they could have the rest of the world and the Cohort would seal themselves in Idris. Alec agreed and his supporters left through a Portal, never expecting to see their home country or the Council Hall again.[7]
Trivia[]
- Since many Institutes actually integrate architecture of well-known buildings in Alicante,[8] some, such as the New York Institute, even have gates that replicate the look of the wooden doors of the Council Hall.[9]
- Clary, Jace, Alec, Isabelle, and Simon once traveled to the mirror Hell dimension of Edom and visited the Council Hall there.[5]
- There is a legend tied to the clock in the Hall that claims when it chimes the hour, the gates to Heaven open.[1]