A Malachi Configuration is a magical form of punishment used by the Clave.
Ritual[]
The Malachi Configuration is created by driving a seraph blade into the ground at each of the cardinal points around the person to be imprisoned, and drawing a rune just below the southernmost blade. A sharp, sweet chime like a delicate bell being rung will sound from the configuration, and bright light will pour from the four blades.
Description[]
This ritual will form a cage with high walls, at around 30 ft., that appear to be made out of shimmering, moving filaments of light. The walls cannot be destroyed as long as the seraph blades remain in place, and touching any of the blades is fatal to anyone except the person who created the configuration.
The walls of the Configuration distort sound and blur the image beyond it. Coming into contact with the walls sends an electric shock through a person, strong enough to knock them over; walking through it will have a stronger, but unspecified, effect.
History[]
In September 2007, then Inquisitor Imogen Herondale trapped Jace Herondale inside a Malachi Configuration in the training room of the New York Institute. Jace's parabatai Alec later found him and pointed out the absence of a barrier at the top, and Jace was able to escape the configuration by leaping about 30 feet up in the air onto the ceiling's rafters, a feat he was capable of due to an excess of angel blood.[1]
In 2012, Jia Penhallow created a Malachi Configuration with the help of some of the Centurions, to trap members of the Cohort so they could capture them rather than harm them.[2]