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| “ | Maybe it doesn't sound that harmful, but it never stops there. Zara clearly doesn't care if Downworlders live or die—once she knows where they all are, once they have to report to her, the Cohort has power over them. | ” |
–Kit's opinion on the Registry, Lord of Shadows | ||
The Registry is a law that was being proposed and advocated by the Cohort that involves the registration of all Downworlders. It was later approved and executed.
Description[]
The Registry involves registering all Downworlders, starting with faeries. Each Downworlder would be required to give their information to the Clave and be tracked. They would also receive a number upon registering that a Shadowhunter could ask from them at any time.
As a result of the Dark War and subsequently the Cold Peace, many of the Shadowhunters who already hold a deep mistrust of Downworlders and feel the Laws regarding them should be stricter felt braver to voice their opinions and eventually convened to form the Cohort. Its main architect, Horace Dearborn, intended to have the Law pushed by gaining a high position in the Clave.[1]
Every Institute would be given a short amount of time to register their local Downworlders. The heads of the Institute would have to meet a quota of registrations, based on the Clave's knowledge of local Downworld populations. Should a Downworlder refuse to be registered, all the protection given to them by the Accords would be stripped away, meaning that a Shadowhunter could kill them with no consequences. Failure of the head of an Institue to register their Downworlders may result in suspension of privileges or recall to Alicante.[2]
History[]
| “ | This may seem like a small action, but it’s not going to seem small to Downworlders. It will have repercussions. Even if the Registry is temporary, there will always be reasons to continue it. It is far harder to dismantle this sort of structure than it is to build it. We could face a situation where Downworlders insist that Shadowhunters also be registered, for parity. Are you prepared to have Nephilim carry their papers everywhere with them? | ” |
–Diana's opinion on the Registry, Queen of Air and Darkness | ||
When the Registry was announced by Horace Dearborn and the Cohort, several Shadowhunters were uneasy but the Cohort soon managed to convince them that the Law was in place for everybody's safety and accountability. Some of the Shadowhunters that voiced out their opinions included Jia Penhallow, Diana Wrayburn and Carmen Rosales Delgado. When Diana pointed out the repercussions of the Registry and how it would not be an ideal solution, the Council became angry again. Due to the clear mixed feelings about the Registry, the voting on whether or not to pass the Law was put on hold for a week.
Following the incident where Samantha Larkspear lost her mind after falling into the pool at the Hollow Place which was blamed on Kieran, the Law was passed. Helen Blackthorn and Aline Penhallow of the Los Angeles Institute were still strongly against this Law and found a creative way to undermine the registration mandate without ignoring it. They registered all the local Downworlders with false names, occupations and addresses so that they would technically be registered but the Clave would be unable to find them. However, most Institutes registered their Downworlders in the way that the Cohort intended. Some Downworlders, such as Magnus Bane managed to avoid the Registry too.
When Alec Lightwood became Consul, he decided that he would find a way to end the Registry.[2]
Trivia[]
- While largely a reference to the registration of Jewish people during World War II, it also was inspired, more currently, by then-U.S.-presidential-candidate Donald Trump's comments about registering Muslims.[3]