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Thomas Lightwood

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Matthew: "And Thomas is the one with a good heart."
Thomas: "Lord, I sound dull."
―Matthew telling Thomas his role, Chain of Gold

Thomas Lightwood is Gideon Lightwood and Sophie Collins's third child and only son. He has two elder sisters: Barbara and Eugenia.

Biography

Early life

“ You know large crowds of people make me nervous! You know I can never think of anything to say to them! ”

–Thomas to Matthew Fairchild, Nothing but Shadows

Thomas was a sickly and shy boy when he was young. During this time, Thomas and his family resided in Idris, though they visited London for parties, family gatherings, and the Herondale family.[2] Because of his health problems, his family and even close friends kept a very close eye on him and took great care of him.

The smothering amount of attention his family gave him when he was young prompted Thomas to take secret walks in a part of Idris's forest close to their home, beginning from the time he found a small passageway in their garden. He used this time to compose songs and stories.[3]

By the time he was thirteen, he had gotten better, and so he was sent to the Shadowhunter Academy, albeit a year late because of his health problems, and he agreed because he wanted to get away from his sisters who often bossed him around.

Merry Thieves

At the Academy, Thomas mostly hung around his best friend Matthew Fairchild and his cousin Christopher.[2] There were times when he also followed Alastair Carstairs around.[4] Thomas encouraged James Herondale, the son of his mother's best friend to pal around with them more; though James said he wanted his and Christopher's company, he disliked Matthew and declined. Eventually, however, James and Matthew got over their issues,[2] and the four boys became friends and have been inseparable since—even after James, Matthew, and Christopher all got expelled.[2][4] Thomas did not return to the Academy the following year, with his friends all expelled and Alastair having graduated.

Thomas continued his training at the London Institute with James, Matthew, and Christopher. When they were once referred to as "that notorious bunch of hooligan boys" by Lavinia Whitelaw, Matthew and James took to calling their group as Shadowhooligans for a while. At one point, they began renting out a club room at the Devil Tavern for their exclusive use,[4] where they were eventually dubbed the Merry Thieves by the barmaid Polly.[5]

Travel year

When he turned 18, his father, Gideon, sent him to Spain for his travel year because he felt that the country improves people,[6] and partly because he thought that Thomas would flourish when allowed to be temporarily independent of the overprotective attention of his family and friends.[7] To the surprise of his friends, Thomas indeed changed during the trip. He suddenly grew to be the tallest of their group, and became muscular and stronger. He also picked up a new weapon, the bolas. He indeed flourished as Gideon had hoped, and gained a lot more confidence.

When the head of the Madrid Institute suggested that Thomas take two weeks off, he heeded Matthew's advice and went to Paris. There, after a couple of days of touring the city in loneliness, Thomas ran into Alastair Carstairs. The pair spent two days together and enjoyed each other's company, just before Alastair left Paris.

Before he returned to London from Madrid, Thomas got a tattoo of a compass rose on his arm.

Family Tragedy

In 1903, tragedy struck his family when his sister Barbara was infected and killed by demon poison. While his mother and father went to Idris to be with his other sister, Thomas stayed behind in London to help find the cause and a cure for the others who were afflicted.

In the following days, Thomas stayed with Christopher and helped him develop an antidote. While they worked in the lab, his friends were able to track down the demon that was to blame; a Mandikhor that was hiding out on Tower Bridge. After stealing a Pyxis, Thomas and his friends tried to fight and capture it. Unfortunately the demon was too strong and broke out of the box. After a battle with its seemingly endless amount of Khora demons, the Mandikhor fled but was not defeated.

While on patrol the next afternoon, he learned Christopher had been attacked and poisoned by the same demons. James told him where he could find the final ingredient for the elixir—which Christopher had been on his way to get—and, after some encouragement, went to retrieve it with Lucie. However when he went back to Grosvenor Place to mix it, Charles Fairchild would not let him in. Thankfully Alastair was there and convinced him to allow Thomas to use Henry's lab and even stayed behind to help. Once it was ready, the pair went to the Silent City to distribute it.

In the aftermath, though Thomas completed it, Christopher received all the credit for the cure and was praised a hero; something the others found unfair to Thomas. At the engagement party for James and Cordelia, Thomas tried to play peacemaker between Matthew and Alastair, wishing that they could move on from the past and all become friends. Matthew would not hear of it and announced the rumors Alastair had spread about him being Gideon's bastard, among other nasty slights toward Thomas's mother. Thomas—whose family had been hurt gravely by these stories—threatened Alastair if he ever spoke or came near him again.[5]

Personality

In his youth, Thomas craved solitude and was unnerved by crowds. Among their group of friends, Thomas was the one who grounded them in a way. Thomas is kind and emphatic, often seeing the best even in people who hide them.[2][4] Thomas can also be quite sarcastic.[5]

Thomas is apparently very stubborn; once he's made a decision, no one can talk him out of it.[8]

Physical description

Thomas is regarded as extremely tall and muscular with broad shoulders. He has brown hair and hazel eyes and a tattoo of a compass rose on the inside of his left forearm.[5]

When he was young, Thomas looked considerably sickly and short, and even growing up, he had a slight physique.[2]

Appearances

Gallery

See more here

Trivia

  • He was named after the late carriage driver of the London Institute, Thomas Tanner, who was a good friend of his mother, Sophie.
  • Thomas has excellent memory.[5]
  • Thomas is good with languages.[9] He speaks Spanish with his father, Welsh with his cousins, and Persian with Lucie.[10]
  • Thomas's favorite weapons are broadswords and his bolas.[3][1][5]
  • His favorite treat is the trifle.[11]
  • His favorite animal is an owl.[1]
  • His favorite book is Rubaíyat́ of Omar Khayyaḿ.[1]
  • According to a "found" family tree, Thomas died in 1915, at the age of 29 or 30.[12]

  • Thomas is set to write songs in his head but will be too shy to tell anybody, except for one person.[13][14]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 Thomas's character card — Simon & Schuster on Instagram
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Nothing but Shadows
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 A History of Notable Shadowhunters & Denizens of the Downworld
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 4.3 Cast Long Shadows
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 5.4 5.5 Chain of Gold
  6. ↑ TLH questions — Cassandra Clare on Tumblr
  7. ↑ Q&A more CLS! — Cassandra Clare on Tumblr
  8. ↑ "Thomas is hella stubborn," Cassandra Clare on Tumblr
  9. ↑ The Land I Lost
  10. ↑ Every Exquisite Thing
  11. ↑ January 2020 Shadowhunter Army newsletter
  12. ↑ Found family tree, a Clockwork Princess extra
  13. ↑ Q&A TLH — Cassandra Clare on Tumblr
  14. ↑ More about Thomas — Cassandra Clare on Tumblr
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