AN: The protagonist of this story is a shadowhunter OC from the Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. She's basically part angel and protects humans from demons. Everything will be explained by her as we go along. Seth and co. will appear in the first chapter, so feel free to skip this one if you want. Enjoy!
Prologue
Rain poured down on the slumbering city of New York.
The lone girl trudging through its streets didn't fear the dangers lurking in the shadows, for she was meant to defend all innocent beings from them. One would think with such a purpose in life, the girl would be brave of heart, noble of intentions, eager in spirit, ... Although lately the few people she'd let into her life had seen her flame die down, until it was more of an ember, drizzling in the downpour of rain.
The heavy, wooden door of the institute, home to the New York conclave of shadowhunters swung open before she'd even knocked the door. Her arrival had been expected.
To normal humans the building looked like a rundown church, yet the eyes of people with descending from a pure bloodline could look past the magical veil and seek refuge at this safe haven. Such people, often called nephilim or shadowhunters, are a secretive race of humans born with angelic blood, who have been hunting demons since the beginning of time. They created their own culture and civilization with a sole purpose to protect humans.
A few months ago, the seventeen-year-old Eleanor Lightwood had woken up in this very institute with no remnants of her previous life and a horrible headache. In these months, Eleanor had come to learn of her true heritage, of the existence of demons and downworlders; vampires, werewolves and fae.
These species were frowned upon yet protected by people like her. It had been exciting to train, to learn how to use her powers and weapons. Unlike other shadowhunters, who commenced their training as soon as they could stand up without toppling over, Eleanor had to make do with a crash course in fighting demons before taking part in the biggest battle their kind had ever faced. She fought in a great war and sadly dealt with great losses.
Her biggest loss, however, had haunted her since the very beginning, obstructing her from fully embracing the path of a shadowhunter. The loss of her parents.
As she entered a cozy looking study, the familiar faces in it depictured anything but ease. Despite their greatest efforts, Eleanor longed for a family of her own. The one she'd been advised to forget. The little pieces of information the Lightwood family had provided Eleanor, told her about the great sacrifices her parents had made, all to keep her safe. Sadly, they were in vain; Elisabeth Call and Lucas Lightwood were forced to give up their own lives in the process.
The silence in the room stretched onwards, as Eleanor's eyes stayed glued to the fireplace, seeing the fire in the hearts of both her parents raging in it. Even after fleeing to Europe, when Eleanor was at an age too young to recall, her father had been active in the London conclave and done everything to make sure the supernatural wouldn't hunt her or her mother.
"I want to leave. Tonight." Eleanor's British accent surprised even herself. In the first few weeks since her arrival in New York, she'd learnt to hide it and adapt an American accent, considering it was only a reminder of the life she'd left behind.
A normal, human life which she'd never be able to return to. When in stressful or fearful situations it had the tendency to pop back up again. "Very well then, Eleanor" Maryse Lightwood spoke, the mother and head of the institute, "I'll alert your mother's sister." A soft smile graced her burdened face "You'll finally get to be around family again then."
The young brunette's eyes widened and she nearly leapt forward "No!"
Eleanor's hand reached out, seemingly to disagree with her last statement and proclaim how they were just as much of a family to her as her newly discovered aunt and nephew in Washington were. She feebly let it drop to her side as she scanned the other faces in the room; father, daughter and two sons, before speaking her final words. "I'll call them myself.. Thanks."
And that very sentence summed up the essence of her being ever since February 21th 2012, when the shadowhunter community faced their biggest war and greatest loss yet. And Eleanor lost her human parents and gained access to a world kept from her for years.
Eleanor Lightwood didn't get close to people anymore, instead she strived to be as independent as she could be. If you wanted to be safe and get anything done, you had to do it yourself. Caring for people only set you up for failure; if they didn't let you down, they'd end up being used against you by your enemy. In a world that was in a constant state of war, weaknesses weren't an option.
One suitcase filled with clothes and one duffel bag filled with a wide array of weaponry were all the belongings Eleanor had to load in the trunk of her SUV, along with a bag of Sourpatch Kids on her passenger seat and cup of coffee dangerously balanced on her dashboard.
As she drove out of New York city, a prophecy plagued her mind. This would be a long road to travel. A road back to the person she wanted to be.
After a war and time of sorrow,
the foreign girl will face a yet bigger battle,
fearing for the day after tomorrow,
she shall travel to a close home past Seattle,
Power will lie in her heart,
weakness will lie in her mind,
drowning in a pool of smart,
she shall battle to save the kind