Hey! I present to you chapter 4!
So the lines from the Ascension ceremony are the same lines from Sophie's Ascension in Clockwork Princess, so its all accurate and word for word.
My favorite chapter so far. Enjoy :)
Simon stood in one of the many rooms of the Gard in Alicante, staring out the window at the city, its demon towers rising high in the distance. They had arrived in Idris early that morning and almost everything after that had been a blur.
His Ascension was today. He wore gear, black and stiff in its newness. He could hear people, muted voices, outside the door, farther down the hall, where they would all be gathering in the Council room for the ceremony. Simon had been instructed to wait in here until it was time, and he was kind of glad for that now. It gave him some time alone, to think, to be nervous, to figure out how to school his expression so he could look convincingly confident enough if needed.
He didn't really know what he felt. Even with the Ascension so close, happening so soon, he didn't know how he really felt about it. He was both nervous and excited at the same time and, depending on how much and in what ways he thought about it, either one of those emotions or the other seemed to dominate his mind.
But this needed to happen. If he wanted his memories, if he wanted to stay with Isabelle and Clary and the others, he had to Ascend. He didn't have a choice. And there was no going back now anyway, even if he wanted to, which he didn't.
It was strange though, thinking about it. Ever since he'd first learned about Shadowhunters; had first visited the Institute, he'd wanted to be one. And after he'd been Changed to a vampire, he'd wanted it even more, though by then, it had been impossible. Or so he'd thought. He'd never imagined he would ever actually get to become one of the Nephilim, though he'd given it more than a little thought. And now he really was.
The excitement was back.
Simon's thoughts were interrupted by the door opening behind him. His stomach flip flopped as he turned around. Was it time already? Was he ready? But it was only Clary, dressed also in gear, her red hair loose around her shoulders. It was odd seeing her dressed like that, in gear and unarmed. She gave him a small smile and entered, closing the door gently behind her. She stood in front of it for a moment, watching him as he watched her. "Hey," she said at last.
"Hey," he answered, looking at her through the rims of his glasses- glasses he would no longer need after the ceremony. The Voyance rune he would receive after the Ascension would render them useless, not only giving him enhanced Sight, but also improving his sight. "Are you supposed to be in here?" he asked warily.
Clary shrugged. "Probably not." She began to move forward, crossing the room so she stood closer to him. "Are you ready?"
He took a deep breath before nodding. "Yeah, I think so." He tried for a smile.
Clary laughed suddenly. "Ooh, ouch. You'd better work on that smile before you go out there. You look like you're in pain."
He gave her a sarcastic look, the first sarcasm he'd managed since coming to the Gard that morning. And that was mostly because he'd seen only a few people since then and none of them would have appreciated it. But Clary was different, and with her there, he felt almost comfortable for the first time that morning.
She returned the look right back to him and he smiled for real. She did too. "That's better," she said.
"So how many people are out there?"
"Most of Alicante," Clary answered with some hesitance, "You're the first Ascendant in a while. I guess that makes you pretty popular."
Simon nodded evenly, trying not to look intimidated. "I guess I'd better not trip then."
She smirked. "You think?" The sound of a bell echoed then- the last call for Shadowhunters to gather before the ceremony began. Clary glanced toward the door and then back at Simon. "I should probably go. Jace is saving me a seat." Simon nodded, anxiety creeping back into his stomach again. Clary looked at him for a second before hugging him. "You'll do great," she said before letting go.
A minute later, she was gone and Simon was stuck looking out the window again, counting down the last few minutes until his life would change forever.
Clary sat on one of the benches toward the front of the crowded Council room with Jace on her right, the rest of the Lightwoods next to him; and her mother on her left, Luke next to her. On the dais at the front of the room, a double circle had been drawn, and in between them were runes: of binding, of knowledge, of skill and craft; and runes that symbolized Simon's name. Clary could feel their power as she looked at them. On each end of the dais, stood a Silent Brother, still and stolid as always.
Jace held her hand in his and was rubbing soothing, seemingly absentminded, circles on it with his thumb. Despite everything, she couldn't help feeling nervous. Simon was her best friend, whom she'd known longer than anyone else in the room. She knew he'd make a fantastic Shadowhunter, but she'd feel a lot better after all of this was over.
Jace leaned closer to her. "It'll be okay," he said to her. His voice was soft, but still loud enough for her to hear above the noise in the room, "He'll be fine."
"Have you ever been to one of these before?" she asked him.
"An Ascension? No."
"Then how do you know?"
He turned and met her eyes. "Because an Ascension only doesn't work on those who are unworthy or untrained, and Simon is neither. I trained him myself. He'll be okay. Trust me." His eyes were genuine; his voice, comforting, and Clary remembered that even though Jace bickered with Simon on a nearly constant basis, they really were something of friends when it came down to it.
Jia Penhallow stood just inside the circles, wearing simple scarlet robes, her face calm and serious. She raised her hands and called for attention, and the room quickly fell quiet. The ceremony was beginning. "Thank you all who have gathered here today to witness the ancient tradition of Ascension from mundane to Nephilim," she said to the crowd. "Simon Lewis, come forward."
All eyes moved to the back of the room, to the door, almost like wedding guests would for the entrance of the wedding party. Simon appeared in the doorway and moved forward, down the middle aisle, toward the dais. Clary could see the nervous tension in the set of his jaw, and the excitement bright in his brown eyes, which met hers as he walked. She gave him what was hopefully a reassuring smile.
Simon stopped in front of the Consul, in the center of the circles, and looked at her, awaiting further instructions. "Please kneel," Jia said, and he did so. Jia picked up the Mortal Cup from a small table beside her and held it up. "Take the Cup, Simon Lewis." She lowered the Cup to him and he took it carefully from her.
"Do you swear, Simon Lewis, to forsake the mundane world and follow the path of the Shadowhunter? Will you take into yourself the blood of the Angel Raziel and honor that blood? Do you swear to serve the Clave, to follow the Law as set forth by the Covenant, and to obey the word of the Council? Will you defend that which is human and mortal, knowing that for your service there will be no recompense and no thanks but honor?" Jia asked.
"I swear," said Simon, his voice stronger than Clary would have expected.
"Can you be a shield for the weak, a light in the dark, a truth among falsehoods, a tower in the flood, an eye to see when all others are blind?"
"I can."
"And when you are dead, will you give up your body to the Nephilim to be burned, that your ashes may be used to build the City of Bones?"
"I will."
"Then drink." Clary held her breath. This was the dangerous part. Simon leaned his head back, brought the Cup to his lips, and swallowed.
The double circle surrounding Simon and the Consul lit up once suddenly in a cold, blue-white light, obscuring them both from view. Jace tightened his grip on her hand. When it faded, Clary found herself blinking the stars from the unexpected brightness out of her eyes. As her vision cleared, she could see Simon hand the cup back to Jia. She was smiling. Clary felt like a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulders and amidst it all, her eyes met Isabelle's, who looked pale, but very relieved, on the other side of Jace. The two exchanged small smiles before looking back to the dais.
"You are Nephilim now," Jia told Simon, "I name you Simon Shadowhunter, of the blood of Jonathan Shadowhunter, child of the Nephilim. Arise, Simon." Simon stood, smiling, and Jia put a hand on his shoulder and said something Clary couldn't hear. He nodded, still smiling, at her and then turned to face the crowd, which was clapping and cheering wildly.
"Believe me now?" Jace asked her, grinning, through the noise.
Clary made a face at him, but ended up smiling. "Yes," she answered, "I believe you."
Simon stood off to the side of the dais while the Consul gave the closing remarks and benediction to bring the meeting to an end. He was staring down at the back of his right hand, on which was now the black, eye-shaped Voyance rune, his first rune, which Jia had sprawled on him with a stele after he'd become a Shadowhunter. A harsh burning had registered with him for the few seconds it had taken her to draw it, and then it had been done and the burning faded, and the ceremony had been over.
He was a Shadowhunter now.
To say he didn't notice a difference would be an understatement, but it wasn't an overwhelming change either, and Simon couldn't decide whether he was grateful or disappointed with that. As soon as he'd swallowed the contents of the Mortal Cup, he'd felt a slight tingle move throughout his body, beginning at his heart and moving out through his extremities to his fingertips and toes, before disappearing. When he'd stood, he'd felt more graceful, more balanced, and stronger; all good things, but if he'd been expecting to grow muscles like the Incredible Hulk, he was sadly mistaken.
Overall though, he was satisfied with the change. He liked knowing that it was over now, that he was a Shadowhunter, and of course, that Ascension hadn't killed him. He'd taken his glasses off after the application of the Voyance rune. They were folded up now in his pocket, no longer needed, and as long as he remembered to take them out before he sat down on them, he would be alright.
"Simon!" he heard suddenly, jarring him from his thoughts for a split second before a familiar weight crashed into him. Normally, Isabelle's momentum and the force of her impact would have sent him staggering back at least a step or two, but that wasn't the case now, Simon noted with a surprised satisfaction. Isabelle hugged him, head buried in his shoulder. "Oh my God, you're okay. You're alive. Oh my God."
He tightened his arms around her, breathing in her familiar vanilla scent. "I'm alright, Izzy." She pulled back suddenly, as if noticing how much of a scene she was making, and stepped away, though not without meeting his eyes with hers, which were full of relief and withheld tears.
Simon looked then at the small crowd that had gathered around him, most of them, familiar faces: Clary, Jace, Alec, Jocelyn, Luke, and, obviously, Isabelle. But there were others too, Shadowhunters he'd seen around Alicante the few times he'd been there, but no one he knew personally. He zeroed in on Clary first and grinned at her and held out his arms, gesturing to himself. "Pretty good, huh?" he asked. She smiled and stepped forward to hug him quickly, her short stature a vast contrast to Izzy's tall one.
Jocelyn hugged him then, smiling in a motherly manner and seeming pretty relieved also. Luke shook his hand, as did Alec, and Jace- well, Jace just gave him a once-over with the usual sarcastic light in his eyes and said, "Not bad at all. Amazing what a little angel blood can do, isn't it?" He offered a smile then, possibly the first non-sarcastic smile Jace had ever given him, and despite being a little confused, Simon smiled back before Jace went to join Clary and the others again.
After that, Simon spent a good fifteen minutes shaking hands and receiving wishes of congratulation from the other Shadowhunters in the room. And, though it normally would have been kind of awkward to have to do so with so many strangers, it really wasn't that uncomfortable after all.
Nearly an hour after the Ascension ceremony ended, Simon, hand-in hand with Isabelle; Jace, Clary, and Alec left the Gard in search of somewhere to stop for lunch. And after a morning of stress, nerves, and intimidation, such a normal gesture was enough of a comfort to keep Simon from becoming too overwhelmed.
This was who he was now, a Shadowhunter, one of Heaven's chosen protectors, someone with a mandate, fighting skills, and good friends.
And that was just totally awesome.
Thanks for reading! Hope you liked it! Let me know!