The Mortal Instruments – Chronological Plot Summary

Dates are approximate guesses from the books – there are probably many errors- these books are complicated…
There are likely to be spoilers ahead…

Told mainly in flashbacks, mainly in City of Glass book
When Luke and Jocelyn are 17 years old, Valentine 18 years, Valentine starts Circle Of Raziel in Idris in protest against corruption of Clave, against Accords, and need for more Shadowhunters – Shadowhunter families in Circle are Lightwoods, Fairchilds, Starkweather, Graymark, Penhallow, Morgernstern,Herondale, Pangborn, Blackwell, Maryse Trueblood http://shadowhunters.wikia.com/wiki/The_Circle
1986 Valentine (Val) marries Jocelyn, she is 18, after a few years Jocelyn (Joc) is pregnant- Val experiments on her with demon blood as part of his plan to bring down wards of Idris
Luke becomes werewolf. Val tells Jocelyn Luke is dead and she is depressed – Val gives her drugs
1988 Joc has baby, finds out Luke alive, Joc finds cellar experiments-Joc and Luke plan Uprising to defeat the Circle,
1991 Val experiments on Celine Herondale with angel blood and then Jocelyn when she falls pregnant again. Celine commits suicide when her husband Stephen Herondale is killed – Hodge and Val take her baby to Hodge’s house. Clary is born. Joc gets Fell to make coma potion and antidote to avoid torture
Uprising Val is defeated by Nightchildren, Werewolves and Jocelyn in the Great Hall in Alicante. Val’s house burns-they think he and his son are dead. Lightwoods and Hodge get clemency for cooperating with catching perpetrators. Val kills Wayland and baby son, pretends to be Wayland and raises 2 boys at different houses for 9 or so years.

Accord is signed by Downworlders and Nephilim- must be signed each 15 years.
Jocelyn takes Clary and hides in mundaneland as she thinks Val is still alive. Luke seeks and finds them when Clary is one (p 49 CofA)
1993 Clary two years old- first mindblock by Magnus, “due month ago-but Magnus in Tanzania
2000 Valentine fakes death of Wayland using Pangborn and Blackwell to avoid capture when Jace is nine. Jace is sent to Lightwoods to live.

Mainly City of Bones Part 1
2007 this appears to happen from June to August, and they miss a lot of school in Book 3 – Pandemonium-Clary sees Jace, Isabelle and Alec kill an Eidolen demon. Comes home late. and finds her mother is taking her away. She is 15 and on summer break- doing Art classes at Tisch. Jace goes to Java Jones. Then saves Clary from Ravener demon in her apartment. Marks her. Jace takes her to the Institute. Luke rejects her. Jace and Clary go back to the apartment and are attacked by a Forsaken. Dorothea reads tea leaves and finds Clary’s memory is blocked. Clary goes through portal lands at Lukes. Takes Simon to Institute.

Mainly City of Bones Part 2 and 3
Clary dreams of Idris. Brother Jeremiah at City of Bones finds she has a mindblock signed by Magnus. They got to Takis. Isabelle has an invitation to Magnus’s party. Magnus helps Clary remember. Simon is turned into a rat who is stolen by the vampires. Jace and Clary go to the Hotel Dumort to rescue Simon and are saved by werewolves. They escape on a flying motorbike. Jace gives Clary a witchlight in the greenhouse and kisses her on her 16th birthday. Jace is 17, Alec 18, Isabelle is under 18. Clary learns to draw runes. They go to Dorothea’s to get the mortal cup and are attacked by a Greater Demon, Abbadon, saved by Simon, Alec is injured. Hodge betrays them and Valentine takes the cup and Jace. Clary finds out Luke is a werewolf. Magnus had said there are only 2 portals in NY so Clary goes with werewolves to Renwicks to find Val and Joc. Val tells Clary, she and Jace are siblings Jace cannot kill Valentine who escapes through the portal. Jocelyn is in a coma and hospitalised. Jace takes Clary to see Jocelyn on motorbike.

City of Ashes
Valentine gets Elias to raise Agramon. Maryse Lightwood and son, Max (9yrs), return from Alicante. Simon and Clary try being girlfriend and boyfriend. Maryse Lightwood does not believe Jace did not know who is father was and Jace leaves home. Jace starts fight at The Hunters’ Moon. There are killings of Downworlders who are drained of blood. Luke asks for a trial by the sword for Jace to prove his innocence. Jace is rude to the Inquisitor and is locked up in the Silent City, City of Bones. Valentine kills all the Silent Brothers to take the sword. Alec, Isabelle and Clary rescue Jace- she uses an opening rune . He is reimprisoned with Magnus as he is sick – maybe demon poisoning. Due to the killings, they are called to the Seelie Court and Alec stays with Magnus. Clary is trapped and can only be freed by the kiss she most desires. She kisses Jace. Raphael brings Simon back and they watch him rise as a vampire. Maia is attacked by a Devrak demon at Luke’s. Magnus treats her. Then Luke is attacked by a Raum demon. Raphael brings the motorbike, and Jace visits Valentine to find out “what blood runs in his veins,” as told by the Seelie Queen. Jace is attacked by the Agramon demon he thinks is Clary. He is given a choice by Valentine. The Seelie Queen said Clary had a gift so she draws the fearless rune. The Inquisitor arrives. She tracked Jace to the boat when he went to get the portal glass to find Valentine. Maia is captured. Jace is locked in a pentagram. Simon is captured. Jace escapes vertically. Valentine kills Simon. Clary and Luke take Jace to the wharf to met Magnus. Imogen threatens to kill Jace if the mortal instruments are not returned and Valentine says fine. Clary puts the fearless rune on Jace. Magnus creates aquatruck. They fight demons. Other Shadowhunters join fight. Imogen saves Jace. Magnus rescues Alec. Jace kills Agramon in the form of his father. Jace saves Simon by giving him his blood. Clary uses rune to explode ship- she thinks it says Open but it says Mene Mene, Tekel, Upharsin-from Bible, mysterious riddle written on wall at Belshazzar’s feast”It has been counted , weighed and divided.” Daniel interpreted this to mean that the king’s deeds had been weighed and found deficient and that his kingdom would therefore be divided. The nixies help. Simon can withstand sunlight. Maryse convinces Jace to stay. Simon calls off the relationship. Madeleine tells Clary she knows how to wake Jocelyn.

City of Glass
Magnus creates a portal. Jace arranges it early to leave Clary behind. They are attacked and Simon is injured so they take him through the portal. Clary makes her own portal and goes through with Luke, who saves her when she bounces into Lake Lyn. It is 2007 when she sees her own grave. Luke takes Clary to Amatis and seeks the wolves. Simon won’t confess and is imprisoned. Clary goes to Penhallows- is rejected by Jace and sought be Sebastian. Jace goes to Simon’s aid. Sebastian takes Clary to Ragnor Fell, but he is dead and she finds Magnus who does a deal regarding the White Book. Raphael appears to Simon in prison. Jace and Clary get the book and free the angel. The demons invade. The werewolves attack the demons. They free Simon. Sebastian kills Hodge. Max is killed. Valentine gives the Clave an ultimatum and Val kills Aldertree. Jocelyn returns thanks to Magnus. Jace goes after Sebastian. Jocelyn tells Clary all.

Clary works out a rune to unite and save them. The vampires will only fight if they get Simon. Clary uses the mark of Cain to stop Raphael killing Simon. Val is planning to demand all Nephilim who are not his followers be stripped of their powers and thus become Forsaken. Then they and Downworlders will be eliminated. Sebastian captures Jace. Jace finds out Sebastian has the demon blood and Clary is not his sister. Isabelle saves Jace as revenge for Max. Jace kills Sebastian. Malachi is revealed as a spy for Valentine. Malachi hit Hugin and it kills him. Clary portals to Lake Lyn. Valentine saves her to use her blood. Then Jace saves Clary. Valentine stabs Jace with the mortal sword.

Clary alters Valentine’s runes. Valentine calls Raziel with the cup and sword. The rune is Mene Mene, Tekel, Upharsin. The angel kills Valentine. Clary is given one request-do you really need to be told what she asks for? Amatis gives Jace a box about his father–his star is a family birthmark. Amatis and Clary tell Jocelyn to tell Luke how she feels. Followed by Clary and Jace lots of D and M and happy ever after stuff.

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http://www.examiner.com/article/cassandra-clare-explains-the-mortal-instruments-series-timeline