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the clarity of them.” This article contains content that was recently expanded and has not yet been reviewed by site staff. It may contain some errors and may not yet conform with the wiki's quality standards. |
| “ | I don't know who I am. I look at myself in the mirror and I see Stephen Herondale, but I act like a Lightwood and talk like my father—like Valentine. So I see who I am in your eyes, and I try to be that person, because you have faith in that person and I think faith might be enough to make me what you want. | ” |
–Jace to Clary, City of Fallen Angels | ||
Jace Herondale is considered the best Shadowhunter of his time and a hero of the Mortal and Dark wars. He is currently the co-head of the New York Institute, alongside his girlfriend, Clary Fairchild.
Biography
Early life
Jace was born to Stephen and Céline Herondale. While he was still in Céline's womb, Valentine Morgenstern constantly gave Céline doses of Ithuriel's blood to mix with her food, and she took it, not knowing what it really was. Ithuriel's blood made its way into unborn baby Jace's system, thus he was born differently from other Shadowhunters.
Eventually, Valentine had his parents killed.[1] Desperate for the baby he had been giving angel blood to, Valentine had Hodge Starkweather help him take the child from Céline's dead body shortly after—it is said that the only reason that Jace survived was because of the increased amount of angel blood in his body. After faking his and his real son's death, Valentine took off with both Jonathan and Jace and raised them separately, hoping that one or both of them would grow to become very powerful warriors—one with angel blood and the other with demon. While Valentine took the identity of Michael Wayland, Jace was raised as Jonathan Wayland, both of whom were in fact the father-and-son Valentine killed to fake their deaths.
Jace, believing his father was Michael Wayland, and himself to be Jonathan, was raised by Valentine both lovingly and harshly. He was raised and trained like a warrior, brought up strictly and with the occasional beating. Valentine instilled thoughts such as "to love is to destroy" into his mind. Once, Valentine gave Jace a falcon to train, intending it to be a killing companion, not a pet. After taming it, Jace showed it to his father who broke its neck, saying that he was supposed to train it to become obedient, not to love him. Nonetheless, Valentine treated Jace with some level of kindness, and despite the extremely disciplined upbringing, Valentine and Jace did share a few moments that a caring father-son relationship should have.
When he was ten, Valentine realized that Jace was too soft for his plans and he needed to move on and get rid of Jace. To accomplish this, he yet again staged his death as Michael Wayland, with a hiding Jace there to witness his father "killed" right in front of him, convincing Jace and everyone else of "Michael's" death. Jace was later sent to the New York Institute to live with the Lightwoods, where Valentine knew Jace would be well cared for, as well as in a good position for possible reconnaissance at a later time. There, Jace was adopted by the Lightwoods. He became good friends with Alec, who later became his parabatai, Izzy, and Max Lightwood.
There, he got his nickname Jace from Maryse, after he told them that he thought his full name was Jonathan Christopher, which he had seen in Valentine's journal.
Valentine's return
One night, Jace, Isabelle and Alec were scouting the Pandemonium Club and had killed a demon when they are approached by what they thought was a mundane girl, Clary Fray. Jace then told Hodge about her, who then asked one of them to bring Clary to the Institute. Jace offered to go because he felt a connection to the "mundane girl".
Coinciding with the disappearance of Clary's mother, Jocelyn, were the rumors that Valentine Morgenstern, whom Jace was unaware was also Clary's father, had returned from the dead. The Conclave then decided to take Clary in and help her look for her mother, hoping it will lead them to the truth about Valentine. While Izzy and Alec were both skeptical about helping the stranger, Hodge was insistent about helping an old friend, and Jace found himself strangely compelled to help their guest, though he denied this.
During their adventures, Jace met Madame Dorothea, who they later killed while possessed by the Greater Demon Abbadon, werewolf and former Shadowhunter Luke Garroway, High Warlock of New York, Magnus Bane, the New York vampire clan and its acting head Raphael Santiago, and, to Jace's dismay, Clary's mundane best friend Simon Lewis.
Jace and Clary initially did not think much of one another, with Clary thinking he was an arrogant rich boy. Eventually though, Jace and Clary began to care for one another. One evening, when he found out that Clary's birthday was upon them, Jace invited Clary to join him in the Institute's greenhouse. They bonded over stories that Jace told about his childhood and soon shared a passionate kiss. They left and Jace walked Clary to her room, only to find Simon waiting inside. When Simon assumed that they were there for another reason, Clary tried to explain herself. Jace was offended at, as he saw it, "how swiftly you dismiss our love." When Simon closed the door angrily, Clary tried to apologize. Jace being emotionally hurt dismissed her apology by saying, "Don't worry, it wasn't anything special for me either".
Despite this, Jace still continued to help Clary. At one point, when Alec was gravely injured during their encounter with the demon Abbadon, Jace went to a dark place and began to blame himself.
Eventually, when Clary was finally able to retrieve the Mortal Cup, Hodge's betrayal was revealed. Jace was knocked out by Hodge, leaving a helpless Clary to watch, trapped in an invisible casing. With Jace's ring, Hodge contacted Valentine Morgenstern. In exchange for his release from his curse, Hodge gave Valentine the Cup and Jace.
During their time together at Renwick's, Jace realized that Valentine was the man who, as Michael Wayland, raised him. Suddenly keen on reuniting with his father, Jace momentarily decided to side with Valentine. Upon Clary's arrival, Valentine revealed to Jace that they were siblings, which he refused to believe. Luke soon followed after Clary and began to tell Jace about Valentine and Jocelyn's past, facts which Clary later reinforced. During the confrontation, Jace began to doubt his decision as he learned more about his "father". While Valentine fought Luke, he saw the kind of man he was. With Clary's urging, Jace finally turned against him.
Truly believing Valentine's lies, Jace was lead to believe that he was the brother of the girl he had fallen in love with. Heartbroken, Jace reverted to old ways, keeping his distance from those he cared about.[2]
Wandering Jace
Jace was thrown out from the Institute after Maryse found out the truth about his real father. Then Jace got attacked by Luke's werewolf pack because of his indifference when the pack informed him about the curious death of one its younger members and his intentional aggravation of the pack. Luke managed to save him and called Clary to come. Jace told them that he had been thrown out of the Institute and he didn't know why. Luke, Clary and Jace went the Institute to question Maryse Lightwood on her decision to do this.
She told them that the Inquisitor was coming to talk to him about him being Valentine's son and that she was trying to protect Jace. Nonetheless Jace decided to stay and face the Inquisitor, believing that by avoiding her things would become worse.
Later on, due to his disrespectful behavior towards the Inquisitor, Imogen Herondale, he was forced in jail in the Silent City. While in the cell, Jace suddenly heard the screams of the Silent Brothers which were caused by Agramon who was now under Valentine's command. After the slaughter of the Silent Brothers, Valentine visited Jace and told him that he had to kill them to get the Mortal Sword.
Meanwhile, Clary, Isabelle and Alec decided to go and rescue Jace after receiving a distress call from the Silent City. The Inquisitor believed that Jace helped Valentine kill the Silent Brothers in order to get the Mortal Sword, however, now that the Sword was gone, they didn't know whether Jace was innocent or not. After a lot of debate they finally agreed to let Jace stay in Magnus Bane's apartment, in condition that a magical restraint be placed upon him.
Later on, due to the unexplained and mysterious deaths of different Downworlders, Jace and the others visited the Faerie Realm. While there, Clary was tricked into eating faerie food, meaning that she wouldn't be able to leave along with the others. However, the Seelie Queen told her that if she got the kiss that she most desired, she would be able to leave. When Simon's kiss failed to free Clary, Jace kissed her and successfully broke the spell, which angered Simon, thus making him leave the group at Central Park.
After their return to the Institute, Clary and Jace fought about their feelings for each other. Jace said the he didn't see why they couldn't still be together, while Clary said that the idea repulsed her and that their feelings for each other were wrong.
Meanwhile, Raphael Santiago visited them with Simon's corpse in his hands, informing them about Simon's inevitable turning into vampire or death. The team decided to bury Simon in a Jewish cemetery for his resurrection as vampire.
Upon learning about Maia's disappearance and Valentine's plan to turn the Mortal Sword into a demon instrument, Jace visited his father, who was currently hiding on a boat. When he returned from his visit, the Inquisitor having used a magical location device to keep track of him, kept him prisoner in an electrified cell that had four walls. She then proceeded to tell him about her plan to threaten Valentine in order to get the Mortal Instruments by using Jace's life. Jace tried to tell her that it would not work but she didn't believe him. Later with some help from Alec, he managed to escape.
Before facing off Valentine and trying to save both Maia and Simon, who was meanwhile captured for the ritual, on his boat, Jace asked Clary to draw the Fearless rune on him. While on board of the ship, Jace found Simon dead and fed him his blood in order to save him. The rest of the Shadowhunters soon arrived and a chaotic battle began on the boat. During the battle, Jace was confronted by Imogen, who apologized and looked really astonished when Jace told her once more that he did not know Valentine was his father. Imogen also questioned him about the star shaped scar he had and tried to tell him something but Jace angered by the Inquisitor's behavior and left to join the battle. Then he was attacked by a demon he cannot defeat, however, the Inquisitor saved him with her last words being "Your father would be proud", leaving Jace more confused than before. He later realized that Imogen was his grandmother.
Soon afterwards the battle ended with the ship being completely destroyed by Clary's Opening rune. Later, Jace told Clary that he would, from now on, act like her brother and nothing more.[3]
The Mortal War
After being called to Alicante, Jace was making preparations in order to leave with the rest of his family to Idris, alongside Clary. However, Jace believing that Idris was too dangerous for Clary and at the same time wanting to stop thinking about her, decided to trick Clary with the help of Simon. Simon reluctantly agreed but when the Lightwoods were ready to leave through a Portal, they were attacked by a group of Forsaken. And midst the chaos created, Jace was forced to take Simon with him, something which was illegal since a permission was required to enter Idris.
While at Idris, Jace spent a lot of time with Aline Penhallow and her cousin Sebastian Verlac. But his peace was soon interrupted when Clary appeared. Jace afraid of his feelings for her distanced himself and even blamed her. Thus, allowing Sebastian to come closer to Clary. Nevertheless, upon the discovery of the fact that the Book of the White was hidden inside the library in the Wayland manor, Clary asked Jace to help her. Jace agreed and they went together.
There they discovered the Angel Ithuriel trapped in the basement, Clary having the ability to create runes, frees the Angel, but not before she and Jace were shown some memories of Valentine's experimentation on both of his children. Jace believing that in his veins ran demon blood was inconsolable.
Meanwhile, in Idris, Sebastian had broken the wards thus allowing Valentine's army of demons to enter and destroy everything. A great battle began, and while breaking Simon out of Clave prison Jace was informed about Sebastian's betrayal and murder of his little brother Max. Burning with anger and self-hatred because of all the events, Jace decided to track down both Sebastian and Valentine but not before deciding to spend his possible last night with Clary, finally declaring his love for her and sleeping beside her.[4]
After following the tracking spell Jace found a cave outside Idris where Valentine and Sebastian discussed their plan to summon Raziel and destroy the all Downwolders and the Shadowhunters who would not bend their knee. Then Valentine left, and Sebastian having already sensed Jace's presence started to tease him. After a while they both fought each other with Sebastian revealing his true identity as Jonathan Christopher Morgenstern and informing Jace that he was the son of Stephen Herondale, Jace started to lose ground but Isabelle found them and assisted him. However, she was badly injured by Jonathan and Jace finding an opening killed him.
Later on, he found Valentine, who was ready to summon the Raziel and had silenced Clary with a Rune. Valentine looked shocked when Jace told him that he killed Jonathan but other than that he didn't show any other emotion and before Jace could finish him off, Valentine stabbed him. Clary, upon witnessing all this, changed the ritual Runes, leading to Raziel answering to her and not Valentine. Raziel, knowing Valentine's motives, killed him and resurrected Jace by Clary's request.
After the battle, Jace mourned Valentine's death. Afterwards, everyone celebrated their victory against Valentine's forces in what eventually became known as the Mortal War. Jace and Clary reformed their relationship, free to be together after all. [5]
Haunted by Lilith
One month had passed since the events of the Mortal War. Jace was now training Clary and the two enjoyed their relationship. However he began to see some nightmares which always ended with him murdering Clary. Jace fearing that he was losing control, decided to distance himself from Clary.
He spent most of his time protecting Simon and avoiding Clary. Clary growing more and more frustrated with this whole situation took a lot of risks. After a while Jace no longer being able to bury his emotions told Clary about his nightmares.
Hoping to find a way to stop these nightmares, they visited the Silent Brothers, who informed them that with Jace's death the magic from the ritual which protected him from demon possession had faded and kept Jace in the Silent City in order to perform it again.
However, during the night, Jace dreamt of his lost brother, Max. Max gave him a knife, telling him to cut himself in order to be released from the demon's possession. Jace woke up under Lilith's influence.
He left the Silent City and went to Jocelyn's engagement party. There, under Lilith's influence, he marked Clary with a rune that made her lose her senses and carried her to the top of an unfinished hotel, where Lilith was preparing a resurrection ritual for Jonathan.
Eventually, Clary, Simon and Jace defeated Lilith. However when Jace was left alone in the top of the hotel due to his still having the rune he completed the ritual awaking Sebastian. And it was shown that Sebastian was now able to control Jace.[6]
Bound to Sebastian
Jace's state and whereabouts were unknown in the start of the book, worrying his family and friends. Moreover the Clave's priorities shifted from locating Sebastian and Jace to safeguarding the wards, due to the increased number of demons which passed through them.
Meanwhile, Jace and Sebastian were traveling all over the world preparing for Sebastian's plan. Jace, unable to stay away from Clary, visited her and asked her to follow them. Clary was considering the offer but their meeting was cut short when Jocelyn saw Sebastian in her kitchen and screamed. Their little adventure ended with Sebastian throwing a silver dagger to Luke and leaving with Jace. Jace's allegiance to Sebastian was confirmed.
After their departure from Luke's house, Jace and Sebastian kept working on their plans for a little while longer, until Clary joined them. Clary tried to understand the connection between her brother and boyfriend but she couldn't find a way to help Jace, not without raising suspicions.
Jace, still under Lilith's spell, participated in all of Sebastian's plans and at the same time dated Clary. He was the happiest Clary had ever seen him. However, after an unfortunate turn of events, his bond with Sebastian was severed and he was able to say the truth to Clary, about the Infernal Cup and Sebastian's true intentions. After which he unsuccessfully tried to flee to the Clave in order to turn in the Cup.
Once on the Seventh Sacred Site, Sebastian, with Jace and Clary by his side, was already preparing to create his own army of Endarkened, when the Clave barged in, along with Simon holding the Glorious. Which he passed to Clary. Unable to reach Sebastian, Clary used the Glorious and stabbed Jace, believing that it wouldn't kill him as his heart was more good than evil. Jace was set alight severing the connection between the two, leading the others to believe that he was dead. And Sebastian was long gone with his army.
However, his heart was still beating and he was taken into Institute to be cured by Brother Zachariah. When Clary was finally allowed to visit Jace, he told her that stabbing him with Glorious had filled him with "sacred fire", which would burn anything he touched whenever he got an adrenaline rush. Which was what Silent Brothers had told him.[7]
The Dark War
Jordan Kyle started teaching Jace to meditate in order to be able to control the heavenly fire. Clary, Alec, Isabelle and Simon couldn't do anything else other than provide moral support. Concerned about Alec and Magnus break up, Jace visited Magnus and talk to him. Jace bluntly pointed out that he was obviously unhappy, since his apartment was a mess and he had takeout containers everywhere, clearly gorging himself on take out food.
Due to the several attacks on different Institutes by the Sebastian's Endarkened army, They were all ordered to pack up and gather in Idris for an emergency meeting of the Clave. On that meeting Jace first met the Blackthorn children and Emma Carstairs. By the end of the meeting, the Clave decided to use the heavenly fire within Jace to defeat Sebastian, although they did not know how to get the fire out if him.
Jace and Clary took a nighttime walk around the city. The two ultimately ended up in an alley, where, despite Jace's hesitation, Clary succeeded in kissing him. Their kissing escalated so quickly that Jace lost control over the heavenly fire, which caused him to burn his handprints into the brick wall he was leaning against. He felt so panicked and fearful that he hurt Clary that he quickly pulled away.
The next day, when Jace and Clary went to buy her a new sword, Diana Wrayburn gave Clary a Morgenstern family shortsword, Heosphoros, for free. While Clary blessed her sword in Accords Hall fountain, they saw the demon towers lit up in a color of upcoming battle. Despite not being allowed, the two went through a Portal and joined the battle for Adamant Citadel. Jace fought Sebastian, who then stabbed Jace. Surprised by heavenly fire, Sebastian and his army fled the battle. Brother Zachariah attempted to heal Jace, but was burned. Clary marked Jace with an iratze powerful enough to somehow heal him.
Sebastian held Downworld leaders, along with Jocelyn, in hostage, and demanded Clary and Jace in return. He gave the Clave two day to decide. Hinted by Emma that Sebastian kept prisoners in the other dimension, Edom, Jace, Clary, Simon, Alec and Isabelle escaped to rescue them through faerie tunnels. Once on the other dimension, Clary transferred heavenly fire from Jace to Heosphoros, with which she eventually stabbed Sebastian by tricking him and the others.[8]
Cold Peace
In 2008, Jace was invited to the Shadowhunter Academy, where they sent Simon in hopes of helping him regain his memories through Ascension, to teach a lesson as a guest tutor. There, he met and conversed with his ancestor Tessa Gray.[9]
Jace has since become more serious about his passion for music. He'd begun to play more challenging pieces and composing, even collaborating once with fellow musician, Simon, on "Come Back, Meow", a song dedicated to Chairman Meow.[10]
Around a year later, Maryse stepped down as head of the Institute, and Jace and Clary were voted in by the Conclave as the new heads, making them one of the youngest Shadowhunters to ever hold the position.
In the midst of Isabelle and Simon's engagement party in 2012, Jace proposed to Clary. Her answer was interrupted by Magnus and Robert as the pair were pulled off to the Los Angeles Institute for a mission.[11][12]
Personality and traits
Jace had always been independent and somehow self-possessed, having been taught not to betray himself to emotions as a child.
Jace has a sharp, defensive wit, an acidic temperament, and a very sarcastic attitude when he chooses. Giving the impression of holding most people in disdain, Jace is seen as extremely arrogant, self-centered, and overconfident, believing himself to be "the best Shadowhunter to ever live" and above others. True enough, Jace is superior in battle, something Jace has been training for since he was young and had grown to love over the years. He even exhibits sadistic tendencies, which he got on account of being raised by Valentine.
Despite this, Jace in fact has a strong moral core. He is dutiful and just, willing to make the right decisions, and sacrifices if it comes down to it. Though he can be, at times, vindictive, he is cruel only to protect those he loves.
His conceited exterior hides a profound inner hatred which intensifies after he mistakenly believed he was demonic, blaming the demon blood for his conflicting thoughts and his, then presumed, incestuous feelings towards Clary. Even after this was disproved and contradicted by the fact that he actually is actually part angel, even more so than regular people of his kind, Jace continued to carry the weight of the lies he had lived for so long. An example of this is Jace's love for the man who raised him and whom he believed to be his father, Valentine; despite the abuse and the deceit, Valentine was at times kind and affectionate towards him, and Jace found himself missing his father figure.
Like Valentine and the Lightwoods, Jace also shared the snobbish attitude toward mundanes and Downworlders, though he lacked their extremist tendencies. Beneath Jace's flippant exterior lies a soul in constant torment, filled with a deep-seated rage that he keeps in check most of the time and channels into fighting and slaying demons and also, sometimes, his sarcastic and nasty remarks. Jace relaxes and calms his nerves by getting into fights, with Clary even noting that fighting to Jace is "what sex is to normal people."
Aware of his own beauty, Jace was also once quite chivalrous, and quite flirty, towards women before he met Clary. His charisma, good looks, and charm have made him quite the ladies' man. However, taught that "to love is to destroy" at an early age, Jace kept everyone, except the Lightwoods, at arm's length, never forming emotional attachments for more than a brief amount of time, if at all. His personality drastically changed after he met Clary, with Isabelle even stating that Jace was apathetic about everyone else beforehand, not caring about anyone other than the Lightwoods until he met Clary, whose presence shook Jace, who was revealed to be a very passionate individual, loving Clary on a very deep and passionate level when he fell in love with her and does everything in his power to protect her from harm, the extent of his love for Clary even surprising those close to him.
Physical description
Jace is known for and has a strong title for his good looks. He is described as having fine, curly, golden blond hair, long eyelashes, and eyes that look gold in the light, due to the magical experiments performed on him and the angel blood in his veins. He has a slim, muscular build and is about 5'11" in height. His face is often described as being beautiful, sexy, gorgeous and angular and Clary often refers to him as beautiful and leonine, with a narrow mouth. Like all other Shadowhunters, he is covered in thin, silver scars from years of applying various magical runes with a stele for battle and healing purposes, as well as permanent runes that look like tattoos.
The only flaw in his face, as Clary has noticed, is the slight chip in his incisor teeth. Clary is said to be relieved by this as it is a proof that he is not that inhumanly handsome and perfect. It is said that Jace is seventeen years old, though that was assuming he was Valentine (or Michael Wayland's) son, and his real age is determined to be between a few years younger than Jonathan Christopher and a year or so older than Clary. After "doing the math" by looking through the things of his father Stephen's, and the time the Uprising occurred, he discovered that he was born in January, and is six months older than Clary.
Jace is also noted to be left-handed (like Valentine). He is said to look like his true father, Stephen Herondale, except around the eyes where he looks like his mother, Céline Herondale.
He has a star-shaped birthmark on his left shoulder.
Skills and abilities
- Nephilim physiology: Being Nephilim, Jace possesses a variety of enhanced physical and mental abilities granted to him by the angel blood of Raziel in his veins and also by the angelic Marks of the Gray Book. This includes enhanced strength, speed, agility, stamina, and coordination, which continue to improve over time and practice.
- The Sight: As a Shadowhunter, Jace is naturally and easily able to see through most magical illusions and layers of glamour over reality.
- Runic magic: Due to the angel blood in their veins, all Shadowhunters are able to apply runes on their skin without any real danger. These Marks, in turn, give varied effects that serve to benefit the wearer.
- Use of heavenly weapons: As a Shadowhunter, Jace is also able to perform tasks unique to their species, such as the ability to use and call on the power of angels for their seraph blades, as well as to handle any heavenly weapons or objects with effect, which would normally not work for other species. In particular, these are tools made of adamas and forged by Iron Sisters.
- Angelic blood empowerment: While all Shadowhunters have the angel Raziel's blood in them, the fact that he has even more, directly extracted from Ithuriel as a result of Valentine's experiments while he was still in his mother's womb, contributes to his superiority in certain fields and other enhanced aspects beyond the normal Shadowhunter parameters.
- Parabatai bond: Due to his parabatai bond with Alec Lightwood, Jace is able to call on more strength in battle. The runes drawn on him by Alec also give a considerably stronger effect.
- Expert hand-to-hand combatant: Jace is highly skilled in armed and unarmed combat.
- Expert swordsman: Jace is highly skilled and proficient in swordsmanship.
Possessions
- Morgenstern family ring: Being brought up under Valentine's care, Jace owned a Morgenstern ring as a child but believed for years that it was a Wayland family ring. Upon finding out that it was in fact a Morgenstern ring, he began wearing it on his neck but has since given the ring, along with the chain, to Clary Fray.
- Herondale family ring: When Jace finally took the family name, his ancestor Tessa gave him a family ring that once belonged to her son, James Herondale.
- Daggers and swords: Aside from seraph blades, Jace has also used daggers and swords in battle.
- Other basic Shadowhunter gear, including: a Sensor, steles, seraph blades, and witchlight.
Relationships
Romance
Jace and Clary are the love of each other's lives. Their love went through a great deal of complications and ordeals.
While both showed dislike for each other initially, they began to care for one another other and inevitably fell in love during their adventures together. Even after they were misleadingly told that they were siblings, and while they fought hard to resist temptation, their feelings for each other were undeniable and they shared passionate moments on more than one occasion. Despite this longing, both tried to form a familial bond before Jace, horrified by the thought of being in love with his sister, tried to avoid her, ultimately failing when he once offered to have a secret, incestuous relationship with her, blaming this lapse of judgement on the fact that he may have Lilith's demon blood running through his veins.
Eventually, they found out that they were not siblings. After both found out, however, Jace was killed while protecting Clary from Valentine. Clary then asked the angel Raziel, who was obliged to grant her one wish, to bring him back to life. Realizing that they were now free from the lie that separated them, they started an official relationship.
Shortly after they got together, things immediately began to get complicated. Because of his vulnerability to demonic influence after being resurrected, Jace began to dream about killing Clary; fearing that he may actually harm her, he distanced himself from her, especially when he did hurt her, until Jace realized how much Clary was willing to risk for him.
After he fell under Lilith influence, Jace was controlled by Sebastian, but still held feelings toward Clary. Though, as stated by Clary, he was in love with a memory of her, not her as of that moment. He was then forced to leave her, but came back a total of two times to try to convince her to come with him and Sebastian. She ultimately agreed, and they tried to have a relationship, but as Jace was controlled, he wasn't quite the same as he was before hand.
According to Isabelle, Jace had often hooked up with girls but never developed even the slightest emotional attachment for anyone else before Clary. Isabelle was apparently even quite surprised at how quickly he became genuinely attracted to Clary and that she and the others at the Institute saw how Jace began to drastically change as he began grow closer to her.
Jace's freedom came with a price when he remained engulfed in heavenly fire for weeks, keeping them apart as Jace feared hurting her, though there were moments when they couldn't help their emotions and had some intimate moments. After Jace's fire was contained in Heosphoros while in Edom, the couple finally consummated their relationship.
At Luke and Jocelyn's wedding, months after the Dark War, the couple finally find their peace together. A couple of years later they both become the new heads of the New York Institute and run the Institute together. Later in 2012, at Simon and Isabelle's engagement party, Jace proposed to Clary who didn't have a chance to answer yet.Family
Alec Lightwood is Jace's best friend, adoptive brother, and parabatai—his fighting partner. Alec once believed that he was in love with Jace. However, Jace soon reveals that he knew about the way Alec felt about him and that he didn't love him. He just used him as an excuse not to get in a relationship with Magnus. Alec soon gets with Magnus, although he remains loyal and protective over Jace.
Isabelle is said to have tried to get with Jace in the past, but he was apparently uninterested. Jace and Isabelle are like brother and sister and he considers her family. He makes fun of her often, but is also affectionate of her. He and Alec often make fun of her terrible cooking. When Jace first came to New York with them, though, it took a while for Isabelle to accept him, but they eventually bonded over their passion for fighting.
Max idolized and looked up to Jace, and Jace was clearly very fond of him. He even gave Max his only toy—a wooden toy soldier—from his childhood before he moved in with the Lightwoods. Max's death in the Mortal War devastated him and made him swear that he will avenge him.
Maryse's loves and cares for Jace as much as she cares for her biological children, even though this was not evident to Jace in his youth. She goes as far as to lie and try to trick the Clave in order to protect him, knowing that losing him would be as hard as losing one of her children.
The relationship between Robert and Jace is mostly similar to Robert's relationship with the rest of his children—caring and loving, albeit slightly distant. He sees and treats Jace like he is his own child, even more so because he believed that Jace was the son of his late parabatai.
Stephen never met his son but is evident through the context of his letter that he love his unborn child, even if he conception was with a woman he barely knew. Stephen's only request from his son is to do what he wants and love who he wants.
Jace's feelings of his father are not stated a lot in the books, since he didn't know about his true identite half way through the series. Jace needs to find something to make him feel close to this man and understand him.
Imogen hated and envied Jace for the most part of the book, believing that he was a younger version of Valentine, something that Jace repeatedly sarcastic and arrogant behavior kept reminding her. She envied him because he was the living proof that even though Valentine made all these sins, he still had a son while hers was dead.
She refused to believe anything Jace said up until the point when she noticed his star-shaped mark. A mark that exists in almost every Herondale. That made her believe Jace's claims but before she was able to tell him the truth, she died. Her last words to Jace where "Your father would have been proud" meaning Stephen and not Valentine, something that was revealed in the third book.Allies
Jace and Simon Lewis are good friends, bonded by their adventures together and their mutual love for Clary. When they first met, however, they disliked each other, mainly because they both envied or were jealous of the other's relationship with Clary. Eventually, they both got over it and began to warm up to one another. They mostly teased and annoyed each other, calling the other names every now and then, but they consider each other good friends.
Others
Valentine was Jace's foster father, initially leading Jace to believe that he was his real father. He had mixed emotions about him, though he ultimately decided to fight against him. He developed a deep hatred towards Valentine and is ashamed of the false fact that he is his father.
Nonetheless, Jace inherited a lot of Valentine's traits, which he is even more ashamed and afraid of. Though he was raised with cruelty and discipline, he was also treated with some level of kindness. After Valentine's death, Jace was among the few people who mourned for and missed him, mainly because he was the father he grew up to know.
Jace's relationship with Sebastian was strained from the beginning. Jace didn't trust him and showed no willingness to bond with him. Sebastian's short relationship with Clary, followed with the revelation of his true motives made him Jace's new nemesis. Sebastian envied Jace even before the two of them had met because of the way Valentine raised Jace, with more love and care than him.
After Sebastian's ressurection, Jace's bond with Sebastian forces him to become the subordinate of the two, thus making believe whatever Sebastian believed. The only thing that remained unchanged was his love for Clary. The two, during the time of their bonding, behaved like best friends and Jace was willing to do anything for Sebastian from helping carry out his evil plan to murder an innocent. However when their bond was severed, their relationship was back to that of enemies with Jace wanting to kill him.Appearances
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Etymology
While he technically has no official birth name, he is known as Jace Herondale. Jace is the nickname given to him by Maryse, derived from his first assumed name, Jonathan Christopher. There are also several surnames that had at one point been applicable to Jace, namely: Wayland, Morgenstern, Lightwood, and, finally, Herondale.
Jace is a diminutive of Jason,[16] the origin of which is said to be Greek, where it was derived from the name Ιασων (Iason), which in turn came from ιασθαι (iasthai), meaning "a healing" or "to heal".[17][18] The name Jason also appears to have Hebrew roots,[17] where it means "the Lord is Salvation".[19]
Trivia
- Jace is left-handed and can play the piano.
- He can speak Romanian, Latin, Italian, French, and apparently some more languages.
- He loves mu shu pork and mangoes, and he likes horses. Jace also enjoys being barefoot, a trait he shares with Clary and Isabelle.
- He hates cucumber, as well as bergamot and Earl Grey tea.[2] He also dislikes sugar in his coffee. Jace also hates liars and has stated that he never used to lie, something Isabelle and Alec confirmed. However, he lied several times to keep the people he loves, especially Clary, safe.
- Jace is extremely well-read and can quote literary passages to fit any occasion, usually in romantic instances between him and Clary.
- Jace, like his male ancestors, Edmund and Will Herondale, hates ducks for some unknown reason, among the many traits they share.
- Jace keeps Lightwood as a middle name.[20][9] Additionally, his Herondale family ring, as will be shown in The Dark Artifices, will incorporate a Lightwood symbol etched on the inside.[13]
- Jace was originally named Will, but Cassie opted for Jace to be something that could be short for Jonathan; she also eventually gave the name to her The Infernal Devices character Will Herondale,[21] who also happens to be Jace's ancestor and potential namesake, had Céline and Stephen named him.[22]
References
- ↑ Valentine, Stephen, Celine — Cassandra Clare on Tumblr
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 City of Bones
- ↑ City of Ashes
- ↑ Letter from Jace to Clary
- ↑ City of Glass
- ↑ City of Fallen Angels
- ↑ City of Lost Souls
- ↑ City of Heavenly Fire
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 The Whitechapel Fiend
- ↑ A History of Notable Shadowhunters & Denizens of the Downworld
- ↑ A Long Conversation, a Lady Midnight extra
- ↑ Lady Midnight
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 Herondale and Lightwood — Cassandra Clare on Tumblr
- ↑ His family ring — Cassandra Clare on Twitter
- ↑ https://twitter.com/cassieclare/status/800013385974812673
- ↑ Behind the Name: Jace
- ↑ 17.0 17.1 Behind the Name: Jason
- ↑ Jace name meaning
- ↑ Nameberry: Meaning of Jace
- ↑ The Lost Herondale
- ↑ Cassandra Clare FAQ: Names
- ↑ "Jace Herondale Lightwood Wayland Morgenstern" — Cassandra Clare on Tumblr