Character Biographies are currently being rewritten to correlate with what happened in City of Glass. For the moment, they only have spoilers up to the end of City of Ashes.
Clary Fray
Clarissa Fray, generally referred to as Clary, is a sixteen year old who has lived most of her life in New York. She is artistic and, before City of Bones was taking summer classes at Tisch (which she paid for by herself, may we add). When she started seeing things that fateful night at Pandemonium, Clary's life as she knew it changed forever. As the tale unravelled, she learned that her mother wasn't just a starving artist in New York City, but a Shadowhunter who had fled the world for a life as a Mundane. She lived with her mother in Park Slope, a brownstone neighborhood in Brooklyn, until her mother was kidnapped.
Clary learns that her biological father is the evil Valentine Morgenstern, who has returned from a staged death in pursuit of The Mortal Instruments. In City of Bones, it is revealed that Clary also has a brother, Jace, who Clary's mother has always thought was dead. After fighting her feelings for Jace through all of City of Ashes, she and Jace agree to treat each other as nothing more than brother and sister.
Together with her new Shadowhunter friends, Simon, Luke, and all the other new people she has met on her journey, Clary is trying her best to both keep Valentine from gaining the power he seeks and to save her mother's life at any cost. At the end of City of Ashes, she meets Madeleine Bellefleur, a friend of her mother's from Idris and the only one who knows how she can wake her up. Madeleine convinces Clary that she must go to Idris and find the warlock who gave her mother the potion that put her into her comatose state in the first place.
According to character profiles that Cassandra Clare posted on the Google group, Clary is petite, standing at 5' 1". Her hair is red, like her mothers, and she has green eyes and freckles that stand out on pale skin. Clary also has a nervous habit of biting her nails. (This bit may not absolutely follow the books. I just thought it was an interesting tidbit.)
Jace Wayland
Jace Wayland (or Jonathan Christopher Wayland) (or Jonathan Christopher Mogenstern) prefers to keep to himself. Raised by his father, who he believed to be Michael Wayland, Jace was taught to believe that “to love is to destroy.” Up until the point when he meets Clary, Jace seems to care about little other than himself and slaying demons. Jace witnessed the death of his father and from then on was raised by the Lightwood family, who took him in as if he was their own child. After he meets Clary, his priorities seem to change from killing demons and simply doing his best to honor his father's teachings to protecting her at any cost.
Jace received his first Marks when he was nine years old, several years before most Shadowhunters are marked. He is practically bred by his father to be cold and disconnected. As time goes on, we see a different side of Jace from the sarcastic teenager we met in the first chapters of City of Bones. At the end of CoB, he is reunited with his father, whom he discovers to be Valentine, and is told that he is Clary's older brother. When his father tells him to return to Idris with him, Jace refuses, choosing instead to remain with Clary, the Lightwoods, and the place he has come to call home.
In City of Ashes, Jace proves his loyalty to his new family and goes against his father's wishes when he fights against him for the Soul Sword. At the end of the battle, Jace is saved when the Inquisitor, who twenty pages previous was ready to feed him to the sharks, dives in front of him to save his life. She whispers something to him with her dying breath and then we are left hanging until City of Glass... At least, we'll hope we get an answer.
In pieces of City of Glass that have been released by Cassandra Clare, we find that Jace tricked Clary into thinking they were leaving for Idris at a different time in order to keep her from the City because he doesn't think she'd be safe. We also learn that, at some point in the book, he is involved in a passionate embrace that Clary walks in on.
Simon Lewis
Simon Lewis is Clary's long-time best friend and, as of now, ex-boyfriend. Throughout the first few chapters of City of Bones, Simon tries to tell Clary about his feelings for her, tries to make her jealous, and tries to impress her. Through it all, Clary never saw exactly what her friend was feeling for her. Simon is a geeky, lovable boy who enjoys Anime, D&D, and horror movies (Unless he's living one). He once saved all their asses when he shot out the skylight in Clary's building, thus getting rid of that pesky Greater Demon that was trying to get the Mortal Cup.
In City of Ashes, Simon as a brief relationship with Clary, but it is ended once he realizes that her true feelings are directed toward Jace, even if he is her brother. They agree to remain best friends.
After a run-in with some vampires after Magnus Bane's party, Simon feared that he may have been infected and was slowly turning into a vampire. He went to the vampires and tried to break into their home, thus breaking the treaty with the Clave, and the vampires attacked him. After a gruesome transformation, Simon became a walking, talking vampire. It later turned out that the effects of his brief infection would have eventually faded, but because he approached the vampires, he was doomed to a life as an undead.
Because he was a newborn vampire in City of Ashes, he was of use to Valentine in his attempt to rule the Underworld. After nearly dying, he is saved by Jace, who gives him his blood in order to save him because Jace knows what it would do to Clary if anything were to happen to Simon. At the end of City of Ashes, we learn that Simon can go out in daylight without being turned into a pile of vampire ash, something strange, even in New York City. This earns him the title of "Daylighter," because what else do you call a vampire who can go out in the daytime?
In snippets from City of Glass, Simon ends up in Idris after the attack at the Institute that he was witness to. Even though he did not enter in the most willing of ways, he is still thrown into jail on whatever charges.
Isabelle Lightwood
Isabelle Lightwood is the middle child of Maryse and Robert Lightwood. Like her two siblings, she considers Jace to be family. At times, Isabelle is the one in their Shadowhunter Trio to have the most sense, but at other points she doesn't have the best ideas, as illustrated by Jace's reluctance to follow her advice and visit the Seelie Court.
Isabelle is strong and among one of the first generations of female Shadowhunters to have a role in the defense against Downworlders. She is frequently described as being tall, thin, and Clary mentions in the first chapter of City of Glass that she frequently wears dresses. Almost everytime Isabelle is mentioned in fight scenes, she is using a golden coiled whip, first seen in her introduction when she fights the blue haired boy at Pandemonium.
She is practically a natural flirt and, though she and Jace have never had anything between them due to the fact that they are practically adopted siblings, she admits in City of Bones that she thinks Jace is sexy. She also doesn't have problems with dating Downworlders, since she clearly is somewhat involved with a faerie named Meliorn in City of Ashes, though it would seem that this was just a fling, since she says it's over as soon as they are out of the Seelie Court.
Initially slightly jealous of Clary because she is used to being the only girl around and used to receiving the most attention, she warms up to her over the course of City of Ashes and they are able to consider each other friends. However, in snippets from City of Glass, Isabelle is less than friendly to Clary because she wants Clary to return to New York City after Clary sneaks into Idris.
Alec Lightwood
Alec Lightwood is the eldest of the Lightwood children and is probably the most cautious. Jace mentions in City of Bones that Alec has never killed a demon and, in an effort to make Alec feel better after the battle for The Mortal Cup, Clary lies and tells him that he was the one who killed Agramon, though it was actually Simon. When Alec talks to Clary about it later, it is the first time that we see them acting like they could be friends.
Alec's jealousy of Clary never actually goes away, but it does get put on a side-burner, however briefly, when Alec begins a secret relationship with Magnus Bane. The only people who know Alec is gay are his sister and, much to his disdain, Clary. Though Alec harbors feelings for Jace, he sees Magnus anyway, hiding his relationship with the Downworlder as best he can, but Jace seems to know about it anyway. The affair begins in City of Bones, goes on through City of Ashes and, if we can judge anything from the cookies on Cassandra Clare's MySpace, ended sometime in City of Glass. This particular webmaster hopes it hasn't ended for good.
Magnus Bane
Magnus Bane is the High Warlock of Brooklyn and he is proud of it. The host of glamorous parties in his Williamsburg loft, Magnus first meets Clary and the gang when they come to him seeking information about Clary's past, since he "signed" her mind, a foolish slip on his part since he was so proud of his work on Clary.
In a deleted scene from City of Ashes, it is reveled that Magnus was raised in Madrid by the Silent Brothers in the seventeenth century. They named him and sent him out on his own when he was sixteen years old. This would mean that Magnus is now about 300 years old, though he jokes about being much older.
Even though Magnus is in a relationship with Alec, it would appear that he is more invested in it than Alec. Magnus has had so much more time to accept who he is and is flamboyantly open about his sexuality (rainbow leather pants, glitter, bright eyeshadows, etc.) and seems to try to convince Alec that he genuinely cares about him. In his final scene in City of Ashes, just after Alec has woken in the back of the truck, Magnus asks Alec why he thinks Magnus helps so much. They share a tender moment when Alec lets Magnus take some of his energy to rejuvenate his powers, but that is the last time we see the two of them together. According to a snippet from City of Glass, Alec ends things with Magnus.
Luke Garroway
Luke is a former Shadowhunter (and member of Valentine's Circle) who was sent away when he was infected after an attack by a werewolf. After being on his own for several years, he tracked down Jocelyn and Clary and has been in New York around them ever since. He owns a small bookstore and is currently the pack leader of a pack of werewolves, which he tracked down when he realized that he was going to need help against Valentine.
Clary almost refers to Luke as her uncle when he first enters in City of Bones, but she later tells Valentine that he is not her father, Luke is (City of Ashes). Luke admits to Clary in Ashes that he has been in love with Jocelyn but has never told her this because he assumes that she knows it and does not return his affections. After Jocelyn fled, he found her completely by chance when walking passed a gallery in SoHo. He explains to Clary that at one point he offered to marry Jocelyn and raise Clary as his own daughter, but, thinking it was just an act of courtesy rather than love, Jocelyn turned him down.
Luke was parabatai with Valentine until the time when he was infected with Lycanthropy. At that time, Valentine sent Luke (at that point known as Lucian) to kill himself, which Luke clearly did not do. Valentine says one of his greatest mistakes was sending Luke off on his own and believes that he should have killed him himself.
Jocelyn Fray
Jocelyn Fray is Clary's mother and, as of the end of City of Ashes, Jace's mother. She was a member of the Circle when she was younger and was married to Valentine. Before the Uprising, she realized exactly what the extent of Valentine's plans were, and fled. At the time, she had had an infant, Jonathan Christopher, who she believed to be dead. When she fled, she was pregnant with Clary, who she took to New York City, where they lived as mundanes until the beginning of Bones.
For fifteen years, Jocelyn took Clary to see Magnus Bane, who would remove her Sight and any memories of seeing Downworlders, Shadowhunters, or the like. She believed that by doing this she would be keeping Clary safe and away from the world she hated, which is what Magnus tells Clary when she is leaving his home the first time.
Sometime before City of Bones, Jocelyn Fray received a potion from a Warlock, presumably somewhere in the area of Idris or Alicante, which would put her into a coma-like state from which no one could wake her. This was precautionary on her part in case Valentine ever found her so that he would not be able to get the location of the Mortal Cup from her. At the end of Ashes, we are introduced to the one person who knows what Jocelyn did, Madeleine Bellefleur, and Madeleine offers to help Clary to wake her mother.
Valentine Morgenstern
Valentine is the former husband of Jocelyn Fray and the "founding father," so to speak, of the Circle of Raziel. He holds onto the belief that Downworlders are no better than demons and does not believe that they should be treated any better than demons.
He is the father of Clary and Jace, though he did not know that Clary even existed until City of Bones. He is obsessed with Jocelyn, who fled from him and the Shadowhunter world during the Uprising. He tricked the Clave into thinking that he and his family had died in the Uprising and raised Jace to think he was Michael Wayland until he staged his own death.
He is on a quest for control of the Mortal Instruments, which will give him power over basically everything from the underworld to the creation of Shadowhunters. As of the end of City of Ashes, Valentine had acquired both The Mortal Cup and The Soul Sword. His next challenge will be to get the mirror.
Sebastian Verlac
Sebastian is a Shadowhunter of about seventeen who lives in Idris. He is a cousin of the Penhallows, friends of the Lightwoods', and the family that they are staying with in Idris. He is the character on the cover of City of Glass and when everyone else seems to treat Clary with contempt when she arrives in Idris, he befriends her. It would seem, from cookies and CC, that Sebastian will be another obstacle for Clary and Jace's relationship.
When Clary has a dream in CoA, she sees a boy with wings tipped with blood. We are meant to think that this is Simon, but CC has said on the Google Group that she was actually dreaming about Sebastian.
Lesser Characters
Alphabetical by first name. (Under continuous construction)
Alaric: Luke's third in command. At the Hotel Dumort, Clary unknowingly got him in the side with Jace's dagger while trying to fend off the werewolves. He becomes Luke's second once Gretel is killed by Forsaken. Alaric is later killed when he gives his life to save Luke when Valentine flings his blade at him.
Blackwell: A large man with red hair. Blackwell is a sidekick of sorts to Pangborn and a member of Valentine's Circle. He confronts and antagonizes Luke at Renwick's Run about Jocelyn and Luke kills him with a scalpel through the throat.
Eric: Simon's friend and bandmate. He plays the drums in the band, enjoys gaming, and writes terrible poetry. He dyed the tips of his hair pink for his poetry reading at Java Jones.
Gretel: Luke's second in command. She calls him "sir" only after he broke her habit of calling him "master." She is killed by a Forsaken early in the battle at Renwick's Run.
Hodge StarkweatherHodge is a man who was around during the Uprising, a member of the Circle of Raziel, and his loyalties never seem to have strayed from Valentine. After the Uprising, he was cursed to live in the Institute and was never allowed to return to his homeland of Idris. It is clear on several occasions that he wishes he could return there or just leave the Institute. In City of Bones, he turns Jace over to Valentine in return for the curse on him being lifted. Shortly before leaving the Institute, he does one good deed for the people he is about to betray and (presumably) sends word to Magnus Bane that Alec has been gravely injured.
Jaida Jones: A character briefly mentioned by Clary in City of Bones. Clary suggests that Simon should ask her out. Clary says that she is smart. This is, presumably, a shout out to the author of the same name.
Madame Dorothea: The door to her home reads “Madame Dorothea, Seeress and Prophetess.” She is initially written off as an old fraud by Jace and Clary, who has never known Madame Dorothea to have any actual talents. Later they find out that she knows of The Clave and actually has The Sight. She tells Jace and Clary that her mother had a great talent when she was living. Madame Dorothea predicts that Jace will fall in love with the wrong person and that Clary has a block on her mind. She has a portal in her parlor from which Abbadon comes when the Mortal Cup is found.
Pangborn: Thin with a gray mustache, extremely white teeth, and a pointed beard. A member of Valentine's Circle who visits Luke about information regarding Jocelyn Fray and Clary. He is killed by Luke at Renwick's Run.
Sheila Barbarino: Referred to by Clary as “Sheila 'The Thong' Barbarino.” Sheila is Eric's girlfriend of three months as of the beginning of City of Bones.
Clarissa Fray, generally referred to as Clary, is a sixteen year old who has lived most of her life in New York. She is artistic and, before City of Bones was taking summer classes at Tisch (which she paid for by herself, may we add). When she started seeing things that fateful night at Pandemonium, Clary's life as she knew it changed forever. As the tale unravelled, she learned that her mother wasn't just a starving artist in New York City, but a Shadowhunter who had fled the world for a life as a Mundane. She lived with her mother in Park Slope, a brownstone neighborhood in Brooklyn, until her mother was kidnapped.
Jace Wayland (or Jonathan Christopher Wayland) (or Jonathan Christopher Mogenstern) prefers to keep to himself. Raised by his father, who he believed to be Michael Wayland, Jace was taught to believe that “to love is to destroy.” Up until the point when he meets Clary, Jace seems to care about little other than himself and slaying demons. Jace witnessed the death of his father and from then on was raised by the Lightwood family, who took him in as if he was their own child. After he meets Clary, his priorities seem to change from killing demons and simply doing his best to honor his father's teachings to protecting her at any cost.
Simon Lewis is Clary's long-time best friend and, as of now, ex-boyfriend. Throughout the first few chapters of City of Bones, Simon tries to tell Clary about his feelings for her, tries to make her jealous, and tries to impress her. Through it all, Clary never saw exactly what her friend was feeling for her. Simon is a geeky, lovable boy who enjoys Anime, D&D, and horror movies (Unless he's living one). He once saved all their asses when he shot out the skylight in Clary's building, thus getting rid of that pesky Greater Demon that was trying to get the Mortal Cup.
Isabelle Lightwood is the middle child of Maryse and Robert Lightwood. Like her two siblings, she considers Jace to be family. At times, Isabelle is the one in their Shadowhunter Trio to have the most sense, but at other points she doesn't have the best ideas, as illustrated by Jace's reluctance to follow her advice and visit the Seelie Court.
Alec Lightwood is the eldest of the Lightwood children and is probably the most cautious. Jace mentions in City of Bones that Alec has never killed a demon and, in an effort to make Alec feel better after the battle for The Mortal Cup, Clary lies and tells him that he was the one who killed Agramon, though it was actually Simon. When Alec talks to Clary about it later, it is the first time that we see them acting like they could be friends.
Magnus Bane is the High Warlock of Brooklyn and he is proud of it. The host of glamorous parties in his Williamsburg loft, Magnus first meets Clary and the gang when they come to him seeking information about Clary's past, since he "signed" her mind, a foolish slip on his part since he was so proud of his work on Clary.
Luke is a former Shadowhunter (and member of Valentine's Circle) who was sent away when he was infected after an attack by a werewolf. After being on his own for several years, he tracked down Jocelyn and Clary and has been in New York around them ever since. He owns a small bookstore and is currently the pack leader of a pack of werewolves, which he tracked down when he realized that he was going to need help against Valentine.
Jocelyn Fray is Clary's mother and, as of the end of City of Ashes, Jace's mother. She was a member of the Circle when she was younger and was married to Valentine. Before the Uprising, she realized exactly what the extent of Valentine's plans were, and fled. At the time, she had had an infant, Jonathan Christopher, who she believed to be dead. When she fled, she was pregnant with Clary, who she took to New York City, where they lived as mundanes until the beginning of Bones.
Valentine is the former husband of Jocelyn Fray and the "founding father," so to speak, of the Circle of Raziel. He holds onto the belief that Downworlders are no better than demons and does not believe that they should be treated any better than demons.
Sebastian is a Shadowhunter of about seventeen who lives in Idris. He is a cousin of the Penhallows, friends of the Lightwoods', and the family that they are staying with in Idris. He is the character on the cover of City of Glass and when everyone else seems to treat Clary with contempt when she arrives in Idris, he befriends her. It would seem, from cookies and CC, that Sebastian will be another obstacle for Clary and Jace's relationship.