City of Hidden Houses

Series Metadata

Creators:
,
Series Begun:
2014-06-29
Series Updated:
2023-03-28
Description:

The final showdown between the Shadowhunters and Sebastian ended with Sebastian cleansed by the power of the Heavenly Fire. Everybody involved was expecting him to die, but that didn't happen. Sebastian survived, a different man than the one they knew, and was held in prison while outside the Fair Folk arose against the Council and all Nephilim in retaliation for the unfair treaty that has been imposed on them as a consequence of the Dark War.
The war has been going on three years when Clary, knowing the Nephilim can't withstand a single day of battle more, comes up with a plan that's supposedly going to end hostilities once and for all.
The plan fails, and Clary dies, but hostilities end anyway when, hearing of his sister's death, Sebastian escapes the prison and kills the Seelie Queen, together with a hundred fairies, soon disappearing into thin air.
Only Alec's left to face the situation, together with Magnus' help, trying to balance his obligations as temporary head of the New York Institute aiming to be appointed as permanent one, his worries about his constantly disappearing parabatai, the search for Sebastian, having to deal with the destruction caused by the War and taking care of Jace's son, Thomas.

Notes:

Hi! We usually write gibberish in the notes, but this time we feel that notes are quite important because the premise of this story is that we changed or chose to ignore some very important canon facts, and you should keep that in mind.
First and foremost, Sebastian never died in the demon world. He was cleansed with the Heavenly Fire and the fire burned all the evil in him, but he didn't die. What's left is a young man who's not completely the old, evil, blood-thirsty and revenge-driven Sebastian, but not even what-it-was-supposed-to-be Jonathan Morgenstern. He is something in between, and one of the themes of this series is finding out what and who he really is.
After the Dark War was over, he should have been executed, but both Clary and Jace interceded for him and managed to convince the Council to imprison him in Alicante instead, on the grounds that all the evil in him had been burned and therefore he was not the person that should have been trialed and put to death anymore.
Everything else that happened at the end of City of Heavenly Fire still stands, including Raphael's death and Asmodeus erasing Simon's memory, which has not and will not be restored in this story. That was simply ridiculous and anticlimactic, and we're all better off without it. As a consequence of that, Isabelle shut herself away and fighting alone and away from the others is her way of grieving him.
Another important detail to take into consideration is that Clary got pregnant during the Dark War (yes, that first time at the lake in the demon realm. Jace, you don't keep condoms in a pocket of the battle gear – do battle gears even have pockets?) and most likely had her baby during the Seelie War, which would be the uprising of the Fairies in retaliation for the unfair treatment they received by the Council. Unfortunately, Clary dies when she tries to end the war. The kid is about four by then.
Speaking of kids, another huge difference is that the Fairies/Endarkened assault at the Hall of Accords went through and almost all the children hiding inside the Hall were killed, so the children population among the Nephilim is currently very low. Counting is still underway, but it's been assessed that only about twenty children under the age of twelve is still alive.
Somewhere along the way, Magnus and Alec got married – with a mundane wedding for now – and they were frowned upon by many. Still, the Council was forced to accept the current state of things and also give Alec the provisional responsibility of the New York Institute after the Seelie War has literally decimated the Nephilim population, and the Shadowhunters of the old guard are now busy regaining control over a destroyed nation. Alec wishes for the role to be permanent but it doesn't feel like the Council is willing to give it to him, pursuant to the fact that most of the Council members still consider his behavior unfit for a Shadowhunter. He is currently fighting for his rights to be recognized independently from his sexual orientation, de facto leading a gay revolution.
This series starts with Clary's death but the stories won't necessarily be posted in chronological order. Here, though, you'll find them organized as such, from the first to the last in an orderly fashion.
The series will be composed of two groups of short stories, one from Jace and Sebastian's POV and the other from Alec and Magnus's POV, both narrating the same set of events.

Stats:
Words:
77,301
Works:
16
Complete:
No
Bookmarks:
32

Listing Series