Do shadowhunters have their own currency? Where do they get mundane money? And how do they earn for a living? Some Shadowhunters hold positions within the Clave or run Institutes, and they are compensated in varying amounts for this work. Others live off spoils (treasure) from the demons they kill, or the fortunes their ancestors made killing demons. They stay pretty much completely separate from the Mundane economy. Shadowhunters don’t have their own currency. They have credits that can be drawn against, or use almost any worldcurrency. The Nephilim acquire mundane currency in a few different ways. They have access to it via co-existence with humans all over the world. In a tight spot they could sell valuables at a pawn shop or flea market in whatever region they need currency for, like Jocelyn does in City of Bones: She showed me the amulet she had taken from the pile of bones; in the flea market at Clignancourt she sold it, and with that money purchased an airplane ticket. (396) Mundane institutions tithe to the Nephilim, as Will and Jem reveal in Clockwork Prince: They were in a large stone-bound room with vaulted ceilings. The floor appeared to be brick, and there was an altar at one end of the room. “We’re in the Pyx Chamber,” he said. “Used to be a treasury. Boxes of gold and silver all along the walls.” “A Shadowhunter treasury?” Tessa was thoroughly puzzled. “No, the British royal treasury—thus the thick walls and doors,” said Jem. “But we Shadowhunters have always had access.” He smiled at her expression. “Monarchies down through the ages have tithed to the Nephilim, in secret, to keep their kingdoms safe from demons.” “Not in America,” said Tessa with spirit. “We haven’t got a monarchy—” “You’ve got a branch of government that deals with Nephilim, never fear,” said Will, crossing the floor to the altar. “It used to be the Department of War, but now there’s a branch of the Department of Justice—” (13) And of course, there is the dark world of spoils. From the Codex: And from the Codex: SPOILS The term “spoils” refers to the taking of the possessions and wealth of a Downworlder as part of the punishment for a crime. Typically these spoils are forfeited to the Shadowhunter who has been wronged by the Downworlder. Or the spoils are forfeited to the Clave’s treasury if no specific Shadowhunter seems the proper recipient. In practice, however, Downworlders’ spoils have almost always ended up in the hands of individual Shadowhunter families. In fact, for many old wealthy Shadowhunter families, a goodly portion of their prosperity originates in spoils granted by the Clave. ~Mrs Carstairs
Posted on: Fri, 21 Nov 2014 09:18:00 +0000
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