8. All About Magnus Bane

   Being an 800 year old warlock can actually be sort of a cushy gig, when you've got the sort of reputation for magical prowess that Magnus Bane has. Unfortunately for him, his better side often drags his more practical side along for the ride, and he finds himself thrust headlong into the middle of big heroic affairs that are really not his style.  This in itself is telling, however.  As much as Magnus might prefer to keep from thrusting himself in the center of political scandal, he also has strong feelings about justice, and about protecting innocent lives.  He's championed the cause of Downworlder equality in his own roundabout way, and he's also fought alongside the Clave in times of serious threats to the world.  Tessa Gray remarked once on how behind his eyes there was a surprising joy always visible, and the truth is that for all he's seen, Magnus does relish life, and the world he lives in.  His insatiable curiosity comes from a true interest in the world around him, and he quests for knowledge of the arcane world, and for new experiences.  

Magnus can come off as aloof, but he's always ready with a witty or sardonic remark for any occasion. He enjoys being the center of attention, and as such, is a showman in terms of behavior, wardrobe, magical displays, and general living arrangements. Like many people who crave attention, a lot of this is in reaction to the rejection he faced as a child at the hand of his parents. When they found out the truth about his heritage, they believed he was a monster and tried to kill him. Though he acts as if this no longer bothers him, having given himself completely over to his Downworlder side and now wearing it as a mark of pride, he obviously still suffers from fear of real rejection. There's evidence for this in his jealousy over Alec's feelings for Jace, and his easily hurt feelings when he thinks Alec is ignoring him, as well as the way he's made himself into the social hub of the city, but doesn't seem to have any real close friends.  He is very deeply offended by Shadowhunter treatment of Downworlders, having been one of the warlocks actually present to sign the Accords, and having done quite a bit to rankle Shadowhunter authority into ceasing to abuse Downworlders who did not engage in monstrous or illicit activities.  

   When you've lived as long as Magnus has, entertainment becomes a completely different sport. Much of what he does is motivated by the fact that he hates being bored: he likes being surrounded by energy, vivacity, and new things, even if he doesn't partake in the scene himself.   He enjoys stepping into different roles, and has come to see the art of when to take on which ones, for practical reasons, as well as to keep himself entertained.  He might be a flippant partier in gold pants one moment, and an incredibly serious, dangerous and solemn force to be reckoned with in more extreme situations.   As Clare herself said, he's lived long enough to construct very elaborate ways of amusing himself, and greatly enjoys getting a reaction out of people based on his behavior or the way he looks.

   The fact that he is immensely powerful means that he doesn't have to fear much. He can freeze people in place, heal injuries, choke a man from afar, control powerful magical energies in the form of weapons, teleport objects from other locations at will, manipulate memories, create illusions, and much, much more. As Jace puts it, he has "nearly unlimited supernatural power", and people argue that he might be able to take Dumbledore in a fight if the wizard from Harry Potter were actually real. While he enjoys showing off all these powers, he also treats them with a certain amount of ennui, given that it's very rare he finds himself in a situation where he can't use his magic to gain the upper hand with ease.   He does however, evince fear over upsetting political situations that will put at odds with entire groups, especially the Clave.  He obviously doesn't want to cross the Inquisitor, and as powerful as he is, he recognizes that the Shadowhunters could destroy him, given the fact that they're an entire nation of their own.    He enjoys being at the very literal center of Downworlder culture, which means keeping on the good side of vampires, werewolves, fairies, other warlocks, and Shadowhunters - and it's a delicate line between not pissing them off and making sure that they respect him, while maintaining his own sense of status and power.

   Despite appearances, Magnus has the capacity to be immensely loyal to people who earn his respect or love. He might not always be willing to admit it, but he does care about what happens to them, and this manifests in his own unique way of lending aid when necessary.  He's incredibly skilled at reading people, after all these years, and he can recognize when someone has a good soul and a good heart.

   He also shows a cynicism with the idealism of doing good deeds just for the sake of doing good - rather, he'll do almost anything if the price is right, and he'll show no remorse for turning down aid to the 'good guys' if they're not willing to pay up.  This doesn't really have to do with a sense of materialism - he actually admits himself to be happier when he doesn't own too many things, as too much wealth is simply 'boring'.   Rather, his view of morality holds a lot more gray areas than most peoples, given that he's seen people with 'good' intentions do horrible things under the banner of righteousness, and he's seen 'evil' beings act in truly intelligent and heroic ways. He's learned it's usually best to simply do what's best for oneself, and let the rest sort itself out.   Making certain that his services are well paid for allows him to not end up in anyone's debt, and it also does a lot to give him more of a reputation for his magic.

History

   Magnus was born approximately around the year 1200, most likely in a small village in Europe, given his talk about his parent's church.  Seeing as how his half-demonic heritage horrified his parents, it seems likely that his mother had an affair with some kind of demonic creature.  It is also likely that his mother was at least in part Asian, as his eyes have an Asian cast.   They're also green-gold and exactly like a cat's, and have been since birth, which prompted his parents to believe it was the Devil's Mark.    This made him an outcast, and so he lived the first ten years of his life without friends, and isolated from the village and even his own family.  

   When he was ten, his mother, driven mad by the shame of what she'd wrought, hung himself in their barn.  His father was driven into a grievous rage, and attempted to drown the young boy in the river.  Fighting for his life, Magnus lashed out with all the power he had, and burned his father to death where he stood.

   Alone, he wandered for a short time, before turning to the church and begging sanctuary.  It's unknown how long he stayed there, but eventually he hitchhiked his way to Spain, where he lived alone in Madrid, begging for or stealing food as his powers grew.  Still uncertain as to what or who he was, he had a difficult time controlling them.    During this time he forgot his parents' name (by choice) and even his own.

   He was eventually taken in by the Silent Brothers - a group of self mutilating Shadowhunters who guarded the knowledge of the Clave.  It is likely that this is where he learned the truth of what he was, and the wider magical Downworld.  The Silent Brothers gave him the name Magnus Bane and helped him learn to control his powers, as well as to embrace his humanity too.  Always thirsty for knowledge, he ate up all that the Silent Brothers had to offer.

   At some point, Bane departed Madrid, and ended up in London by the late 1800s.  Between his powers, his love of parties, and his love of mischief, Magnus' popularity soared in London society circles of Downworlders.  He did, however, come to feel strongly against the Shadowhunter clave for the way in which they refused to treat Downworlders as equals, and along with other immortals occasionally gave the local institute trouble.  He lived in a variety of locales in his life, but while in London stayed on as a guest of his lover, the vampiress Lady Camille Belcourt.  The two attended Downworld events together, such as those held at the Pandemonium Club, though they were not members.  Te leader of the club, the vampire DeQuincy, would invite him to parties at which mundanes were killed as entertainment, but he would eschew those invitations.  

   Magnus assisted the Shadowhunters in infiltrating one of those parties, at Camille's bequest, attending as the date of Tessa Gray, who was shapeshifted into the vampiress.  With Tessa and Shadowhunter Will Herondale, he discovered that DeQuincy was involved in some kind of plan to create an army of automatons infused with demonic spirits.  The Shadowhunter attack on DeQuincy's group ended with the vampire's escape, and Camille, revealed to DeQuincy as a traitor, was forced to go into hiding, leaving Bane enraged at the Clave for not following through on killing DeQuincy.   He sent messages to her to return when it was safe, but she didn't respond, and he began to suspect she had simply used him to get her revenge on the other vampire.

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   The world in which Magnus lives is divided into those aware of the 'hidden world', in which exists demons, faeries, vampires, werewolves, magic, and more, and those who live their lives without even realizing any of it exists. This 'hidden world' is protected by Shadowhunters (or Nephilim), who are basically its secret police, and who battle demons, and uphold 'the Accords'. This is the contract between Shadowhunters and Downworlders (warlocks, vampires, etc) that allows for a tentative peace between them.