An Explanation of Grimms.

Abilities of a Grimm:

The most common power of Grimms is the ability to see Wesen when they woge (correctly pronounced "vogue") involuntarily. Woging is when a Wesen changes it's body (primarily face, hands and feet) to it's real form, from a human-looking individual to an it's animalistic Wesen form (below is the pictured example).

You see, there are two ways a Wesen can woge:

1- Voluntarily. This is when any individual can view the Wesen in it's true form. They can do this whenever they chose.

2- Involuntarily. This is when only Grimms can view the Wesen in it's true form. This transformation is caused by a surge of uncontrollable emotion or change of mood, a little like hormones.

Example of a Wesen in both human and wesen forms:

The right side of his face is his Wesen form. The left side of his face is his human form.

Grimms also possess slightly superhuman strength, durability, agility, reflex, speed, and even morphallaxis (regeneration of certain tissues of the body). These powers allow them to defeat many Wesen with ease, and stand up against the stronger and more vicious species, and any grimm can outmatch a human. The blood of a Grimm can destroy the animal part of a Hexenbiest, a type of Wesen. 

As well as this, Grimms seem to have a natural aptitude for fighting, particularly against Wesen, and with ancient and medieval weapons. They also possess incredible observation abilities and keen instincts. There also seems to be some natural aptitude in the Grimm lines of artistic talent as there are many detailed pictures in the Grimm diaries (books containing information and pictures of many different Wesen) from Grimms, and the known Grimms of this generation have talents with drawing also.

Grimms have a history of beheading Wesen and obviously killing them, but in the modern world this is now not so common (the beheading).

The Inheritance of Grimms:

Within a single family group, not all members of a Grimm's family become Grimms. In some cases, entire generations can pass without any relative showing signs of their abilities, only for several Grimms to emerge in the same generation. As a general rule, females become aware of their abilities earlier than males. Grimms do not know why this is the case. The Grimms descended from the Seven Knights that forged the Seven Keys in the fourth crusade. You can read about this is in the fifth chapter in this book. 

The knights became the ancestors of what would come to be commonly known by the mid-1810s as Grimms(named after the Brothers Grimm, who, ironically, did not inherit these traits from their ancestors and instead collected and recorded what they believed to be the mythologies of the world).

Endezeichen Grimms:

The Endezeichen Grimms (Germ. endezeichen "end sign") were the worst of the worst, a sect of merciless, intolerant Grimms lacking any compassion whatsoever. It is said that they would roam the countryside mercilessly killing Wesen men, women, children, and even pets. It did not matter to Endezeichen Grimms if a Wesen was good or evil: in the eyes of Endezeichen Grimms, all Wesen are inhuman abominations to be eradicated.

Endezeichen Grimms were known to be inhumanely brutal, torturing captive Wesen and cutting fingers, toes, arms, legs, and even genitals as grisly trophies. Their brutal tactics and indiscriminate killing of Wesen set Endezeichen Grimms apart from regular Grimms, who usually only kill evil Wesen, and even then, resort to the quickest and cleanest method.

The Sterbestunde G ( "hour of death" -from the German Language) was their symbol, which was stylized to look like a human skull. Endezeichen Grimms branded it into every Wesen they killed and drew it with the blood of their victims on every house of every village that had Wesen in it. It was branded onto their victims with highly heated metal shaped like the Sterbestunde G.

Aside from their brutal tactics and the Sterbestunde G, Endezeichen Grimms had additional trademarks. Endezeichen Grimms wore black hooded cloaks that went down to tops of their feet, concealing their entire body. In addition to their cloaks, Endezeichen Grimms wore full face masks that had a vague skull-like appearance. The Endezeichen Grimms likely wore these garments to conceal their true identity from humans, Wesen, and regular Grimms. This would make it much harder for anyone to bring the Endezeichen Grimms to justice, thus allowing them to kill Wesen with near impunity. 

The Endezeichen Grimms are generally thought to have died out by most Wesen, but their memory is still powerful. As a result of the Endezeichen Grimms, most Wesen fear all Grimms and will do everything they can to flee from them due to the fact that, for centuries, they have had no way of knowing whether or not the Grimm is an Endezeichen Grimm. 

The sign of Endezeichen Grimms, Sterbestunde G.

Grimms That Feature in "The Hidden Girl":

Nick Burkhardt - A grimm residing in Portland, Oregon, the USA. Nick helps Maxine Lestrange and later her Grimm friend Stefan, and is also looking for the seven keys and owns one.

Maxine Lestrange - A fifteen-year-old British witch who is also Grimm. She is the grand daughter of Bellatrix Lestrange - her mother was Bellatrix's daughter. Maxine inherits the surname because her father is unknown.

Stefan _________ - A wizard who is also a grimm, who, after complications, becomes Maxine's best friend.

________ ______ - A grimm who is related to Maxine and helps her, Nick, and Stefan at the climax.

*The under spaces are used because they are spoilers, which is also the last two descriptions are simplified and short. Read the book to find out more!