Peacock’s new series, Vampire Academy, has arrived. Produced by Julie Plec, the woman at the helm of The Vampire Diaries Universe. With a simultaneous four-episode release initially, the series now airs weekly on Peacock, which means that those in the United Kingdom also have a chance to watch the show as it airs.
The show has proven pretty popular following its release, building upon the success of the novel series and the 2014 movie of the same name. As a result of this, many questions have arisen about the lore and the factions within Vampire Academy; we’ve provided a detailed breakdown of the lore and the factions thus far within the series.
Note: this article contains spoilers and inferred explanations from the Vampire Academy novel series.
The Moroi
The Moroi are not what they seem and, if one was basing their perception of them from their etymology, they would be dissapointed and slightly confused. Instead, the Moroi are born, benevolent vampires who feed on the blood of humans known as “feeders”; these are humans who chose to allow the Moroi to feed on them and, in turn, they recieve a euphoric rush.
The Moroi are the most respected and attractive within the shadow world and are celebrated in their Dominions (their regions, essentially) as royalty. There are twelve royal families, and royals within these families are denoted by their golden irises which they can flash at will. This is, perhaps, where it gets confusing. Within the royal families, there are also plenty of non-royals; they’re still Moroi, they’re just excluded from royal events, sitting on the royal council (which we’ll come to in a moment), and becoming monarch.
Now taking a look at the Royal Council and the monarch, this bit is easy to understand. The Moroi are led by the monarch, who is appointed from one of the twelve royal families. Despite their status as monarch, however, the power they hold varies. Whilst the monarch is the head of the dominion and thus, head of the society, decisions are made by the Royal Council — this is an advisory council formed of one member from each of the twelve families. They make the decisions on basis of a vote, and the Dominion must follow these. Whilst the Royal Council can be overturned by the monarch, this is rarely done.
Being a Moroi comes with several advantages, one of them being their ability to practice magic. Each Moroi has the ability to channel one of the elements in a process called “specialising”. Traditionally, the Dragomir family has specialised in fire, whilst the Queen’s element is wind. Things all become a bit confusing when it is revealed that there is a fifth element, spirit. This is the element that Vasilisa specialises in, and it grants her great abilities such as compulsion, healingm, and the ability to bring Strogoi back from the helm of madness.
The Dhampir
Hailing from their connection with the Moroi, the Dhampir are half-human, half-Moroi and are considerd the “working class” of the Dominion and the vampire society. As a result of this, they are often seen as expendable and looked down upon by the Moroi, both royal and non-royal alike. Dhampir’s are created by the relations between a Moroi man and a human woman, and this is often encouraged by the Royal Council. They can also be created by the relations between a Moroi and a Dhampir.
The main purpose of the Dhampir is to become a Guardian, a fierce protector of the Moroi. Most Dhampir’s have the desire to become a Guardian and it is often what fuels their desires. As a result of this, they are constantly training to become better, Janine Hathaway is one of the most respected Dhampir Guardians to ever exist.
As a result of their duty, the Dhampir possess several abilities, such as heightened senses and agility, but some, such as Rose Hathaway, have more abilities. Rose is a special case and possesses powers that other Dhampir’s don’t possess. Primarily, she has a strong link with Vasilisa, allowing her to feel what she is feeling and feel when she is in danger, but also to allow herself into Vasilissa’s dreams. This occurs because Rose is “Shadow-Kissed”. This is a term that refers to someone that has been brought back to life by a spirit user and thus, a connection has formed between the two.
Whilst this hasn’t been explicitly stated on the show yet, it is known from the novels and the movie, so it is bound to be revealed eventually.
Dhampir Guardians track their kills through several methods. Initially, when a Dhampir makes a kill, they will be given a Molnija Mark, which signifies that they have killed a Strigoi; each mark shows one kill. When a Dhampir has appeared in battle and killed too many Strigoi to keep track of, they are given the Zvezda Mark.
Strigoi
The Strigoi are the antagonists of the Vampire Academy series and the enemies of the Moroi. Strigoi are immortal, undead vampires and thus, differ greately from the Moroi. The Strigoi are much stronger than the Moroi and as a result, pose a great threat to them, hence the nature of the Guardians.
As a result of their undead nature, they suffer from the typical trope that is they are unable to emerge in the sunlight; this binds them to the shadows in typical vampire fashion. The Striogi are kept out of places, such as St. Vladimir’s Academy by powerful wards which cause them to burst into flames on entering.
The Strigoi are often seen hunting alone, but it is not unheard of them to band together and formulate an attack in groups. They are also shown to, on occaison, be able to retain their memories or connection to their human past, such as Christian Ozera’s parents — who willingly became Strigoi — contacting him to meet.
