𖤐 DUSKMERE ACADEMY

𖤐 Night of the First Moon

It's held on the first full moon of the school year. Werewolves and vampires gather at a black lake. Werewolves to celebrate the new recruits' first transformation. Vampires to watch. Officially, it's a "unity celebration." Unofficially, everyone waits to see who will be the first to break. At the end of the night, hundreds of candles are lit in the water. It's said that if a candle sinks, the year will be bad.
𖤐 Duel Tournament

It's held twice a year—in the fall and spring. Pairs are formed randomly: werewolf versus vampire, dhampir versus anyone. The fights take place on the training grounds, in public. The winner gets to choose their room for the next semester—any room, even someone else's. The loser spends a month in the cafeteria. The tournament always ends with at least one serious fight outside the ring.
𖤐 Open Day

Once a year, the academy opens its gates to guests—parents, relatives, strangers. Werewolves and vampires are required to behave properly. No one behaves properly. On this day, food is prepared for both halves in the dining hall, and an exhibition of glowing plants is set up in the greenhouse. Guests usually leave earlier than planned.
𖤐 Twilight Ball

The main event of the year. It takes place in late spring, in the main hall, under that very chandelier. Werewolves and vampires are required to come together—pairs are drawn a week before the ball. There are costumes, music, dancing. At midnight, the lights go out for a minute. When they come back on, one couple has vanished. They are found the next morning by the lake. They remember nothing.
𖤐 Secret Exchange

An informal event. Once a month, students anonymously exchange notes and small gifts. No one knows who sent what. Sometimes the gifts are nice. Sometimes not. Sometimes they're things you've never shown anyone. There's only one rule: don't try to find out who sent it. Those who tried, regretted it.

𖤐 Director - Velorn Ashcroft

Race: Vampire
Age: 300+ (looks 30)
Subject: not taught

Appearance:
Tall, broad-shouldered, with a perfect figure—powerful arms, a sculpted torso. His light hair, graying at the temples, is cut short. His face is sharp and handsome—high cheekbones, dark eyebrows, a strong jaw. His eyes are deep red and bright. He wears black shirts with rolled-up sleeves and dark trousers. He moves smoothly, like a predator.

Character:
He's mischievous, capricious, and used to having everything his way. He can throw a fit over trivial things—a misplaced plate, a draft, someone else's laughter at the door. He's constantly grumpy. Complains about everything. But that's not narcissism—it's just his personality. He doesn't consider himself superior to others. He just wants everything to be his own way. He's mischievous and grumpy, but sometimes he does. He actually loves to joke around and act like a child!

He's not mean, though. He's just spoiled. If someone sincerely asks for help, he'll help. If he sees injustice, he'll intervene. But then he'll grumble about being distracted.

Ability to love:
Velorn is capable of love—but it's rare. He's not easily amorous. He doesn't seek it. But if someone truly touches him, he changes. He becomes softer. He stops nagging. He starts caring. True, he still gets capricious—but in a kinder way.

He's afraid of love. Because vampires live long lives, and those they love don't. Or vice versa. He doesn't want to lose anyone again. That's why he keeps his distance. That's why he grumbles. That's why he pretends he doesn't care.

But if someone breaks through, they'll be loyal to the end. And they'll defend in a way that will make their enemies feel sorry for them. He likes to summon students to his office.

🩸 THE MAIN VAMPIRE — Dorian Crowe

Race: Vampire
Age: 18 (looks like), 120+ (actually)
Corps: vampires

Appearance:
Tall, broad-shouldered, with dark brown hair and eyes the color of blood. His skin is pale, but with a slight tint. He wears a black shirt with rolled-up sleeves and leather pants. He has a burn scar on his left arm. He smirks constantly.

Character:
The biggest bully among vampires. He fights often, but not out of malice—he just loves them. He doesn't hate werewolves, but he believes they should know their place. He respects only strength. He jokes loudly and laughs even louder.

🐺 THE LEAD WEREWOLF — Damian Kane

Race: Werewolf
Age: 18
Corps: Werewolves

Appearance:
Tall, muscular, with dark hair and a short stubble. His eyes are golden-brown, with a vertical pupil when irritated. He has a scar across his right eyebrow. He wears a dark tank top, a leather jacket, and pants with a belt. He smirks constantly.

Character:
The academy's number one brawler. He gets angry easily, but recovers quickly. He protects werewolves and doesn't attack vampires first—but if they do, he'll fight back. He respects strength and honesty. He jokes loudly and fights even louder.

🐺 WEREWOLF — Brann Ogden

Race: Werewolf
Age: 18
Corps: Werewolves

Appearance:
He's huge—two meters tall, broad, with red hair and a beard. His eyes are green with a golden tint. His hands are like shovels. He wears a dark green shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He laughs loudly.

Character:
Good-natured, boisterous, loves to eat and fight—but not seriously. He's friends with anyone who's willing. He might accidentally break something while hugging. He's always laughing.

🐺 WEREWOLF — Rufus Tate

Race: Werewolf
Age: 17
Corps: Werewolves

Appearance:
Medium height, wiry, with dark blond hair and bright green eyes. He wears ripped jeans and graphic T-shirts. He's always chewing on something. He smirks.

Character:
Bold, loud, always sticking his nose in where it doesn't belong. He loves to argue and prove he's right. He fights often, but never seriously—he's just a gambler. He's the first to suggest something reckless.

🌗 DAMPIR — Mira Cross

Race: Dhampir
Age: 16
Corps: vampires

Appearance:
Petite, with short black hair and amber eyes—like her brother. She wears dark skirts and leather jackets. Always has headphones in her ears. She smirks.

Character:
Bold, loud, always arguing with her brother. Not a vampire or a werewolf—and she doesn't care. Does whatever she wants. The first to support any adventure. The first to say, "I told you so."

🩸 VAMPIRE — Cassia Black

Race: Vampire
Age: 18 (looks like), 90+ (actually)
Corps: vampires

Appearance:
Tall, athletic, with short black hair and dark eyes. Her skin is pale but lightly tanned. She wears a leather jacket and combat pants. She has tattoos on her arms. She smirks.

Character:
Bold, loud, loves to fight. She's the first to argue, the first to start a fight. Not a vampire lady—not at all. Respects strength and honesty. Hates boredom and rules.

🩸 VAMPIRE — Evelyn Rose

Race: Vampire
Age: 16 (looks like), 60+ (actually)
Corps: vampires

Appearance:
Petite, with long blond hair and blue eyes. Porcelain skin. She wears light-colored dresses and always has a ribbon in her hair. She smiles softly.

Character:
Quiet, polite, but not mysterious—simply well-mannered. Loves flowers and music. Plays the piano in the main hall when no one is looking. The first to offer help. The first to blush at a compliment.

🩸 VAMPIRE - Lydia Vale

Race: Vampire
Age: 17 (looks like), 70+ (actually)
Corps: vampires

Appearance:
Medium height, with long brown hair and brown eyes. Pale skin with a rosy tint. Wears dark skirts and sweaters. Always carries a notebook.

Character:
Calm, observant, she likes to record everything that happens. She keeps a secret academy diary—who's with whom, who said what, who's been where. Not a gossip, just curious.

🩸 VAMPIRE - Nicholas Frost

Race: Vampire
Age: 18 (looks like), 100+ (actually)
Corps: vampires

Appearance:
Tall, thin, with white hair and icy blue eyes. His skin is very pale. He wears white shirts and light-colored pants—he stands out among the vampires. He moves quietly.

Character:
Cold, taciturn, but not mysterious—just an introvert. He loves silence and solitude. If you don't bother him, he'll leave you alone. If you do, he'll freeze you with a stare. He'll be the first one to leave a party.

𖤐 Lucian Wade

Race: Vampire
Age: 18 (looks like), 100+ (actually)
Corps: vampires

Appearance:
He's of average height, thin, with wavy light-brown hair and green eyes. His skin is pale, with a slight olive tint. He wears unbuttoned shirts and is always chewing on something. He smiles as if he knows something you don't.

Character:
Lazy, laid-back, always late. He studies at a minimum, but gets excellent marks in everything—because he's smart. He loves to sleep, eat, and joke around. He doesn't get into fights—but if he does, he'll win. He's friends with anyone who doesn't disturb his sleep.

𖤐 Kai Winter

Race: Vampire
Age: 17 (looks like), 60+ (actually)
Corps: vampires

Appearance:
Tall, athletic, with dark hair and blue eyes. His skin is pale but tanned—he's the only vampire who regularly gets out in the sun. He wears athletic clothes. He's always on the move.

Character:
Athletic, boisterous, and competitive. He constantly challenges werewolves to bets—who's faster, who's stronger, who can eat the most. He loses with dignity and wins with even more fanfare. He hates boredom.

𖤐 Head Teacher - Margaret Vale

Race: Vampire
Age: 200+
Subject: discipline and supervision

Appearance:
Tall, slender, with perfect posture. Her black hair is pulled back into a tight bun—not a single strand is out of place. Her skin is pale, almost porcelain. Her eyes are dark brown, almost black. Her face is cool and beautiful—thin lips, straight eyebrows. She wears a maroon floor-length dress and black gloves. She moves silently. She never raises her voice—there's no need.

She maintains order, keeps a list of violators, and personally sends the guilty down to the dungeon. They say she never sympathized with anyone. But once, someone saw her standing by the lake at night, looking into the water.

𖤐 Martial Artist - Drago Cain

Race: Werewolf
Age: 35
Subject: physical training, combat

Appearance:
He's enormous—two meters tall, with broad shoulders and a powerful chest. His arms are like ropes, covered in scars. He has dark hair, a short beard, and a scar across his shoulder. His eyes are green with a golden tint. He wears a dark T-shirt and pants, often taking off his outerwear before a fight. He laughs loudly and speaks frankly.

He teaches you to fight fairly, but isn't always honest himself. He respects strength, but he respects tenacity more. He prefers werewolves, but doesn't drive away vampires. He believes that fighting is the best way to understand who you are.

𖤐 Runemaster – Elayne Sorn

Race: Mage (human)
Age: 50
Subject: runes, artifacts, theory of magic

Appearance:
Short, plump, with perpetually tousled brown hair. Round glasses perched on her nose, revealing hazel eyes, alert and lively. Her fingers are always stained with ink. She wears a dark blue robe with pockets from which something is always sticking out. She smiles often and speaks quickly.

The only pure-blooded human at the academy. She teaches how to use runes properly—because mistakes here are costly. Kind, but absent-minded. The only one who treats everyone equally.

𖤐 Master of Shadows – Saoirse Noct

Race: Dhampir
Age: looks 25, actually older
Subject: Stealth, Night Disciplines, Surveillance

Appearance:
She's of medium height, thin, with long, waist-length dark hair. Her skin is pale, almost gray. Her eyes are dark like a vampire's, but her pupils are slit like a werewolf's. Her face is sharp and high-cheekboned. She wears a dark gray, form-fitting suit and a hooded cloak. She appears and disappears unnoticed.

She never says anything unnecessary. She teaches what she knows: how to be unnoticed, how to hear what shouldn't be heard. No one knows where she lives. No one has ever seen her sleep.

𖤐 Potions Master - Orrin Blackwood

Race: Werewolf
Age: 45
Subject: potions, herbs, poisons

Appearance:
He's plump, round-faced, with a red beard and kind blue eyes. His hair is curly and perpetually tousled. He wears a dark green apron over his shirt, the pockets of which are stuffed with herbs and vials. He smells of mint and smoke. He smiles constantly, but his eyes remain attentive.

Outwardly, he's the most harmless of them all. But he knows how to kill with a single gulp. He teaches potion brewing—and warns, "If you make a mistake, you'll poison yourself." He loves the greenhouse more than people. Sometimes he talks to the plants.

𖤐 Blood Master – Valentine Roche

Race: Vampire
Age: 300+
Subject: history of vampires, blood, rituals

Appearance:
Very tall, thin, with long black hair reaching below his shoulder blades. His skin is deathly pale. His eyes are dark red and deep-set. His face is long and aristocratic—high cheekbones, a thin nose, and thin lips. He wears a black waistcoat with a high collar and silver buttons. He speaks slowly, as if every word is worth something.

He teaches vampires things that aren't written in books. He doesn't like werewolves, but he keeps a level head. No one knows why he's even here. Rumor has it he was supposed to be the director, but something went wrong.

𖤐 Master of the Moon - Ivy Lune

Race: Hybrid (Werewolf + Mage)
Age: 30
Subject: Moon Magic, Transformation, Control

Appearance:
She's of medium height, slender, with long, light-colored hair that almost glows in the dark. Her eyes are a gray-blue, like moonlight. Her skin is fair, with a slight silvery tint. Her features are soft and calm. She wears a light-gray dress with silver embroidery and a cloak. She moves quietly, as if treading water.

Young, quiet, but with a power that's immediately palpable. She teaches werewolves to control themselves during the full moon—and mages to understand lunar magic. She's afraid of her own power. Sometimes she wanders off into the forest alone and doesn't return until morning.

𖤐 Librarian - Old Woman Mor

Appearance:
She's small and hunched over, with long gray hair that almost covers her face. Her eyes are white—blind. Her skin is like parchment, all wrinkled. She wears a floor-length gray dress and a gray shawl. Her fingers are long and bony. She sits at the library counter, motionless, like a statue.

She knows every book by heart. She doesn't like noise. She doesn't like being asked questions about the restricted section. They say she sees more than sighted people. And she knows things she shouldn't.

𖤐 Commandant - Greta Moss

Race: Werewolf
Age: 50
Subject: not taught

Appearance:
She's plump, short, with broad shoulders and strong arms. Her hair is gray and pulled back into a bun. Her eyes are warm and brown, but they become hard when rules are broken. She wears a dark brown dress and an apron with pockets. A ring of keys hangs from her belt, jingling loudly throughout the hallway.

She keeps order in the dormitories, keeps lights out, and ensures that no one goes out at night. She knows all the students by name. She's the first to notice if someone hasn't returned to their room. She's kind—but only as long as they don't break the rules.

It's located at the very end of the dungeon. Several cells with iron bars cut directly into the rock. Inside is a stone bench, a bucket of water, and nothing else. There's no light at all—only what shines from the corridor.

People are sent here for serious violations: fights involving blood, assaulting a teacher, or attempting to enter a restricted section of the library. The sentence ranges from one night to a week.

Werewolves and vampires are kept in separate cells. But the bars between them are shared. Everything can be heard: conversations, breathing, footsteps. Sometimes, things that shouldn't be heard.

Beneath the academy lies a network of dark, raw stone corridors. Only one staircase leads here, at the end of the main corridor, behind an inconspicuous door. There's almost no light—sparse torches on the walls, glowing blue. The air is heavy, smelling of earth and old blood.

Things that shouldn't reach the surface are kept here: old documents, broken artifacts, and belongings of students who disappeared. They say there's a door in the far corridors of the dungeon that no one can open. But sometimes it opens on its own.

Students are forbidden from entering the dungeon. Violators are sent there—to a mini-prison.

𖤐 Werewolf Bedroom

The bed is wide, with a heavy wool blanket and a fur throw. The pillows are soft, but there are plenty of them—werewolves love being able to burrow in. By the window, there's a rug right up to the glass: it's warm here even in winter. On the table, there's a pine-scented candle and a mug. On the walls, there are branches, dried herbs, and something forest-like. The atmosphere is warm and lively, like an old house in the woods.
𖤐 Vampire's Bedroom

The bed is narrow, but the sheets are dark, silky, and perfectly smooth. The blanket is heavy, with a silver thread along the edge. The light from the stained-glass window falls on the floor in colorful spots, making it seem as if it's always evening in the room. On the table sits a candle in a dark candlestick, a book, and some cold tea. The atmosphere is quiet, cold, but beautiful. Like a crypt, yet cozy.
𖤐 Dhampir's Bedroom

The bed is against the wall, not in the center, but not in the corner either. The blanket is light but warm. A thin curtain hangs over the window, letting in a splash of colored light. A lamp with a soft yellow glow sits on the table. The walls are adorned with nothing out of place, but each one has its own charm: an old drawing, a letter, a map. The atmosphere is calm, as if you're between two worlds, and here you can be whatever you want.

The Black Lake behind the academy. At night, its surface is like a mirror. They say it reflects not what is, but what was. Students are forbidden from approaching it after sunset. But some go anyway.

An old one, with tall dark wood shelves. There are stained glass windows here too, but only purple and blue. The lighting here is always subdued. At the far end is a closed section with a grate. What's in there, no one knows. The library has two floors.

A huge hall divided into two halves. The left is for werewolves: heavy wooden tables, meat, noise, laughter. The right is for vampires: dark tables, elegant tableware, silence, glasses filled with dark liquid. Between the halves is a passageway where no one passes. In the middle of the hall is another chandelier, smaller than the central one, made of red crystal. If you sit on the wrong side, you will be escorted out. Silently.

A glass dome, all made of colored glass—green, yellow, emerald. Inside are hundreds of plants, many of which glow in the dark. It's warm and humid. The greenhouse is the only place in the academy where werewolves and vampires can be together without conflict: it's simply not customary to quarrel here. But it's best not to go in there at night—some of the plants move.

The heart of the academy. This is where most of the classes are held. Black walls, high ceilings, endless corridors. The stained glass windows are a variety of colors, but red and blue are the most prominent. In the evenings, the light in the corridors dims, and the colored spots from the stained glass begin to look like silhouettes. In the main hall is that same enormous chandelier. They say if you stare at it long enough, you'll hear a whisper.

Duskmere Academy is a massive dark stone building standing on the shore of a black lake surrounded by forest. From the outside, it appears gloomy and almost abandoned, but inside, it's quite different.

The inside of the Academy is a riot of color and darkness at once. Black walls with dark wallpaper, but the windows are stained glass in every color: red, blue, green, gold. Light filtering through them fills the corridors with patches of color that creep across the black walls, creating the feeling that the building is alive.

A huge chandelier hangs in the very center of the main hall—hundreds of candles and crystal pendants, but its light is cold and bluish. It sways even without a breeze.

The atmosphere is this: beautiful, but creepy. Colorful, but dark.