The universe of "Watches"
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The universe of "Dozors" is an artistic universe invented by the writer Sergey Lukyanenko.
It is described by him in the novels "Night Watch" (1998), "Day Watch" (co authored with Vladimir Vasiliev) (2000), "Twilight Watch" (2004), "The Last Watch" (2005), "New Watch" (2012), "The Sixth Watch" (2014), "School Supervision" (2014) (co authored with Arkady Shushpanov) and "Shadow Watch" (2015) (co authored with Arkady Shushpanov), "The Seal of Twilight" (co authored with Ivan Kuznetsov) (2014), "Precinct" (co authored with Alex de Clemeshier) (2014), the stories "Small Watch" (2007), "New Year's Watch" (2014), the screenplay "Night Watch" (2002) and the comic book "Night Watch" (2009).
Also featured in the novels of Vladimir Vasiliev, "the Face is Black Palmyra" (2004), "Time inversion" (2014), the story of Vitaly Kaplan "Other among the Other" (2012) and his story "the Crown" (2012), a novel by Igor Dolgorukova "Time for Dragons" (2003), the trilogy of Yuri Mishin's "Secret Watch" (2015), novel Makarova Lyudmila "Operational Reserve" (2015).
The films "Night Watch" (2004) and Day Watch (2005) loosely based on the screenplay of "Night Watch", published in the book "Nuclear Dream", and the events take place in a completely different universe, having little in common with the one described in the books.
It is used in board and video games: for example, in the online game " Watches.
The Forbidden Game" (2005) or the board card game "Night Watch: Your Own Destiny" (2005).
Content
1 Tie 2 Magic system of "Watches" 2.1 Levels 2.2 Categories 2.3 "Magic temperature" 2.4 Twilight 2.5 Initiation and the sides of the Force 2.5.1 Shuharts
2.6 Primordial Forces 2.6.1 Mirror 2.6.2 Tiger 2.6.3 Twofold
2.7 Vampires and werewolves 2.7.1 Vampires 2.7.1.1 Saushkin Cocktail
2.7.2 Werewolves 2.7.3 Registration
2.8 Transformation of a person into Another 2.9 Immortality 2.10 Watches and Inquisition 2.11 Spells 2.12 Artifacts/amulets
3 Characters 3.1 Bright 3.1.1 Employees of the Samarkand Night Watch 3.1.2 Employees of the St. Petersburg Night Watch
3.2 Dark 3.3 Inquisitors 3.4 Other 3.5 Historical and legendary Others 3.5.1 Characters of the "Nibelungenlied Saga"
4 Interesting facts 4.1 Duration of the action
5 Notes 6 Literature 6.1 Series of "Watches" 6.2 Research literature
7 See also 8 references
The plot[edit / edit wiki text]
Some of the people (about one in ten thousand) are born Different — with the ability to magic.
(The word "people", strictly speaking, is wrong, because Others do not refer to themselves as people). [1]
They can enter the Twilight a magical world that is inaccessible to ordinary people.
The power of Others is huge — they do not know diseases, they can stop their aging, subdue ordinary people.
By their nature, Others are divided into Dark and Light.
The Light ones believe that they live for the sake of others — they set the main goal for themselves to protect people, prevent human crimes, strictly observe orders and laws, liberate the World from evil.
While the Dark Ones stand for individual freedom, individual interests and benefits.
The reasons for this separation are different mechanisms for obtaining magical energy by them.
Both Light and Dark replenish their magical reserves due to the energy of people.
The light ones take away positive emotions from people: laughter, joy, happiness.
Dark — negative emotions: grief, sadness, anger.
The Light ones consider this method unacceptable for Others, so they use it less often and when absolutely necessary…
It is the different attitude towards people and the world around them that lies at the heart of their conflict.
Once, realizing that their struggle could destroy all life on Earth, the forces of Light and Darkness concluded a truce agreement:
We are Different.
We serve different forces,
But in the Twilight there is no difference between the absence of darkness and the absence of light.
Our struggle is capable of destroying the world.
We are concluding a Great Treaty of Truce.
Each side will live according to its own laws.
Each party will have its own rights.
We restrict our rights and our laws.
We are Different.
We are creating a Night Watch,
So that the forces of Light follow the forces of Darkness.
We are Different.
We are creating a Day Watch,
So that the forces of Darkness follow the forces of Light.
Time will decide for us.
And since then, their war has passed into the category of cold: each Other gets the right to perform a certain number of magical effects aimed at others.
Vampires and werewolves regularly receive hunting licenses (victims are selected randomly using a "vampire lottery").
Accordingly, the Night Watch monitors the observance of the Contract by the Dark Ones, and the Day Watch monitors the Light Ones.
The Inquisition, a small but powerful organization consisting of both Dark and Light Ones, acts as the highest authority that monitors compliance with the provisions of the Treaty.
The main character of the hexalogy is the light magician Anton Gorodetsky, who serves in the Moscow Night Watch.
On his behalf, the narration is conducted in all books, except for the "Day Watch".
In the film adaptations, he is also the main character.
The magical system of "Watches"[edit / edit wiki text]
Levels[edit / edit wiki text]
According to their strength, most Others are divided into 7 levels: from the seventh (lowest) to the first (highest).
The vast majority of magicians belong to the levels from the fourth to the seventh.
There are significantly fewer magicians of the third level, and there are only a few magicians of the first two levels even in such a large city as Moscow.
There are also mages who are stronger than the mages of the first level.
They are called high magicians.
The power of the Higher Magicians, with the exception of zero (see below), is about the same.
There are seven Light and four Dark High Magicians in Moscow:
Bright Arina is the highest healer, before the events of the Last Watch she was the highest witch.
Gesar ("Boris Ignatievich"), the head of the Moscow Night Watch Olga, Gesar's Wife Anton Gorodetsky.
He became the highest in the "Twilight Watch" due to the influence of a spell from the book "Fuaran".
He became a man in the "Sixth Watch".
Svetlana, Anton's wife, does not work in the Patrols.
Nadia, the daughter of Anton and Svetlana, is a zero magician.
Initiated in the "Last Watch".
Mark Germenson Sergey Glyba
Dark Zabulon, the head of the Moscow Day Watch.
Yuri, Zabulon's deputy for operational work.
In the novel "New Watch" it is reported that he moved to Minsk.
Nikolai, an employee of the Moscow Day Watch.
It is mentioned in the books "Day Watch" and "The Face of Black Palmyra".
In the novel "The New Watch" it is reported that he is "retired".
Edgar, a summoned magician from the Tallinn Day Watch, who later became an Inquisitor.
He became the highest thanks to the action of a spell from the book "Fuaran".
Disembodied by Arina in "The Last Watch".
The most powerful of the higher magicians are zero, or absolute, magicians.
The books mention:
The Light, and then the Dark magician Merlin, the Vampire Konstantin Saushkin (became zero thanks to a spell from the book of Fuaran; died a few days later, but was resurrected by Twilight in the "Sixth Watch"), the Bright Nadezhda Gorodetskaya[2],
Categories[edit / edit wiki text]
A category is an officially recognized level.
The Highest magician is given the title of a magician outside the categories.
"Magic temperature"[edit / edit wiki text]
In the Twilight Watch, the nature of the power of the Others is revealed.
Magic power is produced by people and all living beings in general.
Magicians in most cases produce less power than humans: their magic temperature is lower.
Thanks to this, magicians can use the power produced by people.
Thus, all Others are parasites, although most of them do not know about it.
The lower the magic temperature, the stronger the Other and the higher its level.
The most powerful are magicians with zero temperature Absolute, or zero magicians.
In the entire history of the enmity of Light and Darkness, several similar others are known: Nadezhda Gorodetskaya (light magician), Merlin (light, then dark magician[3]), Kostya Saushkin (a vampire who artificially increased his strength to the limit with the help of the book of Fuaran), Yeshua.
Twilight[edit / edit wiki text]
The collective name of the six layers of reality that exist simultaneously with our world and are connected with it.
Only Others are able to plunge into the Twilight.
Each layer looks like a different world, but some objects exist in several layers of twilight at once, although sometimes exposure to a" twilight " object does not lead to a similar change in the object of the present.
The stronger the Other, the deeper he is able to dive.
The first layer is available for any Other.
Only magicians of the first level and Higher Ones can dive below the third level.
People can only influence the Twilight indirectly.
Enchanted by a special spell, the weapon is able to reach the second layer.
A nuclear explosion affects not only the human world, but also all layers of the Twilight.
Doors in the twilight, even locked in the ordinary world, are open (but they can be closed from the Twilight).
There are no smells on the first layers of the twilight.
The colors fade until about the third (there are practically none there), and then they begin to gain strength again.
The seventh level of Twilight is our world, that is, the Twilight is looped.
Only zero Others can overcome the barrier between the sixth and seventh.
The only known form of life that lives in the twilight is blue moss.
He feeds on human emotions (just like Others).
Each Other has an individual reaction to the twilight — everything depends on his strength and skill: the stronger and more experienced see the outlines of objects in the twilight more clearly and it is easier for them to move; the weaker, the deeper they sink into the twilight, the slower.
Staying in the Twilight requires a lot of magical energy from the body, as well as glucose contained in the blood, and is especially dangerous for inexperienced Others (the so called "twilight coma").
Another who has spent too much energy can stay in the Twilight forever.
The dead Others disincarnate and find themselves on the sixth layer of Twilight.
Only Great Magicians can get to this layer and talk to them, and the disembodied themselves are sometimes able to climb a layer higher, but only a few can get to the first layer.
None of them is able to leave the Twilight independently.
Initiation and the Sides of Power[edit / edit wiki text]
There are two sides of the Force — light and dark.
A magician is not Light or Dark from birth: he chooses the side of the Force at the moment of initiation by another active magician.
The side that he chooses most often depends on the spiritual disposition in which he is at the initiation.
Therefore, mentors try to prepare the mental state of the initiated, often without his knowledge.
But it happens that an uninitiated Other is inclined to some side of the Force from the very beginning.
Before initiation, the future magician has only the rudiments of the ability to magic.
Such magicians are called undecided or uninitiated.
After initiation, the magician usually undergoes training and his category is determined.
Initiation can be dangerous, a weak person - a child or an elderly person may not survive it.
For the Bright Others, such values as duty, loyalty, service to people, and love are important.
They feed on the bright energy that is released by people experiencing "bright", joyful experiences.
At the same time, the Light Ones can take away all the "light" feelings, which can adversely affect the psyche of people.
Therefore, the "total" fence of "light" emotions is used only in the most extreme cases.
A Light Other, who has committed an act that is inconsistent with the ethics of the Light Ones for no particular reason, disincarnates if he fails to convince himself that his act was ethically justified.
On the other hand, the Light Ones often commit questionable acts: for example, the head of the Moscow branch of the Night Watch, Gesar, often sacrifices his subordinates for the sake of victory over the Dark Ones.
For the Dark Others, such values as freedom, independence, and strength are important.
Dark Others feed on dark energy, which is released by people experiencing "dark" experiences — fear, anger, pleasure, etc., which often leads to a short term improvement in people's well being.
Then the negative experiences return with a double force, unlike the positive ones, which do not return.
The Dark Side is much less inclined to sympathize with its "pawns".
So, for the entire cycle, Zabulon managed to "play" a huge number of weak dark ones, giving them for various purposes (for the sake of distracting eyes, for the sake of eliminating interfering light ones, etc.).
Shuharty[edit / edit wiki text]
The bright ones ,who "one day break away from the imperfection of the universe and decide to do good right and left," ignoring any rules and orders of their superiors.
They are named after the last name of the main character of the works of A. and B. Strugatsky "Picnic on the roadside".
Usually they have a low level ("well, the fifth is the fourth, rarely the third").
The actions of the Shuharts are ill conceived, do not lead to an improvement in people's lives, but give the Dark Others the right to similar interventions.
For this reason, the Shuharts are neutralized by the Night Watch.
Primordial Forces[edit / edit wiki text]
When the Contract was created, it was sealed by the Original Light and the Original Darkness.
Now the Primordial Forces themselves monitor the balance of Light and Darkness.
The primordial Forces confirm the oath or challenge with a small fiery petal (for the Light Ones), a clot of darkness (for the Dark Ones).
Mirror[edit / edit wiki text]
It is used by the Twilight to restore balance in the case when one of the parties is significantly stronger than the other.
It has the following properties:
The mirror is neither Other nor human.
It is able to reflect all the effects of the enemy and rise to his level.
Initially, the Magic Mirror looks and is very weak and gains strength as stronger magicians influence it.
An uninitiated weak Other turns into a Mirror, equally distant from both Light and Darkness, or having sympathy for both Light and Darkness at the same time.
During the transformation into a Mirror, the memory is partially erased.
During the transformation into a Mirror, the Other becomes Dark if the Light Ones are stronger, and vice versa.
Having completed its mission to restore balance, the Mirror disappears (disincarnates).
Tiger[edit / edit wiki text]
One of the creatures of the Twilight, the personification of its part in human form.
It has the following properties:
He is intelligent and has no will, but because of his long stay among people, he "humanizes".
It encourages the prophets to convey their main prophecy to people[4].
Preys on the prophets[5].
Twofold[edit / edit wiki text]
Another (the very first) generation of Twilight.
It is embodied in the form of two Others (dark and light), which then merge into one whole.
In an unembodied form, it is a blue moss.
It has the following properties:
He is intelligent and has a will.
It is called to observe the world balance good and evil, by destroying civilization and simplifying the lives of the remaining people to basic needs[6].
Vampires and werewolves[edit / edit wiki text]
Vampires and werewolves are known collectively as the lower Dark Ones.
They have the following general properties.
They are often despised by other magicians (Both "enemies" of light, and "their" dark ones).
They usually have a low level.
Exceptions are the so called Higher Vampires (Example: Inquisitor Vitezslav, who died in the Twilight Watch) and ancient werewolves (Example: Inquisitor Hena, mentioned in the book "The Face of Black Palmyra".
In the same work, it is mentioned that there are no Higher Werewolves).
According to their strength, they usually correspond to magicians of the first level.
They are able to turn people into their own kind (vampires - into vampires, werewolves - into werewolves).
This requires the consent of both: both the lower Dark One and the person.
Such transformations, with some exceptions, are strictly prohibited by the Patrols.
Vampires have their own hierarchy, the strong can subdue the weak in a kind of duel of will.
The winner gains power over the defeated.
In fact, another Other can also break a vampire, which was presented in the "Last Watch".
The strongest higher vampires have the title of master (master), and the strongest of the masters is called the master of the masters (master of masters).
At least twelve contenders must fight to the death in a mass duel for the title of the host of the hosts.
Vampires are the first of the Others on Earth ("The Sixth Watch").
Vampires[edit / edit wiki text]
In the Universe of "Watches", the idea of vampires is quite different from the descriptions found in classical literature and mythology.
Vampires need human blood.
However, since the end of the XX century, they have learned to make do with donor blood (see below "Saushkin's Cocktail"), although many prefer to suck the blood of a living person.
Each vampire, according to the contract, can get a certain number of licenses for killing from light magicians.
It is believed that the license system is the least evil: without it, vampires would kill people in huge numbers.
The victims are chosen by lot ("vampire lottery").
Children under 12 years of age, Others and their relatives were released.
The vampire completely subordinates the victim to whom the lot fell to his will: she herself comes to the Call of the vampire and does not feel any pain or fear when her blood is drunk.
Many vampires refuse licenses to kill, choosing to donate blood and receiving benefits for this.
The most powerful (but not necessarily the highest) vampires are able to transform into various animals, for example, into a bat, a wolf, a hare or a rat, as was said in "Twilight Watch".
However, only higher vampires can take on the guise of other people or others (as described in the "Sixth Watch").
They are reflected in mirrors[7].
Unlike folklore representations, on the contrary ,the" averted eyes " of a vampire can be seen only in the reflection.
They do not experience problems with light[7], although sunlight is unpleasant for them.
They are not afraid of garlic, aspen or silver (which they may well touch)[7].
However, silver bullets that hit a vampire cause severe pain and can temporarily disable a vampire, but not kill.
Strong alcohol causes a severe burn.
However, they can drink, for example, wine.
They canot enter someone else's house without an invitation.
No one knows why.
When invited, an invisible "vampire trail" appears.
They are rarely found in Eastern Europe, unlike Western Europe.
A vampire can increase his magical power by killing a large number of people.
So, in the" Last Watch " vampire Gennady Saushkin became the highest, killing 52 people.
At least one vampire was able to pass through the glass without damaging it[8].
It is unknown whether this ability was inherent to him as a vampire or as a zero magician, which he was at that time.
Saushkin Cocktail[edit / edit wiki text]
A recipe that allows vampires to quickly reach the maximum of their strength, without killing people.
Developed by an employee of the Research Institute of Hematology, the highest vampire Konstantin Saushkin.
It is a concentrate of donor blood from 12 people[9].
Werewolves[edit / edit wiki text]
About once every 2-3 weeks, the werewolf loses control of himself and turns into a beast (shifts).
The madness lasts up to several days.
Periodic insanity is so painful that a werewolf can commit suicide because of them.
Transformations are not related to the phases of the moon.
In addition to losing control over himself, a werewolf can also shift at will.
Werewolves do not have a clear hierarchy, since they are related to families or prides.
Werewolves should be distinguished from shapeshifter magicians (in the Patrols, this is a Tiger Cub and a Bear).
The shifter turns into a beast at will and is always able to control this ability.
In addition, a shifter can have many guises (for example, a Bear showed a grizzly, brown and polar bears), while a werewolf is limited to one, rarely two.
Werewolf battle mages also exist among the Dark Ones (see The Face of Black Palmyra).
Registration[edit / edit wiki text]
All vampires and werewolves (including Higher Vampires and Inquisitors) belong to the lower Dark Ones and are required to register with the Night Watch of the city in which they are located (for example, the vampire Inquisitor Vitezslav was registered by Gesar in the Twilight Watch).
When registering, vampires who are not higher are stamped.
It is worn on the chest.
If necessary, this mark can be activated, and then the Other wearing it instantly dies.
Thus, Anton Gorodetsky destroyed the vampire who attacked Yegor ("Night Watch").
The registration of all Others should be distinguished from the registration of vampires and werewolves — it is carried out at customs and in the cities where the Other moves.
The transformation of a person into Another[edit / edit wiki text]
A person can be turned into a vampire or a werewolf, but existence in the form of a vampire or a werewolf is unlikely to please anyone.
With the exception of this, the only known way to transform a person into Another is a spell found in the book "Fuaran".
The use of this spell would have declassified the Others and led to wars between the Others and humans with disastrous results for both sides.[10]
In addition, the ability to turn thousands and millions of people into Light or Dark Otherworlders would upset the balance between the Watches and most likely lead to terrible bloody wars between the Otherworlders.[11]
For this reason, Fuaran has been classified to such an extent that very few Others even know about the existence of this spell.
In The Twilight Watch, the book containing the Fuaran spell (apparently the only copy) is destroyed.
The witch Arina owns an incomplete copy of the spell (learned by heart from the book).
Immortality[edit / edit wiki text]
Others are formally immortal.
However, many of them die in wars between Light and Dark magicians or in magical duels.
Bright Others can voluntarily disincarnate, repenting of serious offenses (for example, murder).
A magician can be executed by the Inquisition.
Death from an accident or the hands of an ordinary person is also possible (physically, magicians are no different from ordinary people).
Nevertheless, some magicians live for a very long time: for example, the age of Gesar and Zabulon is more than 2000 years, and the inquisitor Hena is more than 10,000.
After the death of his physical shell, the magician continues to exist in the Twilight.
If necessary, he can be summoned from there (for example, to give evidence) or even revived, although such procedures require huge energy costs, in addition, a living magician of about the same level as the summoned one must provide his body.
(In the" Day Watch", the witch Alice was thus summoned to the Inquisition court)
A magician cannot make a person immortal, although he can prolong his life and preserve his youth.
I opened up to her.
I've done everything for her.
She was never ill.
Even at seventy three, she looked at most thirty.
She didnot need anything even in hungry Petrograd, and the Red Army soldiers were speechless from her security papers...
I signed a mandate from Lenin.
But I couldnot give her my century.
It is not in our power.
The Watches and the Inquisition[edit / edit wiki text]
In order not to destroy each other, the Light and Dark Others signed a Great Truce Treaty.
The Night Watch, consisting of Light Magicians, monitors the Dark Ones, and the Day Watch consists of Dark Magicians and monitors the Light Ones.
The patrols often intrigue against each other, each side tries to strengthen itself and weaken the enemy.
Not all magicians are part of the Patrols.
Some people prefer to lead their lives without participating in the war between the Light and the Dark.
The Inquisition, consisting of both Dark and Light magicians, monitors compliance with the contract and punishes magicians who violate it.
The authority of the Inquisition is indisputable.
Although the Inquisition is probably weaker than both the Night and Day Watch, but if the Night Watch tries to rebel against the Inquisition, the Day Watch will side with the Inquisition and vice versa.
Most magicians do not understand that both Watches are necessary.
Without the Day Watch, the Light Ones (or some of them) would have tried to" make people happy " with disastrous results.
Without the Night Watch, the Dark Ones would want to enslave people.
We can say that both watches are in fact instruments of the Inquisition.
In critical situations, when the danger threatens the entire magical community or the whole world, light and dark magicians act together, sometimes exchanging information and providing each other with operational assistance, and sometimes even forming a single group of light and dark magicians (as happened in "Twilight Watch").
In terms of the number of employees, the Inquisition is significantly inferior to the Patrols, but it includes very strong magicians — usually not lower than the second or third level, but not necessarily.
In addition, the employees of the Inquisition have strong artifacts in their arsenal.
There are very few vampires and werewolves in the Inquisition.
Only the vampire Vitezslav (killed by Kostya Saushkin in "Twilight Watch") and the werewolf Hena, who turns into smilodon, one of the oldest Others on Earth ("The Face of Black Palmyra") are mentioned.
If an open war is declared between the Watches, the Inquisition staff will join one of the parties, but in this scenario, the Inquisition will rather be destroyed, trying to prevent a war.
Spells[edit / edit wiki text]
The spell is the main form of magical influence of the Others, which converts the energy of the Twilight into a certain action.
As a rule, spells do not require the utterance of formulas (except for some powerful ones — "Fuaran" or "White Haze") or the use of objects.
In some cases, you need to fold your hands in a certain gesture (for example, "Dust" or "sign of Strength").
The speed of casting a spell depends on the experience and strength of the Other.
It is possible to prepare one or more spells in advance and "hang" them on your hands for instant application.
Another option for acceleration is to invest the spell in an artifact in advance (see Artifacts), while you can accumulate much more Power in the artifact than is available to the Other who uses it.
Traditionally, spells are divided into combat (for attack or defense) and household, and there are 2-3 times more household spells[12] - they are just rarely honored with mention.
This division is somewhat conditional: You can chop firewood with a" triple blade "(although this is considered a fad), and a "grater" or "aspirin" can be a formidable weapon — just for their quick creation and targeting, you need a lot of experience.
There is a way to weave one spell into another.
An apparently harmless spell that generates peace and a desire to admire the landscape, after penetrating under the protection of the magician, imperceptibly transforms into a "long tongue" spell, forcing him to reveal his secrets [13]}.
Absolute Constipation — there are two spells with this name.
One thing locks any doors tightly, the other probably causes absolute constipation in the person to whom it is applied.
Avicenna is a spell of magical healing.
Agape is a sign of love.
Aspirin is a dark spell that lowers the target's temperature to the ambient temperature, can be used in combat.
The barrier of Will is a mind protection spell.
The white haze is the most powerful and terrible of the Light spells mentioned in the books.
Only the highest magicians can do it, " it requires maximum concentration and full pumping of Power within a radius of three kilometers."
After uttering, a white fog escapes from the magician's mouth, causing a local "collapse" of all layers of Twilight, and turning all opponents of others into a stone, inside which souls remain eternally alive, but motionless and devoid of all feelings, slowly going mad; people are crushed by the twilight without a trace.
It was invented by Merlin, used only once by Rustam and Gesar, who did not know exactly how it works.
The White Spear is a battle spell of the Light Ones.
Magic spear, acts according to the name.
It is mentioned in the novel "The Last Watch".
In the sixth watch, it was used by Anton Gorodetsky against the Two Edged One.
"I saw... how the coat of the Dark One, pierced by the "white spear", caught fire ... "
The white sword is a light spell that converts Power into a white blade.
Svetlana uses it in a battle against the Vedas
