peacock’s latest original series, Vampire Academy, has arrived, and with the four-episode premiere, the stage is set for a war between the three factions of this universe. Since the series is adapted from Richelle Mead’s series of novels of the same name, there is plenty to look forward to in the show.
While the creative teams have taken some liberties with crucial story elements, the basis for what these factions represent remains the same. Here we will dive into what separates the factions and how these divisions affect their social status and role in vampire society. We’ll also look at the inspirations for these divisions, such as the romani origins that helped Richelle Mead create a riveting world of vampire politics and death.
moroic
Although the etymology of the Moroi would lead to believe that they are nightmarish undead creatures, the Moroi are celebrated as royalty in vampire society. Generally seen as the most attractive, with golden irises revealing their royal lineage, the Moroi are always in positions of power, with vampire society recognizing a monarch as their regent. This monarchy would not have absolute power, as deeper dives into the politics of the vampiric world would show that a cabinet of various Miroi advisers has considerable political power and can even challenge the incumbent regent for their place on the throne.
Throughout the series, we also see the Moroi being divided by specialization, with vampires capable of great magical power in addition to their supernatural martial arts. As we have seen in the trial of Vasilisa Dragomir, society recognizes only four elements: air, earth, fire and water. While Vasilisa participates in the trial, there is great concern that she will not specialize, as well as gambling and crowds cheering her on to specialize with their element, similar to a sports game. As would be revealed later, there is a fifth element that has not been recognized. The element of spirit in which Vasilisa showed great strength and healed her friends from their injuries. There are reports of the possibility that the ghost element may also help bring a Strigoi back from the throes of madness.
Dhampir
The Dhampir are considered the working class of the vampire society. While generally hardworking individuals with hopes and desires, the Moroi tend to look down on the Dhampir as mere tools to use. The primary purpose of the Dhampir is to join the Moroi military protection force.
Since this is a dangerous job that could lead to the eventual death of the Dhampir, the Moroi know it is necessary to have new generations of Dhampirs constantly ready for training. A Dhampir can only be born from the union of a Moroi with another Dhampir, or, as has happened in previous generations, the union of a Moroi and a human. To secure new generations and encourage Dhampir to join the military, every non-military Dhampir must live in the commons until they are called upon to please the Miroi, regardless of the Dhampir’s wishes. Outside of these duties, a dhampir would be ashamed and forced to sell himself to support his filthy life for himself and his family. This can easily lead many to compare the social divide between Dhampir and Moroi with the social structure of today.
Strigoic
The Strigoi are often talked about in Romanian stories of undead creatures that come out at night to hunt and consume blood. The word Strigoi also has links to the term ‘Striga’, a monster of the night that fans of The Witcher can be familiar with. Throughout the show, we see the Strigoi emerge at night and consistently attempt to break into key Miroi locations, only to be dissuaded by Dhampir’s military and technological defenses. Their aggressive tactics lead to many horrific injuries and they also have the ability to turn a vampire into one of them. After brutally slaughtering an enemy, they drip their vitae into their victim’s mouth and the corpse resuscitates in the horrifying face of a Strigoi.
While the initial belief is that the Strigoi are mindless abominations that seek to kill alone, there have been instances where the monsters have grouped together and would engage in strategies that overwhelm their prey. They have also shown the ability to preserve memories of their past lives, such as when Christian Ozera had a letter saying that his parents were looking for him despite their transformation into Strigoi. Their appearance is monstrous compared to the more human-like appearance of the Moroi and Dhampir. Although the Strigoi only come out at night, they are usually unstoppable, with only a silver stake or complete decapitation keeping them in their tracks once and for all.