Characters in the Night Watch Universe

These are the notable characters in the Night Watch books and movies as created by Sergey Lukyanenko with Vladimir Vasilyev. They all play major or medium sized roles in one or more of the following works:

Novels:

• Night Watch
• Day Watch
• Dusk Watch aka Twilight Watch
• Final Watch

Stories:

• Face of the Dark Palmira - by Vladimir Vasilyev
• The Other among Others - by Vitaly Kaplan

Movies:

• Night Watch
• Day Watch

Computer Games:

• Night Watch

Characters are categorized by their affiliation when they first Appear.

Light Others

Characters with Magical abilities that have aligned themselves with the Light (Selflessness):

Anton Gorodetsky

• (Light Mage) - The main character of Night Watch and the two movies and a main or major character in the rest of the stories (except Unauthorised Personnel Permitted). A reluctant member of the Night Watch. In the beginning of the first book he prefers mundane, technical jobs to actual field work, initially supervising the Night Watch's IT department. The events of the series force him to step up and become a full-fledged operative. He eventually becomes an extremely powerful magician. Over time, he becomes considerably more cynical AbOUT the cause of Light Others. His favorite pastime is listening to custom mini-discs. He uses the randomized playback feature of his player in much the same way a Taoist might throw stones to gain a rough idea of the future, for example an ominous song implying upcoming danger. Having discovered his powers 7 years (12 in the movies) prior to the series' beginning, He starts of as a relatively weak mage, only to discover unsuspected potential as time passes by, becoming a second level mage. Possesses a pistol with silver bullets for protection from vampires and werewolves.

Boris Ignatyevich/Geser

• (Also spelled Gesar and Gesser) (Grand Light Mage) - an ancient mage of Tibetan descent who taught a number of heroes and philosophers during his lifetime. He moved to Europe during the early 15th century. Although he has had many opportunities to advance to high-level posts within Night Watch, he chooses to remain a Regional Director of the Moscow division (it should be noted that the Moscow division is the de facto head of all divisions of former USSR). Geser is a battle-hardened Tactician who's been known to turn devastating defeats into small victories. He cares a great deal about his subordinates, though he doesn't hesitate to put them in harm's way for the sake of the greater good. His mage level is Beyond Classification (i.e. doesn't fit into the 1-7 scale). Dusk Watch (Novel): During the course of the Dusk Watch, it was revealed that he and Olga had a son, who turned out to be mortal.

Svetlana Nazarova

• (Grand Light Sorceress) - a young doctor who is not aware of her powers at the beginning of the novels. Night Watch (Book and Movie): She is a victim of a plot by Zavulon to either kill her or depress her until she turns to the Dark before she joins the Night Watch. Her power is discovered when Zavulon goes too far and she inadvertently curses herself; Svetlana's powers are so strong that the curse develops into an enormous vortex that threatens to unleash an Inferno and destroy Moscow. She enters into a relationship with Anton which becomes strained as Svetlana's powers continue to increase exponentially. Dusk Watch (Novel): Svetlana and Anton eventually have a child together that is more powerful than either of them, a very rare occurrence among the others (who usually have normal, ungifted children).

Olga

• (Grand Light Sorceress) - an old friend and an occasional lover of Geser. Geser has a number of pet names for her (Oloshka, etc.) When he refers to someone whose name begins with "Ol", he is likely referring to Olga. Night Watch (Book and Novel): Olga was turned into an owl for breaking obligations she had to the Light. She was allowed to change back to her human form during wartime, for half an hour every day. Day Watch (Book and Novel): Thanks to Geser's manipulations, she was restored to her human form and regained her powers by the end of Night Watch.

Semyon

• (Also spelled Simeon) (Light Mage) - a crusty, experienced mage with a wryly cynical outlook on the world. Unlike many of his fellow mages, he is a capable fighter even without his magic. Unlike most mages, he is capable of "reading" people the same way a normal person would - by body language, as opposed to magic. In the films, he is associated with a large yellow supercharged truck to which he has an undefined connection. In the books, this connection is less distinct. However, he's still the designated driver of Night Watch parties, as he's a genius with anything that has wheels, even without his powers.

Tiger Cub/Katya

• (Shifter-Mage) - a young, playful mage with a penchant for jewels and amulets. She is highly regarded both by Dark and Light Others. It is said that she can charm anyone. As the name implies, she shapeshifts to tiger as her preferred animal form. She has a large house riddled with secret passages and guarded by dogs trained to attack Others (normally animals are afraid of Others). She can be rather impulsive and vengeful, which gets her in trouble on several occasions. The books make the distinction that she is a mage that has developed the ability to change form through study and practice rather than the normal forced transition of a werewolf. In Daywatch, she was killed by a powerful Dark "Mirror" Other, who crushed her with a spell.

Bear

• (Shifter-Mage) - a reclusive, quiet mage known for his calculated, brutal tactics. His preferred animal form is a large polar bear, although he can take any bear form. He is frequently partnered with Tiger Cub.

Ignat

• (Light Incubus) - a self-absorbed mage with "[the] face of a Hollywood actor and the body of a Greek god". He prides himself on being able to bed any woman (or man). As a result, he takes failure very hard. Night Watch (Book and Novel): He appears in the Russian version of the film Night Watch (attempting to seduce Svetlana to force her to relax and let the vortex collapse), but was cut out of the American version.

Garik

• (Light Mage) - a shy mage infamous for his bad luck with women.

Igor Teplov

• (Light Mage) - an idealistic mid-level mage. Despite his youthful appearance, he was born in the late 1920s. He is dedicated to the cause of Light Others, though his knee jerk reaction to Dark Others and refusal to compromise his principles has occasionally caused problems.

Yulia

• (Light Mage) - a smart young girl who works at the Night Watch as an analytical sorceress. Yulia admires Tiger Cub. Geser punishes her by forcing her to live as a regular human girl of her age for a week.

Ilya

• (Light Mage) - bespectacled first-level mage who swapped bodies with Geser in Story One: Destiny to trick Zavulon. He is said to be a powerful mage.

Nadya Gorodetskaya

• (Absolute Light Sorceress) - Dusk Watch (Novel): daughter of Anton and Svetlana. Two years old in Twilight Watch, five years old in Final Watch. Even at her young age, she's capable of feats few Light Others can match. In spite of the knowledge that comes with such power, she retains child-like innocence, which occasionally results in her using her powers without thinking of the consequences. She is a Zero-level Other - she does not emit magic, only absorb. In all the novels, only two more Others had such a level: Jesus and Merlin. Nadya was intended to be the Light Messiah, with help of Geser's manipulations with fate. However, due to Zavulon's intrigue, the only Light Other apparently able to be a teacher and mentor to a Messiah, voluntarily defleshed himself. Nadya is still going to become an incredibly powerful Light Sorceress, but it is not certain whether she will actually become Light Messiah.

Foma (Thomas) Lermont

• (Grand Light Mage) - Final Watch (Novel): Once known as Thomas the Rhymer and is a Mikhail Lermontov's ancestor, among other things. Head of Scottish Night Watch and friend of Geser.

Alexander "Las" Ulyanov

See below under Unaffiliated.

Dark Others

Characters with Magical abilities that have aligned themselves with the Dark (Selfishness):

Zavulon

• (Also spelled Zabulon) (Grand Dark Mage) - An ancient schemer about the same age as Geser. He runs the Day Watch in Moscow and his plans frequently involve misdirection and hidden agendas. His power seems to rival that of Geser but he is often, if not overpowered by Geser, outwitted by him. His true form has taken on demonic characteristics because he has spent a great deal of time in the Twilight. His chosen human appearance is often misleading, as he appears as a thin intellectual who does not seem to be a threat to those who do not know him. Day Watch Novel: Geser's consistent ability to outwit him eventually forces the outside forces of the gloom to step in and restore the balance between Light and Dark.

Alisa Donnikova

• (Also spelled Alyssa and Alicia) (Dark Witch) - A young witch with a penchant for mischief and discreet mind manipulation. Night Watch: She was Zavulon's lover until the end of the Night Watch novel, when she is caught attempting to steal power through illicit means. Day Watch: She and Zavulon have a brief rapprochement in the first part of the Day Watch novel, but it's not clear how sincere Zavulon is. It's later strongly implied (and believed by Alisa) that Zavulon was manipulating her to remove Igor Teplov from play.

Kostya (Konstantine) Saushkin

• (High Vampire) - A young, idealistic vampire whom Anton befriended shortly after becoming an Other. Anton's actions during the first part of Night Watch drove a wedge between them. Kostya was bitten by his father after he was born, in order to PReVENT him from succumbing to a fatal disease, and has resented being a vampire ever since. His goal is to study biology and find a cure for vampirism or at the very least find a way to make himself no different from everyone else. Dusk Watch (Novel): Normally, a vampire must drink blood (completely) of about 50 humans to become a High Vampire. Kostya has managed to become one by drinking the "Saushkin Cocktail" - a special mix from blood of 12 donors. Later, thanks to the [Fuaran] book, he becomes the most powerful Other in the world.

Edgar

• (Dark Mage) - a strong Dark mage (1-2 level) who was transferred to Moscow from an Estonian Day Watch on Zavulon's behest. Although he was, for a while, a steadfast supporter of the Dark Other's cause, he found many aspects of the Dark Others' LifeStyle distasteful. Between Dusk Watch (Novel): After becoming tired of being a pawn in Zavulon's schemes, he joins the Inquisition.

Arina

• (Grand Dark Witch) - an extremely powerful witch. Dusk Watch (Novel): She was involved in an experiment intended to create a perfect society, organised by both Watches together with the Inquisition, but she sabotaged it, together with an unknown Light Mage who is most likely Geser. Then she put herself to sleep for several decades, to wait out the hunt. Arina does most of her magic using plants and herbs. She chose darkness out of selfishness rather than any particular malice. She does not like to hurt people, although she will pretend she is willing to if it suits her goals. She actively dislikes and disrepects Zavulon. Final Watch: She eventually becomes Grand Light Other.

Inquisition

The Inquisition is a policing group created when the treaty establishing detente between Light and Dark was established. Members are personally either Light or Dark as above, but owe their loyalty to the Inquisition and not one or another of the Watch organizations.

Maxim

• (Inquisitor) - Night Watch: a middle-class Light Other whose powers emerged before Night Watch could find him. Maxim could sense evil in others around him, but was blind to good, leading him to see even people that were a mix of the two as completely evil. Because of this, he hunted and killed low-level Dark Others. Upon discovering the truth about the Others, he joined the Inquisition on the suggestion of Geser.

Witezislav

• (also spelled "Vitezislav") (High Vampire, Inquisitor) - an old vampire who got tired of Zavulon and Day Watch and joined the Inquisition. He and Geser share a long-standing animosity for each other. According to Geser, when Vitezislav became a vampire, he killed his own mother.

Edgar

• See under Dark Others just above. Dusk Watch: While Maxim divorced his wife when he joined the Inquisition, Edgar got married (to a witch).

Unaffiliated

Yegor

• (spelled Egor in the English translation) - a shy, seemingly ordinary young boy. Night Watch (Book and Movie): He was ambushed by a pair of renegade vampires in the beginning of Night Watch. Yegor is a very rare case, having a 'clean slate'. His aura shows his fate to be undetermined. In the second part of Night Watch, it is revealed that Yegor has chosen the side of the Dark. However, at the very end of the novel his destiny is partially re-written and he remains unaffiliated. His potential mage level is very low (6 or 7). Day Watch (Movie): In the films, Yegor is very powerful (a match for Svetlana) and there is much concern that if and when the two begin to fight, Moscow will be destroyed.

Vitaliy Ragoza

• (Spelled Vitaly Rogoza in the American EDition) (The Mirror) - Day Watch (Novel): a minor Other who was not associated with either side, but was turned into the Mirror by the Gloom itself in order to correct the imbalance between the Night Watch and Day Watch in Moscow. As the Mirror, he had an ability to match the power level of any Other he was combating at the time. In the span of two weeks, he killed Tiger Cub and drained Svetlana's power. Upon completing his mission, he vanished into the Gloom. In a later novel Final Watch, it is stated that a low-level neutral Other is required to become a Mirror .

Rustam

• (Grand Light Mage) - Final Watch: Rustam is an ancient mage, a contemporary of Merlin, with whom he was friends. He was also a close friend of Gesar once, but they fell out later. Rustam finally became a recluse, after he lost interest in the world. He moved permanently to the Gloom (but he did not disperse in it), visiting the reality only occasionally - for those purposes he borrows the body of Afandi, a relatively low-level old Other he once initiated. Rustam lives close to the Plain of Demons, a place were once he and Geser fought a war against Dark Others and used a spell so terrible that no one ever dared to use it since. That spell caused disruption in all levels of the Gloom, causing the opposing mages not to vanish into the Gloom, but to turn to stone in the real world, remaining alive but immobile and without any senses. They were released, from their prison, by Anton Gorodetsky, thaks to the power of Crown of All.

Merlin

• Final Watch (Novel): one of the few zero-level mages who ever lived. He left many artifacts and spells, including the one Geser and Rustam used on the Plain of Demons. He was the only Other who changed his affiliation (going from Light to Dark), until Arina. Apart from other artifacts and spells, he left behind the Crown of All, hidden in the deepest level of the Gloom and protected by carefully set obstacles and guardians.

Alexander "Las" Ulyanov

• Dusk Watch (Novel): Normal human Heavy Metal Bass player that Anton encounters while undercover in Dusk Watch. Anton's apartment has no toilet, Las's has no shower. As he has always been attracted to the strange and fantastic (and probably familiar with hallucinogens), he is unfazed by seeing magic used around him. He is eventually given powers by Kostya as a demonstration and joins the Night Watch.

This character is based on a real Russian musician, Alexander "Las" Ulyanov.