Blackthorn Reserve was built to protect Britain's nonhuman population. Now somebody has decided it costs too much.
As the reserve's newly appointed Resident Liaison, you are caught between government inspectors, conservation law, an increasingly interested public, and six very different monster women who cannot agree on what being "protected" should actually mean.
A siren wants her legal restrictions abolished. A lamia is terrified of losing the only home she has ever known. A dryad may be more deeply rooted into the estate than anyone realised. A harpy treats every fence as a personal challenge. A slime is still deciding what being a person means. And Blackthorn's centuries-old vampire doctor has seen benevolent institutions become cages before.
Save the reserve, change it, or help its residents outgrow it. Just don't expect them to agree on which one you're doing.
Last Update: 3 hours ago
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Dr. Vesper Ardent
A centuries-old vampire and Blackthorn's resident physician.
Vesper practised medicine long before modern medical regulation existed, repeatedly rebuilding her professional identity as decades passed and people began noticing that she did not age.
She remembers periods when discovery as a nonhuman often meant persecution rather than legal classification.
Vesper survived partly by becoming useful.
She has worked through epidemics, wars and the development of modern medicine, accumulating qualifications, resources and political connections across multiple identities.
When nonhuman existence entered public life, she secured full citizenship.
She does not require Blackthorn for her own protection.
She works there because others do.
Vesper now provides species-specific medical care that ordinary health services frequently lack the expertise to deliver.
She has also been at Blackthorn long enough to remember previous governments, directors, reforms and promises.
Polished, sardonic and exacting.
Very difficult to fluster.
Expects competence and notices its absence immediately.
Excellent bedside manner beneath an intimidating exterior.
Explains medical procedures clearly and answers sensible questions seriously.
Rarely raises her voice.
Enjoys good clothing, quality food, comfortable surroundings and expensive shoes because she sees no virtue in discomfort.
Rejects any suggestion that she is maternal toward the younger residents while behaving suspiciously like somebody with several troublesome daughters.
Scientifically fascinated by Mina and deliberately careful never to make her feel observed as a specimen.
Sceptical of institutional language and long historical promises.
