This story starts in a small village on one of the seven continents, the continent of umbra. This village, like the rest of umbra, resides in darkness and is partly responsible for the over eighty per cent of world crime and disasters enacted by thr continent. The ground is basalt, and the houses basalt brick. The roofs of hardened ash are supported with small amounts of iron and if afordable, steel. The sky is always dark, even though both a sun and the moon is visible at this time. Stars are overshadowed by the darkness and shadows cast over the silver light of the moon.
Mages in this continent mainly farm dark mana, one of eight mana types. They also grow fungi and vegetables. Mostly food requiring little to zero light. Therefore this continent is the second most efficient continent at potion brewing. This continent is renkowned for the stealth of the mages and the impurity of umbras mages. Though there is always a few souls that never fit in with their surroundings.
One such soul is a fourteen year old girl known as dusk. Unlike the black, dark brown, or in some cases grey hair, she wore a light silver hair, like that of the moons rays. She held the same grey eyes as the rest of umbra's citizens and wore a black cloak that covered her silver shirt and shorts. The darkness and cold attitude of this continent did not match the warm environmnet nor dusks energy, and today, a monday was the start of the new term for new mages.
Dusk left her home earlier than she would of liked. She woked up at dawn, though by the sky you wouldnt tell. Still coping with the lesser amount of sleep she had, she walked to school, walking along one of the larger basalt paths that lead to umbra acadamy. In one hand, a small silver flame danced along her palm. A basic torch spell that all children learn for nightime, or in umbra, all the time. In dusks other hand, she held a book titled spells and techniques for beginners. She was engossed in the spell book, her other hand making movements causing the silver flame to occasionally spit onto the ground: a trail of flames laid behind her that slowly dissipated into the ground.
She was met at the dark iron gates of the acadamy an hour and a half before the school assembly began. All new mages were to be at the gates an hour before. Fortunately, with half an hour to spare, dusk found a dark oak tree nearby and phased into the tree, reaparating on the higher branches. A common shadow sneak skill for umbras mages, where a mage dissolves into an object large enough for a whole shadow and can travel freely around said object until reforming as a being outside another entrance of the same object. In this case the trunk and branches of the dark oak. Dusk, being lighter than the average girl, sat on one of the highest branches, her nose embedded in her spell book, constantly hearing a growing buzz outside the gate. Faint sounds of a fire being extinquished could be heard as the new mages dissolved into the floor and reapeared behind their fellow newcomers.
At 7am, umbra time, the gates slowly opened and dusk fazed through the tree and reapeared behind the large crowed of new mages. At the gates, was a elderly women, whom like all umbra'ean mages, wore a black cloak, but also a large black staff, which held a dark grey gem inside. She spoke with authority, but her age could be heard from her tone.
"Welcome to the umbra acadamy new mages!" She spoke. "I am mage black, the head mage at this acadamy and my job is to make sure each and every one of you pass this acadamy.. You there with the pointy nose, stop trying to steal out my bag!" She scolded a boy, whom shadow sneaked to her bag and was trying to take it, though the bag seemed glued to the floor. The other mages laughed at the foolish attempt and the head mage smirked. "Shadow glue! She explained. A technique that allows you to stick items to shadows, and in umbra, the world is shadows! Now follow me young mages, time to organise your sleeping arrangements!" She exclaimed to the bunch of confused newcomers. "Ah I see, your parents uphelf the promise not to tell you children. Good, good. Well you will live at this acadamy for two years, where you will meet new friends, enemies and thieves. You there I said out my bag!" The same boy tried to steal out the bag again.
"Want to know what's in the bag?" The mage said. "Nothing you foolish boy ha ha!" She chuckled as the theif boy deadpanned!
"Rule 1 of this acadamy!" She screamed. "All theivery IS permitted, hence why nothing is in this bag!" If you lose something. Bad luck! Rule 2. All conflict will be solved with a duel in the arena, no matter how small. There are ten arenas open at all times and you will all be given a gem that allows you to teleport to a free arena. This gem will be unable to be stolen as of a protective method. Rule 3! You will be placed into groups of four, that will then be paired off. You will sleep in pairs. Each pair gets a bunk bed and a room. Each pair of rooms are connected by a door. You will be unable to shadow sneak through to other groups rooms. Finally, your groups and pairs are permanent! So deal with it. you will find your group and pair in room 1-A. The first classroom you will see."