The Shadow Academy
From Shadow Academy
The balance between the World of Light and the Nether-Realms is, at best, tenuous. Gods, spirits, mortal magicians and others - often ignorant of the true import of their actions - from the World of Light often run the risk of tearing the veil between the worlds asunder completely, while the demonic Overlords of the Nether-Realms, in their endless scheming and in-fighting, often look to the World of Light not only as a source of power in the form of souls and energy, but also as a place where they can do battle, or simply profit in some other, inscrutable fashion. Lesser demons often come to the World of Light in order to become stronger, in hopes of one day returning across the veil and carving a Nether-Realm for themselves. Others, attracted by some aspect of life in the World of Light, wish to live on the other side of the veil, free from the wars and whims of the Overlords. In many cases, they do so peacefully, co-existing unseen alongside the often ignorant people of the World of Light. Other times, however...
...things are not so lucky. It is in this fragile balance that we find the purpose of the so-called Shadow Academy. Though no one knows when, exactly, the Shadow Academy was created (even the people that run it seem unsure), it has long existed on the cusp of the two worlds, recruiting agents from both the Nether-Realms and the World of Light, in order to ensure that the balance between Order and Chaos is never irrevocably repaired. They walk a fine line, living in a twilit world of ghosts and demons, sorcerers, vampires and other, stranger things, fighting every night to bring a measure of peace to the innocents of both Worlds.
[edit] Location
Though there are myriad inhabited planets in the World of Light, none touches so strongly on the Nether-Realms as the planet Earth, home of mankind. No one, not even the Shadow Academy's top men, knows why this is for sure, but some believe that humanity may have evolved on the same world that was once the home of the Ancients.
Whatever the reason, Earth sits at the crux of two worlds and, so, it is there that the Shadow Academy keeps its headquarters. Specifically, the Academy sits, shielded behind powerful magics, in the city of Tokyo, Japan - a metropolis that bears the uniquely unsettling distinction of being home to the Great Rift - the largest known gateway between the Nether-Realms and the World of Light in existence.
The headquarters itself is a non-descript private school on the outside of Tokyo. Very little is known about it, new students rarely, if ever, get accepted to it, and all the while mankind remains blissfully unaware that within its halls walks a group of people - humans, demons, and other beings - dedicated to preventing the destruction of two universes.
[edit] Organization
The Shadow Academy is divided into several branches: Orientation and Education, Operations, and Science and Thaumaturgical Research. Agents within each branch of the Academy work to fulfill a number of goals depending on their relative skill and ability, and the head of each Branch of the Academy is answerable only to the mysterious Oversight Division, with whom they all meet quarterly meetings.
The Orientation and Education branch trains new agents for the other branches, and is also in charge of selecting talented examples of human, alien, demon and other-kind for employment as agents. Orientation and Education often starts young - the Shadow Academy prefers to recruit new agents while the agents are still, developmentally at least, teenagers. In addition to a basic mundane education, they are taught the rudiments of the occult, as well as how to deal with a number of monstrous threats in combat situations. OnE also operates an accelerated program for the rare adult recruit.
Operations Branch is the heart of the Shadow Academy, and only the most talented agents are accepted into its ranks. It's Operations that performs fieldwork for the Shadow Academy, which could include anything from exorcisms, to wiping out a demon-influenced Yakuza gang, to starting - and winning - a land-war in the Nether-Realms. Agents who work in Operations are often extremely talented in their fields, and it is because of this that the Agency gives them a remarkable amount of leeway in methodology, so long as their missions are completed. Operations branch agents live at the Shadow Academy, and are considered to be "on-call" - barring medical leaves and the occasional "training holiday" - almost all the time. Aside from their elite "Ops Agents", Operations also handles physical security for the Shadow Academy, and maintains a small army of genetically and cybernetically enhanced "Bioroids" to protect the facility. The third head of Operations is the Intelligence branch, which handles computer security and - most important - provides the so-called "Alephs", computer overwatch specialists who assist Operations agents with important data and intelligence through a sophisticated technomantic communications device known as a Coded Occult Digially Enhanced Communicator (CODEC).
Science and Thaumaturgical Research provides much of the support team that keeps Operations and OnE working smoothly. It's the duty of the SiThaum researchers to study alien and magical artifacts, determine their purpose and proper use, and - if possible - recreate them or otherwise put them to use for the Academy. SciThaum is also in charge of keeping records of all missions and investigations - open or closed - ever conducted by the Shadow Academy through its Archives division. Lastly, and probably most importantly, SciThaum is in charge of the research and development of new weapons and technologies for dealing with supernatural threats - from UV guns for dealing with vampires to the useful, but slightly unpopular ExorGrenades - known commonly as Ghost Mashers. Unlike Operations Branch personnel, SciThaum agents are allowed to live off the Academy grounds, and often make their homes in imperceptibly guarded apartments in the surrounding neighbourhoods.
