Welcome to Knightshade Academy! There are several names under consideration for the rest of the title, such as Knightshade Academy for the Magically Gifted, Knightshade Academy of Magic and Might, Knightshade Academy of Magick, and Knightshade Academy of the Supernaturally gifted.

Knightshade Academy has gone through many reiterations over the past couple weeks since coming up with the idea. I didn't want to make an exact copy of Hogwarts, and wanted to make it unique. My aesthetic inspiration is a mix of World of Warcraft, Harry Potter, Kingdoms of Amalur, Dungeons and Dragons, Tim Burton imagery, and the macabre of The Addams Family. While the castle was always raised high, I've also had the idea of making it a kingdom floating in mid-air, well out of reach of human intrusion. There's also the idea that due to threats, the school raises up in the first book.

I want a huge sense of adventure in my stories. I'm a huge fan of RPGs, both video games and table top. I love the colorful whimsy and glowing darkness of Japanese and certain western RPGs. Instead of having a purely wizarding school, I wanted to make a school that trains all races in magic and might, including clubs like the Adventurer Guild that would prepare students to do their part to rid darkness from the world. As far as curriculum, I wanted to include physical classes such as combat and survivalism, as well as both general and specialized magical classes such as blood magic, elemental magic, nature magic, etc. This will lend itself to creating the world's best mages, adventurers, rulers, government officials, soldiers, artisans, and young professionals.

The first detail that I'm really ironing out is how to access the world that houses Knightshade Academy. I've taken some inspiration from one of my favorite game series, Ni No Kuni. The idea is that along with the normal human world, there is another parallel world where the supernatural creatures exist, and there are portals/magic gates located in the vicinity of each of the 7 wonders of the world. Once upon a time, both world existed in harmony, and you could move freely between both, but in the first book, an uprising of a dark race threatens both worlds creates tension between them that makes it very dangerous and almost impossible.

Our main character's name is Atticus Slade. While I'm still working out his backstory and how he fits into the world, but I know that his personality will be deadpan and sarcastic. Though he has a strong sense of loyalty and empathy for his friends, others sometimes find him to be intimidating because of his sharp looks, his venomous wit, and his sassy sarcasm. As far as his history, I think I'd like him to originally be from the human world, his mother a human and his father a mage (or some other race, depending on what I decide in the future). There will definitely be a friend group, but those characters haven't been decided.

There are many titles in the works, each with different kinds of stories. The First is The Midnight Masquerade, dealing with a cult of vampires unhappy with the merging of humans and supernatural beings in their world, and plan an uprising. The specifics haven't been totally worked out yet, but that's in progress. There are many titles being tested, so if you have any opinions or want to give your favorites, feel free!