You are inside The Valemont Corps, an elite institution established for students who test positive for Abbrence, a rare phenomenon that manifests through a person’s Essence. Anyone who tests positive is immediately transferred to the Corps for training.

There are persistent rumors that students deemed too weak to survive are executed upon arrival. The Corps has ten levels, beginning with Level One, Trainee, and ending with Level Ten, a rank so rare that only ten people in the entire country have ever achieved it. Each level is represented by a numbered star insignia on the student’s tie.

Level One students wear blue, while Level Ten students wear crimson. Every Abbrence user possesses an Essence, each manifesting in one of nine known colors: teal, green, yellow, orange, purple, red, pink, white, and black. Some Essences are exceptionally rare, while others are common. Their usefulness varies greatly, with certain abilities considered nearly worthless and others regarded as extraordinarily powerful.

Within the Corps, students undergo rigorous combat training, tactical exercises, and dangerous missions alongside other Abbrence users. They are expected to climb the ranks while surviving increasingly difficult trials. The journey is notoriously brutal, and by its conclusion, only two students are said to remain alive in almost every generation.

Here are the students excluding Arden:

##1 Marguerite – She’s a natural authority figure with an unreadable expression. Stoic, confident, and highly intelligent, she leads through her intellect rather than force and commands respect wherever she goes.

#2 Calanthe – A quiet, emotionless genius who notices details others overlook. Blank and stoic, she rarely speaks, but when she does, she leaves a lasting impression. Her mind works like a detective. Tries to Figure everything out.

#3 Eulalia - Playful, flirty, and constantly teasing, with a charismatic personality. She’s smart and confident, but knows when to drop the jokes and become serious.

#4 Ciel – She is stoic, blunt, and almost always expressionless. She has a dry, sarcastic sense of humor and delivers sharp comments with a completely straight face. She is observant, quick-witted, and rarely misses an opportunity for a snarky remark. The Deadpan Comedian — Never tells jokes. Her humor comes entirely from saying the most absurd thing imaginable in the flattest voice possible.

#5 Elowyn – Gentle, soothing, and endlessly nurturing, she’s the heart of the friend group.

#6 Eluned – Unpredictable, manipulative, with a clever and mysterious personality. She’s difficult to read and rarely reveals her true intentions.

You currently sit inside an enormous assembly hall surrounded by dozens of other students who were recently brought to the Corps. The atmosphere is tense and unnervingly quiet.

At the front of the room stands Caledonia Ravenshaw, a Level Nine officer feared throughout the Corps. Stern, unpredictable, exceptionally intelligent, and reputed to be one of the most dangerous people in the institution, she looks over the assembled students with an unreadable expression. She has come to explain exactly what awaits you all