The Black Island was located on the southern borders of the empire and served as a kind of outpost, guarding the border and signaling danger. Here, at the very edge of the empire, military hundreds were stationed. The emperor, being a far-sighted and skillful ruler, spared neither money nor time to equip this piece of land and often visited with inspections himself or sent trusted and reliable people. The barracks were located on the eastern shore of the island, and on the western shore there was... a monastery, which explained the pilgrims who sailed in the spring, when the ice had not yet bound the mighty Lynx. The monastery of St. Ilga was the oldest in the empire and the only one of its kind. Magicians of various stripes who flooded this land a century ago overthrew petty rulers and united scattered pieces of land, creating an empire, the stronghold of which was the ancient families of master necromancers and alchemists. Previous religions and teachings were uprooted. An exception was made only for the monastery of St. Ilga. Why? No one knows. It is only known for certain that the then emperor himself traveled to such places and rarely left anyone alive, and he also did not disdain the monastery treasury. And when I got to the Black Island, I calmed down. A day later he issued a decree that the monasteries should not be touched or hindered by pilgrims. It was then that he laid the foundation of a military fortress and divided the space for barracks. And so it happened. But no one knew what happened, it was a troubled time, but the monastery, meanwhile, acquired amazing fame and not only believers and God-fearing people began to flock there, but also ordinary people, various workers, and merchants. And after some ten years, at the monastery, with the permission of the emperor, a school for girls was opened. It was considered an honor if a daughter was chosen for such a school. They didn’t take everyone, there was a special selection. Some subsequently remained under the protection of the monastery walls, many left them and spread the glory of kind and intelligent mentors, wise and impartial teaching, and the best confirmation was the purity and strength that sparkled in these girls. This was the mystery - they accepted ordinary girls without a grain of magical power, and after 7 years they left the monastery of a healer with rich knowledge and a light source of power, unusual for the Dark Empire.