I'm so glad to see all this interest so far. That makes me so happy! :)

[@Alfhedil] Hi! [color=7ea7d8]Students attend the school for eight years[/color]. So 1st years to 8th years. A student's time at the school essentially starts once their gift manifests, so a late bloomer whose gift manifests when they are 19, would start as a 19-year-old first year and wouldn't graduate until their 8th year as a 26-year-old (this is rare, of course). Your year isn't determined by your age, but when your gift appears, since that marks your mandatory enrollment in the academy. However, it is very rare for someone's gift to manifest so late, but it does happen. Similarly, someone's gift may manifest well before puberty, but again, both cases are extremely rare and someone whose gift manifests as a baby, for example, would be sent somewhere else. [color=7ea7d8]For this RP, a character's age should be between 13-20. Generally, you will find most 1st-4th years within the 13-16 age range, while 5th-8th years are generally within the 16-20 age range, though this is not a hard and fast rule, just the norm for most students.
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And yes, [color=7ea7d8]Harold's Academy is alternative schooling, both mandatory and ONLY for Mystic students[/color]. Regular human children attend school elsewhere. Mystics as a demographic, only makeup a small percentage of the overall population. I would say, currently, there are probably 900-1000 students at any given time enrolled at Harold's Academy.

As for the intended direction, I'm not 100% sure yet, but I think I want this RP to be balanced, as in, to have a balanced pacing of character-driven story arcs and narrative story arcs interwoven into the fabric of the story to keep things moving. But I'm open to suggestions on what would help this kind of RP move and pace the smoothest. This RP is a mix of many things, so finding the right direction is really important for sure. But if I had to compare what I think the direction will be like, I'm thinking it'll narratively be something like a mix between Harry Potter, Studio Ghibli, and X-men (With maybe a little Fairy Tal and Attack on Titan as well). I want this RP to have a serious and dark tone mixed with the light fun aspect of teenagers doing dumb shit, sneaking out at night, having fun, pursuing their romances, and getting into trouble, etc. But also kicking ass with their magical gifts and getting into very dangerous missions/situations.

Both of your character concepts would work; I think it's moreso a matter of which one you would find more interesting to write about as the story unfolds. :) Your gift concept sounds interesting, probably an Astra, though I don't exactly get how it works exactly. But that's kind of the point of Astras right? Their powers aren't usually cut and dry. lol  I love creative power concepts anyways, so once you write it out in more detail, I'm sure it'll be great.  Seems like a character who would absolutely take the Apprenticeship and Support class so they can apprentice for/or provide support to the Artificing and Magi-Tech Advancements Professor.

Anyways, that was a lot. Hope I answered your questions. 

Cheers!