Dark Mage

Dark Mages are soldiers within The Underworld Army and are Temp's main magic troops. They are trained by his Chief Mage, Shadow in the Underworld's Mage School.

Ranking System
Dark Mages are ranked based on their level of magical skill and prowess, the training is a lot more scholarly and learning based than a Black Knight's. Graduation Matches between mages to see who should progress to the next rank of tutoring are held in The Arena.

Rank 0
Rank 0 Mages are those who have just started their magical training and are still getting used to the shock to their system that first using magic brings. They are usually not introduced to Elemental spells yet and so rely on physical spells to win their battles. Their cloak is plain black.

Rank 1
Mages who graduate to Rank 1 are awarded with a thin gold trim to their cloaks. They are educated on the basics of the 4 most fundamental of Elemental spells (at least according to Temp): Fire, Ice, Lightning and Dark.

Rank 2
The next rank up gives Mages a thicker gold line on their cloaks. They still only learn the four fundamental Elements but have more skill with using them and bending them to do what they wish. Rank 2 Mages need to be very careful as overextending their will may cause them to become consumed by the Magic they wanted to control, and die.

Rank 3
The surviving Rank 2 Mages who graduate gain a second thin line around the edges of their cloaks. At Rank 3, the Mages' skills in the four basic Elements are finalised and four more Elements are introduced to them: Light, Water, Earth and Wind.

Rank 4
If the Mages managed to grasp using the 8 main Elements, then they progress to Rank 4 and are awarded with a second thicker gold line on their cloaks. Similar to Rank 2, in Rank 4 their skills with the newer Elements are increased and expanded upon.

Rank 5
Most Mages who start training eventually make it to Rank 5 and are awarded with a single, vertical, gold bar emblazoned on the back of their cloaks. Their skills in the 8 main elements are finalised and the only 2 remaining important elements are introduced to them: Forest and Poison. Rank 5 is considered to be the longest and hardest of the main ranks. Mages who wish to continue their training into the special ranks and are deemed able to do so by either Temp or Shadow duel each other, whereas Mages seeking to be placed in the Underworld Army are sent to duel with a Black Knight who is Rank 5 as well. In any of the proceeding Ranks, Mages may opt to join the Underworld Army and are again, sent to duel with a Black Knight who is the same rank as them.

Rank 6
Rank 6 is the first of the 'special' ranks and Mages who ascend to this position are respected by all in The Underworld. They have 2 gold bars on the back of their cloaks. Here, they are introduced to the obscure and more detailed Elements (also called sub-elements). There are many that they study and Rank 6 is by far the longest of all the Ranks, but a few notable examples include: Void Magic, Death Magic, so-called Green magic (magic used to buff allies and debilitate enemies) and Life Magic.

Rank 7
At Rank 7, Mages are awarded their final gold bar on the back of their cloaks. After being exposed to all Magics that are allowed to be practised, Mages will specialise in one specific Element or Sub-Element which will become their main element of use. In duels they will be paired with a Mage of the Opposite Element so they are faced with a challenge.

Rank 8
Rank 8 Mages are categorised by a gold pentagram on the back of their cloaks. Because the Mages have now specialised in one Element, Rank 8 focuses mainly on expanding their skills in that Element to the best of their ability and making sure they know everything about it.

Rank 9
At Rank 9, the Mages recieve a second gold pentagram on the back of their cloaks. Now that their skills in their chosen Element are basically as good as they can be, Rank 9 details more ways to gain, and control said magic. So far they have been using Free Magic-drawing the Mana from their own bodies and using that to catalyse the spells-but they are also shown, Runic Magic, using magical symbols to guide and control the mana, Summon Magic, using other creatures to catalyse their spells and also Tribute Magic, sacrificing something to release very powerful spells.

Rank 10
This is the final rank and Mages who ascend here are the most powerful in the school. They are tutored so that their skills in each other Element do not decline from overuse of one particular one. Rank 10 mages have a third and final gold pentagram on the back of their cloaks.

Other Ranks
Other Ranks include:
 * Rank 11: This is the fake rank that Temp and Shadow have since they are the most powerful mages in the Underworld.
 * Enlist: All Mages who graduate to the Army are assigned the rank of Enlist
 * Tutor: Some mages stay on at the school to help teach lower ranked mages and are assigned the rank of Tutor.

Appearance
Dark Mages wear obsidian-black cloaks that obscure most of their more demonic features. They do not use wands as there is not enough material to make one for each of them, so instead they use their own body to catalyse their magic spells which causes the appearance of 'Mana Veins', bright lines that appear to segment their skin which the mana they use to cast spells flows through so as not to interfere with bodily functions.