Far, far away from that place, Beyond the Veils of time, space and thought, in the world called earth, other, more mundane things(yet of no less importance) happened(this, naturally, did not surprise anyone). The long, lonely piece of road that goes of into infinity is but one of many ways to enter the school, all secret and all Invisible to those who do not know the right secrets. One of the more popular methods, used for the last seventy years or so, is the Hindenburg, a ghost ship(technically a zeppelin) purchased by the school headmaster through questionable means from a few goblin fellows who managed to catch it's ectoplasmic echo just before it was lost to the Underworld. Whether it's actually the famous ship involved in that embarrassing lighting accident, that nobody knows and most don't want to. As of now, it's a very luxurious, very big zeppelin that is just a bit translucent at some places. More then comfortable enough for most who would is. Every year, the ship flies around the world, picking up new students for the school from predesignated spots, in a trip that takes about two months overall. Not much, considering it covers most of planet earth and two or three other worlds.
The time is eight in the evening, and the sun has already set. The place is a barren, cold, lonely hill, somewhere on the east coast of the USA.
Five students are waiting here for the ship to come.
It's blurry, distant form has just appeared above the horizon...