Welcome to Shaiya, CuteLilyy!
As you have probably already found out, there isn't any official player manual as such out there, but the fact that you have found your way to the forums will save you a lot of time later on if you take care to make frequent use of it.
For some starter tips, here's:
Kikix' basic guide to Shaiya
and
Big ol' Index of Helpful Guides and the like
and
The Shaiya Wiki
Also, check out the various class sections in this part of the forums for advice on your characters. It's a lot to digest at first, so just read up on as much as you think you can take on for now, play the game a little and see how it compares to what you read, then come back and read some more. It will save you a lot of grief down the line if you do.
Now, the Shaiya player community is somewhat 'old' - ie that it is quite well established, and can seem a bit monolithic at first for a new player, and the various servers have their own established ways and social mechanisms. Try to get into some parties with others, try to make note of the guilds the people who seem nice belong to, and consider trying to join one that seems to have people in it you'd like to be with.
For armor, weapons and money - it is basically at first down to trying to get the stuff you need to drop from the various monsters/creatures you kill or buy them for the gold the your kills drop from the various merchants in the game. In time, you might have to rely on 'farming' to earn gold (ie killing certain creatures over and over in order to get certain items to drop from them). Prices on the player market are quite daunting to the new player, but don't give up - let the time you feel you can commit to the game decide your pace and how you progress. Shaiya is as much about the journey to the top as it is about being there. And for those of us who have been around a while, most of our memories are all about the road that brought us where we are today.
While you are in the game, if you find yourself in a situation you don't know how to deal with or feel you could need the advice of someone to proceed, don't hesitate to ask for a Game Sage on the Trade Chat channel (is available to you after you get to level 10). If one of us is online, we will do our best to answer your questions, and if we aren't around, there's usually other players that like to help as well.
Good luck! ^^