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Erida Seika
[Only admins are allowed to see this image] HISTORY OF SOUL SOCIETY: Note: The calendar of Soul Society starts from the Year 0, and all years before that are marked a minus and are in descending order from the Year 0, which is considered the beginning of current era and the military government. The Timeline of History of Soul Society: Year -110 Spring: - Seisuke Watanabe is born to Seigo and Hachiko Watanabe. Year -80 Autumn: - Hanji Watanabe, the second son of Seigo, is born. Year -5: Winter: - Yūshin Satō assumes the seat of chairman in the city council. - He takes Yumiko Minamoto, who is betrothed to Seigo's first son, as his wife. Year -1: Spring: - The chairman massacres hundreds in the Rukongai, to put an end to an uprising. - Seigo is falsely accused of treason by Yūshin, after judging his actions. - The gates of Seireitei are closed, and commoners are not allowed in anymore. Summer: - Seisuke assumes his father's seat as a member of the council. - Seisuke speaks against discrimination directed at the commoners by Yūshin. Winter: - The chairman has Seisuke arrested, claiming the man threatened him. - Yūshin exiles the Watanabe family from Seireitei and seizes the city for himself. Year 0: Spring: - Seisuke begins to build an army beyond the walls to overthrow Yūshin. Summer: - Watanabe's rebellion marches on the southern gates, sparking a civil war. - Izumi Shiba and Masayoshi Kuchiki join Seisuke's cause with their families. - The outer city falls out of Yūshin's control, and siege of the inner city begins. Autumn: - Seigo Watanabe is hanged and his body is thrown down the inner wall. - Yuya Shihōin joins the rebellion, and brings a majority of the nobles with him. - Hanji is defeated by Yūshin's bastard, Takehiko, who then joins the revolution. - As the gate to inner city falls, the chairman locks himself up in the stronghold. - Yūshin, his wife and his infant son, are found slaughtered in their chambers. - Yuya Shihōin, their killer, is arrested upon Seisuke's command. Winter: - Seisuke is elevated as the chairman of the city council. - The new chairman opens the city gates to commoners again. - Wealth of Satō family is invested in the Rukongai and it's citizens. - Takehiko disowns his family, and takes the name 'Kenpachi'. - Seisuke announces the beginning of a new era in Soul Society. Year 1: Spring: - A government reform strips the council of nobles from their power. - A military regime, with Seisuke at it's captain-commander, is established. - Hanji, Masayoshi, Izumi and Takehiko become the first captains under him. Summer: - Yuya Shihōin is pardoned and given the position of a captain. - Kimiko Kyōraku and Chiyoko Kōfuji are given the position of a captain. - Central 46 is established as a legislative body for both commoners and nobles. - "Gotei 8" is the name given to the new military regime. Year 3: Autumn: - Shin'o Academy is established for commoners to study and join the military. - Noble families are given the privilege of teaching their own children. Year 8: Spring: - The specializations of "Gotei 8" are birthed by respective captains. - Division 1, led by the captain-commander, takes on administrative duties. - Division 2, led by Hanji, takes on the defensive operations of military. - Division 3, led by Masayoshi, takes on the intelligence control. - Division 4, led by Izumi, takes on the duty of military reserves. - Division 5, led by Takehiko, takes on the offensive operations of military. - Division 6, led by Yuya, takes on the stealth operations of military. - Division 7, led by Kimiko, takes on the patrolling and the detention. - Division 8, led by Chiyoko, takes on the medical duties of military. The Description of History of Soul Society: Watanabe's Rebellion: 2,002 - 2,001 Years Ago Since the noble families of Seireitei built the city as a tribute to the Soul King, who had long ascended to his palace and fallen into a deep sleep, a council consisted of the leaders of most prominent families have reigned over it and the surrounding lands. By birthright, this narrow upper class lived a comfortable life, whereas the common people suffered of famine and plague, in addition to being treated unjustly and cruelly. The beggar's place was on the other side of the city walls, while the nobles lived within. Yūshin Satō, the chairman of the city council and the wealthiest man in Soul Society, was a particularly enthusiastic enforcer of this hierarchy and nothing pleased him more than seeing the poor squirm in front of him. He crafted diabolical methods of torture to entertain himself, and his militia would march to the villages beyond the wall to burn them down and kill their inhabitants, whilst their master would spread lies of a rebellion in the ears of the noble class - that his troops were going to make sure that the natural order would remain as it was, with them on top. Seisuke Watanabe was not a prominent member of the council, but a noble nonetheless - and nothing pained him more than seeing so much oppression, discrimination and violence all around him. His father had been a sworn enemy of Yūshin, until he had found himself bowing the knee to him, to avoid execution. The cruel chairman had made himself quite the number of enemies among his years in the politics, because he had ruthlessly gotten rid of all that opposed him - but some lingered in the shadows, having been given birth to by the seeds, that Yūshin had not known he was sowing. Powerful enemies they were, but vengeance alone was not enough to make them stand against the most influential and feared man in the city, who was a tyrannical king in all but name and title. It was a vision of a man, that aroused the strength in them. A vision of equality between all, a wish to remind all those who had forgotten their purpose. Seisuke first spoke against the cruelty directed towards the lower class aloud in 1 BY, in a council meeting, much to the shock of every member of the governing group - and it was not the last time, that he directly opposed the chairman. He would continue to drive him into a corner with his words, shaking his influence and reminding, that without the other noble families, he had no power over the city. In the late winter of that year, Yūshin lashed out on him and ordered his men to arrest Seisuke. But it was too late, for the enemies in the shadows had seen their opportunity and the promise in the man's word. Seisuke was the face of a revolution. He was cast beyond the walls, exiled from the city, as Yūshin subdued the noble families and seized the city in his own name. Believing the common people would eat his foe alive, as the savages he had always seen them as would, the chairman sealed his own fate. Being a generous benefactor to the lower class, Watanabe was welcomed to the villages around the city with open arms - he was their promised leader, who'd overthrow the false king, that hid behind high walls, and lead their rebellion. The man himself had not been prepared to such a role, but after a few months, as the spring came, he had an army, comprised of the volunteered men of common class, behind him and a will to bring Yūshin to justice. When his militia crushed the southern gate and marched into the city, events took an unlikely turn and his allies made themselves known to him. The chairman's troops in the southern parts of the city found themselves arrested by the warriors of Shiba clan, whose head, Izumi Shiba, welcomed the revolution under her roof. Watanabe was greeted by Masayoshi Kuchiki, whose clan was the third in ranking, and Yuya Shihōin, whose clan was directly below the Satō clan, as well as many other powerful nobles, who had risen to support his rebellion. An alliance was formed overnight, and when the morning rose, Yūshin found himself at disadvantage. The key battles of the rebellion were fought at the inner wall, where Seisuke's younger brother, Hanji, defeated the right-hand man of the chairman, Tadao, but lost his sword in the heat of the fight, and where Shunryū, Seisuke's son, was bested by Takehiko Satō, the bastard of Yūshin, who was inspired by their fight to join the cause in the last days of rebellion. The rebels led by Seisuke Watanabe and the nobles led by Izumi Shiba fought their way through the inner city to the stronghold of the now single-headed council, where Yūshin had locked himself in to preserve what pride he had left, which's gates their militia easily broke. However, inside a cruel truth was revealed to their eyes. Yuya Shihōin and his select men had already invaded the council palace, and silently killed the guards within. When Seisuke reached the private chambers of chairman, he found a site of bloodbath. Against his wish to bring Yūshin into justice and force him to answer for his crimes, Shihōin had self-righteously beheaded him and murdered his wife and son. Vengeance for his dead father, the man responsible had answered, when Watanabe demanded for an explanation. To show, that he was not like Yūshin, Seisuke ordered his men to seize him, throw him into the dungeons and put every member of Shihōin clan under house arrest. The rest of Satō's militia would surrendered, once the word of their leader's death reached their ears. Watanabe had his victory, but at a heavier and bloodier price, than he had wanted to pay. First Steps of Gotei 13: 2,001 - 1,500 Years Ago In the aftermath of his rebellion, Seisuke, with the support of commoners and noble families alike, declared himself the head of state. Among his first commands, they say, was an order to open the four gates, to signify a dawn of a new era - one where the lower class and the upper class were not separated by a wall. He distributed the wealth of now-extinct Satō clan to numerous villages outside of the city, in an attempt to make amends for the wronged past, and pardoned all soldiers of the enemy, who swore to serve in his militia until their death. He announced, that in the end of the year 1 BY, the people would take a step into a new age, and that all past would be forgiven and forgotten after - this later inspired the shinigami to think of the starting year as the year zero, and it led to the creation of a new calendar. Watanabe reconstructed the city, had the council hall demolished to make space for the headquarters of his military, government and legislation, and made visible reforms and drastic changes to ensure his vision came true. Yuya Shihōin was pardoned and released in the first day of 0 AY, after more than six months of imprisonment. No grudge nor any ill-will was born between Seisuke and the head of Shihōin family, but the former made sure, that the man knew, he wouldn't look through his finger, should he have made a similar mistake again. The new head of state established Central 46 as a legislative and judiciary organ of his government - comprised of forty wise men and six judges, all elected by the commoners, Watanabe trusted in it's capability of handling matters of law independently. Shin'o Academy was founded by him to make education, which had been exclusively a right of the noble class this far, available to the common people as well - it offered both scholarly study and military training, accepted all ages in it's courses, and it's graduates ended up working for his government. His rebel militia was turned into a military of his government, Gotei 13, that was comprised of thirteen divisions as it's name suggested. The first steps of the organization began here. Seisuke Watanabe took the position of captain commander and captain of Division 1 in his own military, while the first generation of captains were the generals, that had supported his rebellion. Originally, none of the divisions had any special duties assigned to them, except to protect the Soul Society and maintain the balance of transmigration cycle. Yuya Shihōin was named the captain of Division 2, while Izumi Shiba became the captain of Division 10, Hanji Watanabe gained control of Division 7 and Masayoshi Kuchiki took over the Division 6. Shunryū Watanabe, the captain commander's son, was assigned with Division 5, while Takehiko Satō, who had defeated him in a duel during the rebellion, now dubbed as the best swordsman in Soul Society, took the last name Kenpachi along with the role of captain of Division 11. Other captains of the first generation, whom had played a minor role through the rebellion, included Kirigaya Kyōraku of Division 8, Chiyoko Kōfuji of Division 4, Shigeru Raiden of Division 12, Hideaki Koshi of Division 9, Daisuke Nakamura of Division 3 and Kenshin Noboru of Division 13. Most of the special duties of divisions were developed during the next centuries. Masayoshi's skills with war strategy and Takehiko's combat prowess earned the Divisions 6 and 11 their place as the squads responsible for offensive operations, while Hanji's disciplined Division 7 and Kirigaya's high-spirited Division 8 became the defensive force of Gotei 13. Izumi Shiba and her Division 10 displayed versatility in various duties, and thus became responsible for large-scale operations. The ancient secrets of Shihōin family were passed on to Division 2, which would be the first division to establish an organization within itself, that being the Onmitsukidō; the stealth corps of military. Chiyoko Kōfuji's knowledge of healing and medical treatment earned her Division 4 it's duty of providing medical support to other squads. Divisions 3, 9 and 13 became focused on patrolling, weeding out hollows and making sure that criminal activity remained at bay in the outskirts, whereas Division 5 and 12 remained as reserves, that deployed support to any and all operations. When compared to the present day, things were very different. Even in the spiritual dimension of Soul Society, reiatsu and reiryoku were relatively mysterious concepts, and technology completely unheard of. Less than half of the captains of Gotei 13 could perform Shinuchi, the single evolved stage of their sword, and aside from them, battles were fought with the same means mortals did at that time. It was only around 250 AY, when Izumi Shiba began to vigorously research the mysteries of reiatsu and Shinuchi, when the development of spiritual techniques began. Soon, almost any shinigami could enhance their strength, durability and speed to their own peak by manipulating their reiatsu - a select few could utilize this ability like she did, and detect the presence of others via an inner eye. In 400 AY, she acquired an insight into the nature of Shinuchi via meditation, and learnt, that a sword, which an individual had a special bond with, could possess a spirit, that allowed it to tap into supernatural power. Wondering, if there was a way of developing such a bond quicker, she came across the idea, that one could place a part of their spirit inside a vessel - a weapon, that was an extension of one's soul. Izumi created the first asauchi, a blank canvas of a sword, that she had infused her reiatsu with, hopeful to see if it able to absorb a part of her spirit and become an enhanced version of a sword, that was capable of performing Shinuchi. After days of meditation, she was able to visualize not a spirit, but a whole world inside the sword, that had became a part of her soul - it's spirit was more vivid and intelligent, than that of a regular sword, and it's release held power many times greater than of a Shinuchi. She learned, that she tap into and bond with an asauchi much easier, that her sword had an unique name and release incantation to it, and that it would even be manipulated in size and weight. Izumi knew, that she had to reveal her discovery to the captain commander, so that her findings could be taken into use even by the unseated officers of their military. Izumi Shiba had her name written into the history as the mother of Zanpakutō, a soul cutter, as she named her discovery. She dubbed the release of such a sword as Shikai, an initial release, after she found that all such swords could achieve a second release, Bankai, though it would require special relationship and training with the blade's spirit. As soon as 490 AY, every member of the Gotei 13 was equipped with an asauchi, unseated officers and captains alike - however, the Shikai was still limited to the captains, and Bankai was thought to be an unattainable dream, until the captain commander, Seisuke Watanabe, proved everyone wrong by being the first to achieve it and to display it publicly. It is well-known, that his Zanpakutō had the power of manipulating wood, and rumor has it the world hasn't seen as powerful Bankai as his. And probably never will. War of Hundred Days: 1,499 Years Ago From the children's stories of ancient Soul Society, only a few have survived to this era. One, that has a particular historical significance, tells of the time, when Soul King still lived in the Soul Society and had two sons. His first son was his pride, the heir to the throne of the worlds, for there was nothing more beautiful and poetic than he was. His second son, in the other hand, was a hateful, crippled being, that his own father couldn't bear to look at - and he was jealous of his older brother, who bathed in the favor of their father. Out of his envy for the things his brother had, the second son murdered him, so that his father had no choice but choose him as a heir. Saddened and angered for the sin, that he had created by loathing his second son, the Soul King banished him to the World of Living and retreated to his palace to mourn for his lost son. From the tears of a father, that descended on the lands as rain, and the blood of the first son, the shinigami were said to be born from, whereas their counterparts, the quincy, were born from the second son after his exile. It was told to young boys, in order to teach them what the sin of envy did to brothers, and no one took it for anything more. That was, until the Second Son marched to Soul Society with an army of quincy, and declared he would take back what was 'rightfully' his - the throne of the worlds, and the title of Soul King. As the captain commander of Gotei 13, Seisuke Watanabe wasn't going to let the disowned son past him. In 502 AY, the quincy invaded the northern Rukongai, which had now turned from a few villages into an extensive city around the Seireitei. Two captains, Shigeru Raiden of Division 12 and Daisuke Nakamura of Division 3 were sent to assess the situation and fight off the intruders to their best ability - both of them died, though Raiden of his heavy injuries, after his treatment proved unsuccessful. What the shinigami learned, however, was that the quincy were much developed in terms of spiritual powers. Even the foot soldiers of their army could summon bows and arrows made of light, while their generals could manipulate the spiritual particles, dubbed as reishi, and harness it to their advantage. The strongest of them could move with the speed of lightning, and possessed a technique, that made them more durable and stronger than any shinigami. But most of all, the tactics of the quincy, who vanished into the shadows after an attack, posed the most dangerous threat of Gotei 13. Shaken by the death of two captains, the shinigami were helplessly trying to figure out what to do. During this time of darkness, the steadfastness of captain commander Seisuke Watanabe was what carried the organization forward; his public speeches aroused courage and will to die fighting against great evil. This would eventually become the spirit of Gotei 13 - and to their last breath, they would drive away all that challenged them. Izumi Shiba, the woman known for creating the Zanpakutō and unveiling the secrets of reiatsu, withdrew to solitude in order to uncover an answer to their problem, while the other divisions despaired with their respective workload. When the next attack landed, 11 days after the beginning of war, the northern districts were set on fire by the enemy troops. Without the expressed approval of captain commander, Takehiko Kenpachi and his Division 11 struct the enemy with a deadly force, killing multiple quincy. However, one of the generals of the Second Son was present, and managed to wound the shinigami captain with his arrows - he would have died, shouldn't it have been for the lieutenant of Division 12, Yuusuke Kagamine. The Division 11 and their unexpected savior retreated, and the quincy vanished into thin air again, but this time, the shinigami knew their disappearance wouldn't last for long. The Kenpachi was hospitalized in Division 4, where he underwent treatment and fell unconscious. As a result for the events of eleventh day of the war, the captain commander summoned Yuusuke to report what he had seen in the battlefield, and after his analyzing report, which seemed to impress the other captains, he was appointed the acting captain of Division 12 and paired with Izumi Shiba to work on a solution for their disadvantage. From the fifteenth to twenty-fourth, two long battles were fought, where the shinigami troops led by Masayoshi Kuchiki and Kirigaya Kyōraku bravely held their ground against the quincy, in order to prevent the enemy from marching into the inner districts of Rukongai. The quincy withdrew to reassemble their soldiers. During this time, Kagamine and Shiba believed they had made a breakthrough. They philosophized, that if quincy's power stemmed from the outside, the reishi particles of air, and the shinigami were literally their counterpart, their own power must be originated from within them. Reiryoku, as they began to call it. A source of shinigami's power and their reiatsu, that could be tapped into for more power, given one had enough control over their internal energies. They began to develop ways to expel this energy in form of pure energy, that would be more versatile than their reiatsu was - whereas the latter was limited to their own body and immediate surrounding, the reiryoku's influence extended far beyond those limitations. On the thirty-first day of the war, a next attack landed on the area held by shinigami, and Izumi Shiba was given a chance of testing her new weapon. The enemy squadrons were drowned in blue flames, that she had summoned from within her reiryoku, and the shinigami once again celebrated their victory. However, nine days later, on the fortieth day of the war, the general of the Second Son, same one who had nearly killed Takehiko Kenpachi in the northern districts, made another appearance. Before other captains reached out to help, Masayoshi Kuchiki and his Division 6 had fallen into the hands of enemy, and the gateway to the inner districts of Rukongai were now open to the enemy forces. Kirigaya Kyōraku was injured, but Chiyoko Kōfuji's medical knowledge and Izumi Shiba's recent discovery of reiryoku was mixed into a successful healing technique, that accelerated the recovery from physical trauma and restored reiatsu. Takehiko Kenpachi's injuries were only partially healed, but he rose from his bed nonetheless to prepare for another fight. Seisuke Wabisuke called the captain's to a war meeting on the forty-first day of the war, to discuss what their strategy against the quincy was. It is Yuusuke Kagamine, who proposed, that Bankai would be their best chance at fighting the quincies. He had observed, that the quincy's capability of manipulating reishi was limited, when compared to the sheer power released by the Bankai of shinigami - he theorized, that a Bankai of an average captain would bestow them with twice as much as spiritual power as a quincy general was capable of draining from the surrounding area over time. Thus, after that meeting, achieving a Bankai became the top priority of every captain in Gotei 13 - at that time, it was still the captain commander alone, who had reached the final release of his sword. By the time of fifty-fifth day of the war, the quincies had seized control of the inner districts and the shinigami had been forced to retreat into the protection of Seireitei's walls. The siege of Seireitei begins, whilst most of the captains have withdrawn to their own peace, training and preparing for what might just be their final battle. As the seven generals of the Second Son make their first appearance in the encampments outside of the city and send a messenger to the Gotei 13, informing them of their last chance of surrendering and letting the quincy past them to the Soul King. The offer was declined, naturally, and thus, the true fight for the fate of Soul Society and it's King began to show it's signs. This war would either see the universe fall into ruin, or preserved as it currently was, the captain commander knew. When the first attack at the outer northern gate landed on fifty-sixth day of the war, Kenshin Noboru of Division 13 and Hideaki Koshi of Division 5 had been assigned to hold the wall against the enemy - other captains were still training and making preparations, while the two had not managed to achieve a Bankai, but nonetheless did their best to keep the quincy at bay. Only four days later, the gate was crushed and the enemy flooded into the outer northern districts of the city - the citizens had been evacuated to the southern areas, which was probably the safest place in the city. The two captains were taken into prisoners by the quincy, but executed in retaliation, once the generals of the Second Son found out what the shinigami had done to the city. Upon marching to the inner northern gate, guarded by Hanji Watanabe and his Division 7, who wouldn't yield until he was overpowered by three generals despite the lack of zanpakutō, which he had lost in his older brother's rebellion, the quincy were faced with a completely sealed gate. The captain would reveal the generals, that there was only one gate left to seal off, which their army wouldn't find in time, unless they divided themselves to the three remaining gates of Seireitei. Angered by the strategy, that the shinigami had decided to use, they imprisoned the younger brother of captain commander, to gain advantage over him. However, this strategy and turning of tables for the quincy greatly shaped the eventual outcome of the war. The Second Son sent two of his generals to each of the three remaining gates, while allowing his most trusted and undoubtedly the most powerful general to remain by his side. Hanji was taken into the eastern district with the two general assigned to it. The war was simultaneously taken into three places at once, which greatly decreased the strength of quincy army, that had until now acted as a singular force. In the eastern districts, Kirigaya Kyōraku and Shunryū Watanabe surprises the generals of Second Son, with the former's newly acquired Bankai and amazing teamwork between the two captains - they managed to release Hanji from his imprisonment, but the two generals fled back to their master, before they could have been executed. The shinigami are considered the victors of the battle in the eastern city, because they managed to strip the quincy of the one advantage their had over captain commander, but the enemy also learnt of the fact, that the gate in the east has been sealed off. In the south, Izumi Shiba single-handedly defeats and kills two generals sent to acquire information of the gate's state and invade the inner city - her mastery over her reiatsu, mysterious spells conjured out of her reiryoku and Bankai, that she was able to summon before any other captain, prove her to be a dangerous threat to the quincy. In the west, where lies the only gate to the inner city, that has not been sealed, the two generals of Second Son are faced with Takehiko Kenpachi, one of the four captains, who have managed to achieve a Bankai due to their vigorous preparation for the final battle, and Yuusuke Kagamine, who has yet to achieve one. The left hand of the Second Son, and the general, that Takehiko was defeated by previously, takes on the Kenpachi again - however, despite the Bankai, that the captain achieved after their last battle, the general easily overpowers him with his released powers. Takehiko is left to die to his wounds on the battlefield by the general, who has retreated to report back to his master, but his lieutenant mercifully puts a stop to his suffering by sticking a blade through his throat in front of the remnants of Division 11 - Kichirō Kenpachi assumes the role of acting captain and leads his men to the inner city, in order to protect it. The lieutenant of Division 12, Kagamine, in the other hand, kills his opponent by tricking him to draw on the reishi of the air, which has been poisoned with hollow reiatsu by the vice-captain before the fight, earning him the respect of the captains of Gotei 13. By the time of eightieth day of the war, all captains, save for Chiyoko Kōfuji, who has been assigned with evacuating the remnants of citizens who stayed in the southern districts of the city, have retreated to the inner city and are preparing to fight to their last breath against the enemy. As the four remaining generals and the Second Son himself march with the left-overs of their army to destroy the inner gate, Yuusuke Kagamine, Shunryū Watanabe and Kirigaya Kyōraku defend the wall to their best ability, but are no match to the godly influence of Second Son, that causes them all to collapse in their battle. Within one day, the enemy has broken the last gate within Seireitei, and continues their march into the inner city. While the Second Son and his right hand, Asches, walk into the very heart of Gotei 13, to face the captain commander Seisuke Watanabe, his younger brother Hanji Watanabe and the powerhouse of a captain, Izumi Shiba, the three remaining generals return to weeding out any surprises, that the shinigami might have prepared for their final fight. Instead, the left hand of the Second Son, whom previously defeated Takehiko Kenpachi, who was thought to be the strongest captain of Gotei 13, was faced with his successor, Kichirō Kenpachi, who defeats and murders the general with only his Shikai, where his captain couldn't do it with the help of a Bankai. The two other generals both meet their end at the hands of Yuya Shihōin, who uncovers what he has been working on for the whole duration of the war - a way to out-maneuver the lightning-fast quincy. With speed, that greatly surpassed the reaction time of both generals, the shinigami would later be rumored to finish off his opponents in only a few seconds. Hanji and Izumi Shiba are easily defeated by the immensely powerful right hand of the Second Son, but instead of rushing to help his master in his fight against the captain commander, he is told to stay back. Seisuke, who was undoubtedly the most powerful man in Soul Society, was still no match to the Second Son, and by the time he went to his Bankai, he knew he'd lose the fight. After the Second Son crushed his powers and beheaded him in front of the two captains, the whole Soul Society would feel the flare of his reiatsu once more before it faded away for all eternity. The quincy had won and destroyed the shinigami, after only eighty-three days. Or so they thought. Captain of Division 4, Chiyoko Kōfuji, had arrived to the inner western gate, and had been mending the wounds of three captains, who had been struct down by the Second Son, for the past days, when Izumi Shiba, Hanji Watanabe, Kichirō Kenpachi and Yuya Shihōin arrived to her hideout and concealed their presence with the combined efforts of a stealthy assassin and a master of spiritual energy. Before they had enough strength to flee the presence of Second Son and his right hand man, Izumi and Hanji had overheard the details of entering the Soul King's palace after the Second Son had brutally murdered the captain commander - they revealed, that it would take fifteen days to create a key, that could penetrate the space in between the two dimensions. Shunryū, heartbroken for the death of his father, began to mercilessly train himself to bring out a Bankai, with the help of Kirigaya, who was his closest friend and also a former student of his father, and Hanji, his uncle. The others, five of the eight remaining captains, began to build a risky plan to take down the invincible Second Son and his devout followers. Yuusuke Kagamine provided them with an unusual idea, that became the last hope of the shinigami. For the next fifteen days, they put all of their hope in the thought, that it would succeed and prepared to carry it out. When the ninety-ninth day finally came, and a portal between the Soul Society and the palace of it's King was opened, the remnants of the shinigami struct with all the force they had. More specifically, they had concentrated their combined force in a single being. Via technology, that Kagamine had designed years before the war started, but which he had never tested prior that day, all of the eight captains focused their powers into a single sphere, that was linked to Shunryū Watanabe - the energy was transferred into him, bestowing him with the power of seven captains and his own. Yuya's unparalleled speed, Chiyoko's ability to heal herself, Hanji's mastery of martial arts, Kirigaya's sharpened battle instincts, Kenpachi's godly swordsmanship skills, Izumi's dangerous spells and reiatsu control, Yuusuke's genius intellect, as well as the sheer raw strength of they together granted him - it was too tempting for the Second Son to ignore the power, that the son of the man he murdered possessed. The disowned son accepted the challenge, and left his mission to take the throne of the worlds for a brief moment, to find thrill in fighting an opponent of nearly equal strength. Being the son of a man, who supposedly created the world, makes you think you're invincible, forget that whereas your father was a god, you are not. This was the cold truth, that the Second Son had to accept, when he screeched for Asches to help him, only to see one of Shunryū's thunderbolts strike him down to what seemed to be an end of his life. As the night fell over the city, the son of the captain commander executed the Second Son, after reminding him that he was no god, for a god could not be bested by a mere man like him. A war, that had lasted hundred days, came to an end. Aftermath of The War: 1,499 - 1,000 Years Ago The shinigami might have won the war, but not without a great sacrifice. Only six of the original thirteen captains survived by the war, and the founder of their organization was dead - the city was in ruin, and not a single one of the eight remaining divisions were fully occupied. It was as if the Gotei 13 had returned to the starting point and was now being re-formed - to the shinigami, however, nothing would the same as before the war. The shine of glory had died in that war, and the efforts to restore it proved ineffective, as nothing could bring back what they had lost in the flames of Seisuke Watanabe's funeral pyre. His son, Shunryū, was not the strongest of the captains, but there was no struggle against his claim to the chair, from where his father had ruled the Soul Society and Gotei 13 - as a heir to the previous one, and the man, who had brought an end to the greatest enemy of Soul King, he had every right to the position of captain commander. And it turned out, that he was the right choice to the said role, for no one had what he had inherited from his father - a vision, and an iron grip to see it become true. However, where Shunryū cut off the head of the leader of their enemies, Yuusuke Kagamine was seen as the true savior of the shinigami. He had, without even a Bankai of his own, defeated a formidable general, that had killed at least two captains before facing him; he had engineered the defense of Seireitei, gotten the idea to seal off the gates, all except one, in order to divide the enemy troops, and finally, provided the captains with means to defeat the Second Son. Directly after the war, he proposed they would offer the quincy a chance of leaving peacefully, a request which Shunryū Watanabe would reluctantly approve of. Yuusuke claimed to do this to prevent the loss of any more shinigami lives, but most of the historians later thought, that he wanted the quincy to survive the aftermath of the war, in order to study them. Indeed, when he was elevated to the captain of Division 12, he saw a military reform to his reign by founding the S.R.D.I., and gathered scientists - whom had never been a part of the military affair before - around him to create a division dedicated to research and development of spiritual sciences to advance the interests of Gotei 13. Among his remarkable discoveries were the theory of reishi, which is thought to related to his study of quincy powers via their corpses. What stood out in the aftermath of the quincy war, was that Gotei 13 was no longer a group of warriors - it had it's branch of prodigies, evil masterminds and genius intellects. However, the science wasn't the only edge of the blade that was Gotei 13, which would see itself sharpened. Izumi Shiba and Yuya Shihōin were focused on rebuilding the Shin'o Academy, in order to recruit warriors to the organization, for the war had wiped out a generation of hopeful soldiers, who had still in training. While the other captains did their best to visit and keep lessons for the new students of the Academy, Shiba and Shihōin had the most influence in what the new generation would learn. The former would gather her knowledge of reiatsu and reiryoku and write a book about it, while using that same information to teach her students - theory of Zanpakutō became a mandatory subject, because the pair decided, that Shikai should not be limited to those of high rank, such as captains. The latter would give lessons to every student in the school, in order for them to learn to use shunpo - a name, which he had given to the high-speed movement he had developed to his private use in the war. Izumi's unnamed spells of fire and lightning became the very first of Kidō, that would slowly grow into an art of vast collection of spells. However, she alone was not the mother to what became known as the demon arts of shinigami, as others contributed to it before it finally became what it is today. One such a person was Chiyoko Kōfuji, who vigorously reformed the medicine and the healthcare of Soul Society after the "War of Hundred Days" met it's cold end. Still the captain of Division 4, she replicated the healing technique of Izumi Shiba, created variations and experimented on it, until she deemed it perfected enough to require the knowledge of healing magic - Kaidō, as she called it - from the members of her division. Quickly, the spiritual medicine advanced so, that it could heal what ordinary medicine couldn't, by medicating the soul and mind of a patient, rather than offering a physical cure to their body. However, some limitations still existed, such as the impossibility to curing cancer, leaving no scar from a critical injury or regrowing lost limbs. Another influence in the creation of modern day Kidō, was Tenkō Kuroishi, who succeeded Hanji Watanabe in the captaincy of Division 7, after the said man retreated to the mountains of the outskirts to meditate, become more powerful - so he wouldn't face a defeat ever again - and recover himself from the trauma of watching his brother be killed in front of him. His follower not only developed most of the spells you'll find in the school of Bakudō, but created the substance of Sekkiseki, stone that was capable of negating and draining spiritual energy - he engraved the reconstructed walls and gates of Seireitei with this stone, and created a barrier, known as Shakonmaku, that would protect it from future invasions. Kichirō Kenpachi, the Second Kenpachi known to all history, began the tradition of claiming captaincy of Division 11, by mercy-killing his predecessor in the battlefield. It was an act of compassion, that started a violent tradition of brutally murdering one's captain in front of the division to assume his place - should the current Kenpachi be killed by a non-shinigami, whoever avenged his death and bested him by killing his killer, would become the next Kenpachi. Despite the immense physical strength he displayed, Kichirō lasted only for two centuries, before a stronger one defeated him in battle and took his role as a the captain of Division 11. However, not before gathering a threatening amount of criminals into his squad, in his own attempt to strengthen the organization's man power. The new captain commander had his hands full with re-establishing five divisions, that had been nearly completely exterminated during the war with quincies. Division 6 was the first to be reformed, when the daughter of Masayoshi Kuchiki and his heir passed the captain test and expressed wish to continue her family's legacy in 630 AY. The sixth was soon followed by Divisions 5 and 9, the latter of which became responsible of publishing the "Seireitei Communication", the first magazine and the first newspaper of Soul Society, as well as maintaining the culture and art in the spiritual world. The last two were established around 750 AY, when the captain commander found himself two more captains - Division 3 became his eyes and his ears, responsible of gathering intelligence of enemies and threats, as well as monitoring the internal workings of Gotei 13, while Division 13 became responsible for archiving, supervising the Daireishokairō, hollow purification and monitoring the affairs of World of Living. However, the most visible change, that can be traced to the ending of the war, would probably be the foundation of Royal Guard, or Division 0, as the Gotei 13 realized, that they needed to protect Soul King more than they had before the war. The idea of a small private elite unit right next to the Soul King seemed good enough, and Shunryū Watanabe had a vision for who would be powerful enough to fit to that position. Izumi Shiba, who would be dubbed as the "Mother of Shinigami", after her promotion to the Division 0, created the tradition of contributing greatly to the Gotei 13 before being able to join the Royal Guard, because of her own impressive achievements. She retired from her duties of a captain in 875 AY, less than four centuries after the war with quincies was over, to join the Division 0, but did so along with another newly promoted member of the special division, Yuya Shihōin, who, despite his past crime of murdering Yūshin and his family for vengeance, had greatly contributed to the Gotei 13 and created the art of Hohō. Only a century later, Tenkō Kuroishi was given the same honor as well, and he joined the two as the third member of the Royal Guard. While the Shiba and Shihōin family would name the next captain for the respective divisions of Izumi and Yuya, Hanji returned from his years of solitude in the mountains, and re-took his position as the captain of Division 7. When Chiyoko Kōfuji retired from her duties of captain to spend her elderly days in the outskirts and not burdened by military affairs, only the captain commander and three captains aside from him had experienced the war and still held their positions, in the end of the first thousand years of Gotei 13. Madness of Shunryū: 1,000 - 500 Years Ago W.I.P., currently! See below for brief summary: Basically, in the captain commander will begin to show signs of madness in his late reign, and such, the era of next five hundred years is nicknamed by him. His aggression towards the quincy, whom he views that murdered his father, will eventually lead to the Quincy Genocide - only this time, he takes the war to the World of Living and attacks the now-peaceful quincy without a warning. Kagamine will do his best to prevent the both by making peace negotiations - which are ruined by Shunryū's vengeful wish of getting rid of the quincy. This will take place around 1200-1300 AY, most likely. The next important event here would be the Bount incident, in 1400 AY. It's Kagamine's last mistake, after he accidentally creates the Bounts and kind of tells the captain commander he is out of his mind - Shunryū the Mad, of course, drives his ass out of Soul Society and exiles him. He withdraws to his private chambers, and takes a leap from mildly disturbed to aggressive madness. In 1500 AY, he has became highly paranoid of the people around, and announces the beginning of "Era of Purity" in Soul Society, which means nothing else but witchhunts and 'cleanses' of the common people and the high ranked officers alike. Kirigaya Kyōraku, the closest friend of Shunryū the Mad, puts an end to his madness and becomes the new captain commander. ^^ This will be potentially broken into three separate things; The Quincy Genocide, Bount Incident and Era of Purity! Tadaaa! 1500 years of history fleshed out. The Project Vanguard: 115 - 0 Years Ago I am sorry, Izuna, my version of Mod Soul history will come out really soon. So, what now? -- Let's work on the lore together. 2000 years is a long time, and I am sure someone has some ideas for more events of the past. -- Who is the fourth Royal Guard, what are his achievements? Izumi is the first - "Mother of Shinigami" - while Yuya and Tenko followed her footsteps; I left a blank spot here, hoping one of you could fill it. The fifth Royal Guard member, Marie Takeda, joined them only like fifty to twenty years ago. -- I had of a lot of ideas what to contribute, but since I don't anymore, I am just hoping you have some great ideas. -- Mostly, the past 1000 years need more events. -- If you have any feedback, any comments, ANYTHING, please say. |
