Post by Gaz on Dec 20, 2023 22:41:13 GMT
The Shinigami
The soul is a fickle thing, usually created when two souls in what is considered the afterlife procreate, it then lives a life and once it passes on and breaks down its energies cycle to the land of the living to be reborn in that land. Here it can live a life, short and full of trials and then dies. Sometimes these souls pass on to the soul society and continue the cycle. Whilst in this “Afterlife”, the Soul Society, most souls do not know hunger, their latent power is not strong enough to metabolise in the soul leaving them free to eat for pleasure, rather than to live. (The standard of living in the many zones of the Soul Society is something that does need discussing, but however that is not for this report.)
As a human passes, if they have no regrets their soul will move through the cycle of souls and pass through the Dangai. As a part of this process their memories are forfeit, leaving them as near blank slates upon arrival in the soul society. Studies are being conducted on what causes this phenomenon and where the memories are being taken too. What is known is that the soul retains instincts and their personality, which suggests that memories of previous incarnations could be recovered. This process can be bypassed, however. If a human was to die and hold regrets or other ties to the land of the living the soul will linger, their chain of fate wrapped around what binds them. These souls can go through a process called Konso, a process where a Shinigami guides them to the soul society with a Hell Butterfly. When the soul arrives at the Soul Society, they retain their memories.
Souls all have an innate power, usually it is weak, but as it cycles through the system more and more it accumulates, growing in potence and changing with the experiences of each cycle. The only exception to this is new souls born to already powerful existing souls, they inherit strength from each parent. This is what makes the noble houses of the soul society so special, as they actively adopt powerful souls into their ranks and then marry them with souls from another noble family. Some souls are missed or refuse this and continue their existence in the soul society under their own power, however this existence is difficult due to the need for food to exist, unlike their weaker peers who know no hunger.
These stronger souls at some point in the distant past figured out how to manifest an aspect of their heart, the source of their power, into a weapon, A Zanpakuto. This was in response to an ancient threat, one that had plagued the living and the dead since before a time immemorial. These weapons are a piece of the Soul and are capable of cleansing of these monsters’ called hollows. (Hollows and their curious existence are again discussed in another report) The first recorded to have done this was not a soul but a human, one Hibuya Jomei. This individual has since gone through the cycle and upon being put through the process of Konso became a Shinigami.
Through the long history of the Shinigami and their role of keeping the balance of souls moving through the cycle, they have pushed their powers and explored how to use the aspect of their heart to warp reality to some degree. It was during the times unchronicled that one man thought to commune with his own Zanpakuto, wishing to know exactly what this aspect of his heart had become. This weapon responded with a name, and when the Shinigami called it, it transformed. Kamiji Hideyo called the name “Banrainohakushu” and changed the history of the Shinigami.
It was humans who originally discovered magic, it was the Shinigami who perfected the art, calling it Kido and separating it into three schools. Bakudo, Hado and Kaido. Mechanics wise, Kido is the art of taking one’s spirit energy and infusing it into itself to create a new energy. This is called Kido and where the magical art gets its name. From here this raw Kido energy is shaped with intent and incantation into a spell. Each of the schools has a different purpose; Bakudo is the school of sealing and barriers. Hado is the school of attack and overwhelming force. Kaido does not have many formal spells, but it is the school of healing. These spells are all more powerful when cast with their incantations as the words help form the raw Kido energy into the final product. Some practitioners are capable of casting spells with no incantation at all, just saying the name, while this diminishes the power it improves the rate at which the spells are cast. Other practitioners can combine incantations and casting two spells at a time, this is not limited to the same school either.
Raw Kido energy can be used for more than just performing the Kido arts, it can be imbued into the body to augment raw fighting prowess when a weapon is not present. The Shinigami Martial art of Hakuda when imbued with this Kido energy creates a temporary form called Shunko. This typically takes characteristics of the element of their Zanpakuto, making the varieties of Shunko unique to each who trains in it.
Forbidden to all Shinigami is the process of becoming a Vizard, this practice is incredibly risky and to those that survive the bonding process typically lose control of themselves. [The rest of this section is redacted]