Basic Information What are Quincy? Quincy are human beings who, while mortal, are naturally attuned to the spiritual. Their gift, largely a genetic trait passed down from generation to generation, allows them to bend reishi—spiritual particles—to their will, using abilities and conjuring powerful spiritual weapons with which they fight Hollow-breeds and other spiritual entities.
However, unlike Shinigami, the Quincy do not serve the balance of souls—on the contrary, their very existence undermines it. The Quincy’s gift, despite its multitude of constructive uses spanning from spinning threads of reishi in order to move broken bodies past their physical limit to forging intricate tools and constructs out of spiritually synthesized materials, is one innately connected to destruction. Quincy strip reishi from their surroundings, use it to empower themselves, and in the most extreme cases, break down entire spiritual entities into these spiritual particles outright. Where a Shinigami’s Zanpakutō will purify a Hollow’s soul, the Quincy arsenal simply destroys it entirely. In the eyes of most fellow Quincy, this act—often in defense of the living—is wholly justified, and the balance of souls is treated as alarmist Shinigami propaganda. In the eyes of the Shinigami, however, the Quincy are the single most destructive force in existence. Thus the relationship between Quincy, Shinigami, and Hollow is mutually distrustful and hostile, each seeing the others as a threat—though the relationship between Quincy and Shinigami in particular is perhaps best described as bitter enmity.
There is a distinct connection to the Old World in Quincy Culture; what is believed by most to be a common point of origin somewhere in northern Europe. The result is a distinct Germanic aesthetic in most aspects of Quincy culture in everything from naming conventions to ceremonial tradition. Most Quincy will concerted efforts to hide the fact that they are spiritually attuned—and with it, the more obvious aspects of Quincy culture—choosing to live superficially normal lives as part of modern society. The concept of family and of maintaining the bloodline is typically of some importance, though how important it is to the individual varies greatly: some Quincy stress the importance of blood purity, whereas others see no harm in marrying non-Quincy so long as the traditions are kept alive.
Spirit Weapons Quincy primarily wield weapons comprised entirely of spiritual particles that they conjure from thin air at will, and while they share a cultural affinity for projectile weapons, each spirit weapon is unique to the Quincy who wields it. Most Quincy spirit weapons are hazy and ethereal, not quite solid objects so much as indistinct shapes reminiscent of various types of weaponry. As a Quincy’s understanding of themselves and their gift grows, however, their ability to define their weapons grows with it, culminating at last in the ability to form a fully corporeal weapon by the time they attain their second power. Quincy are also known to wield Seele Schneider: blades composed of rapidly vibrating spiritual particles which act almost like chainsaws. For Quincy, the spirit weapon is a tool like any other, and while they typically tend to favor one form of spirit weapon over others, they have been known to vary their choice depending on the situation at hand.
The Schrift Given the martial nature of the Quincy, many choose at some point in their life to adopt a nom de guerre known most commonly as the Schrift. As with most things relating to Quincy, the Schrift is a form of choice—either directly or indirectly. It is a letter and a corresponding word that the Quincy chooses to wear as a title, a representation of what the Quincy feels they and their abilities embody or perhaps something they aspire to one day define. For example, a Quincy whose powers were related to the defense of himself and others might adopt the Schrift of S - The Shield.
Last Edit: Feb 6, 2018 19:56:13 GMT -5 by Otto Berg
Powers and Prestige Signature Ability Unlike Shinigami and Arrancar, whose powers stem from the psychological aspects outside their control that define them, Quincy suffer from neither a fractured soul nor an addiction to their greatest flaw. As living human beings, their greatest asset is their self-determination, and this is largely reflected in how their powers come to be. With a very broad unifying trait in all Quincy—the ability to manipulate reishi—how they choose to use this ability is what separates them from one another and gives rise to what is considered their First Release, commonly termed signature ability, on Bleach Gotei. Quincy powers are therefore more deliberate than other races, and very often the result of a conscious decision on the Quincy’s part to specialize in it, either early on in their lives or as a reaction to more recent events.
Functionally, a Quincy’s Second Release—the refined signature ability—usually takes the fundamental idea of their First Release and applies it on a larger scale for greater effect, thematically building on or towards the theme of their Schrift, though this varies greatly from Quincy to Quincy. Regardless of how the power itself manifests, however, like Shinigami and Arrancar, the Second Release is almost always the product of considerable personal development, introspection and realization.
Prestige Prestige for Quincy differs thematically somewhat from Prestige for the spiritual races: whereas Shinigami and Arrancar typically embark on a journey of self-discovery as they build up to Prestige, the Quincy journey is often one more centered on self-definition. Quincy are typically not products of their environment so much as their environment is a product of them, and this is perfectly encapsulated by their Prestige, which—similar to a Prestige Shinigami’s Evolved Zanpakutō—takes the form of Vollständig, a complete and perfected form of their abilities that is as much aimed inwards as it is outwards, only becoming possible at all by attaining a level of sheer spiritual dominance that far surpasses the potential of most Quincy. A Prestige Quincy’s power and dominance over spiritual matter has become so great that they become unbound by the conventional rules of mortality, even going so far as temporarily transforming into purely spiritual beings as they unleash their full potential with their Second Release. Often angelic in appearance complete with wings and halos of pure, radiant light, Vollständig by itself is not a release so much as it is the ultimate expression of what the Quincy has always been capable of—a fundamental increase in power on all levels.
There are numerous ways for Quincy to achieve this level of spiritual dominance, though the most common and arguably the most straightforward is via the use of special devices designed to inhibit their normal ability to manipulate reishi, forcing the Quincy to work harder to produce the same results as a form of constant long-term training. These Sanrei devices come in many forms, usually only see use by Quincy who have developed their Second Release and are worn until the Quincy feels Vollständig is within their grasp. The removal of a Sanrei device—which unleashes the Quincy’s full power once again—is thus almost ceremonial, and a moment of deep symbolic importance for a Quincy.
Last Edit: Feb 6, 2018 19:57:10 GMT -5 by Otto Berg
The Origins Although their origins are rather nebulous, Quincy historians are fairly confident on two details; that their people first came to be in Germany and that this event took place around 900 AD.
At first, the Quincy people seemed unremarkable. They were just another small group of human spiritualists in Europe. However, they possessed a unique trait that elevated them above their peers: Their powers could be taught. While all the other spiritualist families had a wide range of powers unique to the individual wielding them, the Quincy were a unified force with a similar set of powers that, although personal to each Quincy, remained largely uniform. While these other families could have children that would manifest no powers, the Quincy could teach every member of their families how to unleash them. These two advantages made the Quincy infinitely superior at slaying the ravenous hollows that constantly sought to devour the spiritually aware. Soon, their ways spread, and the other human spiritualists in the region adopted the Quincy way.
Yet the growth of their numbers led to a divide among the Quincy. Some Quincy settled down, forming large families that stayed in the same geographical location. These families focused on protecting their own from the hollows that endlessly sought them out, developing a rigid militarized culture in the process. Other Quincy rejected this stationary life, choosing instead to live as gypsies and nomads. These Quincy would travel the world, killing hollows and spreading their gift. Some of these nomadic Quincy found themselves associated with the church, which provided them with a comfortable lifestyle in exchange for their services. Their relationship was tenuous, as while the church provided these Quincy patronage, their clearly supernatural ways lead to palpable tension and prevented the Quincy from completely assimilating with the religious order. This schism was only deepened by these Quincy developing their own hierarchy, and crowning a secret monarch.
The Culling The nomadic Quincy had spread their ways far and wide. From Europe to Japan to the New World, Quincy had taken root everywhere. While the Quincy way spread, they had also been busy refining new ways of combating the hollow threat, developing powerful Artifacts and fearsome spells. The Sanrei was invented, and with it the Quincy begin to reach entirely new peaks of power. The development of Letzter Stil and Vollständig had given the Quincy the edge they needed to stand toe to toe with a Shinigami wielding Bankai. They had found power never before imagined, but it was to be their downfall.
The Soul Society grew concerned with the Quincy threat. The boom in the Quincy population was threatening the balance of souls, and their handful of elite 'Sternritter' were proving capable to fight on par with the Shinigami Captains. It was clear that if the Quincy were left unchecked, they would grow to become a force so powerful that the Shinigami would no longer be able to stop their wanton destruction of souls. After long deliberation, the order was given: Eliminate the Quincy threat.
Large scale attacks were orchestrated on all the major Quincy houses, captains took to the field and for each Quincy that rose to fight five Shinigami stood ready to oppose them. Though the Quincy fought admirably, they simply could not stand up to the might of the Seireitei. Thousands were butchered over the course of a global offensive, and in a mere two weeks the Quincy population had fallen to less than a thousand souls.
Most major Quincy houses were decimated and those that stood were left a tiny shell of their former selves. The remaining number reached out, bringing the handful of families they could find into the fold. Together they formed a council of elders to adjudicate matters before spreading themselves thin to avoid the risk of another Shinigami onslaught.
The Modern Quincy In the 21st century, The Quincy population remains less than a thousand strong. The Quincy families that didn't associate with the king or the council after the culling remain, having integrated themselves seamlessly into the new world. Most still harbor a powerful xenophobia towards those outside their immediate blood ties, remaining intensely paranoid regarding the intentions of the Shinigami and the spiritually aware.
The council of elders had become ineffectual, lost in a mess of bureaucracy and politics; they proved incapable of addressing modern threats in a timely and efficient manner. In the modern age spiritual events were occurring at an unprecedented pace, and the Quincy couldn't afford to be lead so ineffectually. The decision was made to return to the old ways and crown a new Quincy king, someone who could unite the Quincy and lead them in this troubled time.
A Kingsmoot was called, gathering every Quincy clan associated with the council and the old monarchy in one city to elect their new king. While the leader of each Quincy clan was eligible for election by their peers, everyone knew the decision fell to one of three people: Maria Stahl, Markus Hohenfels, and Weylin von Wolfenstein. While Maria was a powerful woman, her lack of genetic purity made her an unpopular choice with the elders, who were supporters of Markus' purist philosophy. During the kingsmoot, it was revealed that Weylin worked alongside an Arrancar, a revelation so offensive to the Quincy present that it shattered his support. In the end, Markus Hohenfels was crowned The king of the Quincy.
After nearly a year, marked by increasing tension over racial purity, Markus called each of the major clans to send a representative to the Hohenfels Estate in order to further solidify his rule and put the trouble to rest. However, Weylin von Wolfenstein capitalized on the unrest in order to challenge Markus for the crown. The cunning King selected a champion, Weylin's own mother, and the challenger elected to choose his own champion rather than face her. Aitrus von Eroköse defeated Barbara von Wolfenstein, making Weylin the King. Sickened by the actions of his predecessor, the new Quincy King stripped Markus Hohenfels of his spiritual powers and began setting about his new reforms. High Lords were chosen from those assembled whom had declared their loyalty to the new King, and so began the stern reign of Weylin von Wolfenstein.
Last Edit: Feb 6, 2018 19:56:46 GMT -5 by Otto Berg
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