Quincy

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Quincy
Monks of Destruction

Table of Contents
Basic Information
Powers and Prestige
Miscellaneous Information



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.



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 and 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.



Miscellaneous Information
who knows
 
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