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Bleach in Exalted - Shinigami

By Jukashi

Submitted on 10 Dec 2006 at 10:55:51 AM EST
Last updated on 11 Dec 2006 at 07:41:52 PM EST

Category: Alternate Settings

An article detailing the conversion of two Bleach concepts- Zanpakuto and Shinigami, namely- into the Exalted setting. The article first describes an Artifact, the Door to the Forging of the Soul, which transforms a character’s lower soul into a uniquely personalised weapon. It then goes on to detail the effect of this Artifact on ghosts, namely, transformation into a Shinigami, and an addition to the setting history which describes their place within the world of Exalted.

Door to the Forging of the Soul

Artifact 5

Long ago, before even the First Age, the Exalted, fresh from mortality, prepared to make war upon the enemies of the gods. Hidden away in secret and distant places, the Celestial Exalted quietly laboured to create the tools they would require to make war, while the Terrestrial Exalted grew in number to populate their armies. And though they bred with great vigour and speed, still some among the Exalted, particularly those who had felt the sting of the primordials’ callous games, felt that could not begin to build their forces too soon. A number of these Chosen felt that there was much that could be done to turn ordinary humans into viable combatants, despite their lack of potency. A number of Terrestrial Martial Arts styles trace their roots to this time of experimentation, as well as the first of the Tiger Warriors and the Gunzosha thaumaturge-soldiers. One peculiar method, however, and one that was also somewhat useful to the Exalted, was the Door to the Forging of the Soul.

There were said to be three functioning examples of these fantastic devices, once, though one was destroyed in the Usurpation and another by the Deathlords, when they came to power. The whereabouts of the final Door are unknown; it was lost track of during the primordial war, presumed lost when the majority of Creation collapsed into the Wyld. It is known, however, that creating a Door required a range of powers which could only be brought to bear when a powerful artisan of one of each of the three Celestial Exalted types worked together, and they were of immensely complex and careful construction.

A Door to the Forging of the Soul takes the external form of a gateway; each of the three were of different styles. The Door appears as simply an empty arch or square, but if one steps through it with the right intent and frame of mind, an external viewer will not see them emerge from the other side. What lies beyond is different for all who use the Door, for the world within is shaped in response to the user’s own soul. Once inside, a user is trapped within until the function of the Door is completed. The purpose of a Door to the Forging of the Soul, despite the complexity of the execution, is rather simple in concept: the Artifact reworks the user’s lower soul into a magical weapon, forcefully awakening their awareness of essence as a side-effect. From the user’s point of view, this process can seem quite hellish, as the Door shapes a phantom reality about them designed to strip away their ingrained behaviours and extract a significant portion of their self. It is a dream and a nightmare at once, like the kiss of a Fae, like Exaltation, like death. The user is left unconscious, empty, but their life sustained while their lower soul is forged anew. Then, at last, their lower soul is thrust back into them, filling their heart again with purpose and life, and filling their hands with the heft and weight of the weapon of their soul: the Zanpakuto.

After returning to Creation, the user of the Door will have been empowered by the experience, gaining new confidence and strength and, understandably after being put through the artifact’s processes, an understanding of how essence flows and is shaped. But more importantly, they may summon at will their Zanpakuto. The weapon is typically bladed, but the generalisation ends there; no two soul cutters are the same. Some may be huge, the size of a Grand Daiklaive, and some might be small, no more than a dagger. Some are plain and simple, no more odd in appearance than a simple soldier’s sword or an unadorned spear, and some are strange and exotic, taking the form of razor-edged fans or complex sharpened chains.

Most importantly, however, Zanpakuto exist at the same time in both the physical world and the spirit world, allowing them to deal real damage to the primordials’ get (and to spirits).

Though useful in the war, most Exalted felt (rightfully) that Artifact weaponry was superior to the Zanpakuto, and that even for mortals, the unpleasant process of being soulforged outweighed the usefulness of the weapon. When the primordial war was over, the process was forbidden to mortals. The two known Doors became little more than curios, and passed into the private collections of two Solars; a Dawn Caste who was interested in mortal means of strength, and a Zenith who was fascinated with the workings of the soul.

That Zenith, Artful Dance of the Forest Seasons, would later discover the terrible effect of the Neverborn’s deaths, and her Door to the Forging of the Soul became very important indeed…

Mechanics: The Living

The aspect of a Door to the Forging of the Soul which is visible in Creation is merely an anchor, similar to the entrance to a sanctum. If one spends a dot of temporary willpower as they pass through, however, they will step into the main part of the artifact, a smaller world which lies within.

The place beyond a Door is somewhat similar to the Wyld. It changes according to the user; the Artifact generates scenarios designed to make the user behave according to their virtues. These scenarios are emotionally impacting and feel very real, but the user will not suffer any actual physical damage. The precise experience is different for each person, but the mechanical effect is that, each hour the user remains within (and they cannot leave, once inside), they lose 1 dot of temporary willpower, until they lose all willpower. Because of the stress of the process, the user, at the end of this process, must succeed at a standard-difficulty Willpower roll or gain a Derangement assigned by the Storyteller.

Within the next hour after losing their last dot of temporary willpower, the user is drained of all essence motes (representing the removal of their lower soul) and falls unconscious. This state lasts a number of hours equal to the user’s Essence (more powerful souls require longer to forge), during which no motes are regained by the user. At the end of this time, the Door’s inner workings re-integrate the lower soul, now a Zanpakuto, and the user awakens with the weapon in their hand. They will then be compelled to leave the Door, and they will not be capable of re-entering.

Upon completing these trials, the user receives an extra dot of Conviction and Willpower for free, to their maximum. If the increase in Conviction would add to the user’s Willpower anyway, the Willpower gains do not stack. If they do not already have the ability to channel essence, they receive it. (They remain at Essence 1, however, and receive a mote pool as standard).

Upon stepping back into Creation, the Zanpakuto dematerialises, withdrawing into the user’s body. The user instinctively understands, however, that they may summon their Zanpakuto to hand at will. If the user enters a sanctum, Yu-Shan, or another place where there is no difference between being material and immaterial, the Zanpakuto appears on their person in a sheath or other appropriate carrying device.

The form of a Zanpakuto, as were the trials, is a reflection of the user’s own nature; It’s appearance is a manifestation of part of their soul, after all. Someone who is at heart a career warrior might have a plain, utilitarian blade, and a compassionate healer might have a small, accurate blade suitable for surgery, while a charismatic leader would have a large and dazzlingly reflective Zanpakuto. Like with Daiklaives, individual Zanpakuto generally have a unique name.

All Zanpakuto users have an innate understanding of how to wield their soul cutter sword, and if they have a Melee (or weapon-appropriate Martial Art) rated lower than 3, their Ability is considered to be 3 solely for the purposes of using their Zanpakuto.

Mechanically, a Zanpakuto has a Speed equal to (7 – Conviction), Accuracy equal to (Temperance), a Defence of (Compassion), a damage of (Willpower) and a Rate of (Valour). To any of these traits the owner distributes extra dots equal to their permanent Essence, or alternatively may allocate their Essence dots to add bonus dice to other things (in the examples above, for example, the Healer’s Zanpakuto could add to a Medicine pool, while the leader’s might add to Presence). All Zanpakuto can strike targets both material and immaterial, and are treated as Magical Materials for the purposes of resisting damage, but only the Zanpakuto of Exalted and their Half-Castes have the appearance and Magical Materials bonus. The Magical Material always matches as closely as possible the Exalt: a Solar would have an Orichalcum-like Zanpakuto, while a Fire Aspect Dragon-Blooded would have one with the powers and appearance of Red Jade.

Example: Reign of the Moon, a Full Moon Lunar, has gone through the Door and has been soulforged. He has Essence 3, Willpower 7, Compassion 2, Conviction 3, Temperance 1, and Valour 4. His Zanpakuto, a large scimitar called Luna’s Crescent Claw, has the appearance and powers of Moonsilver. Thus, it has Speed 3, Accuracy +3, Defence +4, Damage + 7L and a Rate of 4. Since Reign of the Moon is a figure of dread in the civilised lands around him (and enjoys it), Luna’s Crescent Claw appears constantly stained with blood and bears a jagged and painful-looking edge, granting +3 to the Lunar’s Presence for intimidation and other fear-sowing rolls.

Zanpakuto with the powers of a Magical Material react to Charms and other effects which affect that Material as if they were actually of that material, but it remains that they are made out of essence and are but very good simulacrums of that Magical Material. A Zanpakuto user cannot be separated from his blade and the blade cannot be permanently changed or reshaped without a corresponding change in the user’s personality. That is, a user’s Zanpakuto changes when their Virtues change, and they can redistribute their extra dice when they gain Essence, but cannot be otherwise changed except in the case of Lunars using Moonsilver weapon Charms.

The Shinigami

The Zanpakuto of a normal living person is, like their lower soul, bound to their body, limiting it in power. When they die, their Zanpakuto is shattered, and reforms into its original shape, forming a hungry ghost (or not) as normal. However, if the person remains as a ghost, all is not lost.

When the Zenith Caste Solar Artful Dance of the Forest Seasons discovered the existence of the Underworld, later in the First Age, she was shaken to the core. The thought that the souls of the dead could now linger, partaking of the half-death of the Neverborn, made a deep and terrible impression upon her; and almost instantly, she began to desperately seek a way to rebalance the wheel of reincarnation. In seeking other Solars in her self-appointed task, however, she stumbled upon a horrible truth; other Solars had already discovered the Underworld, but had begun to experiment with the deathly essence of that dim plane, toying with Necromancy as if it were a game for their amusement.

There was a secret discovery, hidden revelations, and veiled violence in the night. None know the true events of that day, for Forest would not speak of it; and she was the only survivor.

Knowing that soon the Night Caste would discover her fratricide and turn the weight of the Solar Deliberative upon her, and with the dim and sickening realisation that many Solars considered it their right to do as they pleased, Forest retreated to her own Manse and grappled with the stress of her impending censure and the knowledge that the Underworld would be left to the habitation of the Restless Dead.

Who could live in a world with such grim truths?

When the other Solars came, they found only a corpse, impaled upon her own sword, sprawled before the altar of her Temple to the Unconquered Sun.

But in a cruel and ironic twist of Fate the soul of Artful Dance of the Forest Seasons existed still, bound to Creation as a ghost. Swaying on the cusp of insanity and numb with shock and horror, she wandered by night in the cavernous halls of her mansion for two days… and as the dawn came from below the horizon, she wandered into the room of the Door to the Forging of the Soul.

Some compulsion, some small voice within herself, broke through the clouds of shock. Hardly thinking why, she stepped in.

Her trials were agonising. Through the Door, she relived the worst moments of the primordial war. Her dearest friends died again, each failing she had ever made was presented anew. And her shock, her numbness, was stripped away, baring the full realisation of her death, the state of the living world she had left behind, and the reality of the darker reflection she now inhabited. But something was different, something in the process reacted strangely to her dead soul; and as she gripped her soul in hand, her Zanpakuto given full weight and reality, she felt the touch of death lift a little; felt a little touch of living essence pulse in her heart once more.

Though still dead, Creation beckoned once more. She was reborn, and the essence of rebirth itself flooded the weapons that were her soul. She was the first of the shinigami, the agents of Lethe.

History and Setting

A shinigami is a ghost who has been put through a Door to the Forging of the Soul and has gained a Zanpakuto. The process seals their lower soul to them, granting them greater power than normal ghosts, particularly if they were once wielders of Essence; but the other gain, considered equally important by some, is that such ghosts regain some semblance of life, bringing them halfway back into Creation; and this process, somehow, infuses their Zanpakuto with the power of reincarnation, the essence of Lethe itself. Scholars amongst the shinigami have postulated that the Door to the Forging of the Soul somehow draws upon Lethe to “reincarnate” the lower soul of its users as a weapon, and that in the case of ghosts and their half-dead get, some strange resonance causes some of this power to remain.

Regardless of the truth of the matter, the shinigami are as the Exalted of the dead, vastly more powerful than normal ghosts, and have a reputation in the Underworld to match their stature. Shinigami cannot succumb to Oblivion, can walk Creation in the light of day, can utilise thaumaturgy and martial arts, are unbound by the trappings of death or the care of their descendants… and that is only those who were mortal in life. Those that were once god-blooded, or Exalted, are champions even amongst their fellows.

And yet, many ghosts fear and revile the shinigami, for Artful Dance of the Forest Seasons, the first of their number, was the one who brought her Door to the Forging of the Soul down into the Underworld and who controlled the birth of new shinigami; and her agenda was crystal clear. To those ghosts who lingered for their Passions, to be revenged on their murderers or to care for their descendants, there was little pity from the shinigami, who sought only to slice away with their soul-cutting swords the chains that held ghosts from rightful rebirth. The majority of shinigami cared only for reincarnation, hunting down the inhabitants of the Underworld without rest, that one day the Underworld would be no more and they could turn their blades upon themselves, and finally be reborn again in the knowledge they had done their duty.

As time went on, however, things became more complicated. Some shinigami were more moderate, and quested to aid ghosts in resolving their unfinished business and passing on without violence. A few shinigami lost interest in their mission entirely, and wandered Creation and the Underworld in pursuit of their own purposes both benign and malevolent, masterless and potent spirits beholden neither to life nor death.

The ultimate goal of the shinigami was to become numerous and powerful enough to take Stygia itself, where they might descend into the Labyrinth itself and, with their Zanpakuto, slice apart the Neverborn themselves until even those imposing beings could fit through the wheel of reincarnation, taking with them all of the Underworld… or so Artful Dance of the Forest Seasons hoped. The plan was doomed to fail, however, as soon as the Usurpation came, when the population of the Underworld swelled and, hidden at first, the Deathlords came into being.

As the shogunate passed in Creation, the shinigami battled in the Underworld to destroy the cults of Oblivion that formed the antithesis to everything that they were. For the first time, the shinigami were faced with ghosts empowered by the Neverborn, and fought opponents in the Underworld who could match their own abilities. Some battles even carried up to Creation, adding to the confusion and unrest of the shogunate.

Then the Deathlords rose up, and grasped the Underworld in their rule.

The old ghosts of that time, those who yet linger and remember, still speak of the great battles between the servants of Lethe and the armies of Oblivion. They tell of thousands of ghosts sent screaming to rebirth, of shinigami torn apart and their Zanpakuto shattered. Ghostly whispers recount the greatest battle, when Artful Dance of the Forest Seasons faced off against the First And Forsaken Lion in single combat: her Wind-Fire Wheels Zanpakuto, Dawn and Dusk, spinning in gleaming arcs against his terrible form; the mark of the Zenith Caste blazing on her forehead with all the power it had in life; and her anima like a fragment of the Unconquered Sun himself, burning in the deep darkness of the Abyss.

The power of the shinigami was broken, and the few survivors fled to Creation, scattering to the five winds. The Door to the Forging of the Soul that Forest had brought to the Underworld was found, and destroyed. The Deathlords conquered the Underworld, and they have held it ever since.

But still some shinigami linger, here and there. They lack the power to stand against the Deathlords alone, but they cling to existence nonetheless. Some pretend to be living humans, some take the form of normal ghosts; some even wear their power openly, in distant places or on the edge of the Wyld, where the eyes of the Deathlords do not go. Some are content to exist as they will, wandering as they will, wielding their power and blades as they will; some still dream of Creation made whole and the rest they have so long been denied.

Dead they may be, but gone they are not. And still they have a some power…

Shinigami Mechanics

A ghost or ghost-blooded who is soulforged, through doing so before they lose their po or through capturing their hungry ghost, gains much more than simply a Zanpakuto. The process binds them to their lower soul, guaranteeing that they go not lose it. Because of this, these ghosts – known now as shinigami- retain the powers that they had in life.

Shinigami may study and practise not only Arcanoi but also thaumaturgy and Terrestrial Martial Arts in their fullness, and gain the capacity to learn Terrestrial-level Sorcery. If they were god-blooded in life, they retain their Charms and other powers, and may continue to learn them; indeed, because of their potential for increased Essence ratings, they are even more powerful. They still possess the other limitations of Half-Caste, however. Those shinigami who were Exalted in life are even more powerful; they may learn Celestial Martial Arts up to the form-type Charms as they used to, and Celestial Exalted Shinigami may practise Celestial Circle Sorcery (though they can no longer learn it; they must have had it in life). “Exalted” shinigami essentially become extraordinarily powerful Half-Castes, incapable of learning Combos or disallowed Charms (i.e. Perfects) but still capable of using those they had in life. They can learn to regain full use of their anima powers through a specialised 3-point Merit (requiring the standard Half-Caste anima powers Merit as a prerequisite).

The character’s Essence as a ghost and their Essence as a shinigami are tracked seperately, however; they use the first for their Arcanoi and Personal essence pool, and the second for their Charms, other non-ghostly powers, and their Peripheral or Zanpakuto Essence pool. The personal Essence is gained as ghosts normally do and its associated mote pool is calculated as for ghosts; the Zanpakuto Essence is raised as if they were still alive, and its associated mote pool is calculated the same way as it was in life (Those who were Exalted in life use Half-Caste mote calculation). Ghost-Blooded Shinigami calculate their personal and Zanpakuto Essence as ghost-blooded but are no longer restricyed to Essence 3; time allowing, they may raise their Essence as high as they wish.

As they rise in their second Essence rating, a shinigami’s Zanpakuto becomes more powerful; players are encouraged to develop additional powers for the Zanpakuto at Essence 4+, keeping the power level in line with an Artifact of a rating equal to half their Essence. A ghost slain by a shinigami’s Zanpakuto goes to Lethe and is reincarnated; other beings of the Underworld, such as Abyssal Exalted, are instead dealt Aggravated damage by the weapon.

A shinigami cannot use motes from their peripheral essence pool without manifesting their Zanpakuto and, thereby, revealing themselves as shinigami.

Shinigami are not vulnerable to many powers which affect ghosts. They are naturally material in the Underworld and in shadowlands and need only commit 10 motes to materialise in Creation at any time (An innate power). They regain motes of essence to their personal pool only while in the Underworld or the shadowlands, and regain motes to their peripheral essence pool only within Creation or the shadowlands. They do not count as Creatures of Darkness unless somehow corrupted.

Ratings

Submission Rating: Description: +2 | Rules: +2 | Originality: +0

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Description: +1 | Rules: +1 | Originality: +0 - Jack (about 1 year)

Double win on the flavour. That's mega awesome.

Description: +1 | Rules: +1 | Originality: +0 - Ker'ion (about 1 year)

Nice flavor text, but shouldn't the Zanpakuto of the living beings be able to boot the spirits of the dead into lethe as well?

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