Stunde

The Stunde is an organization composed of Quincy in the World of the Living that was established by Uryuu Ishida after the fall of the Wandenreich. Its members consist of those who, either voluntarily or via compulsion, have agreed to abide by certain regulations imposed by the Soul Society in order to preserve the balance of souls and legitimize their own existence. However, outside of these regulations the Stunde is an independent and self-governing organization whose influence has spread across nearly all continents of the world over the last decade.

History
After the defeat of Ywach and the fall of the Wandenreich at the hands of Ichigo Kurosaki and his allies, Uryuu realized that there had been no safeguards established to prevent such a war from taking place again. Influenced by the altruistic ideals of his grandfather, and with the support of his close friend Ichigo (who served as a mediator between the Stunde and the Soul Society in its early days), Uyruu founded a new society of Quincy with the intent of creating an organization that would eventually function completely independent of the Soul Society.

After the Stunde was officially established, its members worked tirelessly to advance the organization, unifying various small groups of surviving Quincy in the Human World under one cause. This strengthened the presence of the Stunde by securing branch headquarters in areas with high populations of Quincy, such as major cities, thus ensuring its eventual place as the sole governing force for Quincy in the world. While idealistic in principle, the methods employed by the Stunde during the unification process were often brutal, as the end result was given as justification for its means. Those who refused to adhere to the standards of the Stunde were either killed or captured and turned over to the Soul Society, and as a result dissenters were forced into hiding. "For the preservation of all, a few must perish," was the reasoning given at the time for taking such extreme measures, and the organization firmly believed that it was acting as the lesser of two evils. While this practice is currently not as widespread as it was before, certain members are still tasked with exterminating their own kind should the Stunde identify any rogue Quincy who serve as active threats to the balance of souls. Mainly these targets include former members of the Wandenreich who continue to follow the principles of Yhwach and antagonize the Soul Society.

Organization
The Stunde is a loosely hierarchal, democratic organization. The juridical board, known as the Führung (commanders), is responsible for the decisions and actions of the Stunde. There are five Führung, each symbolically embodying a point on the Quincy pentagram and more practically representing prescribed international regions. The position of presiding head is rotated yearly amongst the Führung, and whoever holds the position is responsible for managing the biannual Stunde summit, maintaining communication with the Soul Society, and mobilizing martial forces when needed. Each Führung is elected based upon merit, strength, and adherence to the code of conduct. While the Führung are nominated via democratic process from their respective regions, it is ultimately by consensus of the other leaders whether or not a new Führung is inducted. The Führung operate independently, but often communicate and consult with the other leaders and form close partnerships. The five Führung meet twice a year at an international summit to discuss the operations of the Stunde, although such a meeting may also be called to order by the presiding head in emergency situations. Aside from the Führung there is little over-arching structure or ranking within the Stunde, as each region is left to determine its own organization. For example, in China many of the Quincy preserve traditional clan orders, whereas in Italy the Stunde Quincy are closely associated with the mafia and thus resemble their own form of hierarchy. Uniforms vary across regions as well, and normally each Führung will select a specific uniform for their region, which are then worn at Stunde meetings. The official language of the Stunde is German, although many members also speak English, Japanese, Italian, Russian, or Chinese.

Recruitment
The Stunde imposes membership upon all parties of the Quincy race. Whenever a new Quincy is discovered, they are contacted immediately and required to join the Stunde. If they refuse to join, they must pledge never to take direct action in combat against any being: human, Shinigami, Hollow, or otherwise. They are then placed under a “watch list.” At the first sign of aggression in any form, they are either arrested or eliminated by the Stunde.

Satzung
According to Central 46, while Quincy residing in the Human World are able to respond much more quickly to the attacks of Hollows and are thus better able to prevent human casualties, the fact that they pose a threat to the balance of souls means their involvement in battle against Hollows is a greater detriment than benefit and must be avoided at all costs. Considering this, and as the purpose of the Stunde is to establish self-governance among Quincy, a code of conduct has been established which dictates the actions of the Quincy and provides legal sanction under the eyes of the Soul Society.

The articles of the Satzung are as follows:


 * 1) Under no circumstance must a Stunde Quincy endanger the balance of souls by exterminating spiritual beings.
 * 2) The balance of souls must be held above all else, and must be carried out in the field, even at risk of your life.
 * 3) Those who operate outside this first tenet are considered apostate and are under the authority of the Soul Society. The Stunde will not aid or protect such Quincy.
 * 4) Only Quincy may be members of the Stunde. Each member of the Stunde is a brother in arms, regardless of nationality or religion, and should be treated with familial solidarity.
 * 5) Members must respect the traditions of the Quincy, the command of superiors, and the law. Discipline will be administered as necessary by commanding officers
 * 6) As elite warriors, Quincy must train vigorously to maintain and control their spirit weapons, as an unskilled Stunde member is a liability both in combat and to the reputation of the organization.
 * 7) Stunde Quincy shall retain a code of silence, and will not reveal any knowledge relating to the Stunde to any outsider. Quincy shall refrain from fraternizing with Shinigami except under urgent circumstances where a situation might demand communication.
 * 8) No Quincy, Echt or Gemsicht, shall marry a non-Quincy. This is to preserve the existence of the race, the purity of Quincy blood, and to ensure future posterity,
 * 9) Letzt Stil and all Quincy techniques created with the sole intent to cause malevolent harm to oneself or others (such as Bankai medaling) are forbidden.

Shütze
The Shütze are a specialized order of Quincy within the Stunde who are not associated with any particular world region. They operate under the direct order of the commanding Führung and serve as a highly-trained squad of elite soldiers. Many of the Shütze are former Wandenreich members themselves, and as such they serve as the Stunde’s primary military force. Members of the Shütze act as informants, marksman, messengers, assassins, and enforcers of the law.

Combat
The Stunde has developed a specific style of combat that allows for Quincy to fight Hollows without exterminating them. Mainly this involves the capture, suppression or non-fatal injuring of spiritual beings. This was proposed as a means to both protect the balance of souls and living humans. It is mainly employed by the Shütze, whose operatives are trained in highly advanced forms of martial arts and Gintou.

Insignia
The symbol of the Stunde is a simple five-pointed star inscribed in a pentagon and surrounded by a circle. The simplicity of the shape allows the symbol to be used as a code of sorts, as Quincy can confirm the membership of another by having them drawing part of the symbol and having the other individual complete it. The star is representative of the Quincy race, the pentagon symbolizes strength and unity, and the circle embolizes eternity.