Aspects

The Aspects ( 詳, Xiáng ) are beings that humans considered, or once considered, deities, and played a major role in humanity's progress, especially in their dealings in the afterlife. It can be said that any deity that was ever worshipped by humans was an Aspect. In their original, most primitive form, the Aspects were simply beings made up of pure energy, and evolved alongside the more tangible beings on Earth. At their most basic definition, Aspects could be said to be embodiments of the laws of nature. Currently humans are, for the most part, unaware of their existence, despite the fact that they still play a major role in human lives.

Overview
Aspects are beings that exist apart from other living creatures on Earth, and most were once considered gods by humans. They once resided alongside humanity in the World of the Living, as well as having their own realm connected to the Spiritual world known as The Aether. Where living creatures are made up of atoms, and spiritual beings are made up of reishi, Aspects are composed of of pure energy, which some define as reiryoku. In their original forms, Aspects embodied the forces of nature and death. In other words, they are conscious manifestations of world's energy. They once governed the souls of the living as well, and performed functions much like the Shinigami. However, due to several disputes and humanity's desire to govern themselves, the Aspects agreed to let humans take care of themselves, and faded back into the Aether, becoming nothing more than stories. Unbeknownst to the humans, however, the Aspects continue to watch over them, and interfere when they feel humanity is on the brink of destroying the world both species cultivated.

The last time Aspects fully withdrew from the other realms, humans couldn't quite handle the flow of souls to and from Soul Society. This is the point in time when Hollows came into existence, due to souls being left too long in the world of the living. Due to this, as part of a second agreement, many Aspects can choose to continue to interact with humanity by becoming Zanpakuto. This process is discussed below.

To a human, an Aspect may appear as a god. However, having grown and developed alongside humans, many Aspects have developed practices and mannerisms similar to the younger race. Aspects are, for the most part, quite fond of humanity and the other living species, and acknowledge that humans should be allowed to grow and develop without too much outside influence. This is the main reason they chose to withdraw from humanity's consciousness and withdraw back to their own realm. The only presence Aspects seem to have left in the world of the living are stories, myths and legends about deities, mythical creatures, and gods.

Halfspects
A 'halfspect' is the offspring of an Aspect and a human. Cross-species mating was very common in humanity's earlier years (as an example, the high number of human women Zeus impregnated). In the heyday of polytheism, Halfspects were often considered gods or demigods themselves. Halfspects ranged in appearance from completely human to completely animalistic, with many forms in between the two, often depending on the form their Aspect parent chose to take. Currently, there are many human-form halfspects that are unaware of their lineage, and most other-form halfspects reside in the Aether. In current times, Aspect/human courtship is extremely rare, and most often will happen between an unaware Shinigami and a rogue Aspect.

There are several halfspects currently serving in the Gotei 10 that are unaware of their lineage:
 * Yolotli Tenoch
 * Mu
 * Nkosi Mubarak
 * Meiga
 * Åke Stevensson

Rouge Aspects
There are numerous younger Aspects who are against the fallback from the other realms, and have left the Aether in various ways. Some simply wish to reside in the other realms without going through the Zanpakuto route, and are usually left alone. Some, however, wish to take back what they believe the humans stole from them. These Aspects are the reason groups like the Awai have appeared, and have also been the cause of several human wars.

Appearance
Aspects are as varied as all life on Earth in appearance, and most can freely alter their appearance as they wish. The only thing consistent about them is the fact that at their core, they are made up of energy. Most Aspects can be recognized, however, as they often prefer to keep the forms they chose when interacting with humanity.

Powers and Abilities
Aspect abilities are as varied as the Aspects themselves, and to a human may seem fantastic and godlike. Aspects who interacted with humans before the fallback have had their abilities recorded in myths and legends. All Aspects have several characteristic abilities, and factions of Aspects have abilities based on their function (discussed below).


 * Dimensional Travel: All Aspects can travel freely between the Aether, Soul Society, Hueco Mundo, and the World of the Living through portals known by many different names, but are referred to as Celestial Gates by the Aspects.


 * Reiatsu Sensing: Much like any other spiritual being, Aspects can sense and locate individual energy signatures.


 * Longevity: Aspects are essentially immortal. They do not age, and as such will never die of old age. Aspects can be slain, however are much harder to kill than spiritual beings derived from humans (shinigami, hollows, ect).


 * Reiryoku: As beings made purely from Reiryoku, Aspects have an immense amount of energy at their disposal.


 * Soul binding: After the second Shinigami/Aspect treaty, Aspects were allowed the ability to attach themselves to a human soul upon their entrance to the world of the living. This connection allows the Aspect to guide the human, and upon their death and entrance to Soul Society, will become that human's Zanpakuto (replacing the part of the human's soul that would normally do so). However, an Aspect cannot reveal themselves to the human, or directly influence them or their decisions. This rule is suspended in situations where the human or Aspect's life or soul is at stake, in which a contract is made (see below). This allows the Aspects to continue to keep tabs on humanity, and leave the Aether, without directly influencing them.


 * Contracts Aspects who choose to be Zanpakuto have the ability to make a spiritually binding contract with their human, which is discussed below.

Society
As a whole, despite their similarities to humans, Aspects are almost impossible for a human to understand, in terms of mindset. Aspects do not have the same basal instincts as living creatures. Where a human fights and loathes death, Aspects understand its function, and generally consider themselves to be extensions of the world itself, though this does not hold true for the younger ones. This is why they were, for the most part, content to leave humanity to its own devices, only interfering when they feared for the fate of the world as a whole. The elder Aspects, who developed without humans, are in charge of the rest of their species, and their decisions often make it appear that they don't really care what happens to the rest of the world.

History
Originally, Aspects and humans worked closely together, even as far as forming relationships and mating with one another. (Case in point: Zeus.) But as humanity spread and separated into factions and religious groups, the Aspects pulled back in their interactions. Half-Aspect children in the world of the living became unaware of what they were, and the more human-like ones remained with the humans.

In the world of the living, as monotheistic religions took over, Aspects retreated back to the Aether and the spiritual world.

First Aspect/Shinigami Treaty
In the spiritual realm, Aspects and humans got along for hundreds of years. However, half-Aspects and humans with spiritual pressure became more common, and the humans coming in resented that the Aspects seemed to rule over them. Eventually, someone founded the original Gotei 13 and coined the term 'soul reaper'. Aspects reluctantly allowed humans to be in charge of their own souls and moved back to the Aether, as per the First Treaty. They agreed with the humans that the they would no longer interfere with human affairs.

However, humans are flawed, and the original Soul Reapers could not keep up with the flow of souls, and eventually accidentally allowed the creation of the first hollows. Over a period of several hundred Aspect-free years, the humans were destroying themselves slowly. Fed up, Death and Nature decided to step in and prevent their extinction.

Second Aspect/Shinigami Treaty
As per the Second Treaty, Death became the ultimate ruler of the spiritual realm, with consensus from those in charge of the Soul Reapers (This group later became known as 'Division Zero'). She became known as the 'Soul King'. The traditional role of Division Zero has changed since its conception. It is now designed to protect the Soul King and act as liaisons between Aspect and shinigami. As Aspects are not general knowledge, they operate under the guise of being solely for the protection of Soul Society's royalty.

Nature became the ultimate ruler of the world of the living, becoming known colloquially as Mother Earth.

The Aspects were still in agreement that they would no longer interfere, however Death did not trust the humans. So they also came to the agreement that Aspects may chose human souls to bond with, and in death they would replace the part of the soul that normally becomes a zanpakuto, suppressing that part so the shinigami doesn't end up with two different zanpakuto. It was a popular idea, and at first numerous Aspects did it. The practice has died down slightly, but several Shinigami possess zanpakuto that are, in fact, an Aspect.

Aspect-zanakuto began to become attached to their humans, and some would grant them extra powers. To quell this, the concept of 'contracts' were made.

Organization
Only two of the original Aspects are still alive- Death and Nature. They rule two 'houses' of Aspects, and every Aspect falls into a house.

Principle Aspects are Aspects in each house that are viewed as leaders of different factions. Since the fallback, the title is mostly just a symbol of power.

House Aether
House Aether is ruled by Death, which deals in matters concerning the spiritual world. House Aether members facilitate the movement of souls from the world of the living to Soul Society. House Aether also holds Aspects that embody non-living forces in the world of the living, such as the elements.


 * Soul King: Death, as the ruler of spiritual beings, sees it her duty to directly oversee Soul Society. As per the second treaty, Death rules over Soul Society from behind the scenes, and is known to human souls as the Soul King. Formerly, the Royal Guard was in place to act as a go-between for Death and Soul Society, however after a large-scale incident the group was disbanded.


 * Psychopomps: A special faction of Aspects that work directly for Death. They are spiritual guides, guiding spirits from the World of the Living to Soul Society. Psychopomps also deal in judging the evil in a soul, and make the decision as to whether or not a soul will go to hell. Though Shinigami have taken this role since the fallback, Psychopomps still supervise and keep watch over the balance of souls. This faction includes the Aspects known as Anubis, the Grim Reaper, Hades, ect.


 * Elements: Aspects that embody physical forces are known as the Elements. There are many per element, as seen by the numerous gods many cultures had. Zeus, Amaterasu, ect are examples of Elements.

House Matter
House Matter is ruled by Nature, and deals in facilitating reincarnation and the flow of souls from Soul Society to the world of the living. House Matter also holds Aspects that embody matters of the physical world.


 * Creators: Aspects that are the counter to Psychopomps, that guide souls from Soul Society to the world of the living and assign where they will be reincarnated. They are also in charge of overseeing other living creatures, such as plants and animals.


 * Punishers: Aspects that work directly for Nature, who work as sort of a 'police-force' and deal specifically with other Aspects. They only have jurisdiction over Aspects and contracted or aware humans, and uphold Aspect and contract laws. They are the ones who deal with humans that have broken their contracts.

Contracts
In order to prevent Aspects from endowing their chosen human with undeserved power, the Contract was made. Contracts are a spiritually binding agreement that is made by the Aspect when they choose a human, in which an Aspect can grant their human extra abilities, for a cost. If the cost is not met, or the rules are broken, the human will lose their Aspect and undergo a punishment, which is decided by the Aspect long before the contract is made. An Aspect's contract must be approved by the ruler of their house (Death or Nature).

Laws
1) Aspects may not interfere with humans outside of their chosen

2) Aspects may not let their human know of their presence unless the human figures it out and asks or in a dire situation in which the human's life is at stake.

3) Aspects may not speak of anything pertaining to their own powers unless asked directly. This is mostly for those that have powers of precognition.

4) Humans who know of Aspects are physically unable to speak about Aspects to another human who doesn't know about them. This is facilitated by their own Aspect.

5) In a dire situation, an Aspect may offer the human a 'contract'. This entails granting the human a piece of themselves in order to save their life. The Aspect may not grant too much power, and must demand a high enough cost in return.

6) Contract costs are decided before the Aspect 'moves in' with their human (inhabits their inner world). Contracts are approved by either Nature or Death, depending on the house the Aspect belongs to.

7) In case the human does not pay the cost or does not follow the contract rules, a punishment is put in place by the punishers, and is also predetermined when the human becomes a Soul Reaper. The punishments always play on the human's worst fears, and the Aspect and human are always separated.

8) Aspects who break the rules are destroyed and their souls reincarnated, most often as a human.

Contracted Shinigami

 * Jo Morelli and Trickster
 * Hattori Fuu and Shiden Kai
 * Shunkun and Aosaginohi
 * Koh and Mu-Onna
 * The Prion and Abiku
 * Shawna Kings and Ti Aginju
 * Tatum Silva and Alphyn