Yousojin

Yousojin (要素神, Elemental God) are the race of spiritual beings native to Heisekai. They exterminate and perform  on souls, but are not. Yousojin, instead of a, take pride in their ability to command the. Before The Collapse they wielded weapons, known as the Zanku, but the knowledge with which they where forged was lost.

Overview
Yousojin are spiritual beings; they cannot be seen by anyone not possessing of the necessary quantities of spiritual power. Due to this they are considered unearthly beings with notable characteristics; which some Humans would declare superhuman, some of which are their long lifespans (Hanako Nakamura is over 3000 years old) and enhanced tolerance to pain and injury.

Unlike Shinigami who begin as normal Souls who need to train their bodies to achieve the rank of Shinigami, every soul in Heisekai are Yousojin to at least some level, as even the smallest child has some predisposition to elemental control as a naturally occurring part of their being. A measuring device referred to as a Yousoshaku (要素神尺, Elemental Scale) is used to ascertain ones proficiency in commanding the elements; which in turn ranks ones potential strength; reiryoku withstanding.

Akira would later theorize that the Yousojin as a race where slightly inferior to the Shinigami in raw spiritual strength; examples he used included the likes of Rosuto Shiba, Benkei and his sister Kichō Musashibō. Despite the Captain-Generals of the Shūten being believed to be on-par with Gotei 13 Captains, those three proved otherwise, though there have obviously been exceptions to this. Yoichi Yamashin and Ranmaru Shibata XI are every bit as strong (if not stronger) than the Captains in both the Gotei 13 and the Ryū Order, which shows that Akira's comments are quite possibly merely a vague generalization.

Yousojin receive salaries like any worker in the form of Jiku; their realms currency.

Yousojin have a number of supernatural qualities:


 * Longevity: Yousojin live incredibly long lives; Hanako Nakamura is over 3,000 years old and has declared she'll live many more. They can retain their youthful appearance for centuries, with some appearing to be in their early-to-late twenties, though as is expected Hanako looks like an old woman.


 * Durability: Yousojin are naturally durable as a direct consequence of the elements they tame; resisting the effects of fire and ice and many others. The requisite harm needed to permanently harm or even kill one varies greatly, but individuals such as Fujimoto and Akira Nakamura have demonstrated extreme tolerances for pain; at times shrugging off life-threatening wounds as if they where nothing and making a full recovery. Akira, for example, was beaten to within an inch of his life by Rosuto Shiba but went on to make a full recovery shortly thereafter, and later survived (even successfully faking his own death) a battle with the mighty Averian.


 * : Yousojin naturally possess reiryoku, which varies greatly between individuals. For example, Lieutenant-Generals are considered to be powerful whilst Captain-Generals eclipse them in every way imaginable; like the gap between heaven and earth. Also a Yousojin's strength is tied directly to their natural element; with some being capable of drawing strength from it. Akira, who is naturally attuned to water, is noted to be much stronger when near a body of water. Similarly his powers suffered when he entered a desert region, specifically whilst Zieg Ishi (whom is tied to fire) was bolstered by the heat of the region.


 * Capacity: Yousojin possess an innate degree of proficiency in elemental application; which can be trained like a muscle. This is referred to fully as ones Capacity for Elemental Proficiency, which is a scale used to determine the level of and scale of ones elemental abilities. For example, Akira Nakamura could only control water in his youth but later mastered wind as well; showing a capacity for at least two elements. Zieg Ishi, however, is considered a freak; not only has he mastered fire and wind to their extremes, he has also been shown using water, ice and even manipulating the heavens to call down lightning on his foes. Zieg is considered to be a freak because his dominant element is fire yet he also uses water, which is considered extremely difficult as the elements lie in opposition to one another.

Appearance
Yousojin typically appear Human; a trait they share with a number of other spiritual races; examples being the Kenmeiotome and the Tenshi. They are noted to have a larger diversity in eye and hair tones however, which in some way relates to their natural element. Akira Nakamura is perhaps the best example; his silver-blond hair and blue eyes are reminiscent of the water element. His older brother Fujimoto and Shiori are noted to also share his core eye color, with slight variations; Fujimoto having a slight azure hue whilst Shiori more sapphire. It should come as no surprise then that all three shared water as their natural element. At birth a Yousojin has no eye color; their eyes instead appear like prisms. It is only after discovering and using their dominant element that their eye tone begins to surface. The sole exception thus far to this basic rule is Zieg (swho by rights should have an eye tone akin to flames), though he is considered a freak amongst his kind anyway, for he has eyes befitting a full rainbow.

Heisekai

 * Peacekeepers: As the core members of both the Shūten and the Jōren, the Yousojin are Heisekai's internal and external peacekeepers; exemplified strongly during the Shūten's invasion of Kōhai Tochi to protect and safeguard Heisekai from the corrupted influence of the Imawashī.

Human World

 * Hollow Cleansing: As beings naturally attuned to the elements in nature and thus the forces of balance, Yousojin did not require a Zanpakutō to cleanse Hollow. This allowed the twisted Soul to be cleansed which allowed it to pass on peacefully to the afterlife; which, if slain by a Yousojin, went to Heisekai. However, like with Zanpakutō, Hollows that committed serious crimes when they were still Human are sent to Hell when they are slain.


 * Soul Governance: Shinigami where responsible for governing the flow of spirits between the Human World and Soul Society just as Yousojin where responisble for governing the flow between the Human World and Heisekai. This was commonly carried out by balancing the total number of souls by moving and managing them in the Human world.


 * Guardians of the Human World: A duty specifically carried out by the 2nd Division of the Shūten in conjunction with the Ryū Order. As guardians of the Human World the Yousojin actively protect Humans from a number of threats; such as Hollow and, as well as wayward battles fought by powerful spiritual beings.

Training
Much of the training came from an early age which where disguised cleverly as games to keep children amused. One such involved hitting marked targets at a distance with your natural element; the closer you got the more points you received. Another where races to develop speed and coordination, building up the basics. As they grew Yousojin tended to adopt training aids to help with their concentration.


 * Focusing crystal: Akira described conjuring an element as being as simple as willing it into creation from a mental imprint. However, some struggle with this procedure, and thus require a focusing crystal. In time the crystal will have helped the practitioner achieve their goal and thus will no longer be of use.

Combat
Yousojin fought in a similar manner to Shinigami; as both races where possessing of similar degrees of strength, speed and durability.


 * Zanjutsu -- unlike the Shinigami variant which included training on the usage of a Zanpakutō, Yousojin learned proper handling of their chosen weapon instead.


 * Hakuda -- the art pertaining to the use of martial arts. Used to train the physical body.


 * Yousodō -- the pertaining to all elemental applications, no matter how minor. It was also the Yousojin equivalent to Kidō.


 * Kidō -- an art that uses spiritual power to form spells. Although most Yousojin utilize Yousodō predominately some, such as Akira, did know how to perform Kidō spells. Almost all the noble families are trained in its use.


 * Hohō -- the term denoting high-speed movement techniques, specifically the Sashihiki (差し引き, ebb and flow) technique.

Trivia

 * The Yousojin were originally created by the . When the Land of Heisekai was established by the Tenjin known as The Engineer, the  seeded the land with Souls, much to The Engineer's hesitation and displeasure. To spite the Soul King, The Engineer modified all the Heisekai Souls into a new form of life called the Yousojin.