Zinnia

Zinnia (ヒガナ, Higana) is a mysterious Quincy with unknown motivations. He is antagonistic towards Soul Society for the genocide of his species, though he not affiliated with the Quincy Wandenreich. Raian Getsueikirite, one of the few Shinigami to know of his existence, recognizes Zinnia as one of the most lethal Quincy to have ever been born, surpassed by few. He is also known by an epithet, similar to the Quincy of the Wandenreich: "N" — "The Novel".

Appearance
Despite his status as an ancient Quincy, Zinnia appears no older than Rukia Kuchiki — a strikingly youthful and muscular man with long black hair, arranged in an undulating ponytail, which reaches far passed his waistline; curving to form a hook-like shape. He also has distinctive, red-ringed eyes.

Unlike traditional Quincy, however, his standard attire is highly personalized, consisting of black hakama-like pants, an chunnari around his neck, a black kosode styled as a midriff, and a various assortment of jewelry around both his wrists and neck.

Personality
Zinnia is depicted as a man with a strong sense of justice. He is said to have a resentment of Shinigami due to his belief that Shinigami were just as corrupt and wicked as the Hollows they sought to stamp out and, later on, even his own species, led by their king, Yhwach. It should be noted, however, that he views Hollows, Quincy, and ordinary humans in a similar fashion. For this reason, he can sometimes appear arrogant and dismissive of any being too set in their race's ways. That being said, he is not entirely without a heart. He is willing to come to the aid of, and even protect, those who are genuine and seek to use their talents to further justice.

Zinnia is also strangely fixated on history: likely giving rise to his eventual profession. He is an expert in this area and is said to be the only being who knows Soul Society's history in its entirety. He is notorious for reminding his opponents to consult history as a way to improve their errors, lest he kill them easily. Even through his love of history, however, he is able to make light of it and even show disdain for certain parts of it: particularly the portions having to do with Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto's rise to power and subsequent domination over Soul Society.

He seems to view life as a "story", of which, he is one of the "authors". He often makes multiple literary references in battle, usually relating to the abilities of his Zanpakutō, which are also literary in nature.

History
Little of his background is known. During Yhwach's rise to power, Zinnia was an early novelist, traveling the world to document the constant warfare. He later became a Quincy and served the early Wandenreich in an unknown capacity. Prior to his self-retirement, he was offered a position on the Sternritter, though he refused. He later retired from the Wandenreich, disgusted by the Quincy and Shinigami alike, and self-exiled himself to the moon.

Powers & Abilities
High Intelligence: Zinnia's intelligence is one of his greatest aspects, allowing him to fight even the most physically capable combatants without engaging them physically. His ability to think tactically and employ his abilities to counter the strengths of his opponents have made him a uniquely dangerous threat among the Shinigami.

Immense Spiritual Power: According to Raian Getsueikirite himself, Zinnia is an extraordinarily dangerous Quincy — one of the most dangerous to ever live. His power is said to be easily comparable to the Yonkō's own spiritual power and is equally fearsome.

Reishi Manipulation: As a Quincy, Zinnia primarily absorbs spiritual energy from the atmosphere, and combines it with his own spiritual energy to form weapons.
 * Blut (血装 (ブルート), burūto; German for "Blood", Japanese for "Blood Guise"): An advanced Quincy technique which grants one inhuman offensive and defensive capabilities, generated by making Reishi flow into the user's blood vessels. The independent forms for attack and defense cannot be employed simultaneously.
 * Blut Vene Anhaben (外殻静血装 (ブルート・ヴェーネ・アンハーベン), Burūto Vēne Anhāben; German for "Wearing the Blood Vein", Japanese for "Shell of Stilled Blood Guise"): Zinnia extends Blut Vene outside of his body to create a force-field that blocks incoming attacks. It can easily block a physical attack from an extremely powerful Vasto Lorde-level Hollow. The forcefield consumes everything around it, including living beings, in order to maintain itself. When activated, it creates the Blut Vene vein pattern on the surface of whatever it attempts to consume.

The Novel (能筆 (ザ•ノベル), Za Noberu; Japanese for "Skilled Calligrapher"): Manipulating his Reishi Pen, Zinnia can create, control, manipulate, and even erase events entirely. He does this through a variety of techniques, all of which involve : the manipulation of writing. By simply writing an event with his Reishi Pen, he can make it come to pass. In order to ensure this ability activates, he must be specific about what he writes. For example, he is able to kill a powerful Hollow with this ability by writing that he "sliced it up". As a result, the Hollow sustained fatal gashes and ceased to exist. Raian Getsueikirite notes that this power also makes him resistant to other calligraphy based abilities because The Novel gives Zinnia "complete dominance" over the power of words.
 * Auslöschen (言葉の力 (一掃する); German for "Blot Out", Japanese for "Power of Words"): With The Novel, Zinnia is in absolute control of all things related to language. This ability allows him to empower written word, his or others, and make their meanings real. In the same manner, and true to its name, Auslöschen allows him to rob the power of words, making meaningless their effects. This is extraordinarily dangerous against Shinigami, as it robs the power from the incantations used to preform Kidō and even invalidates the power of the words used to release a Zanpakutō or a Bankai. Only Shinigami who have mastered their abilities to the point that they do not require language to use their powers can hope to resist this ability. Similarly, it invalidates the powers of a fellow Quincy's Schrift, taking away the power granted to them by the letter.
 * Zeichen (一人物呼称 (キャラクター); German for "Character", Japanese for "Character Designation"): Using The Novel, Zinnia can designate his opponents and allies with a certain character . To do this, he simply draws a circle with his Reishi Pen and inscribes their name and archetype. From that point forward, the target will remain under his designation until he changes it or removes it. Depending on the archetype given, the target is afforded a variety of traits and features, not all of which are negative.
 * Held (立役 (ヒーロー); German for "Hero", Japanese for "Protagonist"): As part of the Zeichen power, Zinnia innately possesses the designation of Held, or the protagonist. This designation results in a physical transformation: granting him draconian armor, wilder hair, and his Reishi Pen transforms into a Reishi Broadsword. While in this form, Zinnia receives the majority of the benefits from the other designations.
 * Ratgeber (師 (カウンセラー); German for "Counselor", Japanese for "Mentor"): The designation "Ratgeber", or mentor, allows Zinnia to rob the knowledge and power of a target and bestow it upon a "protagonist". This is because, in Zinnia's words, a mentor is someone who empowers the protagonist by gifting him or her their knowledge and teaching him or her their skills. Targets who have their powers robbed in this manner will eventually die, as, according to Zinnia, the mentor's role "is up" once they have contributed to the "growth" of the hero.
 * Rivalle (敵 (ライバル), Raibaru; German for "Rival", Japanese for "Opponent"): This designation does not negatively impact the abilities of the target, though it does put them in a tough spot. Those that are designated "Rivalle" are permitted to use their powers normally, however, when fighting a "protagonist" find themselves extremely limited. This is because, according to Zinnia, rivals are meant to be overcome by the hero. As a result, regardless of the abilities used to increase the target's power, those designated "protagonists" will grow even stronger.

Sankt Buch (神聖な本 (サンブック); German for "Saint Book", Japanese for "Holy Book"): A spell whereby Zinnia "switches stories": an ability that allows him instantaneous transportation to any location he desires. He does this by forming the letters for the location's name, in Reishi, just above his fingertips before instantly disappearing and reappearing at his chosen location. In combat, he can use an abbreviated version of this ability, which does not require letter-formation, to dash around the battlefield in a blink of an eye, making him an extremely dangerous and unpredictable opponent.

Spirit Weapon
Reishi Pen: Using the bangles around his wrists, Zinnia can gather and focus Reishi into an elaborate. He primarily uses this pen as a conduit for The Novel, though he can also use it to preform long range attacks.
 * Heilig Pfeil (神聖滅矢 (ハイリッヒ・プファイル), Hairihhi Pufairu; German for "Holy Arrow", Japanese for "Sacred Destruction Arrows"): By collecting more Reishi, Zinnia can form the spiritual arrows which are typical of other Quincy weapons. These arrows appear as simple blasts of Reishi shaped like the Quincy Cross, though they still retain enough force to create deep cavities in the ground.


 * Calligraphy: By writing certain words with the pen, he can create a variety of effects.
 * Hagel (ひさめ; German for "Hail"): By writing the letters for "Hagel" in the air with his pen, Zinnia manifests several sharp daggers of and causes them to rain down upon his opponents. They are comparable in strength to several of Tōshirō Hitsugaya's Zanpakutō attacks.
 * Blitz (らいこう; German for "Lightning"): By writing the letters for "Blitz" in the air with his pen, Zinnia can generate a sizable sphere of electrical energy, ringed with his Reishi. The blast wave from a single sphere is capable of canceling out a Getsuga Tenshō or a sufficiently powerful Cero.

Quincy: Vollständig
Seferel (神の書 (セファルディム), Sefaieru; Japanese for "Book of God"): Zinnia activates this state by using the jewelry around his wrists. He can enter and exit this state without exerting much effort, lacking the explosive flair of other Quincy: Vollständig. In this form, he lacks the wings that most Quincy gain upon transforming, but does obtain the trademark halo above his head: shaped like a Quincy Zeichen.
 * Reishi Calligraphy Spear: While in Vollständig, Zinnia's Reishi Pen elongates into a spear-like appearance. He can use it as a melee weapon, to fire arrows, or to command his The Novel ability.
 * Flight: Though lacking wings, Zinnia can still float and fly while in this form.

Trivia

 * Zinnia was named after a character of the same name from Pokémon: Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby.