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The Reikon Kyuuban-Shinigami War, also known as the Fool's War was a major conflict of immense proportions fought between the Reikon Kyuuban of the Fushi Coven and the Shinigami of Soul Society. Reasons for the war varied but it was believed to had been the machinations of a rogue sect of Shinigami that desired to punish the Reikon Kyuuban for upsetting the Soul Cycle between Soul Society and the Living World.
History[]
Prelude[]
The seeds of the Reikon Kyuuban-Shinigami War were sown thousands of years before in the aftermath of another conflict, the Blood War. During that time period, the Fushi Coven were engaged in a civil war with the traitorous Fallen Covenant, a splinter faction that was led by the traitorous Thirteen Dracula named Jiro Kamiko. The conflict led to the deaths of thousands of Humans and Reikon Kyuuban. The amount of Human deaths caused by the Reikon Kyuuban greatly angered the Shinigami of Soul Society; it caused a population boom to occur in the Rukongai, leading to overpopulation to the already hard-pressed district. Unbeknownst to the Reikon Kyuuban, their actions had endangered the Soul Cycle, forcing the Shinigami to kill thousands of Souls to maintain an ideal equilibrium. As a result, the Reikon Kyuuban had unknowingly earned the ire of The Balancers, who saw them as a danger to the existence of Soul Society and the Living World if left unchecked. The Balancers would subsequently vow revenge in the future, biding their time till they were ready to judge the Reikon Kyuuban for their transgressions.
Spark of Hostilities[]
- "The Shinigami, back when they were called Balancers and whose members amounted to little more than butchers, once used Fushichō to burn our kind alive."
- —Excerpt from Vampiric Entry, where Vlad talks to Myst Kagekyo about The Balancers.[src]
In the eyes of The Balancers, they were justified using any means at their disposal to bring the Reikon Kyuuban to heel. Initially, the attacks were little more than skirmishes, which were nothing the Reikon Kyuuban couldn't repulse. Opinions remained divided amongst the Elders on the next course of action, as the Fushi Coven was still recovering from the events of the Blood War. Vlad Tepes of House Tepes, in particular, was vocally against the war and was also backed by the Elders of several other Great Houses. He preferred to contact Soul Society and demand an explanation for their attacks. However, Vlad's mind was changed when The Balancers unveiled their trump card. They brought not only their formidable Kidō to bare, but also potent and ancient artefacts that the Reikon Kyuuban had never seen before such as the mysterious Fushichō. When the Shinigami finally did strike at the Reikon Kyuuban, it was a swift and brutal campaign. Fushichō was used as a weapon of war, its flames spreading throughout the rank-and-file like a great plague and killing all of those caught in it. The Balancers sought a quick victory and to teach a valuable lesson, but their overuse of Fushichō had the opposite effect. The Dark Council were angered at their transgressions and quickly commanded the immediate mobilization of the Great Houses to Soul Society. Those Elders who were "on the fence" were convinced by the Dark Council and subsequently entered with their Houses behind them, and the war began in earnest.
The War[]
Arrival to Soul Society[]
Using ancient blood magic created by Kain Daisuke, the Dark Council and the Great Houses were able to create a semi-permanent gate similar to Garganta, allowing them to completely bypass the Dangai and enter Soul Society without issue. The Great Houses made landfall in the southernmost region of the Rukongai, presumably the 80th Ward, and proceeded to secure the first fifty in a matter of hours.
Attack on the Rukongai[]
The Dark Council were interested in capturing the Rukongai, the largest portion of Soul Society. They saw the Rukongai as a suitable source of food for the Reikon Kyuuban during the war and wanted it under their control as soon as possible. To prepare for the attack, the Dark Council ordered Arl Luceno to go to the Rukongai and create as much chaos and unrest before the other Reikon Kyuuban arrived. Arl infiltrated the Rukongai and proceeded to turn as many Rukongai residents into Reikon Kyuuban. He hoped the turned Rukongai residents would attack the other Souls around them, allowing the cycle to continue.
Ylva's Betrayel[]
Unknown to many of the Reikon Kyuuban Elders at the time was the presence of a traitor, secretly feeding The Balancers information. Ylva, a Presas, who was likewise the Alpha of a small Pack, disagreed strongly with the Dark Council and Fushi Coven as a whole. By the time Ylva's treachery was revealed the damage was largely done, and whilst her Pack were executed, Ylva herself escaped justice. Vlad would later claim that her name was a "very old, very hated name" when he happened to converse with one of Ylva's descendants in 2019.
Realm of Fire[]
The Realm of Fire took place in the Outlands, a vast region of land that had yet to be incorporated into the Rukongai. The Dark Council deployed House Mathos to the region, giving them the task of establishing a supply point for the Fushi Coven armies. The supply point was intended to serve as a fallback base of operations in the event that the other Great Houses failed to make a foothold in the Rukongai. It was widely regarded as one of the major battles in the Reikon Kyuuba-Shinigami War; it was here that the Elder Reikon Kyuuban experienced the true might of Fushichō. Fushichō was used to set the entire battlefield aflame, catching many Reikon Kyuuban within the inferno and burning them to death. Despite their best efforts to stay in the Outlands, House Mathos were unable to fight the Balancers and avoid Fushichō's flames at the same time. As a result, House Mathos withdrew at great cost, suffering irreparable damage such as the death of its leader and the majority of the Great House. However, the Shinigami failed to put out Fushichō's flames after the Reikon Kyuuban's withdrawal, forcing them to leave the fire alone until it naturally went out. It was said that Fushichō's flames raged on in the Wildlands for weeks, as the unnatural fire was unable to be put out. Once the fire subsided, the Outlands were left as an extreme wasteland devoid of life. It remained that way up until the Modern Era, where signs of healing were finally sighted by the Shinigami Research and Development Institute.
House Isshuku's Exit[]
During the middle stages of the war, Isshuku and House Isshuku were caught in a trap instigated by the Kido Division of The Balancers. Due to House Isshuku being more reliant on martial skills than the other Houses, they had little to no experience against the Kido employed by the Shinigami. As a consequence, they experienced heavy casualties. In addition, Isshuku himself was caught in a forbidden sealing Kido. The survivors of House Isshuku attempted to free him from the sealing Kido, but the spell proved too strong and complicated to break. With only a handful of soldiers left and fearing total destruction of their House, Belladonna Marigold, the mate of Isshuku, ordered a full retreat back to the World of the Living. The withdrawal of House Isshuku from Soul Society marked the Great House's official exit from the Reikon Kyuuban-Shinigami War, as Belladonna did not want to lose anymore of her kinsmen over a war that had stolen the love of her life.
House Isshuku's refusal to participate in the Reikon Kyuuban-Shinigami following the near total loss of their martial forces and the sealing of Isshuku greatly impacted the war effort of the Fushi Coven, largely because the task fell in the hands of several Great Houses that were either too inexperienced and/or unfit to lead. The lack of a prominent commander eventually caused the Fushi Coven to lose in a series of battles that gradually weakened their strength.
Massacre of the Great Houses[]
In two separate skirmshes, House Kama and House Fuyumi were personally destroyed by Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto and Yachiru Unohana respectively. House Shino and House Mars would meet similar fates with the other Balancer lieutenants.
House Tepes setback[]
With House Isshuku falling back, and with no centralized authority, Vlad attempted a momentary retreat of House Tepes' forces in order to regroup and launch a counteroffensive. The gambit worked, as his wife Carmilla and daughter Zaleska oversaw the withdrawal, albeit at the cost of Carmilla. Devastated but undeterred, Vlad threw himself into trying to salvage the situation and became the leading Elder of the Reikon Kyuuban forces in Soul Society. When Vlad assumed command in the war, he officially recognized his son Gengetsu as his Heir, should the Elder happen to fall in battle with the Shinigami.
Cessation[]
Some weeks would pass and Vlad Tepes came to the realization that a protracted war with Soul Society would end with the complete extinction of the Reikon Kyuuban, as they did not possess the necessary manpower to contest the might of The Balancers and their chief, Genryūsai Shigekuni Yamamoto, having already fought the man himself.
In what would be considered high treason amongst the Reikon Kyuuban, Vlad defied the battle orders of the Dark Council and attempted to peacefully end the war between the Reikon Kyuuban and Shinigami instead. Vlad discussed the matter with the rest of the Elders deployed to Soul Society and while there was an initial differing of opinion, they eventually came to the consensus that the war was lost. Vlad parleyed with Anika Shihōin, a Shinigami whom he considered to be noble and most reasonable amongst her compatriots, and began suing for peace.
Anika revealed to Vlad that Soul Society originally had no qualms against the Reikon Kyuuban and that it was a rogue sect of Balancers who instigated hostilities with the Fushi Coven. Their ownership of Fushichō had played a part in the strengthening of their position, in which they used it to secretly attack the Reikon Kyuuban. As a result, when the Reikon Kyuuban their invasion of Soul Society, the Shinigami believed it be an unprovoked attack and retaliated in earnest. Realizing the Dark Council had seemingly fallen into a trap laid out by the rogue sect of Balancers, Vlad thus set his sights on removing the Kyūtai threat. However, Anika convinced Vlad to let her handle the search for the Kyūtai and to instead focus on finding a peaceful way to end the war.
Aftermath[]
Following the conclusion of the Reikon Kyuuban-Shinigami War, public opinion for the Dark Council reached a low point. The Reikon Kyuuban blamed the Dark Council for causing the Reikon Kyuuban-Shinigami War and were disgusted at the massive casualties the Fushi Coven experienced, namely the loss of several Great Houses and powerful Elders such as Isshuku. The Reikon Kyuuban demanded the Dark Council to take responsibility for their mistake in hastily declaring war against Soul Society but they merely refused and only tightened their grip on the leadership role that Katsumi Scarlet had bestowed on them. From that point onward, the Dark Council disappeared from the public eye, preferring to seclude themselves in their bases of operation and letting the Fushi Coven to fend on their own. A period of lawlessness broke out following the Dark Council's abandonment, as the once united Fushi Coven experienced political decay and subsequently fractured into independent Great Houses that fought each other for resources and territories. During this time period, the Great Laws of the Fushi Coven were ignored, causing numerous newborn Reikon Kyuuban to devolve into Fallen that would wreak havoc in the Living World.
Fearing the Shinigami would interefere in Reikon Kyuuban affairs and take advantage of their weakened state, Vlad Tepes of House Tepes and a retinue of surviving Elder-class Reikon Kyuuban supporters rose to the forefront and assumed an unofficial leadership role in the wake of the Dark Council's absence. House Tepes and his allies quelled the Fallen Outbreaks and brought several Great Houses back into the fold, forcing them to submit to their lawful authority or risk extinction. However, the damage to the Fushi Coven was too great that not even Vlad could completely reunify his fractured people. As such, only a fraction of the Fushi Coven continued to functionally exist under Vlad while the rest acted independently.
It wasn't until the return of Reikon Kyuuban Queen and Progenitor Katsumi Scarlet in the Modern Era that the Fushi Coven began to recover. Upon learning of the Dark Council's incompetence and subsequent abandonment of the Fushi Coven, she ousted them from power and demoted their Great Houses to that of a Minor House. To cement the Dark Council's continued loyalty to her whims, Katsumi Scarlet enacted the Rule of Blood and forced complete submission to her will. She then proceeded to restore the Elder Ruling Body, allowing the various Great Houses to resume their leadership role within the Fushi Coven. Afterwards, Katsumi Scarlet destroyed the Kido seal placed on Isshuku which successfully freed one of her strongest and longest serving servants from capitivity. She then tasked Isshuku with the mission of bringing all the rogue Great Houses back into the Fushi Coven, a feat he managed to accomplish within a few short years after his return.
After freeing Isshuku, Katsumi Scarlet recalled Vlad, Kain Daisuke, Jiangshi, and Relena Corvinus back to her side and tasked them with re-establishing the Thirteen Dracula into its current reincarnation. Afterwards, Katsumi Scarlet enacted a campaign of restoration and rebuilding that still continues, now with a Myst Kagekyo serving as her successor. However, the declaration of Myst Kagekyo as Katsumi Scarlet's official successor would only open up new conflict for them to face later on.
Secret Conclusion[]
- "The term "Fushichō" caused a noticeable reaction in Vlad, for his lip curled in distate the moment he voiced the name."
- —Excerpt from Vampiric Entry, just prior to Vlad explaining Fushichō's significance to Myst Kagekyo.
In the months that followed the war's conclusion, however, a number of Reikon Kyuuban were either hunted down and killed for sport, or captured. Vlad believed it was the Shinigami who were leading these attacks, becoming angry at the thought that Soul Society would callously break the peace treaty so quickly after its signing. Consequently, this belief caused Vlad's opinion on the Shinigami to significantly sour into digust, leading him to only trust Anika.
It was later revealed to Vlad that these attacks were perpetrated by the same rogue faction Anika had intimated to him during the war, immediately putting the Elder and his contemporaries on high alert. They learned that those who were captured suffered a far more harrowing fate than their slain brethren, for The Balancers used Fushichō, one of the seven Kyūtai and the artifact responsible for the Realm of Fire, to ritualistically burn their captives alive. The rogue Balancers believed this 'cleansed' them of their 'curse' and return the fallen Reikon Kyuuban to the Soul Cycle for reincarnation. With the threat of renewed hostilities, Vlad and his colleagues acted swiftly to prevent another war.
Vlad and several trusted Elders worked alongside Anika to track down Fushichō's wielder during one of his "hunts". In a retaliatory strike just as brutal as The Balancer's initial attack, Vlad's coalition silenced the Kyūtai threat while Anika personally seized Fushichō and forcibly bonded it to herself. Robbed of his immortality and devoid of his strongest weapon, the Reikon Kyuuban disposed the rogue Balancer and his entire entourage. Meanwhile, Anika covered up the entire affair and discreetly removed any mention of Fushichō from recorded history using her clan's influence. As a result, the final battle of the war became a secret known only to the Elders and Anika in what Vlad dubbed an "ancient covenant". However, this event did not repair Vlad's opinion on the Shinigami, so much so that Vlad remained skeptical and distrustful of any Shinigami's intentions centuries later. The secret between Anika and the Reikon Kyuuban Elders were so well-kept that Myst Kagekyo, the second Queen of the Reikon Kyuuban, only learned about the significance of Fushichō in January 2019 when Vlad mentioned the event to her.
Fushichō, now bonded to Anika, was taken into the safekeeping of the Shihōin clan, in keeping with their role as the Tenshiheisōban (天賜兵装番, Guard of the Heavenly Granted Armaments). Anika kept Fushichō secured for centuries until its theft in January 2019.
The Theft of Fushichō by Hotaru Hiroshi and his followers alarmed Vlad, who immediately brought the matter to Myst's attention. The two agreed not to inform the remaining Elders, believing that their festering grudges, most dating back to the war, would only worsen the situation and likely lead to a new Reikon Kyuuban-Shinigami conflict. Myst offered Akira Hiroshi, Hotaru's twin, the services of Vlad's spies in the Soul Society, in exchange for Fushichō when Hotaru was brought to justice.
Combatants[]
Fushi Coven[]
Still reeling from the aftermath of the Blood War that occurred centuries before, the Great Houses of the Fushi Coven were reluctant to commit to another war. The ruling Elder-class Reikon Kyuuban were initially skeptical of the apparent conflict, believing the Shinigami attacks to be mere misunderstandings that can be resolved diplomatically. On the other hand, the Dark Council wanted to immediately wage war
As the war continued with Soul Society, the Fushi Coven lost several Great Houses to the Balancers. By the time the Reikon Kyuuban-Shinigami War concluded, at least a third of the Great Houses sent to Soul Society were forever lost to the conflict. Blmae for the Reikon Kyuuban-Shinigami War would be placed on the Dark Council, largely due to them rushing to war instead of choosing to communicate with them.
Soul Society[]
Key Fushi Coven Figures[]
Key Soul Society Figures[]
Notes[]
Trivia[]
- The events in Reikon Kyuuban-Shinigami War (FC) was significantly different from the Reikon Kyuuban-Shinigami War, namely due to Vlad (FC) working with Anika Shihōin (FC) to peacefully end the war.
- The Balancers eventually reformed into the Gotei Thirteen.
- True to Vlad Tepes's ephitet as Ruler of the Thirteen Dracula, the Ancient Elder became the unofficial Leader of the Fushi Coven following the Dark Council's abandonment.
Behind the Scenes[]
- The fate of Vlad's wife, Carmilla, was deliberately left vague. It was never outright stated whether she was killed, or merely sealed, like Isshuku.
Gallery[]
