Wandenreich (Thunderstudent)

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"Fear is necessary for evolution. The fear that one could be destroyed at any moment. Thank you, Gin. Thanks to your efforts, I have finally risen to an existence that surpasses both Shinigami and Hollow." This article, Wandenreich (Thunderstudent), is currently under active construction by the author(s) of whom this article's property falls under.

Wandenreich
Kanji	見えざる帝国 (ヴァンデンライヒ)
English	German for "Walled Empire" Japanese for "Invisible Empire"
Romaji	Vandenraihi
Organization
Founder(s)	Yhwach
Headquarters	Silbern, Wandenreich City
Leader(s)	Emperor Yhwach(formerly) Emperor Uryū Ishida (currently)
Senior Member(s)	Sternritter
Affiliation	Quincy, Arrancar
Purpose	United Authority of the Quincy

The Wandenreich (見えざる帝国 (ヴァンデンライヒ), Vandenraihi; German for "Walled Empire", Japanese for "Invisible Empire") is the once hidden empire of the Quincy that were at war with Soul Society.

History

After losing the war with the Shinigami1,000 years ago, the Quincy escaped from the Human World into the Seireitei, the place they believed to be the most unguarded. In doing so, they used Reishi to create space in the "shadows". This is what was called the Wandenreich, the "Invisible Empire". Their plan was to use the abundant Reishi that was only to be found in Soul Society as the source of their power, so they hid and waited for 1,000 years while gathering their power.

Sometime after the defeat of Sōsuke Aizen}, the Wandenreich conquered Hueco Mundo, capturing Tier Harribel in the process. In addition, they conscripted numerous Arrancar into their service and killed many Hollows. After the death of Emperor Yhwach, Uryū Ishida reluctantly ascended to the throne. He now attempts to seek peace between the Shinigami and the Quincy after the fallout and devastating defeat during the second invasion of Soul Society.

Organization

The Wandenreich was ruled by Yhwach, their emperor. Jugram Haschwalth was his adviser, and was his substitute while asleep. Uryū Ishida, Yhwach's successor has since taken control after the death of the Quincy emperor. His father Ryūken Ishida and grandfather Sōken Ishida now taking the position of his advisers. Uryū, like Yhwach before him, assigns prominent members of the Wandenreich military, including himself, a letter of the alphabet and an appropriate epithet.

Members of the Wadenreich salute by raising their crosses.

Sternritter

Main article: Sternritter

Sternritter.

The Sternritter (星十字騎士団 (シュテルンリッター), shuterunrittā; German for "Star Knights", Japanese for "Star Cross Knight Band/Order") is group of elite Quincy combatants. Jugram Haschwalt formerly lead them as the Sternritter Grandmaster (星十字騎士団最高位 (シュテルンリッター・グランドマスター), Shuterunrittā Gurandomasutā; Japanese for "Highest-Ranked of the Band of Star-Cross Knights"). Ryūken Ishida since his sons ascension to the throne has become the new Sternritter Grandmaster.

Several Sternritter are appointed as Uryū's elite guards, known as the Schutzstaffel (親衛隊 (シュッツシュタッフェル), Shuttsushutafferu; German for "Protective Echelon", Japanese for "Elite/Imperial Guards"). This group was led by Lille Barro . Uryū has since appointed Candice Catnipp as leader of the group.

Jagdarmee

The Jagdarmee (狩猟部隊 (ヤークトアルメー), yākutoarumē; German for "Hunt(ing) Army", Japanese for "Hunting Corps"; Viz "Hunt Army") of Hueco Mundo is a hunting unit which, in the wake of Hueco Mundo's conquest by the Wandenreich, was entrusted with capturing Arrancar to serve the empire. After the war, the group wasn’t listed to capture or destroy hollows and rogue Arrancar of particular interest.

The Jagdarmee is separated into numbered groups. The leader of the first Jagdarmee, the Executive Hunting Captain (統括狩猟隊長, tōkatsu shuryō taichō), Quilge Opie. Uryū has since appointed Meninas McAllon as leader of the group.

Soldat

The military is comprised of a large number of skilled Soldat (聖兵 (ゾルダート), zorudāto; German for "Soldier", Japanese for "Holy Soldier(s)"; Viz "Divine Warriors"). They can defeat low-ranked Shinigami with ease.

Others

The Wandenreich have forcefully drafted many strong Arrancar into their army, who are considered useful because they do not need prerequisite combat training, but are regarded as expendable. Yhwach killed two of them once he deemed they had fulfilled their purposes, and claims that he can obtain as many Arrancar as he wants, having annexed Hueco Mundo. Drafted Arrancar had their Zanpakutō confiscated, and are given a Quincy Cross which allows them to form Spirit Weapons. After the wars end, the enslaved Arrancar that were still alive were freed and their Zanpakutō returned.

There exists a communication unit that maintains the connection between headquarters and operational units.

Membership and Recruitment

Under Uryū’s rule, anyone is allowed to join, be they Spirit, Hollow, Shinigami, Quincy, Witch or Wizard. As such they are welcome to come learn the Quincy arts at the Quincy Hochschule. While originally an unpopular decision, many Quincy were surprised By the wealth of knowledge that many of these newcomers brought as well as the willingness to learn by others. In addition, an exchange program exists between Quincy Hochschule 滅却師 (僧学院 (大学), German for "Quincy University", Japanese for "Monk of Destruction Academy"). and the Shin'ō Academy as well as the Sternritter and the Gotei 13 order to promote trust, friendship, and an exchange of information between the two groups.

Headquarters

Over 1,000 years ago, Yhwach had formed a Kingdom of Quincy named the Lichtreich (光の帝国 (リヒトライヒ), Rihitoraihi; German for "Light Empire", Japanese for "Empire of Light"), which extended to all the nearby countries. 200 years since Yhwach's birth, the Lichtreich had conquered and the lands north of where Jugram Haschwalth and Bazz-B's village was.

Main article: Silbern

The Silbern Palace in the Rukongai.

The Wandenreich is currently based out of a large, ice-encrusted building known as Silbern (銀架城 (ジルバーン), Jirubān; German for "Silver", Japanese for "Silver-Wrought Castle"; Viz "Silver Cross Fortress"), a large, ice-covered building surrounded by a vast city roughly the size of the Seireitei. The Wandenreich uses metal plates known as Gates of the Sun (太陽の門, Taiyō no Mon) to move around the large palace quickly. The headquarters is made purely out of Reishi particles from the Seireitei, and existed in a dimension within the Seireitei known as the Schatten Bereich (影の領域 （シャッテン・ベライヒ), Shatten Beraihi; German and Japanese for "Shadow Realm"; Viz "Shadow Area"), which hided the Wandenreich from the Shinigami.

The Soul King Palace after Yhwach drastically altered its appearance.

After absorbing the Soul King, Yhwach brought the entire Wandenreich city to the Soul King Palace, and drastically altered its appearance. He placed the main palace at ground level while covering parts of it with ice. He also connected the five floating cities nearby to the Wandenreich city, thus creating a massive Quincy Zeichen, and formed a massive, tower-like palace with Silbern on the top for his new stronghold, which he calls the Wahrwelt (真世界城 (ヴァールヴェルト), Vāruveruto; German for "True World", Japanese for "True World Castle") because it would have been the cornerstone of his new world. As a part of the truce between the Shinigami and Quincy, The number of Shinigami and Quincy forces must remain equal at all times in the realm of the Soul King. Since there is no feasible way of moving the city again without causing catastrophic damage, the Quincy have been allowed to rebuild the city in its entirety in the more impoverished areas of the Rukongai. This exact replica is called “New Wandenreich City“ to differentiate it from the original. Uryū hope's to use this area order the help the Gotei 13 improve life there in an attempt to build ties of trust and friendship with the Shinigami. They also have a smaller headquarters and a part of the Western branch called “Reverse Berlin“ as well as a number of secret bases in the living world.

Uniforms

The typical attire of most Wandenreich personnel consists of a long, white, double-breasted trench coat with shoulder straps and a white, button-down bib. This coat is bound at the waist with a black belt, which is further adorned with a decorative buckle, and is worn over both white trousers and trench boots. Many members sport white hats with black peaks and a crest emblazoned on its front, which is reminiscent of the five-pointed variant of the Quincy cross. This insignia is reflected by the buttons of their other apparel. Some higher-ranking members pair this uniform with other additional pieces of clothing, such as capes or cloaks, to distinguish themselves. The Sternritter wear a distinctive white, ankle-length cloak over their uniform which features the Wandenreich insignia emblazoned on its back and often a hood attached to the cloak's collar. Apart from the standard uniform, a Soldat's attire consists of a military beret, black goggles with white lenses, a gas mask which obscures their entire face, and a short, collared cloak.

In certain instances, personnel have been observed wearing a simplified version of the usual Wandenreich uniform, which lacks the normal button-down bib and belt. Those who took part in the declaration of war upon Soul Society sported this specific variation, as well as a hooded cape, which featured a black mask in order to obscure their face, and a black band diagonally encircling their body.

The Hooded Coat.

Each member of the Schutzstaffel wears a distinctive cloak known as the Hooded Coat (フーデッドコート, Fūdeddo Kōto) over their clothing; this cloak is fastened at the front with three buttons and features a large, black Hagal rune on the left side.

1,000 years ago, this uniform was approximately the same, with some members choosing to add accessories like ties and capes to their ensemble. Additionally, the Wandenreich emblem only had 3 points at this time, along with a tick marking the center between each two points; the current five-pointed version would not be introduced until Yhwach began assembling the Sternritter.

Equipment

Yhwach using the medallion to steal Bankai.

Medallion (メダリオン, Medarion): A number of those within the Wandenreich military, including all members of the Sternritter, carry on their person a round device which is roughly the size of a person's palm and has the Wandenreich insignia etched into its surface. When activated, this device can steal a single currently released Bankai in the immediate vicinity. Once stolen, the medallion's wielder can use the stolen Bankai's power at will, even after the original owner's death. They appear unable to exploit this power fully, for according to what Yamamoto experienced, Driscoll Berci's use of Kōkō Gonryō Rikyū was noticeably inferior to that of its true owner, Chōjirō Sasakibe. most of these badges were destroyed as a part of the peace treaty between the Shinigami and the Quincy.

Terminology

• Daten (情報 (ダーテン), Dāten; German for "Data", Japanese for "Information/(Military) Intelligence"): The exhaustive data collected by the Wandenreich on the opposition's forces, which has been distributed to all essential personnel. Parts of this intelligence included details on those considered to be Special War Powers and those in possession of Bankai.

• Medalize (星章化 (メダライズ), Medaraizu; Japanese for "Star-Emblemize"): The process which the Wandenreich uses to steal Bankai. With the exception of extreme circumstances, this process has been banned by Emperor Uryū.

• Schrift (聖文字 (シュリフト), Shurifuto; German for "Script", Japanese for "Holy Letter"; Viz "Sacred Letter"): The name given to the letters of the alphabet bestowed to select individuals within the Wandenreich by Yhwach, and later Uryū in order to designate them. The exact letter given corresponds to an appropriate epithet reflecting the nature of the person's particular ability. By having a Quincy perform the Initial-In-Soul Writing Ritual and drink a cup of his blood, Uryū is able to write an initial of the power he wishes to bestow on the select individual's soul. In addition, the granted power returns to Uryū as it once did for Yhwach should the Sternritter die. The fact that leaves Uryū extremely uneasy.