Chapter Forty Four

Itachi folded his arms. "Let me guess; the Wayfarers ultimately had the last laugh?"

Yoruichi chuckled. "You could say that."

Visaelya nodded. "Indeed. Whether by luck or design, they eventually came upon a large island. It was fertile, surrounded by waters that teemed with life, and was rich in mineral deposits, particularly beneath the mountains that made up the island's center. Scouting parties were eventually able to map the shape of the entire island, and it roughly took on the form of a large nine-pointed star. That shape, combined with the fact that navigation by starlight had been crucial to their survival during The Great Journey, ultimately contributed to the kingdom's name; Nur-Andunaya, 'The Realm of Starlight'."

Jiraiya raised an eyebrow. "I can appreciate the name 'Realm of Starlight', but Nur-Andunaya? What language does that originate from?"

"It's an offshoot of the tongue that dominated the noble circles of the Seireitei back in those days," Visaelya replied, "While the Wayfarers wanted to start anew, they naturally could not completely abandon their preferred means of communication. Instead, they developed a new form to symbolize their fledgling realm; the records that survive refer to it as Andunayan. Two distinct flavors were known; generic Andunayan was the tongue of the common folk, while High Andunayan was spoken by the those who came to rule the island. At the height of the old kingdom's dominance, both dialects were known throughout the Soul Society, but nowadays to find anyone with more than a passing knowledge of them is quite rare."

Kirio smiled. "Quite rare outside of the nobility, that is."

"Quite true," said Yoruichi, "Learning both common and High Andunayan in addition to our modern tongue is basically required by all children of the nobility, especially in powerful clans like mine and Visaelya's."

Itachi was curious. "Why? The Soul Society's rulers have been trying to suppress knowledge of the old kingdom, right? Wouldn't banning the study of its dominant language be part of that effort?"

"It is, at least when it comes to general education," said Soi-Fon, "However, nobles are granted an exception due to so many ancient and valuable manuscripts being written in the old kingdom's tongue. The same goes for certain Soul Reapers and officials in key positions."

Jiraiya smirked as he looked at Kirio. "Like high ranking officers in Squad Twelve, right?"

Kirio nodded. "Correct. While each division maintains its own records, Squad Twelve's archives are by far the most expansive. Due to the fact that much of our work isn't quite the same as your typical Hollow extermination or Konsō missions, we often find ourselves relying on books, scrolls, and other such documents from ancient times. Knowledge of both generic and High Andunayan is essential for my division, and officers are given lessons in how to read and translate it after a probationary period in the unit."

"I see," said Itachi before turning back to Visaelya, "Since the language is so prominent in the Soul Society's past, I'm assuming that when the Wayfarers returned from their self-imposed exile they came in force."

Visaelya smiled. "Correct, although it was not without substantial preparation. While they were quite happy with their new island kingdom, the Andunayans still desired to remain informed as to what was happening in the rest of the Soul Society. They were particularly worried about a potential attack from rival noble houses that might've learned of their realm, so they took certain precautions. The records don't offer precise dates, but it would seem that about two or three-hundred years after the establishment of Nur-Andunaya the kingdom began to dispatch spies to the mainland. These came in a variety of forms, including fishermen, merchants, mercenaries and more. Regardless of their disguise, their purpose remained the same; to pass along any vital information regarding activity in the continental Soul Society back to the island kingdom."

Jiraiya's eyes narrowed. "So, did the nobles who stayed behind in the Seireitei ever learn of the new kingdom?"

Visaelya shook her head. "Not until the Andunayans returned to the western shores roughly seven-hundred years after The Great Journey."

"What brought them back?" asked Itachi, "If no one had learned of their new kingdom, then why would they return to the land that they'd been so desperate to leave behind?"

"For centuries, it had been their policy to remain detached from the rest of the Soul Society," said Visaelya, "However, the infighting that had plagued the Seireitei and beyond had only gotten worse since The Great Journey. Hardly anyone was bothering to oversee the flow of souls, and Hollows were running rampant. It was not a situation that could be allowed to stand for much longer, regardless of the Andunayans' wishes. A Soul Society that does not protect souls and preserve the balance between the afterlife and the Realms of the Living is an invitation to the apocalypse. It wouldn't matter how isolated Nur-Andunaya was; they'd be caught up in the inevitable cataclysm just the same as everyone else."

Jiraiya nodded. "So they were acting out of self-preservation when they returned. Makes sense, although it does take away some of the nobility."

Visaelya shook her head. "While self-preservation did indeed play a role, the records that survived to this day indicate that it wasn't quite that straightforward. In the years leading up to the return, a new king ascended to the throne of Nur-Andunaya. The realm was very different than the small and isolated kingdom it had started out as; although the rest of the Soul Society was unaware of it, Nur-Andunaya had become the afterlife's first true naval power. The Andunayans had grown greatly in numbers, and they were not confined to their single island; they had charted and colonized numerous other islands over the centuries, and their mastery of seafaring was unrivaled. At the same time, ever wary of potential discovery and attack from outsiders, they'd refined their knowledge of forging weapons and armor. Although they had no Zanpakutō, they were well-versed in the arts of making Spirit Weapons."

Itachi raised an eyebrow; this was the first time he'd heard that term. "Spirit Weapons?"

Visaelya smiled. "Our Academy instructors may focus on the Zanpakutō, but in truth they are not the only weapons out there that can be used to take on Hollows. Before Ōetsu Nimaiya conceived and created what we recognize as the modern Zanpakutō, our ancestors needed another way to fight Hollows. Kidō was useful, as was Hohō and Hakuda, but without actual weapons to complement them their effectiveness would've been severely reduced. Long before even The Great Journey, craftsmen had discovered the means by which to forge weapons that were imbued with spirit energy. While not as adaptable or powerful as the Zanpakutō, they could still perform two of its key functions; the Konsō and Hollow Purification. When paired with skilled wielders with considerable amounts of spirit energy, these weapons proved to be quite effective. While they may have eventually been supplanted by the Zanpakutō, you can still find Spirit Weapons scattered across the Soul Society, and in the right hands they are capable of going toe-to-toe with the blades of Soul Reapers."

Jiraiya chuckled. "Let me guess; the Andunayans turned out to be better than most when it came to creating these Spirit Weapons, right?"

"Indeed," said Visaelya, "The apex of the age of Spirit Weapons was reached under the Andunayans. They took the craft to an artform like none before them, and despite the old kingdom's downfall, the weapons forged by its craftsmen are still highly sought after by collectors and warriors alike. Many pieces created by Andunayan smiths are one of a kind, imbued with such potent spirit energy that they're rumored to be equal to that of a Soul Reaper's Shikai."

Jiraiya whistled. "Impressive."

"You've got that right," said Yoruichi, "The Thirteen Court Guard Squads are always on the lookout for such weapons; we don't want them falling into the wrong hands. Squad Twelve actually has a vault beneath its barracks devoted entirely to storing the ones that Soul Reapers have found in their missions."

Kirio sighed. "Unfortunately, our collection is far from complete. So many powerful Spirit Weapons remain unaccounted for."

Yoruichi winced. "Yeah… and noble families like mine are part of the problem."

"What do you mean?" asked Itachi.

"Powerful clans tend to be given a lot of leeway by the Central Forty-Six," said Soi-Fon, "That includes, among other things, the types of weapons such families are allowed to issue to their household guards and vassals."

Yoruichi nodded. "The Shihōin Clan has its own stockpile of Spirit Weapons, including several unique pieces with great power. The other Great Noble Houses have their own arsenals and collections, and they jealously guard them. No one outside of a house's elders and guard captains knows the exact number of pieces that said clan has collected or the nature of them."

"That seems like a rather dangerous setup," said Jiraiya, "With each noble family seeking out ancient weapons and keeping which ones they've acquired a secret, that's practically begging for an arms race between rival clans."

Itachi's brow furrowed in thought. "It does seem unstable. What keeps the clans from using these weapons against each other?"

"The might of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads," said Soi-Fon, "If any of them engage in violence against each other and threaten the security of the Seireitei and the broader Soul Society, they will bring the full wrath of our forces down upon them."

"Soi-Fon's right," said Yoruichi with a dark look in her eyes, "In fact, part of Squad Two's duties, or rather, those of the Stealth Force, is to keep the peace within the Seireitei and look for signs of unrest. We're always on the lookout for indicators that one noble house or another may be attempting to assert its power in a manner that disrupts the order of the Soul Society, and that includes keeping watch for hints of potentially lethal power struggles between the clans. Ever member of the nobility knows this, and in the past the Stealth Force has acted to put down uprisings and civil wars before they begin… and we've done so without hesitation or mercy."

She didn't go into further detail, and she didn't have to; Itachi could quite easily imagine what that might entail. After all, it was practically a word-for-word description of what he had done to his own clan.

We might be more alike than I'd previously imagined, he thought as he carefully studied her, Yoruichi…

"You mentioned armor earlier as well," said Jiraiya, "Was that more popular back then? I don't think I've ever seen any Soul Reapers wearing armor."

"Most conventional armor actually isn't that effective against Hollows," said Kirio, "Their claws and fangs are quite sharp, and that's not even getting into the Menos and what they're capable of doing. Also, armor tends to slow one down in a fight, and if the armor's not going to be very effective against the Hollows they're fighting anyway then there's little point in Soul Reapers wearing it and suffering a critical reduction in speed."

"There is an exception to that, though," Yoruichi pointed out, "Spirit Armor is quite another thing when compared to conventional armor."

Itachi raised an eyebrow. "I'm assuming that Spirit Armor is similar in principle to Spirit Weapons. Does that sound about right?"

Visaelya nodded. "In some aspects, yes. As the name implies, it's armor imbued with spirit energy. The most basic effect of this is to boost the armor's toughness, but there are other benefits as well."

"Like what?" asked Jiraiya.

Kirio raised a finger as if she were lecturing a class, which wasn't entirely inaccurate given the circumstances. "It depends on the armor in question. Most sets that we've discovered, along with surviving records, indicate that a great deal of customization was involved in the process of crafting Spirit Armor. In addition to protection, certain sets would either boost particular attributes or grant new abilities. One of the most common enhancements crafted into such armor was to enable an increase in the wearer's natural healing capabilities. Others included amplified physical strength or spiritual pressure."

"Those are just some of the basic ones," Yoruichi added, "More advanced enhancements included imbuing armor sets with elemental resistances, or even granting the wearer a limited amount of control over forces such as fire or ice. Hell, we actually found one set that was modified so that whenever it was struck it would trigger an explosion and burn the attacker!"

"There were even rumors of sets that had more sinister abilities," said Soi-Fon darkly, "Sets that would grant the wearer an incredible boost to their natural and spiritual abilities, but at the cost of draining their life force. Others actually enabled the wearer to leech life energy from their enemies through physical contact. No doubt there are plenty other sets out there with dangerous abilities that we haven't uncovered yet."

"Dangerous abilities aside, this Spirit Armor sounds quite useful," said Itachi, "Why did its use fall out of favor?"

"For starters, there was the cost of creating it," Visaelya answered, "Both in materials and time, the process was not cheap. It takes far greater resources and spirit energy to create Spirit Armor than it does to forge Spirit Weapons. There's also the fact that those who were trained in the art of making such armor were never particularly numerous. It's a highly advanced discipline that requires years of training, not to mention an incredible amount of precise work with the forger's spirit energy. Even amongst populations rich in spirit energy like the denizens of the Seireitei there are few capable of that sort of fine manipulation with their power."

"Also, due to the Andunayans' skill in crafting Spirit Armor, it inevitably became associated with them," said Yoruichi somberly, "Since the Soul Society has been engaging in active suppression efforts regarding the old kingdom for the past two-thousand years, that naturally extends to burying practices that were well connected to it. Spirit Armor may be useful, but by elevating their gifts for crafting it to an artform, the Andunayans ironically wound up dooming it to a long and drawn-out death. Apart from a few artisans and masters employed by the Great Noble Houses, the craft's all but extinct."

Kirio sighed. "It's such a shame, really. Renewed study in the craft could be a boon to the Thirteen Court Guard Squads. If the process could be refined, the armor lightened, and production costs reduced… there's just so much potential."

Yoruichi smiled. "You're starting to sound like Kisuke."

Soi-Fon rolled her eyes. "That's not a good thing, you know."

Kirio giggled. "Oh, I'm not so sure… sometimes I think he's got the right idea when it comes to his little inventions and side-projects. If nothing else, you've got a tremendously creative and gifted Third Seat, Yoruichi."

Squad Two's Captain nodded, and Itachi could detect a hint of pride in her voice. "You've got that right."