Heirarchy

Ash encountered a couple of minor spirits that could be categorised as Evil Spirit or were on the verge of becoming one.

It showed that the amount of capable Balancers were in a low supply around the village or that they were very inactive in their duties.

It also showed how there could have been a problem arise at the nearby town with Evil Spirits being drawn to the school.

One was the Evil Spirit that had a solid form and was difficult to distinguish its form fully while others Ash encountered were very low ranked or had taken a solid shape not too long ago.

There was a big difference in the size and form of the Evil Spirit Ash encountered compared to the others which showed how dangerous it was.

There were some Evil Spirits that Ash took notice of and tried to remember their locations better so that she could look for them later.

It was not a good idea to go hunting Evil Spirits when there were so many people around to come across the strange scene of her jumping around fighting something they could not see.

If there was a Watcher or Balancer among the villagers then it would be even worse to have herself exposed to them since it would make her life difficult in the future.

Ash wanted to have a life where she would not be influenced by and controlled by others.

It was a difficult dream of how she could regain control of her life and only she would be the master of her destiny.

Being underneath the influence of the Balancers was something she had never considered as a goal even if that made her an outcast and criminal.

Being a criminal sounded better than being a puppet of the Balancers.

Among the various influences of the Balancers there was information she knew about the structure and hierarchy of the Balancers.

It started with the elders who were a joint council that were at the very top.

Their powers and influence was very large to the point that even giving up their previous duties, they could still hold much sway in the world and influence many things.

The Elders Council had five main positions which were designated to the previous heads of five great families.

Each of the elders were already too old to be seated in their positions as family heads due to them having to step aside for the younger generation so they or another qualified elder of the family would have to fill in one position as an elder.

One elder needed to act as a representative of one of the five great families so that the five great families could maintain their cooperation and activities.

The Elder Council handled the rules and discipline as they dealt with their families troublemakers or others outside the family that they deemed to be disruptive or harmful.

The family heads answered to the council despite them being the biggest families that had existed since the whole structure was first founded so long ago.

There existed some positions within the council that were set aside for other powerful or influential elders who earned the right to sit in that position.

It was a great honour for many who were a part of the Balancer world to be able to sit in such an esteemed position.

The five families had five emblems which represented their family names, each emblem symbolised the five elements of water, earth, earth, fire and wood.

The symbolism behind their emblems was that each family was meant to never forget their need for each other just like how the five elements together brought a perfect balance to each other.

Under the five families were upper class Balancer families, organisations and schools.

Under those were middle and lower class families with less influence and powers that could get little achievements and recognition from those above.

Finally there were the Watchers and the lowest classes of Balancers who rarely involved themselves in the world of Balancers and lived ordinary lives but still had to make reports about sightings of spirits.

There were some outside organisations and families that existed that were independent from the Elders Council and Five Great Families influence but it was very easy for them to suddenly collapse or disappear one day without them having a larger backing to let them survive if they offended the wrong people.

There did exist some evil groups too that went down the opposite path to the Balancers and were more selfish in their pursuits without any care for being hunted down by Balancers.

If there was a family or families among Balance Breakers, they needed to be strong enough to scare off others from coming after their heads, to be good at hiding or to seek asylum from a stronger force that could shelter them.

Ash knew that her future path would be one filled with dangers and that she had to worry about there being such a large influence holding so much power which she needed to be wary of.

Each sighting of an Evil Spirit or one close to becoming one had let her determination to become stronger grow further as she marched back towards the village.

Everything seemed so far away and much too big to accomplish with her current capabilities which could not even stand up to ordinary people and low ranking spirits.

It was so easy for her to give in to the pressure and stop right where she was but she knew id she did, that would be the end of any kind of chance she build herself back up again.