"Sorry for the short notice," said Yoruichi as she opened the door to an empty lecture hall.
Itachi shook his head. "It's all right. It's not like any of us were busy."
"Easy for you to say," Jiraiya retorted, "I was just about to have a big breakthrough on my next chapter! I was so close, I could feel it! All I needed was just a little something extra…"
Visaelya glared at him. "Let me guess; another trip to the women's bath for 'research'? Pervert."
Jiraiya held up his hands in faux-surrender. "Hey, now! There's no call for that, Little Miss Vissy!"
"How many times do I have to tell you to stop calling me that?" she snapped.
Kirio giggled as the three of them took their seats in the front row of the hall. "My, my… if your banter's any indication, I have a feeling that we won't lack for entertainment on this assignment!"
Yoruichi smirked. "Well, a comedy act never hurts morale, so I'm all for it!"
Soi-Fon rolled her eyes. "Lady Yoruichi, please don't encourage this sort of behavior."
I'm with her, thought Itachi, I'd like to get through this mission without Visaelya being at Jiraiya's throat…
Yoruichi gave her bodyguard a smile. "Oh, all right, Soi-Fon. At least, I think we can save it for the road."
"How far will we be travelling on this assignment?" asked Itachi, rather intrigued as to what Yoruichi was getting him involved in.
"Quite some ways," Yoruichi admitted, "Even with periodic use of Shunpo, for students like you it'll be quite the trip on foot."
"And we won't be using Shunpo the whole way," Kirio added, "We can't have you three getting worn out on us, after all."
"Hold on there," said Jiraiya, "I know we may not exactly be at your level of proficiency yet but give us some credit! We're in the advanced track for a reason, after all."
Yoruichi nodded. "Believe me, we're well aware of that. The three of you have gotten superb marks in your Hohō class, and none of us our doubted your abilities. However, we'll still be pacing ourselves on this one, for your sakes as well as that of our subordinates."
"Understood," said Itachi, "We'll do our best not to slow you down."
"So where exactly are we going?" asked Visaelya.
"We'll come to that in a moment," said Kirio, "Fist thing's first; how much have your history classes taught you about the era of the Soul Society that predates the Central Forty-Six and the Thirteen Court Guard Squads?"
All three of them raised their eyebrows; they certainly hadn't been expecting that particular line of questioning. Itachi had a hard time seeing how it might be relevant to a field mission, but he figured that Squad Twelve's Captain wouldn't bring it up without a good reason.
"Not much," Jiraiya admitted, "In fact… well, to be honest, our instructors seemed quite intent on avoiding it altogether. Whenever someone asked a question about it in class, they always wound up deflecting and changing the subject."
Itachi nodded. "He's right. I always found that to be odd. If the instructors say anything at all, they only refer to it as a period of corruption and violence before moving on to another topic. There's surprisingly little material available in the student library that so much as references it, either."
Visaelya closed her eyes for a moment, and Itachi realized that she knew the answer. "It's because they don't want us to study it. In fact, with each passing generation, they've been doing everything in their power to bury the memory of that era."
Yoruichi nodded. "You're correct. Let me guess; the Drakken family archives are much more comprehensive than those of the student library, correct?"
Visaelya's eyes widened slightly. "Yes… how did you know that?"
Yoruichi smirked. "I'm from a Great Noble House too, remember. The Central Forty-Six wouldn't dare touch our archives, so they've survived the slow historical cleansing that's been taking place over the past two-thousand years. My private tutor before I enrolled in the Academy made sure that my history lessons included material covering that era. I'm assuming yours did, too."
"That's correct," Visaelya replied, "and I think I have a better understanding of our mission, now; it involves the old kingdom. A remnant of Nur-Andunaya has resurfaced, hasn't it?"
Kirio smiled. "You catch on quickly."
Itachi and Jiraiya shared a confused glance. This was the first time either of them had heard that name before.
"Nur-Andunaya?" said Jiraiya, "Is that supposed to mean something special?"
"What is it?" asked Itachi, "If it's important enough to have relevance to a mission involving two divisions of the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, then why are we only learning about it now?"
Kirio turned to Yoruichi. "Do you want to tell them, or should I?"
"I've got a better idea," said Yoruichi, "Visaelya, since you're the only one out of the three of you receive instruction regarding that particular era, why don't you fill them in on the old kingdom?"
Visaelya's eyes widened slightly. "Me, Captain? Are you sure?"
Yoruichi nodded. "I don't see why not. Your education on the subject would likely have been similar to mine, not to mention more recent."
"There's no need for it to be comprehensive," Kirio pointed out, "Just a summary that's informative enough to give them a decent grasp of the nature of the old kingdom. How it came into being, how far it stretched, how and why it fell; nothing too complicated."
Visaelya turned to Itachi and Jiraiya, surprisingly looking a little self-conscious. "Well… what would the two of you prefer?"
Jiraiya smiled. "We trust you, don't we, Itachi?"
Itachi nodded. "You know the Soul Society far better than the two of us, and the prior education you received as a member of one of the Great Noble Houses gives you a considerable base of knowledge to draw upon. We'd be honored if you would share that gift with us."
That appeared to be all the encouragement that she needed, for Itachi noticed that her typical confident demeanor swiftly reasserted itself. "Very well, then. In the interest of saving time, I will try to limit myself to the most important aspects regarding this topic… although even that may be rather difficult; the shadow that the old kingdom casts over the contemporary Soul Society is vast, regardless of how hard the Central Forty-Six tries to bury it."
"Indeed," said Yoruichi.
"Begin whenever you're ready," said Kirio, "Don't feel that you have to rush things on our account; go at your own pace. Take your time; we're prepared to be here for a while."
"Be mindful," Soi-Fon added as she gave Itachi and Jiraiya a firm look, "While speaking of the old kingdom isn't a crime in and of itself, it can draw unwanted attention if the wrong people learn that knowledge of it is spreading. What the two of you learn in this room today, along with whatever we uncover out in the field, should not be brought up in conversation with others outside this group lightly. Is that understood?"
"Yes," Itachi replied.
"We'll be discreet," said Jiraiya.
Visaelya took a deep breath before beginning her impromptu lesson. "As you have both seen in our classes, the Soul Society stretches far beyond the Seireitei, and even the Rukon District. Our field operation with Squads Two and Ten last year offered a taste of the vast expanse known as The Wild, and I believe that the ancestral homelands of the Five Great Noble Houses, the Principalities, were also briefly discussed while we were travelling to our objective."
Itachi nodded. "I remember. The Drakken Clan's Principality is far to the east, correct?"
"Correct," Visaelya replied.
"The Shihōin Clan has one too, right?" asked Jiraiya, "Way down south, wasn't it?"
"Yes," said Visaelya, "Slightly to the southwest, to be precise. There are actually two Great Noble Houses with Principalities in the south; the second is the Shiba Clan, whose ancestral homelands are in the southeast. Meanwhile, the far north is dominated by the Principality of the Starmont Clan. Last but not least, the Kuchiki Clan's Principality makes up much of the far west, including the coast. Although this was never touched upon in our history classes, all five Principalities are actually linked to the old kingdom. In fact, they are perhaps the best places to find preserved traces of Nur-Andunaya these days due in no small part to their distance from the heart of the Soul Society. Of course, there's also the fact that the Five Great Noble Houses owe much of the power and influence they wield over the modern Soul Society to the foundations that were laid by the old kingdom."
"How so?" asked Itachi.
Visaelya shook her head. "It would be best to start with the roots of the kingdom before getting into that. It's further back than most people are aware; roughly six-thousand years, give or take a century or two."
Jiraiya whistled. "That long ago, eh?"
Itachi's eyes narrowed. "Interesting…"
"Oddly enough, the kingdom's roots are actually in the heart of the Soul Society," said Visaelya, "Back then, the Seireitei wasn't as well organized or developed, and there wasn't much of a real central government. There was still the Soul King, of course, but as you both know, the Soul King is not a monarch in the traditional sense."
Itachi nodded. "Right. He's the linchpin of all reality… or at least, that's how our instructors have put it. It's rather hard to wrap one's mind around, really."
Visaelya sighed. "I know what you mean. Even with the lessons of my private tutors, I still had trouble fully grasping the concept. I think I still do, at least when it comes to the finer details."
Jiraiya leaned forward. "The Soul King's been in the Royal Realm about as far back as anyone can remember, right? I'm assuming that was still the case in the time period that you're describing, anyway."
Visaelya nodded. "You're correct. The ancient Seireitei was under the control of several ruling lords, but they squabbled to such an extent that the rest of the Soul Society was in a state of almost perpetual unrest. Rather than the Thirteen Court Guard Squads, the Soul Society had to rely on private militias run by what were essentially warlords. What few historical records of this time period remain suggest that these forces spent almost as much time fighting each other as they did the Hollows. They could barely be bothered to look after the souls that resided in the Soul Society, let alone the Realms of the Living. In short, you could describe it as the Soul Society's Dark Age."
"That sounds familiar," said Itachi somberly, "The Realm of the Living that we were from suffered from considerable chaos and strife in its past. We called it the Warring States Period."
Jiraiya nodded. "Neither of us were alive at the time, but we both had a chance to study the history of it during our formal education. While there were multiple accounts written by various parties and factions, all were in agreement on the fact that it was pretty much Hell on Earth."
Visaelya looked intrigued, and for a moment Itachi thought she was going to inquire into the matter, but apparently felt that it was best to remain on topic. "I see. Well, from what few records of the era that predated the old kingdom have survived, that same description would not be far off with regards to the Seireitei and the broader Soul Society. Instead of ensuring peace and security in the afterlife, the nobles and their warlords turned it into a realm rife with conflict and suffering. A newly arrived soul would've found very little rest, and between the factional fighting and the depredations of Hollows they would've been hard-pressed just to survive. This was a state of affairs that clearly could not be viable in the long-term, but no one had the strength, wisdom or will to put an end to it. The denizens of the Royal Realm washed their hands of the matter; as long as the flow of souls between the Soul Society and the Realms of the Living continued, that was all they felt the need to worry about."
"But without a unified force to ensure balance, the flow of souls would've been threatened regardless," Jiraiya pointed out.
"You're not wrong," Visaelya conceded, "However, for whatever reason, those who resided in the Royal Realm apparently felt that the threat wasn't severe enough to warrant action. Hence the petty conflicts continued, until a group of noble families decided they'd had enough. Rather than remain in the Seireitei and continue to play a role in the never-ending squabbles, they took all their assets, household vassals, and many like-minded and desperate souls into what amounted to a self-imposed exile. The passed into the west, reached the far shores, and then built ships. The Great Western Ocean was largely unexplored in those days, but rumors from a few brave mariners spoke of islands that could be inhabited. No maps to these islands had been made, and in fact such talk was largely dismissed as the idle chatter of daydreaming fishermen. The Wayfarers, as the records of those days refer to them, were desperate to escape the civil strife of the continental Soul Society and seized upon these rumors as a last hope for a chance to start anew. Once sufficiently large and numerous ships had been constructed, they sailed into the setting sun and disappeared. The Seireitei and the rest of the Soul Society wrote them off as lunatics, and the Wayfarers' voyage became joking referred to as 'The Great Journey', with most seeing it as an elaborate form of collective suicide."