The world exists as two intertwined realms:
Ningenkai: This is our normal, physical world where people live and build civilizations.
Kurayami: This is a mysterious, parallel world. Its true nature and what's inside are largely unknown.
The Veil is the barrier that separates these two realms.
----I. Leadership Ranks----
Yaminochō (闇の長) — "Lord of Darkness"
Supreme leader who embodies the clan's connection to both realms.
Protected by personal elite guards known as Kagebushi (Shadow Warriors).
Wears a ceremonial mask carved from ancient wood that survived the First Veiling.
Chōrō (長老) — "Elders"
Council of ancient advisors who balance the Yaminochō's authority.
Each bears tattoos representing the specific aspect of clan knowledge they preserve.
Attended by Meirei (Silent Voice) assistants who convey their commands.
----II. Elite Operational Ranks ("Kuroshū" - 黒衆, "Black Circle")----
Akame (赤眼) — "Red Eyes"
Elite combat specialists who directly confront major Wretched threats.
Distinguished by crimson ritual scars around one eye.
Kurokiri (黒霧) — "Black Mist"
Intelligence specialists focusing on reconnaissance and information gathering.
Techniques allow undetected movement through corrupted areas.
Often paired with Kagekami (Shadow Mirrors) who serve as living information repositories.
Seishi (聖司) — "Sacred Administrator"
Specialists in ritual purification and Veil maintenance.
Assisted by Kenseisha (Offering Bearers) who prepare ritual components.
Command spiritual knowledge necessary to cleanse corrupted areas.
----III. Specialized Elite Ranks----
Shirakumo (白雲) — "White Cloud"
Master healers specialized in treating Smogfall corruption and spiritual wounds.
Maintain the clan's medical facilities and healing techniques.
Train Chiyushi (Blood Menders) apprentices in basic healing arts.
Kuroura (黒裏) — "Black Underside"
Internal security and loyalty enforcement.
Operate the clan's prison complex known as the Mugen'in (Endless Shadow).
Investigate potential corruption within clan ranks.
Meigetsu (冥月) — "Dark Moon"
Specialized assassins and hunters of rogue clan members.
Work with Tsuisekisha (Trackers) who can follow spiritual traces.
Typically operate outside clan territory on extended missions.
----IV. Main Family Protection Corps----
Eirei (影鈴) — "Shadow Bell"
Personal bodyguards for main family bloodline members.
Undergo blood-binding ritual that connects their life force to their charge.
Trained in Nikaiketsu (Double-Blood) techniques to absorb injuries meant for their ward.
Kagerō (影廊) — "Shadow Corridor"
Specialists in creating and maintaining secure pathways for main family travel.
Establish temporary safe zones in corrupted territories.
Master techniques that temporarily stabilize Veil weaknesses.
----V. Standard Operational Ranks----
Yamiryū (闇龍) — "Dark Dragon"
Field team leaders who command operational units.
Coordinate specialized teams during complex missions.
Responsible for training Kihei (Rising Soldiers) in tactical operations.
Kemuri (煙) — "Smoke"
Standard field operatives for routine missions.
Handle regular patrols, minor Wretched encounters, and perimeter security.
Often serve as escorts for non-combat specialists.
----VI. Internal Order Division----
Keikai (警戒) — "Vigilance Guard"
Responsible for maintaining daily order and enforcing laws within clan territories/settlements.
Handle minor infractions, local patrols, and dispute resolution. Distinct from external operations (Kemuri) or high-level internal security (Kuroura).
Often the most visible clan authority for ordinary members or associated civilians.
----VII. Support Division----
Shizuka (静) — "Silence"
Research and monitoring specialists who track Smogfall patterns.
Maintain outposts and document Veil changes.
Work with Kirikata (Mist Forms) who can safely collect Smogfall samples.
Fushigiya (不思議屋) — "Mystic Craftsmen"
Creators and maintainers of specialized equipment, weapons, and artifacts.
Develop countermeasures against new Wretched manifestations.
Oversee Kōkanga (Steel Patterns) who forge clan weapons.
Shiryōshū (資料衆) — "Record Keepers"
Maintain clan archives, genealogies, and historical records.
Document new discoveries and update grimoires.
Train Kiokushi (Memory Bearers) who memorize critical information as living backups.
Kagemochi (影持ち) — "Shadow Bearers"
Logistics specialists who manage clan resources and supply networks.
Maintain safe houses and emergency caches throughout territories.
Coordinate with Yashinaite (Nurturers) who handle food production in protected enclaves.
----VIII. Training and Apprentice Ranks----
Kuroka (黒華) — "Black Bloom"
Advanced trainees who have completed basic instruction.
Assist higher ranks on missions to gain field experience.
Undergo specialized training based on demonstrated aptitudes.
Yamiko (闇子) — "Child of Darkness"
New initiates learning fundamental techniques.
Study clan history, basic combat, and spiritual foundations.
Overseen by Sodateru (Cultivators) who identify special talents.
----IX. Special Classifications----
Shin'en (深淵) — "The Abyss"
Exiled or condemned members who violated clan laws.
No longer recognized within the hierarchy but tracked as potential threats.
Hunted by specialized Oitsuite (Pursuers) if they possess sensitive knowledge.
Yūkaku (幽覚) — "Phantom Sense"
Members who vanished on missions but are neither confirmed dead nor returned.
Maintain a ceremonial place in clan records and rituals.
If returned, evaluated by Yūshiki (Ghost Ceremony) specialists before reintegration.
----GENERAL RANKINGS ----
S-Rank: Transcendent Powers
Example: A fully awakened and unleashed Yaminochō drawing on all ancestral power
A-Rank: Legendary Powers
Example: The combined might of the Chōrō Council performing unified rituals
B-Rank: Elite Powers
Example: Master Akame warriors with decades of experience
C-Rank: Advanced Powers
Example: Yamiryū team leaders with significant field experience
D-Rank: Standard Powers
Example: Kemuri field operatives
E-Rank: Basic Powers
Example: Kuroka advanced trainees
F-Rank: Minimal Powers
Example: Yamiko initiates just beginning their training
----MONSTER RANKINGS----
I. THE WRETCHED (Mouretsu-sha - 猛烈者 "Furious Ones")
Entities formed when living beings perish under the influence of Corruption without undergoing proper purification rites. They represent a spectrum of degradation, losing their humanity and gaining dangerous abilities.
Class I: Shaded (Kagereta - 翳れた "Clouded/Dimmed")
Origin: Individuals newly transformed by Corruption, representing the initial stages of degradation.
Characteristics: Retain a mostly human form but exhibit early signs of degradation (e.g., darkened veins, unnaturally clouded eyes, discoloured skin). Possess fragmented memories, sometimes capable of limited, garbled speech. Behaviour is often erratic, driven by the powerful emotions experienced at death (fear, anger, confusion).
Danger Level: Low to Moderate. Can be unpredictable but lack focused intent or significant power.
Notable Abilities: Can use simple tools; possess residual skills from life; may show brief, disturbing flickers of recognition towards former associates or locations.
Class II: Hollow (Utsuro - 空ろ "Vacant/Empty")
Origin: Individuals whose souls have been fully consumed and reshaped by Corruption.
Characteristics: Distinctly inhuman humanoid form with noticeable physical distortions (unnaturally elongated limbs, warped facial features, grotesque growths). Entirely driven by a single, overpowering fixation or emotion tied to their demise (e.g., insatiable hunger, relentless vengeance, profound grief). Incapable of coherent speech, often emitting repetitive sounds or phrases related to their core drive.
Danger Level: Moderate to High. Predictable in their goal but relentless and physically enhanced.
Notable Abilities: Increased strength, speed, or resilience compared to humans; possess an uncanny awareness of their surroundings related to their fixation; tirelessly pursue their objective.
Class III: Amalgam (Gattai - 合体 "Union/Fusion")
Origin: Formed when multiple individuals are transformed and gruesomely merged by Corruption, often during mass death events.
Characteristics: Monstrous entities composed of multiple fused bodies or body parts, creating a chaotic and asymmetrical form. Exhibit conflicting, unpredictable behaviours resulting from the jumbled consciousnesses within. Can be extremely difficult to anticipate.
Danger Level: High. Physically powerful and highly unpredictable due to multiple fused minds/instincts.
Notable Abilities: Possess multiple limbs or sensory organs; move in jarring, unnatural ways; may manifest conflicting residual abilities drawn from the component souls. Potential to briefly separate parts or reform if damaged.
Class IV: Primordial (Genshiteki - 原始的 "Primitive/Primal")
Origin: Not formed from individuals, but coalesced from powerful, lingering collective trauma, forgotten beliefs, cultural scars, or intense historical events saturated with Corruption.
Characteristics: Often vast, semi-corporeal, or conceptual in nature. Manifest as embodiments of abstract dread, forgotten deities, or localized historical horrors. May lack a single, defined physical form, instead influencing a large area or appearing as shifting, elemental phenomena.
Danger Level: Extreme. Capable of threatening entire regions; often immune to conventional attacks.
Notable Abilities: Area-of-effect degradation or reality warping; manipulation of local environment or perception; embodies a specific concept (fear, decay, betrayal) making it conceptually resilient.
Class V: Sovereign (Shuken - 主権 "Sovereignty")
Origin: Wretched (often starting as Hollow or higher) that have endured, evolved, and achieved true self-awareness, intellect, and malevolent intent following their initial transformation by Corruption.
Characteristics: Often possess the ability to mimic human appearance or behaviour with chilling accuracy, hiding their monstrous nature. Capable of intricate planning, manipulation, and long-term strategy. Exhibit patience, cruelty, and a desire for power or specific, complex goals beyond simple Wretched drives.
Danger Level: Catastrophic. Pose strategic threats; can manipulate humans and lesser Wretched.
Notable Abilities: Sophisticated mind influence or manipulation; command over lesser Wretched; ability to consciously suppress or alter their degraded appearance; strategic thinking and deception.
II. CORRUPTION PHENOMENA
Localized environmental hazards and spatio-temporal distortions created by heavy or prolonged presence of Corruption, interacting with the Veil and residual memories.
Miasma Pools (Dokuka - 毒化 "Poison Transformation")
Description: Areas where Corruption settles and concentrates, creating stagnant pools or zones of intense degradation. Actively radiates degrading influence, sickening living beings and potentially accelerating Wretched transformation. May cause sensory hallucinations or memory distortions in those nearby.
Memory Echoes (Kiokukyō - 記憶響 "Memory Resonance")
Description: Locations imprinted with intense historical events or emotions, where Corruption causes ghostly replays of the past. These are not sentient but can affect observers, sometimes trapping them mentally in the loop or revealing fragmented information about past events. Dangerous due to the potential for psychological trauma or distraction.
Veil Tears (Kireme - 切れ目 "Slit/Gap/Tear")
Description: Unstable points where the barrier (Veil) between the human world (Ningenkai) and the Dark Realm (Kurayami) is thin or damaged, often exacerbated by intense Corruption. Characterized by localized physical anomalies, temporal distortions, and raw bleed-through of Kurayami energies. Extremely dangerous and unpredictable, potentially serving as unstable portals.
Forgotten Zones (Wasurechi - 忘れ地 "Forgotten Land")
Description: Regions so saturated by Corruption and isolated by historical events that they have effectively dropped off maps and collective memory. Reality here is unstable, potentially overlapping with Kurayami. Laws of physics may be unreliable. Can contain preserved (and often hostile) relics, entities, or information from lost eras.
III. KURAYAMI ENTITIES (Largely Unclassified)
Entities indigenous to the Dark Realm (Kurayami) represent a profound and perilous unknown. Unlike the Wretched, whose origins trace back to corrupted humanity, these beings arise from a reality operating under fundamentally different, often incomprehensible, principles.
Nature: They are not simply "monsters" derived from familiar life, but manifestations of an alien existence. Their forms, capabilities, and motives (if any are discernible) often defy the logic and physical laws of the human world (Ningenkai).
IV. PURIFIED ENTITIES
Beings, often originally Wretched, that have undergone specific Yamihana clan rituals, altering their state from purely monstrous to something else. Their existence is often bound to the clan's will or purpose.
Bound Servants (Tsunagare - 繋がれ "The Bound/Connected")
Description: Wretched who have been subjected to binding rituals, stabilizing their form and suppressing their base drives. Their existence is tied to a specific purpose, location, or master within the clan. They retain some of their Wretched abilities but are compelled to serve as guardians, labourers, or living tools. Control is not always absolute.
Marked Guides (Shirushite - 標して "The Marked/Signed")
Description: Wretched who underwent a partial or alternative purification process, restoring some semblance of lucidity or control without complete binding. They retain significant knowledge of Kurayami, Wretched behaviour, or Veil phenomena. Often employed cautiously by the clan as scouts, informants, or guides through corrupted areas, marked physically or spiritually to denote their status. Trust is conditional.
Ascended (Tenkasha - 転化者 "Transformed One")
Description: An exceptionally rare outcome of purification where the entity transcends its Wretched nature entirely, becoming something new—neither human nor Wretched. These beings often possess unique, profound insights into the nature of Corruption, the Veil, or the conflict between realms. Their allegiance and nature are often enigmatic, not automatically aligned with the clan.