The Hierarchy of the Senshi
Within the invisible order that governed the Sanuya, the ranks rose like steps carved into the stone of an ancient temple.
The Shonen, mere recruits, were still nothing more than bearers of promise, unawakened fragments.
Above them, the Chūtan represented the first confirmation: Senshi who had crossed the threshold, finally awakening their Shiki.
Then came the Jōtan, seasoned officers, guides, and strategists.
Higher still, the Taishō, commanders of the centers, guardians of doctrine and authority.
And at the summit, isolated like a mountain peak, stood the Sō-Taishō — the supreme leader, guardian of the balance of the six centers and of all the Senshi of Sanuya.
The Sō-Taishō
Her name resonated with respect even in the most distant provinces: Aiko Tanaka.
She alone oversaw all the centers, maintaining discipline and coordinating the forces scattered across the nations.
Her authority, invisible yet relentless, bound together the six great strongholds of the Sanuya.
The Six Sanuya Centers
The Center of Kirina — Ishara, led by Naomi Zinkebeg and seconded by Dante Veyron, embodied direct supervision: training Shonen, guiding Chūtan, and leading national missions.
The Center of Osura — Tsukigawa, under Yamiyashi Hatakke and Jinpachi Yoshitake, forged recruits, giving them a backbone of tactics and discipline.
The Center of Sanwi — Cuidado, commanded by Musilo Saitoshi and Jairro Villacres, slipped into the shadows: infiltration, intelligence, and secrets that no light was ever meant to reveal.
The Center of Kuzael — Full, led by Jasper Holloway and Fiona Clarke, embodied science, technology, and medicine. It was the crucible where the mind sought to understand what Ni alone could not explain.
The Center of Dunkles — Vollständig, the bastion commanded by Torsen Jonke and Pia Fuchs, represented brute strength and military strategy, protecting the borders and fragile balances.
The Center of Iznak — Verlazum, guarded by Labrax Cantaber and Petrus Ovidus, ensured inter-center coordination, a silent knot where the streams of authority converged.
Six centers. Six poles. One single flame.
Recognition of the New Chūtan
The hall of Ishara filled with rare solemnity.
The banners of the six nations hung overhead, heavy with symbols and memory.
The torches flickered faintly, casting shifting reflections across the polished floor.
Kaen and his companions advanced, their steps measured, their breath heavy with gravity.
Around them, silence thickened, broken only by the beating of the collective Ni.
Naomi stood tall, her disciplined aura enveloping the hall. Her voice rose, clear and implacable:
"You have crossed the first threshold. From this moment, you are Chūtan. No longer recruits… but confirmed bearers of Shiki."
At her side, Dante Veyron offered a half-smile, as though observing a flame still fragile yet full of promise.
The names echoed one by one, engraved into the memory of the walls:
Kaen. Sasha. Noëlle. Toshiro. Yusuke. Pia. Harald.
All bowed, confirmed in their rank.
A murmur spread through the hall, like an ancient breath: the children of Sanuya had become soldiers.
Yet each of them knew this was only a threshold crossed.
The awakening of a Shiki was not an end.
It was the opening of a far vaster field of trials—
a path where shadows already waited.