Sternritter

The Sternritter form the Wandenreich's foremost fighting force, an order of exceptionally strong Quincy, once soldiers of the Lichtreich, who carry the war against Soul Society and its Shinigami. Individually they are called Ritter, and by Akon's estimate, those who joined the first strike on the Seireitei matched or surpassed captain-class Shinigami in strength. Every member receives a Schrift from Yhwach, a designation drawn from an English word and letter that bestows a distinct power.

The order was raised a thousand years ago to overrun Soul Society. Each knight earned their power through a ritual of drinking Yhwach's blood, which let him carve a fragment of his own soul into theirs in the shape of a letter; upon a bearer's death that fragment returns to him, feeding his strength. Jugram Haschwalth commands the ranks as Grandmaster and Yhwach's right hand, while a chosen few make up the Schutzstaffel, the emperor's personal guard and the order's deadliest members. A firm law forbids any infighting on pain of death, the lower Ritter convene apart from Yhwach in Silbern's Wörtlich Hall, and the emperor ultimately treats every knight as expendable, draining the discarded through his Auswählen.

Lille Barro heads the Schutzstaffel as the first knight ever granted a Schrift, joined by Pernida Parnkgjas and Gerard Valkyrie, incarnations of the Soul King's left arm and heart, with Askin Nakk Le Vaar and Uryū Ishida elevated to the guard later in the war. Long ago, Huburt Alexander Kleich served beneath Haschwalth as vice-captain. On campaign every member carries a Medallion able to seize a Shinigami's released Bankai, letting the holder wield that stolen power at will. Disillusioned knights such as Bazz-B, Liltotto Lamperd, and Giselle Gewelle eventually turned against Yhwach after he cast them aside.