Creation began on 02-21-21
Creation ended on 02-21-21
Attack on Titan
A Decline in the Warrior Unit
A/N: What if Marley was met with some issues that stemmed from the younger generation of Eldians in their internment zones?
The military factions of Marley were met with some difficulty from the Eldians after announcing their desire to recruit children between the ages of five and seven for their Warrior program. They weren't making progress with their recruiting efforts, even with the promise of being made honorary Marleyan citizens should their children succeed in the operation to invade Paradis Island in the future.
"So," went Calvi to his men in his office once he found out what the situation was, "what is the problem with the Eldians?"
"They," spoke Theo Magath to him, "don't want to send their children to an early grave, even with the possibility of being made honorary Marleyans."
"What do you mean, send their children to an early grave?"
"Some of the parents said that thirteen years is a lifetime too short for any child to have," another general stated. "Apparently, someone had informed them that we were looking to recruit Eldians into the Warrior program to use our revered Titans to attack Paradis in order to take the Founding Titan from the royal family there…and what the repercussions would be the second their children were chosen."
Thirteen years was the fate that befell any Subject of Ymir that possessed the power of the Titans. Once they became a Titan and ate another Subject of Ymir with the power of the Titans, they were doomed to die within thirteen years after they acquired the power. Anyone with that long to live would either put their affairs in order or try to find a way to avoid such a fate.
"How did they find out from someone that knew closely-guarded information of this sort?" Calvi demanded. "They wouldn't have known until after their children were selected to inherit one of our Titans."
"They're all making the same claim," a third general from the naval fleet explained, "that a stranger came by three months ago, spending a week in each internment zone, and told them all not to consider making their children join the Warrior Unit. Whoever this guy was, he's the one that revealed the downside of possessing a Titan, which was enough to convince the parents not to accept the offer."
"Then we'll just draft their children into service," Calvi suggested; one way or another, they needed a unit to attack Paradis and take the Founder from the royal family.
"That won't work, either," went a fourth general from the air fleet. "We can't convince the parents that it's all a lie without showing them current inheritors of the Titans on their final day of life, which then causes the power to transfer to a random Eldian child, and we can't risk that happening and the Titans end up on Paradis."
Calvi frowned and gave a different order.
"Get the PSA to get detailed information on this stranger that came to see the Eldians," he ordered. "What he looks like, where he was going, where he's from, and how he found out about the Titans. Find him…and bring him here."
The five generals obeyed and left out his office. The sooner they found this guy, the better because they were likely to start relying on veteran Eldian soldiers to hold the power of their Titans for them to keep them from winding up in the hands of some Eldian child yet to be born.
You have no idea what you have done against Marley, whoever you are, Calvi thought as he looked at the map on his desk. You will pay for this arrogant act!
-x-
He had delayed the advance of Marley for now, but it was only a matter of time before some families decided that whatever children they had could or would be replaced by new ones in order to obtain a future outside of life in the internment zones. Hopefully, though, by informing the Eldians of Marley that inheriting a Titan was akin to a death wish that took thirteen years to fulfill, nobody could plan to attack Paradis until a few years, give or take a decade. This would give him some time to get things in order on Paradis. By doing things this way, there was a chance, just a chance, that life could change for everyone that was an Eldian, and the hatred could cease in a benevolent manner suited to the path to coexistence instead of a parasitic one.
"The lion and the mouse, the man and the wolf, the dragon and the knight," he expressed as he was in a rowboat heading towards the one island that everyone else in the world saw as a threat. "If there's any real hope for this world that doesn't involve one group having to murder the other group, the rest of it lies here on Paradis. With the Founding Titan. There has been nothing but despair for over a century since that spineless disgrace of a man chose this path to desolation for his people. It's time to turn it upside-down and inside-out, turning despair into hope, darkness into light. The calm before the storm is the path to enduring the harshest of what's yet to come, but only if you have the will to change it."
To be continued…
A/N: Watching Cloak and Dagger while thinking of other ideas gave rise to this idea as the current poll continues to decide someone's next potential fate. But now that I think about it, Cloak and Dagger could help inspire another possibility for the future.
