Mapmaker

From the craggy ridge some Scout long ago had called Maria's Spine, he could just see the vague outline of a faraway mountain range and its most prominent peak, the Titan's Bane. Between here and there, was a great stretch of land known as the Plague Moors, but the Scouting Legion rarely ventured there. It was too flat with barely a tree in sight, and not at all suitable for vertical combat, but it had provided an excellent opportunity to attempt Smith's long distance scouting formation.

Oruo had crossed it a few times before, and even climbed the Bane once, though that was many years ago. Maybe his third or fourth expedition, at least two years after he'd enlisted in the Survey Corps. The rugged trail up the mountain had taken nearly two days to scale, even on horseback, but upon reaching the highest point they could manage, the entire Legion could clearly see the white Walls over four hundred kilometers away. The journey had taken nearly two weeks, at the cost of one hundred and seven four lives, but Commander Dvorak led them home triumphant and achieved a decade of hope for the human race.

What lay beyond the mountain range was unknown, though most agreed it was most likely forest and grasslands, maybe a river here and there. After surveying the wide spread of land before him a moment longer, Oruo knelt on the ground and unfolded a battered piece of parchment covered in markings. Three circles to represent the Walled Nation lay in the center, the single winding line of the River Prosperity ran through it north to south, and in all directions was a wide array of landmarks and terrain. The vast snowy wasteland to the north, dense forest to the east, rolling hills in the west, and open prairie giving way to gigantic mountains in the south.

"Hey, that's pretty neat." Someone said over his shoulder. "Did you draw that?

Oruo scowled in annoyance. "Aren't you supposed to be on watch?"

Eld laughed and stepped forward, obediently staring into the distance. "If there were titans out there, I think we'd see them hours before they arrived."

Silently, Oruo agreed with him. With land as flat as the moor, a titan would stick out like a black dot on a white horse's rump. Sighing in resignation, he removed a pen and compass from his pack, then began measuring the distance between their current location and Shiganshina, as if it had somehow changed since the last time he'd done so.

"I'm confused." Eld said, glancing down at him. "You claim otherwise whenever someone points out that you're old, yet you need glasses to read?"

Oruo glared at him. "Just because I'm not old doesn't mean I'm not a little past my prime."

The younger man grinned. "Whatever helps you sleep at night. So is this a hobby of yours, drawing maps?"

"I'm one of the cartographers in Captain Trask's regiment. I map out the land we cover." Though I've been in this position for so long, it's mostly copying and adding nonessential details at this point. He added sourly to himself.

"That must be fun." Eld stated. "You know, in a 'I hope I don't get eaten' sort of way. How long have you been doing this?"

Oruo shrugged. "Lost count. Since I joined the Corps, I guess."

"Wow. And what's that one?" He pointed.

"Huh?" The elder Scout followed the man's gaze to another even more battered and scarred map folded up at his side. "Oh, that's nothing."

"May I see?"

What's the harm? "Sure."

Gingerly unfolding the chart as it was handed to him, Eld frowned at its contents. "Oh, I was expecting land, but this doesn't look like-hold on….Orion….Scorpio, Pegasus….Andromeda…. These are constellations from the old stories! You sketch sky maps!"

"Yeah." Oruo admitted. "That's more of a hobby, though. No one really seems to think stars are that useful."

Eld shrugged. "I can see where they're coming from. A map of the land makes sense, but one of the sky? That just seems silly."

"Hey, you'd be surprised. Stars aren't like clouds, you know. Aside from slightly changing positions during the seasons, they're relatively constant. Take this one for example." He stood and pointed at a specific cluster on the page.

"Looks like a scoop."

"Exactly. This is Ursa Major, the Great Bear. And this star here," Oruo shifted his finger. "Always points north, no matter what time of the year it is."

"Whoa, seriously?" Eld folded his arms. "Man, imagine if humanity could make use of that. Since titans are rarely active during the night and all."

"I thought of that once, too. Human eyes may be limited by the dark, but on a clear night, it's possible to navigate the Outer Territory." It was a fool's thinking perhaps. While the advantages were worth considering, a plan like this would undoubtedly have its drawbacks: unexpected storms blocking the stars, the possibility of a nocturnal Aberrant pursuing them and not being seen until the last minute, the risks were endless. Every tactic they tried had its own set of flaws and the odds in the field were always stacked against them. Otherwise, the journey to the Titan's Bane would be effortless. Oruo folded the map and tucked it back into his pack. "I've tried bringing it up this idea a few times to different officers, but it never went anywhere, so I've more or less-"

Eld turned to him suddenly, "Does Captain Hange know you do this?"

What? "Not that I'm aware."

"Bring it up to him then." He suggested. "Who knows? You may actually be onto something there, and Hange's one of the few officers I can think of who'd be willing to at least hear you out. Maybe Smith would, too, but definitely Hange."

"You're serious?"

Eld nodded. "Of course. If he catches wind of anything even remotely revolutionary, he leaps at the chance. So I say give it a shot. What's the harm, right?"

-0-0-0-

Author's Notes: I picture astronomy as something that may have been forgotten by humanity, or even banned by the government in this universe.

Not very holiday-oriented, but it's been a few days since my last update. Nonetheless, Happy Holidays.

And a thanks to mabver for reviewing.

Attack on Titan/Shingeki no Kyojin is owned by Hajime Isayama.