Sorry for the late update, lots of work, lots of stress. But, the news gets better/worse. I'm going to begin a rewrite (Don't worry, I won't be taking this story down, just changing it in place), that's going to take like a week. So no new chapters for a little while. Gotta get the continuity straight though, so the story will be even better!
And HAPPY NEW YEAR!
"Good morning, Armin."
Eren looked at his childhood friend as he hobbled out into the snow, his bandages stained red.
"Morning, Eren, Mikasa."
He sounds terrible…
Mikasa helped Armin to reach one of the nearby picnic tables that had been constructed over the course of the last few days. He sighed as Eren went and grabbed three bowls of the stew and three loaves of nearly stale bread, returning and placing the food in front of them.
Men and women, including Ragnar's eldest brother, were busily repairing several of the homes that had been damaged when the former inhabitants had transformed. They'd decided that Ragako, having been listed as destroyed and being far enough away from Wall Sina, would become the new headquarters of their little 'rebellion'. The people of the Dauper Village were also apparently thinking of settling in the village, seeing how vulnerable they had become. They'd need plenty of building materials, though Eren, Ragnar and Connie had been taken off the woodcutting team.
"It looks like the snows letting up a little bit," Armin observed, "It'll be nice, since Christmas is coming up."
Eren's eyes brightened.
"I totally forgot about that, what's today? The thirteenth or fourteenth?"
"It's the sixteenth, Eren." Mikasa filled in for him.
"Hmph."
Connie, Sasha and Historia appeared, taking the other seats at the table.
"Jean's really pissed at us, Eren." Connie said.
"What did we do now?"
"Well, guess who had to take our place on the woodcutting detail."
They shared a laugh. Jean had begun to grow more distant from the rest of the Squad, just as Armin had. They'd both been seemingly chosen by the Commander to be groomed into future leaders. There had even been talk of Jean being promoted to a permanent Team Leader, though with the amount of bitching the he put out was unlikely.
But then again… He's actually a pretty good leader when you get right down to it.
"And," Connie said, looking around the table, in a conspiratorial tone, "Historia found something interesting out from Annie yesterday when they were peeling potatoes. Historia?"
Eren had even noticed a change in Historia, since their rescue from those two fucking traitors and her father. She'd grown… much more focused, especially when it came to Ymir. He'd always known they were close… but he chided himself for never seeing how close.
"Yeah," Historia said quietly, looking down at her hands, "Well, we were just talking… And she asked where Ymir was. She made it clear that Ragnar and his brothers are here looking for her."
Eyebrows raised around the table, all except Mikasa, who kept eating her breakfast, much to Eren's annoyance.
"And?" Eren said impatiently.
"She said… that Ymir is their elder sister."
If it had been physically possible, Eren's jaw would have hit the table. Even Mikasa stopped eating and looked up.
"Wait, so your saying that…"
"Ymir is my elder sister." A voice interjected.
Everyone at the table jumped, as Ragnar appeared. Annie was by his side, a jacket pulled tightly around her. Ragnar wore a loose shirt and long pants, his worn looking boots and the heavy jacket he'd borrowed made him look like a regular person, and not the Prince that he claimed to be.
Oh stop doubting it, you've seen into his mind, it would take way too much concentration to create that kind of an intricate lie.
"So… it's true?" Connie asked innocently.
Ragnar nodded curtly.
"Yes, though I only found out about the relation recently. And to be more accurate, she is my half-sister. We share our father. He told me to find her, before…"
Eren felt the pain that flashed through him, though they hadn't shared that particular set of memories. Thanatos and Erebus had shown them only the things that drove them. Eren had no doubt about what drove Ragnar, his love for Annie, and the pursuit of what was right. He'd felt much worse when he found out what drove him… the pure hate that festered within him, so unlike the righteous fury that filled Ragnar.
"Well that explains some of it." Sasha said.
"Explains what?"
"How you and Ymir look nothing alike," She said casually, "Though you do have the same ears."
Ragnar looked at Sasha strangely, then to Eren who shrugged.
"We'll have to see whenever we go to find them. If they've survived."
Historia looked at Eren as he spoke, her eyes flashing with anger.
"Of course she survived, Eren!"
Their conversation went on, Ragnar joining them at the table while Annie wandered off. Eren followed her out of the corner of her eye, and noticed that huge dark haired woman greeted her with a nod as she approached the end of the dirt street. He was curious about what kind of relationship the two shared, since he'd seen that woman give equal deference to both Annie and Ragnar.
No, I need to focus on more important things, He chastised his wandering thoughts, I should be more worried about the team leaving later today to scout Berhogen and try to gather some needed supplies.And to look for Connie's mother.
His mind flashed back to another detail that had been left unfinished from the night before, I wonder what they've done with Pastor Nick…
Luigi moved like a shadow, darting from place to place, following the feeling that permeated his bones. He'd felt it caress his psyche as he'd fought in Utopia, a familiar touch. He'd been running nonstop, letting his True form carry him along on its striding muscles, the rays of the sun giving him the strength he needed.
My Master is calling me to her.
He felt a pang of regret as he thought of Ragnar. Luigi felt bad leaving him in such an awkward situation with the Wall People, but he knew that Ragnar would pull through. He just wished he'd had a chance to teach him the final form…
A house appeared on the horizon, and he jogged towards it. As he neared the hill that the little shack perched upon, he ripped himself free of his True form, before sliding down its steaming flanks to the ground. He panted, looking back the way he'd come. The Wall was a distant white line on the horizon.
So far, so fast...
Cautiously, he approached the unkempt domicile, his hands at his sides.
Where is she?
"Nergal, your thoughts are too open," A woman's voice said quietly from behind him, "You've let yourself grow weak, haven't you?"
He whirled, barely avoiding the head of her spear as it flashed by his face, embedding in the wall of the ruined house behind him. Its crystal shaft and point glinted in the daytime sun with a milky reddish tone. As he avoided her follow up horizontal slash, he clamped down on his thoughts, controlling them.
"Master Ishtar, it is a pleasure to see you again." He went to his knees, head bowed.
"I must say that I am not pleased to see you, but I have need of you," Ishtar said. Luigi heard the hiss of steam, her allowing her spear to dissolve. "I need to know what has transpired in the Crystal King's domain. Lend me your memories."
Luigi kept his head bowed, as Ishtar put her hand upon his head. Pain coursed through him as she pulled at his memories, ripped them from his head. Steam exploded out of her, and an electricity filled the air…
I must keep those memories from her… He thought, as he allowed her to take everything, while he held his memories of that long ago conversation back.
"So, the Crystal King is dead?" She said. Luigi looked up, into her bronze eyes. The high cheekbones, the golden hair that fell below her shoulders. "How delicious."
Why are you surprised? Luigi thought to himself, keeping his thoughts under tight control, She and Inanna were twins, though Ishtar is much… harsher.
"Nergal, what are your impressions of Inanna's sons and the other Harbinger?"
"Suttungr, the eldest, is a man of great intellectual and physical prowess," Luigi began, feeling her will crushing his own as he tried to grind out the words, "Ragnar, the Harbinger of Death, is… even greater than his brother. He has great potential, for I trained him. I know little of the other Harbinger. Though he seems competent."
Ishtar turned those eyes of hers upon Luigi.
"How would they compare to…" She tapped her right index finger to her chin, a habit she shared with Inanna, "I've been stuck out here watching over these disgusting vermin for so long that I don't even know who leads the army… Is it still Ninurta?"
"Yes, Master. Suttungr could likely hold his own against him, though he would not be able to defeat him. Currently, Ragnar would quickly be defeated. But… his strength is growing exponentially, and his true form is nearly always changing to show that. I never taught him the totentanz, though."
The totentanz, or the Dance of Death, was the penultimate combat form, developed by the first commander of the Annunaki's army, Indra. All Utukku and Annunaki were trained in it, allowing them to harness their true forms to their fullest extent, and even to enhance their strength as mortal men and women.
Ishtar put a hand on his shoulder, an evil smile plastered upon her face.
"That is good, it will make capturing them much easier in the future." She ran a sensuous finger across his chin, "Now, come, my pet. It has been quite a long time since I have made love with another of the Gods. Even one as low ranking and feeble as you."
"Prince Mosher, I must ask you, what are you and your family's intentions?"
Suttungr looked up into the other man's piercing blue eyes, as he held the wood scraping knife. He'd been working on a replacement beam for one of the nearby houses that had suffered damage, when the tall Commander had appeared before him.
"I must ask what you mean, good sir."
"I mean, why are you here?"
Suttungr looked around, noticing that several of the men and women who had been helping him stop working to look at them.
"Sir, I think this is a conversation that should be held behind closed door," He said slowly, putting down the knife and standing. "It would be good to have both of my brothers and that other boy here, the dark haired one. And anyone else you think important."
The man nodded, gesturing for Suttungr to follow.
It took several minutes, but soon everyone was assembled in the largest remaining building, what looked to have been the town's main storage area for grain, though there was none now. Even with the large size, the dozen and a half men and women were forced to crowd around the table that had been set up.
"I have called this meeting," Erwin, as Suttungr remembered hearing him called several times, said, "To elucidate ourselves to the motives of our newfound friends. Prince Mosher, if you will."
He nodded to Suttungr, who stepped forward to stand beside him. Clearing his throat, he began what was likely to be a lengthy discussion.
"I shall tell you all I know, and let others fill in the blank spots in my own knowledge," He began, "My name, is Suttungr Mosher, I am First Prince of Jotunheim. It is a… nation, hundreds of miles to the north. We have come because… we have no other place to turn too. And our father, the King, told us to come here, before he was killed. To find him."
He pointed towards the brown haired boy standing next to Ragnar.
"Why?"
Ragnar stood, interjecting into the conversation.
"So that he," He gestured to Eren, "And I can make peace. For my Father was given a Prophecy, by my mother. I believe Suttungr knows it best."
All of those around the table were silent, as Suttungr sighed. But, before he could begin, Dio began to speak, his tone serious. He spoke with a peculiar sing-song lilt to his voice.
"Two shall be born,
One to Death,
The Destroyer
One to Hope,
The Defender.
Seek each other,
They shall,
For they are bound,
With the Strings of Fate.
The blood of a King shall be spilled,
Nations torn asunder,
As their strength gathers,
Before their fateful meeting.
Battle joined,
They shall tear the Earth
With their raging blows,
Until the ones they love,
Shall be sacrificed
And bring about the End of Sorrow,
When men shall be swept from the Earth,
And the Gods shall reign supreme."
Dio ended with his head bowed, looking much more tired than he had when first he began speaking. Suttungr had heard the full prophecy before, though he was slightly surprised that Dio knew it so well.
"That," He said, looking towards Ragnar, "Is the full prophecy, that first crossed my ears nearly five hundred years ago."
Ragnar locked eyes with the ancient, while the others around the table simply looked on in blank surprise.
"Yes, believe it. I was born in the Gregorian year 2018, a year to the day of the first appearance of a Titan. What would become Year One of your own calendar."
"But, how is that possible?" Asked a bespectacled woman with brown hair standing near Levi, he'd caught her staring at him several times, and Sigmund had complained that she was seemingly stalking him. Neither of them had figured out why yet. "That would make you an ancient? Are you saying that all Shifters are immortal?
"No, we are not immortal. And it is because of my friend, Hoenor," Dio said casually, nodding to Ragnar and Suttungr, "Their father. He was the last of my generation of Titan shifter, what his people call Jotunn, and was incredibly powerful and knowledgeable. He himself was nearly immortal, and he used his powers to encase us in crystal, in a sort of suspended time. We were awakened only in times of great need, for nearly six hundred years, while the world burned around us…"
"Keep going, Dio. We need to know as much as we can." Ragnar said. Suttungr had the advantage of knowing most of this, and much more, from Father's diary. "Please."
"Africa was the first of the continents to go," Dio began again, his voice quiet, none of the braggart in him anymore, "And then the world walled off the only area that allowed access, and began to try to fight back for the land. But then another group of Titan's appeared in China, and in California, and all across the world. Walls were erected to hold them back, but every time we built walls, whoever was creating the Titans would send another force around them. The world was devoured around us, until we were holed up in America."
"How can we believe any of this?" A tall, lanky young man said incredulously. "This could just be bullshit!"
The Commander looked sharply at the man, who took a step back from the table as that steely gaze came upon him.
"Jean, please," Erwin said quietly, reaching under the table. Suttungr's eyes narrowed as Erwin sat a large, leather bound book on the table. "This is something that my team recovered from Utopia. Though it was not our primary objective, it is a lucky find by Armin. It comes from the King's Library."
Suttungr had never seen the book before, but he did recognize the title. He'd heard his father speak of the time known as 'the Titan War'. But apparently this 'King's Library' was of some import, for there was a slight murmur from those around the table. Though Suttungr noted that the slight boy across the table, his blond bowl cut trimmed back so that his eye patch fit better, tensed at the mention of the library.
Erwin opened the book, flicking through the pages as everyone looked on, a bit awkwardly with only one arm. Then he held it up, so that all around could see it.
"Is this man, Hoenor, your father?" Erwin asked, his finger tapping the photograph just above their father's head. Suttungr nodded, seeing Ragnar do the same out of the corner of his eye. "Excellent. And I believe this is you, is it not, Mr. Johnson."
Dio shifted on his feet uncomfortably, before nodding nearly imperceptibly.
"Then, would you be so kind as to explain what this picture means," Erwin said, his voice dropping low, "The Walls that protect us are named, from outermost to inner, Maria, Rose and Sina. These women share those names, is there a relationship?"
"They are exactly who you think them to be," Dio said, "They form the keystones of the Wall, though I don't know how. I was not present during the creation of the Wall. The three of them were my friends and comrades."
Wide eyes widened even more, though less so from Ragnar, Annie and the others.
"So, you've been alive," Eren said incredulously, "For eight hundred years? And fighting the Titans the entire time?"
"And sleeping," Dio replied, nodding, his bright red hair falling into his face, "Mainly sleeping. This is the longest I've been awake in nearly a hundred years. Not since Hoenor landed on this damned continent with the second group of survivors and found the Wall's in place." He paused, taking a deep breath and sweeping his hair out of his eyes, "And the 'Guardians of the Wall', what I think I've heard referred to as the 'Wall Cult', were there to turn us away when we requested entry. 'We've no need for the Crystal King and his ilk', was all they said before dropping the gates. So Hoenor spent his time founding several settlements with the people he had, before deciding to found Jotunheim. That's when he put me to sleep, as his 'insurance policy'."
For the first time, they saw Dio's grin disappear, his lips turning downwards.
"It was so cold, and lonely…"
"Well, I think that will be enough of that," Erwin said, looking to Suttungr, "But you must declare your intentions before we move on. What do you wish to do?"
"That is not truly my decision," Suttungr said, looking towards Ragnar, "It is his. What are your wishes brother?"
Putting him on the spot probably isn't very princely of me, but I have no right to make a decision for him. I was the one that followed him here, and I owe him my life, and my family's lives.
"We shall stay, and we shall fight with you," Ragnar said after a moment, his bronze eyes locking with Erwin's, "On two conditions."
He held up his right hand, index finger extended.
"One, you shall assist us in finding my elder sister, the woman you know as Ymir," He raised another finger, "And you shall pardon Annie Leonhardt of all previous crimes."
The room erupted into bedlam, and Suttungr was glad that they hadn't been allowed to bring weapons with them to the meeting, raised voices all around. Suttungr watched as Ragnar stepped forward, shielding Annie from the brunt of the ferocious yelling.
"Enough!"
Erwin's shout brought the uproar to sudden conclusion. All eyes turned to him, as he stood and put his single remaining hand on the table, leaning over it.
"This is not how we shall comport ourselves," He said, his voice composed, "We have too much to accomplish! Ragnar, will you and your family follow my orders?"
"I swear it," Ragnar responded after only a slight pause, "As long as it does not overly offend my conscience. I will not senselessly murder or pillage people, nor shall any of my family or men."
"So it shall be," Erwin inclined his head towards Ragnar and Annie, "And I hereby pardon Annie Leonhardt of the crimes she committed. Contingent upon her entering service with us."
Suttungr watched as Ragnar turned to look at Annie, who did not return his gaze, only looking out over the table towards the Jaeger boy. He met her gaze, before looking away, his head moving up and down fractionally.
Tacit approval? Those two must have more of a history than Annie let on…
The girl next to Eren though… Her fierce dark eyes were doing their level best to bore through Annie's skull. Something else that Suttungr would need to watch out for.
"I shall serve with you," Annie said quietly, her eyes returning to the table, "Under the conditions that Ragnar put forth a moment ago."
Erwin nodded briskly, gesturing to the bespectacled women, who handed him a large scroll of paper. Unfurling it, Suttungr saw that it was a map of the Walls, rendered in exquisite detail, nearly perfectly to scale.
"It has been our goal since we discovered Eren's Titan powers and the secret of the Walls, that they are the product of Titans, to reach Shinganshina," Erwin began, his finger coming to rest on the southernmost of the walled cities. "It is my belief that we can find your sister, the shifter Ymir. And, also what is in the basement of Eren Jaeger's house."
He sketched a line from the western district of the second Wall towards Shinganshina with his finger.
"Because of the permanent closure of the Trost districts gate into the Wall Maria, we may have to fight our way through the defenses of the Klorva district, then defend it for however long it takes for the expeditionary force to return," He paused, looking up at Ragnar, "Or we could bypass having to fight our way in, and having to hold it against the rest of the military, if you are able to climb the Wall with a choice group and slip past any large hordes of Titans. Do you agree?"
Suttungr nodded, as did Ragnar and Dio.
"Good, then we will begin planning the operation." He looked at all those gathered, "You are all dismissed, except Hange and Levi."
He has quite a commanding presence, and he is quick of wit and sharp of tongue. A dangerous foe, or a good ally. I must watch him.