I was gonna update this on Tuesday, but I forgot. But better late than never.
There were a lot of people who signed up for the Eldian cadet training. Alex looked around him. He already had his things and changed into his uniform and was waiting for a bus to take them to the training area.
The now eleven-year-old boy rubbed his fingers across his gray armband. This was his only shot at getting a red one. He can't be average. Only the best.
He snapped out of his thoughts when he heard an engine release steam. There was the first bus. He quickly grabbed his backpack with his approved belongings and walked outside the building he signed in so he could get a good spot.
He walked up the steps of the bus and sat at a window seat in the middle of the bus. It didn't take long for the vehicle to be completely filled. There were at least a hundred Eldians on this one bus. Just how many are going to train to die in this current war? The bus took off soon after his thought.
Currently, Marley was at war with several mid-eastern countries due to Marley trying to conquer them. The war had started just a few months ago. It was actually planned quite well. The current Titan shifters are in their last years of their term. When the new shifters are chosen, they'll get to try out their new powers in war themselves. It was the perfect practice.
Alex still didn't know why Marley was going to send literal children to massacre a country. He would have thought they would have chosen the most racist adult warrior they had. Y'know, someone capable of killing their friends.
Unlike Reiner.
Or Bertholdt. But at least he didn't lose his marbles.
The bus came to a halt with a hiss, and everyone stepped off the bus. There was a young soldier, an Eldian Warrior candidate from the yellow armband he was wearing, that stood nervously in front of them. He stood like he was trying to look tough.
Alex looked around. It seemed like there were other Warriors here helping out. Must be some sort of assignment for them. He wondered if he'd see any cannon characters helping out, like Zeke!
The Warrior candidate loudly cleared his throat. "Attention cadets! I need you to separate into two groups of men and women." He looked around the group as it shifted into two. "Warrior candidate, Ross!"
Alex turned around. A younger girl with short reddish brown curly hair was running up beside the boy. She seemed to be much more confident than the boy in front of them "Sir!"
"Take the women to their assigned cabins. I've got the men."
"Yes sir!" She turned to face the group of women. "You heard the man. Women with me!" The crowd of women quickly followed after her.
"With me." The boy said before he walked in the opposite way from the girl. Alex quickly moved to follow him.
"If you're eleven to fourteen-years-old you'll be in cabin A-1. If you're fifteen to eighteen, you'll be in cabin B-1. And if you're nineteen and up you'll be in cabin C-1. Oh, and put your things away quickly and line up at attention outside in the main area for the opening speech." The boy nodded and waved them off before he skirted off.
Alex made his way to cabin A-1. The buildings were huge. There were bunk beds everywhere that stacked to at least three beds. And the beds were pretty small. Most likely to fit as many cadets as possible. Which made sense since a lot of Eldians wanted to join the military. Having a lot of Eldians fight for them was important. Especially because Marleyans don't have to go through mandatory drafts. They need someone to fight. And who else than the Eldian scum.
There were few reasons other than patriarchal love for Marley. One was the benefits you got. If you did well your family could move up to honorary Marleyans and you know less discrimination.
Another was if you were kicked from the warrior program and wanted redemption. This would be your last chance though. You were lucky if your family didn't disown you. A disgrace to Marley is a disgrace to your family. Alex's parents were like that. They were disappointed that he didn't want to join the warrior program and instead join the regular Eldian ranks. They at least believe he can still bring honor and success to the family.
And another is so you don't have to work in the factories or mines. It was like the times during the industrial revolution. Well, because it technically was but in a different world. His parents are factory workers. Some of his neighbors too. Even kids work in the factories. The only reason he wasn't is because his parents wanted to help him with his education and so that could be a warrior.
No. No way.
He put his bag down on his chosen bed. It was a lower bunk in the back corner of the room. He had a full view of multiple beds and the exit.
Each bed had two drawers underneath them. Even the top bunks. He brought his night clothes, some books to study, and some tools for any projects he was doing, and he put them in the drawers.
He quickly moved outside and lined up with the others.
Man, it was hot today. He could only imagine what it's like out in the trenches.
After a few minutes a Sargent walked in front of them and started speaking. "Attention! All eyes on me you swine. Welcome to the three years of hell you demons deserve! I'm Sargent Mair. I'll be one of the sergeants in charge of the training of you devils!" He continued talking. It was just basic introduction stuff with a side of casual racism. First, they would warm up. Then they would learn military terms and different ranks and how they should behave. Then how to use guns, cannons and so forth. Then lunch. Then they'd do a run. Then a tour of the base. Then dinner. Then they'll sleep.
That was just the first day, but everyday counts. He needed to be the best. Work hard not not to the point of exhaustion.
"Now show me your love and devotion to our motherland!"
They all saluted.
This was his starting line.
He didn't do that well. Not the best but not the worst. Academically he's (so far) the top of the class but physically he's part of the lower middle of the group. It frustrated him. He huffed before he shoved his food in his mouth. It was bland but food is food.
"Heyo, can we sit here?"
Alexander looked up. A freckled redhead boy and a boy with short black hair, smiled down at him.
"Um, sure." He spoke.
The two boys sat beside him with their lunches.
"I'm Dominic Bormann," The redhead, now dubbed Dominic, said. "And this one 'ere is Nicolas Kass."
Alex hummed and nodded his head. "And you're telling me this because why?"
Nicolas spoke up. "You're supposed to introduce yourself."
Alex sighed. He wasn't really in the mood for social interactions. "I'm Alexander Birken, but just call me Alex for short." He ate some more. "Now, what do you want?" He at least wanted to finish his food. He needed the sustenance, and who knew if the Sargents would take away food privileges as some sort of punishment.
Dominic chuckled. "Geeze, sorry. Didn't mean ta' ruffle ya' feathers. We jus' wanna see if ya' wanna be friends. Ya' know so much 'bout all this military jargon and we thought ya' would be able ta' teach us uh' thing or two."
"That's just because I learned from a friend. He's a warrior candidate."
"Really that's so cool! What's it like being friends with someone so honorable?" Nicolas asked in awe.
Alex cringed. "Just like a normal friendship, but sometimes he's busy because of his training. Er, and the war too."
"Amazing." Nicolas sighed.
Alex turned back to the redhead. "Your accent. It sounds southern Marleyan?"
Dominic beamed. "That's right! I'm from the deepest parts ya' can git. The farm my family's located at is 'bout uh' day's trip to the nearest warzone. That's one of the reasons I came 'ere 'ta join instead uh' my home."
Alex was surprised. "You've been outside Leberio!?"
Nicolas looked at him weird. "We both are. In fact, I think at least a fifth of the Eldians here are from other ghettos."
"There are other ghettos!? How come I've never heard of them?"
Nicolas looked up in thought. "Maybe because historically Leberio's one of the most important and biggest locations in Marley. The Tybur family lives here too! So, everyone knows this place, but you won't need to know about the others because they aren't as useful to our country." He shrugged with the last sentence.
"That's crazy…" It made a lot of sense. There was no way that Leberio was the only place where Eldians are kept. And wasn't there that Warrior candidate who was from an internment zone outside Marley that hung out with Gabi and Falco? "Are there ghettos in different countries too?" He took another bite of his food.
Nicolas nodded. "Yep. Honestly, that's one of the reasons why I love our grand country. Marley treats us like we're people. We truly don't deserve it. We've been spoiled. They really treat Eldians like us like the devils we are over there."
Alex choked. Nicolas simply patted his back. Like he was unaware Alex choked due to the nonchalant racism.
Dominic laughed. "Well now ya' ain't gotta choice. We gotta teach this Leberian snowflake 'bout the ways of the world!"
Alex sighed. Now he wouldn't be able to get rid of them. But he might be able to learn more about the world from them. "Fine." He mumbled. "Nicolas, where are you from?"
"I'm from a ghetto in west Marley. It's about half a day away from here if you take the train. We usually do a lot of mining work for our punishments."
"Wow." Alex said.
The end of dinner bell rang. Everyone in the room got up and quickly threw away their trash. It was an expectation that after an Eldian eats anywhere that that clean the entire place until it's spotless.
Alex tried to not to scowl at their Marleyan sargents as they watched them all clean with rigor. He even saw some of them throw food at the ground where someone already cleaned just to make them clean again.
He shook his head of any angry thoughts. He needed to focus on making this building so clean Levi would smile with pride.
"Cadet Birken!"
Alex quickly turned to face the voice that addressed him and made sure his broom was in his left hand when he saluted. "Sir!"
"You're a strange boy, you know that cadet?" Sargent Mair said to him as he walked closer to the boy.
"Sir?"
"Years ago, you got a recommendation from the late Eren Kruger, months before his passing, to join the Titan Biology Research Society and Engineering Teams, if you completed boot camp. Now you've got a recommendation by the current holder of the Beast Titan, Tom Ksaver, to work with them part time. Just what did a devil like you do that got so much military attention?" Mair raised one of his brows as he asked the question.
"Sir, with all due respect I didn't do anything. Mr. Kruger noticed my diligent studying of titans and technology and recommended me to them. After that, I was introduced to Mr. Ksaver through a friend of mine. I had no idea about the recommendation of part time participation in their research."
The man judged him with his eyes before he grumbled. "Go cadet, I'm sure you know the way. You'll be there every time you have extra time here. Next time you can leave after cleaning time."
Alex blinked and dropped his salute. "Yes sir." He handed off his broom to another Eldian. He ignored the other Eldians stares and glares that came his way as he walked past them.
He did have something he wanted to finish and publish anyway.
The Nine Titan powers are known and feared by all. That is a fact. Though their history of terror is widely known across the world their origins of how they split are obscure. It is known that the Titans were split from the founder Ymir. Ymir had three daughters, Maria, Rose, and the youngest Sina, who devoured her corpse and caused the very first split of the Titan powers into three. Then those three were split into nine when the daughters' progeny devoured them. This knowledge raises the question of "If the Titans all came from one, does that mean that some Titans share properties?" Somehow this question doesn't come up when talking about titan powers. There are in fact Titans with similar properties like the Armored and Warhammer. Their main properties are their hardening. There's only one explanation for this phenomenon. The Nine Titans come in three classes. To be able to classify each titan into three groups going over their powers and traits is the logical first step.
The Armored Titan is a bipedal 15 meter class titan that has hardened flesh that covers and protects most of its body that allow it to take heavy blows. Unfortunately, its heavy hardening causes it to be quite slow and lowers mobility.
The Beast Titan is usually a bipedal 17 meter class titan (though there are instances of quadrupedal Beast Titans shown in art that are of unknown height) that has animalistic characteristics. Usually the animal it takes form will determine its combative abilities.
The Jaw titan is a quadrupedal 5 meter class titan that has powerful jaw strength and sharp claws. Because of its small size it has great speed and agility.
The Warhammer Titan is a bipedal 15 meter class titan that can manipulate its flesh into whatever the user wishes, usually a weapon. Its hardening is much more flexible and light than the Armored Titan's which allow it to move around faster. Using its hardening abilities too much will drain its stamina.
The Cart Titan is a quadrupedal 4 meter class titan that has incredible endurance. It uses its four limbs to move around and its small size allows for it to move quickly.
The Colossal Titan is a bipedal 60 meter class titan that is much larger than any other of the nine titans. It can even control the destructiveness of its transformations as well as weaponize the steam that comes off of its body. Transforming takes a lot of energy from its user.
The Female Titan is a bipedal 14 meter class titan that has feminine features. Though it's named for its look, its real power is its mimic ability. If it consumes a piece of another Titan shifter it can copy its power to some extent. It also has high endurance and mobility.
The Attack Titan is a bipedal 15 meter class titan whose power is unknown. There are no records of its power before Eldia fell. Old Eldian paintings depict the titan as a regular titan but muscular. Though it must be quite powerful to stay hidden for almost one hundred years.
The Founding Titan is a bipedal 13 meter class titan that could create and control pure titans with its scream. It can even change the composition of the Subjects of Ymir's bodies. The Titan's power can also be used by the holder even if they aren't in titan form.
Though it may not ever be fully revealed, knowing how The Nine split will give more insight of their abilities. Here are the three titan shifter classes that were decided.
The Unique Class: Founding Titan, Female Titan, Attack Titan
The Resilience Class: Beast Titan, Jaw Titan, Cart Titan
The Ephemeral Class: Armored Titan, Warhammer Titan, Colossal Titan
First, the Founding Titan is in a class that has unique powers like it does. The Female Titan is a good example. Its mimic abilities are proof of its connection to the Paths and the other Nine Titans to be able to use their powers. And while the Attack Titan's powers are unknown, it's still one of The Nine. Whatever power it has must be mighty powerful to dodge Marleyan forces.
Next, The Beast, Jaw, and Cart Titans closeness is quite easy to group them together. There were several past Jaw and Cart Titans with animalistic features. Tapestries of former shifters clearly display this. One notable example of this was a Cart Titan with crocodile features.
Finally, For the Armored Class, both the Armored and Warhammer Titans make the most sense with their classification. But to explain why the Colossal Titan is a part of this group, thought into what they all have in common besides hardening. These Titans aren't used in long term battles. As time in a battle continues, the Colossal's muscle mass deteriorates. Overuse of titan hardening drains the stamina of both Armored and Warhammer Titans.
Hopefully this knowledge may lead to more discoveries about Titan Shifters that will strengthen the titan shifters in our military.
—Eldian Cadet Alexander Birken,
Year 838
