AOT: Life of a Scout

A Gilded Cage Pt. 1

A cage made of gold, is still a cage.

How Long? That was the question that so plagued the mind of every human being. How long? That was an inquiry few had the gaw to answer. How Long? Since the birth of mankind the question had always been "How long do we have on this Earth?

How much longer till we go from six feet tall to six feet under?" Death is an inevitable end for all creation under its jurisdiction. From the age of the first man and woman the question of when we might pass ever endured; the fact that life itself could end at any moment always shadowing our every footstep.

Death in itself was inescapable. Humanity feared it, but overtime, began to accept it as a natural fact of life. A simple fact that dictated all life must soon come to an end.

From the day a newborn is brought into the world, the grave begins to shift and toil, preparing a place for the infant that, after it has lived the duration of its life, would come to join as an addition to the soil.

Though a dreaded existence it would sometimes seem man only saw death as a means to an end. A fact that would simply have to be put away into the dark recesses of the mind.

With that matter dealt with, humanity began to show little to no concern for the end of life and instead, focused on how we could live it while we still had a hold on it.

But as mankind grew in number, so too did its malcontent for life itself. As if it were in our nature, people began fighting one another. Neighbor against neighbor. Friend against friend. Even the families weren't exempt from the turmoil of the species.

Wars commonly broke out among the many nations far and wide.

Often they portrayed themselves as justice seekers simply claiming that an unequal matter must be dealt with. And people believed them. Yet their true intentions always rose to the surface when they plundered the villages, towns and cities of the innocent. Greed.

The money they stole from others served as a means to satisfy their wants with coins of gold and silver and priceless jewels.

Power. The lands they seized granted them authority over the lives of the many. Self-satisfaction. When they came to own so much they became contempt with it and decided expansion of their territory was the only way their hunger for more would be sated.

Thus the cycle repeated itself over and over again.

Amidst the common people thievery, murder and slavery were closely tied in to cultural practices. One man would brutally kill another for something in his possession he deemed more valuable than the very life he took.

Fathers became accustomed to selling their wives, their own flesh and blood children and even themselves into slavery as a means to repay a debt or make quick money.

Others were less fortunate, being captured, beaten down and tortured into submission to their new master. Human lives and the material things beheld on the Earth became the currency by which all abided and indulged. No rest to the madness could be seen for many less fortunate than others.

The world seemed to favor those in high standing positions and play sick and twisted games with those born to lower casts.

The world began to tear itself apart as the squabbles of man, like an inflamed candle, burned brighter and melted faster.

However, before it could burn itself out entirely, a new trouble emerged, blowing out the candles of humanity's plights altogether, leaving nothing but foul breath and blood lust behind to slowly erode the candle itself.

An unforeseen foe arose from the cradle of creation. Their footsteps were like tremors for those nearby. Their roar could be heard for miles around. Their presence disgruntled the livestock, making them struggle and thrash about in desperate attempts to escape.

When their massive shadows descended upon towns, villages and cities, the voracious atmosphere surrounding them registered to all before them. Their faces often pale, few ever gazed upon and lived to tell the tale.

Giants. The strange and unpredictable appearance of these creatures both astounded and terrified the world's populace. The giants appeared humanoid, looking similar to the average male man or woman, but the similarities ended there.

Their sheer size alone brought with it the air of pure intimidation. Their sizes ranged from three to fifteen meters in height, roughly fifty feet.

Their strength alone outmatched any human or creature to ever walk upon the land. Added to this the various frozen facial expressions each giant displayed almost like a mask truly brought in a wave of fear that spread quite quickly throughout the populace.

Unfortunately, the news of their existence barely matched the speed at which these titanic beings advanced. At first it was believed they possessed intelligence. But that assumption was quickly denounced when the first attempts to communicate with them were launched . . . and consequently failed.

On the very first day of their arrival the giants began showing their true nature. Many watched in horror as the first victims were taken by enormous hands and consequently devoured by these strange beings.

When attempts were made to bring them down it became very apparent that these creatures were almost invulnerable to any weapon thrown their way. When a significant part of themselves was damaged they instantly regenerated it.

The giants would fall briefly to a head-wound dealt by an artillery piece that would kill any normal animal. But within a few minutes, as if through some unholy resurrection, the cranial organs would reform, the skull would recede back where it was and the skin would reseal itself over the wound, making it seem like no such injury was ever incurred in the first place. They'd continue onward unfazed, resuming their mass-murdering spree.

Then many more gathered in large numbers, lumbering into all corners of the world. Strong. Enormous. Invincible; and with an unprecedented hunger for human beings. Empires centuries in the making crumbled to pieces in mere days. For the first time in its history, humanity as a whole was brought down to its knees.

For the first time ever, mankind as an entirety faced an enemy greater than itself. One that would prove much more brutal and sadistic than it's prey could ever hope to be. Within mere days these strange creatures sated their unfathomable hunger with the lives of millions . . . and millions. Mankind was pushed to the brink of extinction.