Yesterday's Enemy [AoT]

ONE

(SET TWO YEARS BEFORE SHIGANSHINA IS BREACHED)

'Havas. The military giant of the north, tiny in population but great in power. We know little of our human enemy but have come to our conclusions, each more ridiculous and hoping than the next. Still, after almost a century, Havas holds its secrets tight.'

-An Extract from the book 'Royal Questions' written by scholar and journalist Aksel Briggs.

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ONE

Wall Maria, North Region, Islet, The Gates of Havas

Havas has fallen; the sentence spread like a plague through the military. It travelled in hushed whispers among high-ranking officers. It festered in the minds of those who could be allowed the truth.

It was a phrase of fear and confusion, at least to most people.

Erwin Smith was not most people.

Erwin was a man that sought out gain like a moth to a light. While most would stay far, far away from the source of their terror, he would run straight to the opportunity each presented.

Today was a prime example.

Erwin occupied a carriage bound for the town of Islet; with him, his two most trusted comrades. Their mission: answers.

Before long, the carriage stopped, and the three soldiers made their exit. They looked up to a distant sun. Cold, freezing cold. The kind that ran up your bones and made your teeth chatter. Snow littered the ground, thick and icy. This was the northernmost town in all of the Walls.

"Incredible! I've never been this far north before-" Hange began.

She was cut short by loud shouts echoing in the distance. The three immediately began to hasten towards the source of the noise. They weaved through houses until their objective came into view.

Erwin knew this would be another hard-fought battle, but his best tool would not be his weapons... but his words.

This was a delicate situation, the likes of which had never been seen before in all recorded history. It was essential to resolve this without further bloodshed. Imperative, even.

They had been promised carnage, but what they found shocked them nonetheless.

Hordes of bloodied, bruised and otherwise injured refugees cowered against the gates. Many were loudly sobbing, and the noise of a shrill child's cry pierced their ears as they approached. Bleeding wounds and even loss of limbs were only a few of the ailments of the refugees. Many clutched disembowelled bodies that seeped blood into the snow, creating pools of stark contrast. Red. It was like nothing they had ever seen.

These people who sat in pools of their own blood, at the mercy of their enemy, were the remains of Havas.

Havas had existed beside the Walls for nearly a century. Little was known about their neighbour, but it was widely recognised that Havas was their superior in both technology and military might.

It was a beacon of strength. And so Erwin had only one question: how was this possible?

While Hange and Levi remained frozen at the sight, Erwin took action. He quickly realised that their mission was not without opposition. In fact, opposition was in plentiful supply.