Geography & Nations
The geography of *Attack on Titan*’s world is divided into two main continental powers: **Paradis Island**, the isolated home of the so-called “last humans,” and the vast **Marleyan mainland**, which controls most of the known world. Though separated by an ocean, the two regions are deeply connected through bloodlines, history, and conquest.
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### **Paradis Island**
Paradis is a massive island off the western coast of the mainland, once chosen as a refuge by the Eldian king Karl Fritz after the Great Titan War. It is surrounded by mountains, forests, and open plains, with fertile farmland and several key districts. The island is encircled by three concentric walls—**Maria, Rose,** and **Sina**—each roughly 50 meters high and hundreds of kilometers in circumference. These walls form three enormous rings of human civilization.
* **Wall Maria (Outer Ring):**
Once the first line of defense, now mostly reclaimed after being overrun by Titans. It contains major districts such as **Shiganshina** (Eren’s birthplace), **Trost**, and **Karanes**. These cities act as defensive gates and trade hubs. Beyond Maria are wildlands filled with forests, rivers, and ruins of abandoned villages from humanity’s retreat.
* **Wall Rose (Middle Ring):**
A balance between safety and productivity, housing the working and merchant classes. Key districts include **Utopia**, **Krolva**, and **Stohess**, which serve as economic centers and command points for the Garrison Regiment. The population here supplies food and goods for both outer and inner regions.
* **Wall Sina (Inner Ring):**
The political and cultural heart of the Walls. It contains **Mitras**, the royal capital and residence of the Reiss family. Nobility, high-ranking officers, and the **Military Police Brigade** live here in wealth and comfort. Beneath Sina are hidden chambers and catacombs where the Church of the Walls stores forbidden knowledge and relics tied to Ymir Fritz’s bloodline.
**Religious Influence on Paradis:**
The **Church of the Walls** operates throughout the three regions, venerating the Walls as holy and claiming they were built by divine intervention. Priests and bishops serve the monarchy by discouraging exploration and punishing those who question their faith. The Church secretly knows the truth—that the Walls themselves are made from millions of Colossal Titans crystallized into barriers by the Founding Titan’s power. Over time, the Church’s authority wanes as the Survey Corps exposes the lies they uphold.
**Factions and Forces on Paradis:**
* **The Royal Government:** A puppet regime controlled by the false king in Wall Sina until the coup led by the Survey Corps revealed the true royal bloodline of Historia Reiss.
* **Survey Corps (Scouting Legion):** Explorers who seek to reclaim territory beyond the Walls and uncover the truth of the Titans. They represent freedom, progress, and rebellion against ignorance.
* **Garrison Regiment:** Defensive troops maintaining the walls and city gates, protecting citizens from Titan breaches.
* **Military Police Brigade:** The elite enforcers serving the royal government within Wall Sina, often corrupt but influential.
* **Yeagerists:** A revolutionary faction formed later by followers of Eren Yeager, advocating for military expansion and total freedom of Eldia through the use of Titan power.
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### **Marleyan Empire (Mainland)**
Across the sea lies **Marley**, a vast, technologically advanced empire that emerged victorious after the fall of the Eldian Empire. Marley controls most of the global landmass and wields power through military strength, industrialization, and the exploitation of the **Nine Titans**.
**Major Locations within Marley:**
* **Liberio Internment Zone:** A walled district where Eldians live under constant surveillance, serving Marley as soldiers or laborers. It is home to many key characters, including Reiner Braun, Annie Leonhart, and Gabi Braun.
* **Marley’s Capital:** A heavily militarized city with advanced technology, trains, airships, and weaponry. Government buildings and Titan laboratories dominate the skyline.
* **Fort Slava:** A strategic port city and military base used in overseas warfare. It symbolizes Marley’s global reach and use of Titans as living weapons.
* **Southern and Western Fronts:** Regions bordering rival nations engaged in conflict with Marley. These territories are sites of endless wars fought to maintain Marley’s imperial control.
**Religious and Cultural Ideology in Marley:**
Marleyan society promotes the **“Anti-Eldian Doctrine,”** portraying Ymir Fritz as a devil who cursed the world with Titans. Eldians are branded as “Subjects of Ymir” and forced to live in internment zones, wearing armbands to mark their race. There is no organized religion in Marley beyond this ideological propaganda, which functions as a state religion of hate and control.
**Factions and Forces in Marley:**
* **Marleyan Military:** Divided into army, navy, and air forces, supported by Titan warriors from Eldian families.
* **Warrior Unit:** A special Eldian division trained to inherit Titan powers in service to Marley. Members include Reiner (Armored Titan), Annie (Female Titan), and Zeke (Beast Titan).
* **Marleyan Government:** A totalitarian regime run by generals and politicians exploiting Eldians for conquest.
* **The Tybur Family:** Noble Eldians granted freedom and wealth for supporting Marley’s rule; holders of the War Hammer Titan.
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### **Other Known Nations and Regions**
* **Hizuru:** An eastern nation modeled after feudal Japan, allied with the Eldian royal family through bloodlines. Hizuru’s leaders, like **Kiyomi Azumabito**, seek economic gain from trade with Paradis while preserving ancient cultural traditions.
* **Mid-East Allied Nations:** A coalition of states at war with Marley over global dominance. Their battles demonstrate the rise of modern warfare that threatens to replace Titans entirely.
* **Uncharted Territories:** Vast lands and islands remain unexplored due to Titan-infested zones and political conflict. These regions are rumored to hold remnants of pre-Titan civilizations and ancient ruins connected to Ymir’s history.
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### **Geographic and Environmental Features**
* **The Walls and Titan Wastelands:** The forests, plains, and abandoned towns between the walls are filled with dormant or roaming Titans. The terrain shifts from dense forests ideal for vertical maneuvering to open fields where Titans roam freely.
* **The Ocean (Surrounding Paradis):** Once believed to mark the end of the world, the sea is a vast barrier separating the island from the mainland. Its discovery symbolizes humanity’s first true freedom.
* **Mountains of the North:** Cold, high peaks beyond Wall Sina serve as natural barriers and remote outposts for scouting missions.
* **Forest of Giant Trees:** A massive woodland region within Wall Maria, used as a natural stronghold by the Survey Corps for operations against Titans.
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Together, these lands form a world of isolation, deception, and war—where ancient faiths, political oppression, and the bloodline of Ymir Fritz shape the balance of power. The player, beginning their journey within the walls of Paradis, lives under the illusion of safety, surrounded by rigid faith and propaganda, unaware of the vast world of nations, religions, and factions waiting beyond the sea.
Races & Cultures
The world of *Attack on Titan* is defined by the struggle between two primary races—**Eldians** and **Marleyans**—whose history, religion, and ideology have shaped all known nations and cultures. Though humanity appears united within the walls at first, the truth reveals a fractured species divided by bloodline, fear, and ancient inheritance. Every culture, faction, and belief system across the world traces back to one woman: **Ymir Fritz**, the first human to obtain the power of the Titans nearly two thousand years ago. Her descendants, the Eldians, became both the creators and victims of an empire built upon that power, while the rest of humanity grew to despise and fear them.
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### **Eldians (Subjects of Ymir)**
The Eldians are the only humans capable of transforming into Titans through injection with Titan spinal fluid. They descend directly from Ymir Fritz, whose power split into nine inheritable forms known as the **Nine Titans**. This ability passes through bloodlines and is linked by an invisible network called the **Paths**, a metaphysical plane that connects all Eldians.
#### **Cultural Divisions:**
* **Eldians of Paradis Island:**
These are the remnants of the royal bloodline and their followers who fled to Paradis after the fall of the Eldian Empire. Their culture is built around isolation, obedience, and faith in the Walls. For over a century, they believed they were the last humans alive, and their understanding of the world is controlled by the monarchy and the Church of the Walls. They speak the same language as mainlanders but have lost knowledge of modern technology and history. Life inside the Walls is organized by class: the poor and laborers live near Wall Maria, while the rich and noble live near Wall Sina. Education and religion emphasize loyalty to the monarchy, and curiosity about the outside world is seen as heresy.
* **Eldians of Marley (Internment Zone Eldians):**
These Eldians are treated as an inferior race within the Marleyan Empire. They are confined to districts like **Liberio**, forced to wear armbands marking their identity, and indoctrinated to believe their ancestors were demons. Their children are taught to serve Marley as soldiers, with the hope of earning “honorary Marleyan” status—a false freedom used to control them. Despite oppression, the Eldians of Marley developed their own subculture centered around survival, discipline, and internal pride.
#### **Religious Beliefs:**
Eldians on Paradis follow the **Church of the Walls**, which worships the Walls as divine creations and considers the royal family chosen by God. In reality, this religion was designed by the monarchy to suppress knowledge of the Titans’ true origins. On the mainland, Marleyan propaganda has replaced religion entirely, portraying **Ymir Fritz** as a devil who cursed humanity. Some Eldians in Marley still secretly pray to Ymir, treating her as a tragic mother figure rather than a monster.
#### **Notable Factions and Bloodlines:**
* **Reiss Family (Royal Bloodline):** True descendants of King Fritz, the only ones able to fully use the Founding Titan’s power.
* **Yeager Family:** A mixed-blood line connected to both Marley and Paradis, pivotal in reuniting the divided Eldian races.
* **Warrior Unit:** A select group of Eldian children from Marley trained to inherit the Nine Titans in service of Marley’s military.
* **Yeagerists:** A revolutionary faction that arose on Paradis under Eren Yeager’s influence, advocating for total Eldian unity and dominance through the use of Titans.
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### **Marleyans**
The Marleyans are the dominant ethnic and political power of the modern world. They do not possess Titan abilities but rule through manipulation, propaganda, and industrial strength. Culturally, they are nationalistic and expansionist, believing themselves superior to Eldians and viewing Titan powers as tools for conquest. Marleyan society is stratified between the military elite and the working class, and its culture revolves around loyalty to the state and hatred toward Eldians.
#### **Regions and Territories:**
* **Marleyan Mainland:** The largest and most technologically advanced region, consisting of fortified cities, industrial centers, and military ports. It controls numerous colonies and puppet states across the world.
* **Liberio Internment Zone:** A walled ghetto where Eldians live under strict surveillance. Despite harsh conditions, some Eldians there rise to fame as Warriors, earning temporary respect from Marleyan citizens.
#### **Cultural and Religious Ideology:**
Marley has no spiritual religion; instead, its entire belief system is built on political myth. The “Anti-Eldian Doctrine” is taught as historical truth, depicting Ymir Fritz as a demon who destroyed the world. This ideology serves as the foundation for Marley’s nationalism and justifies its enslavement of Eldians. Children are raised to worship the Marleyan army as protectors of civilization and to despise the “Island Devils” of Paradis.
#### **Factions:**
* **Marleyan Military:** The ruling force of the empire, divided into ground, air, and naval divisions. It uses Titan Warriors to wage war on enemy nations.
* **Warrior Unit:** The elite Eldian soldiers who inherit Titan powers. Members such as Reiner Braun, Annie Leonhart, and Zeke Yeager embody the conflict between loyalty and identity.
* **Tybur Family:** A noble Eldian family living freely among Marleyans, controlling the War Hammer Titan and influencing politics through wealth and diplomacy.
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### **Other Races and Nations**
Though the story centers on Eldians and Marleyans, other human cultures exist around the world.
* **Hizuru:** An eastern nation resembling feudal Japan, ruled by the **Azumabito Clan**, who share ancient ties to the royal Eldian family. Hizuru’s people value honor, trade, and craftsmanship. They act as opportunistic allies to Paradis, seeking to profit from its resources like iceburst stone and its strategic location.
* **Mid-East Allied Nations:** A coalition of human nations constantly at war with Marley for global dominance. Their cultures are industrial and militarized, representing the rise of modern technology over Titan warfare. They view both Marley and Eldia as dangerous relics of the past.
* **Southern Tribes and Western Territories:** Scattered human settlements and independent kingdoms across the mainland, many destroyed during the Great Titan War. Some have integrated into Marley’s empire, while others live in isolation, fearing both Eldians and Titans alike.
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### **Cultural Hierarchy and Conflict**
The relationships between races are defined by fear, ignorance, and manipulation. The Marleyans see Eldians as monsters; the Eldians of Marley see themselves as cursed but loyal to their oppressors; and the Eldians of Paradis see themselves as victims, unaware of their true history. Each group’s religion and culture reinforce these divisions—Marley’s propaganda, Paradis’s false faith, and the suppressed memories of Ymir’s descendants. The result is a world in which blood determines worth, and ideology replaces truth.
At the start of the player’s journey within the Walls, they live among the Eldians of Paradis, raised to believe the Titans are their only enemy. As they rise through the ranks of the military and uncover forbidden knowledge, they discover that humanity is divided not by monsters outside the Walls, but by the sins and lies that built them.
Current Conflicts
The world of *Attack on Titan* is in a state of constant turmoil, shaped by centuries of lies, racial hatred, and political manipulation. Every region, religion, and faction is bound in a network of conflicting ideologies and ambitions that have escalated into open warfare. The balance of power is collapsing as ancient bloodlines, world governments, and revolutionary movements all seek control of the Titan powers. For a player starting within the Walls, the world initially appears simple—humanity trapped inside, Titans outside—but that illusion soon unravels to reveal a global conflict between nations and belief systems built upon deceit.
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### **Internal Conflicts of Paradis Island**
Paradis, isolated for over a century, is a land of both fear and rebellion. Inside the three Walls—Maria, Rose, and Sina—the government, religion, and military are all struggling for control of the people.
**1. The Collapse of Monarchical Control**
The royal government, once worshipped as divine rulers, is exposed as a puppet regime controlled by a false king. The true royal bloodline, the **Reiss family**, has secretly ruled through manipulation of memory using the Founding Titan’s power. This revelation divides the island politically, leading to a coup led by **Commander Erwin Smith** and the **Survey Corps**, who overthrow the false monarchy. The establishment of a new military-led government creates both opportunity and tension, as the truth about the Titans and the outside world begins to surface.
**2. Religious Upheaval and the Fall of the Church of the Walls**
The **Church of the Walls**, once a dominant force that controlled faith and obedience, begins to lose its grip as citizens learn that the Walls themselves are made of Titans. Many of its followers descend into fanaticism or despair, while others attempt to preserve their faith by aligning with the new regime. Some radical priests form secret sects, interpreting the revelation as proof of divine punishment. The fall of religious order creates instability but also the rise of underground cults and political factions seeking to exploit the chaos.
**3. Rise of the Yeagerists**
Following Eren Yeager’s acquisition of the Founding Titan, a militant faction known as the **Yeagerists** emerges, believing Eren is the savior of Eldia. They reject diplomacy with the outside world and advocate for complete Eldian independence through force. Led by **Floch Forster** and supported by much of the younger military, they carry out assassinations, coups, and propaganda campaigns to seize control of the island. The Yeagerists’ rise creates civil war within Paradis, splitting the military between loyalists to Eren and supporters of peace with Marley and Hizuru.
**4. The Scout Reformation and Exploration Beyond the Walls**
The **Survey Corps**, once hated for their failed expeditions, become the heroes of the new age. Their discoveries beyond the Walls—ancient ruins, Titan remnants, and the sea—ignite a new sense of purpose. However, their leadership is divided between those who seek peaceful diplomacy with foreign nations and those who prepare for inevitable invasion. The player, like Eren, becomes entangled in these conflicts, forced to choose between freedom and destruction.
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### **Global Conflicts and External Tensions**
Across the ocean, the **Marleyan Empire** stands as the dominant global superpower, but even its rule is beginning to fracture under the weight of technological change and military exhaustion.
**1. The Great Marleyan War and the Decline of Titan Power**
Marley’s Titan-based military dominance is being challenged by the **Mid-East Allied Nations**, a coalition of industrial powers developing modern weapons capable of killing Titans. The **Battle of Fort Slava** marks the end of Marley’s unquestioned supremacy, demonstrating that the age of Titans is coming to an end. Marley’s leaders, fearing obsolescence, turn their attention toward Paradis Island to reclaim the Founding Titan and reassert their global control.
**2. Oppression and Resistance within Marley**
Within Marley’s borders, the Eldian population in **Liberio** suffers under strict apartheid-like laws. Constant propaganda keeps them loyal, but discontent grows among the younger generation, many of whom have served as Warriors only to be discarded. Secret resistance movements form within the internment zones, inspired by stories of rebellion from Paradis. The **Warrior Unit**, torn between duty and identity, becomes a symbol of divided loyalty—serving the nation that enslaves their own people.
**3. The Tybur Manipulation and Global Deception**
The **Tybur family**, Eldian nobles who possess the War Hammer Titan, control much of Marley’s political narrative. They orchestrate grand speeches and propaganda to justify continued Eldian oppression while securing their privileged status. Their influence over Marley’s government and world affairs allows them to shape international opinion against Paradis, portraying the island’s inhabitants as demons that must be eradicated.
**4. The Return to Paradis (War for Paradis)**
As Marley’s internal power weakens, it launches a massive military operation against Paradis to seize the Founding Titan. This invasion reignites the ancient Eldian-Marleyan war, leading to devastating battles in cities like **Liberio** and **Shiganshina**. The conflict evolves from a simple war between nations into an ideological clash—Marley fighting for domination, Paradis fighting for survival, and Eren Yeager fighting for freedom at any cost.
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### **Religious and Ideological Conflicts**
The world’s faith systems and historical narratives are deeply tied to political control.
**1. The Cult of Ymir Fritz**
Among some Eldians, especially those in secret circles, **Ymir Fritz** is worshipped as a mother goddess who gave life and strength to her descendants. To others, especially within Marley, she is viewed as a devil who sold her soul for power. This duality—divine savior versus demonic corrupter—defines the ideological division between Marley and Eldia.
**2. The Lost Teachings of the Paths**
Scholars and revolutionaries in both Paradis and Marley have begun to study the **Paths**, the metaphysical network connecting all Eldians. Some view it as a form of divine communication, while others see it as a curse binding their race together. Debates over whether to destroy or preserve the Paths create new philosophical factions that see Titans not as weapons, but as symbols of fate and slavery.
**3. Rise of Secular Militarism**
With both Paradis and Marley turning away from traditional faith, nationalism becomes the new religion. The belief in one’s nation, race, and destiny replaces divine worship. This ideological fervor fuels wars and genocide, with both sides believing they are fighting for justice and freedom.
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### **Adventuring Opportunities and Regional Power Struggles**
The chaotic state of the world creates countless opportunities for adventure, espionage, and rebellion:
* Exploring the **ruins beyond Wall Maria**, uncovering hidden laboratories, Titan fossils, and lost Eldian technology.
* Investigating **underground cults** in Wall Sina that still worship the Titans and seek to resurrect the royal order.
* Smuggling supplies through the **port of Karanes**, where foreign agents and Hizuru merchants conduct secret trade.
* Infiltrating **Liberio**, gathering intelligence on Marleyan troop movements and discovering the truth of the Warrior Unit.
* Forming alliances with **Hizuru**, securing resources and forging new diplomatic paths while avoiding manipulation by foreign powers.
* Engaging in **civil conflict between Yeagerists and loyalists**, deciding the fate of Paradis’ new government.
* Venturing into **uncharted territories beyond the sea**, where rumors speak of nations untouched by the Titan curse.
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At the center of all these conflicts lies a moral divide rather than a simple war. Every faction—Marley, Paradis, Hizuru, and the Yeagerists—believes their cause is just. The world has entered an age where ancient faiths, modern technology, and the will of Titans all collide. The player, beginning inside the Walls like Eren, becomes caught between these forces, witnessing the slow death of the old world and the violent birth of a new one.
Magic & Religion
In the world of *Attack on Titan*, magic as it is known in traditional fantasy does not exist—yet there is a supernatural power that functions like a divine and biological magic system. This force is the **Power of the Titans**, a gift and a curse born from **Ymir Fritz**, the progenitor of all Titans and the spiritual source of Eldian might. It is not spellcraft in the sense of casting incantations, but a mysterious, godlike energy that defies science and governs the destiny of an entire race. This “magic” is divine in origin, biological in function, and metaphysical in control. It intertwines life, memory, and blood into a single curse that no ordinary human can access.
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### **The Source of Magic – The Paths and Ymir Fritz**
Nearly two thousand years before the current era, a mortal girl named **Ymir Fritz** made contact with an otherworldly entity in a dimension beyond time and space—an origin point later known as the **Source of All Organic Matter**. When Ymir reached out to this creature, she gained the power to create and control living flesh, transforming herself into the first Titan. This act is the foundation of all supernatural ability in the world.
The **Paths** are an invisible network of metaphysical channels that connect every Eldian’s soul to Ymir in the other realm. Through the Paths, information, powers, and memories can pass instantly across any distance. They are a timeless realm, existing beyond death and physical reality, and serve as the medium through which all “magical” Titan transformations occur. Every time an Eldian becomes a Titan, it is Ymir herself—bound in the Paths—who constructs their body from the unseen sands of that dimension.
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### **The Nature of Titan Power**
Titan power functions as a living magic system tied directly to the soul and blood of Ymir’s descendants. It can be awakened only in those of **Eldian blood**, meaning humans who carry the essence of Ymir within their genetic line. When an Eldian is injected with Titan spinal fluid, their body is transported spiritually into the Paths, where Ymir reshapes them into a Titan form. If they then consume a current Titan shifter, they inherit that specific Titan’s memories and abilities.
The Titan powers are divided into **Nine Titans**, each representing a unique “spell” or aspect of Ymir’s original magic. Each Titan grants extraordinary abilities that combine divine essence with biological mutation:
1. **The Founding Titan (Shūso no Kyojin):** The greatest of all powers, able to reshape Eldian bodies, control other Titans, and alter the memories of all Subjects of Ymir. It can command the very flesh of its kin, even turning humans into Titans or reversing their form. This power functions through royal blood, making the Reiss lineage essential to its use.
2. **The Attack Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin):** Embodies the will of freedom, granting its inheritor glimpses of past and future memories from former holders. It defies time itself, allowing the user to act against fate.
3. **The Colossal Titan (Chō ōgata no Kyojin):** A manifestation of destructive energy. Upon transformation, it releases massive heat and steam capable of leveling cities, functioning like an explosive magical ritual.
4. **The Armored Titan (Yoroi no Kyojin):** Possesses the spell of hardening, forming crystal armor across its body. It can control the density of its plating, allowing offensive and defensive variations.
5. **The Female Titan (Megami no Kyojin):** A balanced Titan that can attract pure Titans through screaming, mimic other abilities, and harden parts of its body at will. Its adaptability makes it a versatile wielder of Ymir’s blessing.
6. **The Beast Titan (Kemono no Kyojin):** Channeling the bestial aspects of creation, it transforms its inheritor into an animalistic form. Each holder manifests differently depending on their bloodline, with Zeke Yeager’s Beast Titan resembling an ape. It can also command Titans through specialized screams when mixed with royal blood.
7. **The Jaw Titan (Agito no Kyojin):** The fastest and most agile form, known for its devastating bite capable of crushing crystal and armor. It embodies predatory speed and precision.
8. **The Cart Titan (Sha no Kyojin):** A quadrupedal form suited for endurance and transport. It can carry artillery and remain transformed for months without rest, functioning as the Titan of endurance and adaptation.
9. **The War Hammer Titan (Senshi no Kyojin):** The most artistic and ritualistic power, allowing the user to form weapons and structures from hardened Titan flesh. The wielder can remotely control their body through a cord connected to a crystal cocoon, a technique resembling detached spiritual projection.
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### **Religions and Divine Interpretations**
Religion in this world is shaped entirely by the interpretation of Ymir’s gift. Every nation and culture perceives the Titan Power differently—some as divine, others as demonic, and some as merely a biological curse.
**1. The Church of the Walls (Paradis Island):**
Within the Walls, the Church preaches that humanity’s survival depends on divine protection granted by the three Walls—Maria, Rose, and Sina—believed to be gifts from God. The priests of the Church act as keepers of faith and enforcers of ignorance, forbidding exploration beyond the Walls and executing those who question doctrine. Their secret archives hold knowledge of the true royal family and the Titans sealed within the Walls, revealing that their “divine protection” is in fact the power of Ymir’s descendants crystallized into Colossal Titans. The Church’s rituals involve prayer toward the walls, vows of silence about forbidden truths, and ceremonies marking those who leave the safety of civilization as heretics.
**2. The Cult of Ymir (Ancient Eldia):**
Before the fall of the Eldian Empire, Ymir Fritz was worshipped as a goddess of creation and conquest. Temples to her covered the continent, and her power was believed to flow through the royal family. The Eldians performed sacrificial rites to maintain the favor of Ymir and used Titan abilities as divine tools to enslave other nations. These rituals involved blood offerings and the inheritance of Titans as sacred ceremonies rather than acts of war.
**3. The Marleyan Faith – The Anti-Eldian Doctrine:**
After defeating the Eldian Empire, the Marleyans created their own religious narrative, portraying Ymir as a devil who made a pact with dark forces. Their state religion is built around this myth, branding Eldians as the “Subjects of the Devil” and using this doctrine to justify genocide and enslavement. Marleyan children are taught that the Titans are a punishment sent by the heavens, and that only through loyalty to Marley can humanity be saved. Their religious authority is the **Marleyan Government**, which uses propaganda in place of divine law.
**4. Secret Eldian Mysticism (Paths Cults and Yeagerists):**
After the exposure of the truth, small sects emerged within both Paradis and Marley who revere the **Paths** as the true spiritual link of the Eldian race. Some believe Ymir still grants guidance through visions and dreams. The **Yeagerists**, while not a religion, adopt a messianic reverence for Eren Yeager, seeing him as the reincarnation of freedom itself—an almost divine figure destined to end the world’s oppression through force.
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### **The Nature of Divine Influence**
There are no gods in the traditional sense—only **Ymir Fritz**, whose consciousness persists in the Paths. She acts as both creator and slave, endlessly building Titans from the sand-like substance of her realm. When a Titan transformation occurs, it is Ymir’s will—shaped by her connection to the Founding Titan—that brings it to life. In this way, all Titan users are drawing upon a form of divine magic, but one rooted in suffering, memory, and blood rather than worship or prayer.
The **Founding Titan** acts as the closest equivalent to godhood in the mortal world, its bearer able to reshape the flesh and history of all Eldians. The Reiss and Fritz bloodlines serve as earthly conduits for this divine force, ensuring that the “magic” remains bound within royal control.
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### **Spells and Ritual Powers (Metaphysical Abilities)**
While the world lacks formal spellcasting, the Titan abilities function as structured forms of supernatural energy manipulation. Each action or ability is effectively a “spell” channeled through the Titan connection:
* **Memory Alteration:** Performed through the Founding Titan; erases or rewrites memories of Eldians.
* **Titan Command:** The ability to control mindless Titans via screams imbued with the Founding or Beast Titan’s influence.
* **Hardening:** Crystallization of flesh into near-indestructible armor or weaponry.
* **Transformation:** A ritual requiring Titan fluid; the soul is pulled through the Paths and reconstructed as a Titan body.
* **Inheritance Ritual:** By consuming a Titan shifter, the successor absorbs their memories and power, merging consciousness through the Paths.
* **Path Transmission:** Instantaneous travel of memories and emotions between all Eldians, functioning like a telepathic network.
* **The Rumbling:** The ultimate apocalyptic spell of the Founding Titan, awakening countless Colossal Titans within the Walls to march across the earth and destroy civilization.
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### **Factions and Beliefs Around Titan Magic**
* **Royalist Loyalists (Paradis):** Believe that Titan power must remain sealed to protect humanity. They see it as divine punishment for Eldian arrogance.
* **Survey Corps Rationalists:** Treat Titan power as a biological and political weapon, not a spiritual force, seeking to understand and control it through knowledge.
* **Yeagerists (Eldian Supremacists):** Consider Titan power a sacred gift of freedom and vengeance from Ymir, meant to restore Eldian dominance.
* **Marleyan State Faith:** Uses fear of Titan power to justify world conquest and maintain control over the Eldian population.
* **Paths Scholars:** Emerging philosophers and scientists studying the metaphysics of Ymir’s realm, believing it to be a natural dimension beyond time rather than a divine one.
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In essence, the “magic” of this world is not cast by words or wands but by **blood, will, and connection**. Ymir Fritz is the silent goddess whose power shapes all life for her descendants, trapped in eternity by the very people who worship or curse her. Every spell, every transformation, and every Titan born is an act of creation from her suffering. For the player starting within the Walls, this divine power is unknown, hidden beneath layers of false faith and political control—until the truth is revealed, and they must decide whether to see the Titan power as salvation, corruption, or the final key to freedom itself.
Planar Influences
The *Attack on Titan* universe possesses only one known metaphysical plane that truly interacts with the physical world: **the Paths Dimension**, also called **the Coordinate Realm**. While most humans live unaware of its existence, it is the foundation of all supernatural phenomena in the world. This plane is neither heaven nor hell—it is a timeless, spaceless realm that connects every Eldian soul through invisible threads. In essence, it functions as the spiritual infrastructure of reality for those with Eldian blood, shaping memory, matter, and destiny alike. No other planes exist beyond it, but the Paths’ influence is so vast that it blurs the line between divine magic, reincarnation, and cosmic imprisonment.
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### **The Paths Dimension – The Eldian Afterlife and Source of Power**
The Paths is an ethereal, infinite desert filled with fine white sand that glows under an unseen light. It exists outside the flow of time, and all events that occur there are simultaneous—past, present, and future intertwined. Within it stands a colossal tree-like structure made of light, representing the central **Coordinate**, the point where all Paths intersect. This Coordinate acts as the heart of the Titan power and serves as the axis through which every Eldian is spiritually connected.
Every Eldian has an unseen “thread” that links their consciousness to the Coordinate. When an Eldian dies, their essence returns to the Paths, where their memories and emotions merge into the collective consciousness of their people. The same occurs when an Eldian becomes a Titan: their physical form is reconstructed through Ymir Fritz’s will within the Paths, and then projected back into the material world.
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### **The Role of Ymir Fritz Within the Paths**
At the center of the Paths exists the spirit of **Ymir Fritz**, the first Titan and creator of all Titan life. She resides in a state of eternal servitude, endlessly shaping Titans from the sands of the realm. Ymir is bound to the Founding Titan’s bloodline and cannot act freely; she responds only to the will of those who carry royal blood or those who inherit the Founding Titan. To the Eldians of the past, she is seen as both goddess and slave—creator of life yet chained to its endless cycle.
Her power within the Paths functions as the world’s divine mechanism. Whenever a Titan transformation, hardening, or healing occurs, it is Ymir performing the act from this plane. She manifests the physical body of the Titan, regenerates lost limbs, or transfers memories across generations—all through the invisible threads of the Paths. The stronger the user’s connection to Ymir or royal blood, the greater their ability to manipulate these unseen laws.
---
### **Interaction Between the Paths and the Material World**
The connection between the two planes is constant and unbreakable for Eldians. Every Titan ability, every memory transmission, and even the Curse of Ymir (the 13-year lifespan of a Titan shifter) stems from the rules of the Paths. Below are the main forms of interaction:
1. **Memory Transmission:**
All Eldians share a collective network of memories stored within the Paths. Certain individuals, such as the holders of the Founding or Attack Titan, can access past or future memories from this network, effectively transcending time.
2. **Titan Transformation:**
When an Eldian is injected with Titan spinal fluid, their body enters the Paths briefly. There, Ymir constructs a Titan form and sends it back into the physical world, binding their soul to that Titan body.
3. **Inheritance of Power:**
When one Titan shifter is devoured by another, the Path linking their souls merges, allowing the successor to inherit their power and all past memories of previous inheritors. This merging of consciousness is a direct manipulation of spiritual data within the Paths.
4. **The Curse of Ymir:**
Every Titan shifter dies 13 years after inheriting their power, mirroring the lifespan of Ymir Fritz herself. This is a fixed law within the Paths, suggesting that her essence governs all Titan-linked life.
5. **Healing and Regeneration:**
Eldians possess supernatural regeneration due to Ymir’s intervention. Whenever they are wounded, their souls request reconstruction through the Paths, and Ymir’s will restores the physical body based on the memory of its original form.
6. **Telepathic Connection (Path Resonance):**
Certain individuals can communicate through the Paths subconsciously. Zeke and Eren Yeager demonstrate this by meeting Ymir directly within the realm. Even unconscious Eldians can share thoughts or emotions across great distances through this resonance.
7. **The Rumbling:**
The ultimate manifestation of the Paths’ connection to the world. The Founding Titan can send a command through the Coordinate to all Colossal Titans within the Walls, awakening them simultaneously. This act bridges both realms: Ymir awakens the Titans within the Paths, and their physical bodies move as one in the material world.
---
### **Religious and Cultural Interpretations of the Paths**
Different societies interpret the Paths’ existence according to their faith, ideology, or scientific understanding.
**1. The Church of the Walls (Paradis):**
The priests and bishops of this religion believe the Paths are the divine channels through which the walls were built and maintained by God. They consider Ymir’s power sacred but forbidden to mortals, and the royal family to be the only rightful conduit between heaven and earth. They mistake the Paths for divine grace rather than a prison of Ymir’s soul.
**2. The Ancient Eldian Cults:**
During the height of the Eldian Empire, priests taught that the Paths were the arteries of life itself, allowing the Titans to channel their creator’s energy. Temples were constructed to honor the Coordinate, often shaped like spirals or circles to represent infinite connection. These cults saw Titan inheritance as spiritual ascension, where each bearer communed directly with Ymir’s divinity.
**3. The Marleyan Interpretation:**
Marleyan scholars know of the Paths but interpret them through a scientific and religious lens combined. They claim the Paths are the channels of the “Devil of All Earth,” connecting the cursed blood of Eldians to their demonic ancestor. To Marley, this realm is proof of the Eldian race’s corruption—an unnatural bond to a dark dimension that must be erased from the world.
**4. Yeagerist Belief:**
The Yeagerists regard the Paths as a natural right of all Eldians, not a curse. To them, the Paths symbolize destiny and unity—proof that all Eldians share the same blood and soul. They see Eren Yeager’s communion with Ymir as an act of liberation, freeing her from divine slavery and allowing Eldians to control their own fate.
**5. Paths Scholars and Secular Theorists (Post-War Paradis):**
After the truth of the world is exposed, scientists and philosophers begin studying the Paths as a metaphysical network rather than a spiritual realm. Some compare it to a collective consciousness or quantum connection between bloodlines. Their research suggests that even without belief, the Paths still shape reality, implying that faith is irrelevant to their existence—they are a natural phenomenon of life and death among Eldians.
---
### **The Relationship Between the Paths and Other Dimensions**
No alternate planes beyond the Paths are confirmed, but several phenomena hint at deeper metaphysical layers:
* **Memory Inheritance:** The existence of future memory echoes suggests that the Paths connect to a higher perception of time, possibly an eternal cycle where events are preordained yet mutable by willpower.
* **Soul Transfer:** The way Titan powers move between hosts implies that souls themselves are transferable energy patterns sustained by the Paths’ structure.
* **Temporal Distortion:** Within the Paths, time does not flow linearly. Minutes in the real world may equal centuries in the realm, explaining Ymir’s eternal servitude despite millennia passing in the physical plane.
These effects demonstrate that the Paths are not a mere magical network but a divine architecture controlling every law of Eldian existence.
---
### **Factions and Their Relationship with the Paths**
* **The Royal Reiss Family:** Seek to preserve Ymir’s servitude to maintain peace, believing her power must never again be unleashed.
* **The Yeagerists:** Seek to command the Paths directly through Eren’s Founding Titan to reshape the world and secure freedom through destruction.
* **The Marleyan Empire:** Strive to erase the influence of the Paths by exterminating all Eldians, ending what they view as a demonic cycle.
* **The Survey Corps:** View the Paths as the key to understanding their true history and achieving peace through knowledge rather than domination.
* **Hizuru:** Recognize the Paths’ strategic importance and attempt to align politically with whoever can control it, treating the phenomenon as both weapon and sacred mystery.
---
### **Philosophical and Theological Significance**
The Paths represent the eternal contradiction of the *Attack on Titan* world: the intersection of freedom and fate. It is a place where all Eldians are connected, yet all are bound. Ymir’s presence within the Paths is both divine and tragic, symbolizing the endless chain of oppression that humanity creates for itself. To those within the world, this realm is seen variously as:
* The **afterlife** of the Eldian soul.
* The **divine forge** of creation.
* The **curse** binding an entire race.
* The **network of fate** that no one can escape.
For the player starting within the Walls, the Paths are unknown at first—an invisible force guiding events from behind the veil. As they uncover the world’s truth, they come to see that every Titan, every miracle, and every tragedy is born from that plane’s interference. The Paths are not just a mystical dimension—they are the unseen heartbeat of the entire world.
Historical Ages
The history of the *Attack on Titan* world spans nearly two thousand years, divided into distinct ages defined by the rise and fall of the **Eldian Empire**, the emergence of the **Marleyan Empire**, and the eventual rediscovery of truth on **Paradis Island**. Each era is marked by monumental shifts in religion, political power, and Titan dominance. The ruins, relics, and beliefs left behind still shape every faction and region, forming the foundation of the current age of conflict.
---
### **The First Era – The Age of Ymir Fritz (circa 2000 years before the Walls)**
This era marks the birth of all Titan power and the dawn of recorded human history.
In a time of primitive tribes and warring clans, a young slave girl named **Ymir Fritz** fled persecution after freeing pigs from her masters. She was hunted and shot by soldiers of the ancient **Eldian tribe**, ruled by **King Fritz**. Wounded and desperate, she stumbled into a vast tree whose roots descended into an endless pit. Within it, she encountered the **Source of All Organic Matter**, an otherworldly organism that merged with her body, granting her the power to transform into the first Titan.
Ymir’s transformation marked the beginning of divine and political power in the world. King Fritz used her abilities to conquer nations, build cities, and enslave humanity. She bore him three daughters—**Maria, Rose, and Sina**—the namesakes of the three Walls on Paradis. When Ymir died protecting the king from an assassin, her body was cut apart, and her daughters were forced to eat her remains to inherit her power. Thus began the lineage of Titan inheritance, and the Eldian race became the dominant civilization.
**Religion in this Age:**
Ymir was worshipped as a goddess of creation by the Eldians, who saw her as both divine and eternal. Temples dedicated to her were built across the land, and her bloodline was revered as holy. Every Titan transformation was seen as a sacred rite. The Eldian religion of this era portrayed Ymir as the “Mother of Life,” and war was justified as divine conquest.
**Factions and Culture:**
* **The Eldian Tribe:** The ruling civilization, spreading across the continent under King Fritz.
* **Subjugated Peoples:** Smaller human tribes enslaved by Eldians to serve as laborers and sacrifices for Titan experiments.
* **Religious Orders of Ymir:** Priests and priestesses who conducted rituals of inheritance, claiming to speak Ymir’s will through the Paths.
**Legacy and Ruins:**
Ancient shrines and ruined cities built by Titan hands remain scattered across the mainland. Many are buried beneath modern Marleyan territory, sealed away as forbidden archaeology. These ruins contain carvings depicting Titans raising fortresses and worshippers kneeling before a colossal woman surrounded by light.
---
### **The Second Era – The Eldian Empire (Era of Conquest and Expansion)**
After Ymir’s death, the power of the Titans was split into **Nine Titans**, each controlled by different noble houses descended from her daughters. The central ruling line, known as the **Fritz dynasty**, unified the Eldian houses into a vast empire that conquered the known world. Through the Nine Titans, they waged wars, exterminated rival nations, and established Eldian supremacy for centuries.
**Political and Cultural Order:**
The Eldian Empire was built upon a rigid class hierarchy. The royal family commanded the **Founding Titan**, maintaining order among the Nine. Each Titan house ruled its territory like a divine kingdom, wielding its unique ability in battle and governance. Titan transformations were ritualized as holy acts, and wars were viewed as extensions of divine judgment.
**Religious Structure:**
The **Cult of Ymir** reached its peak. The empire’s temples, called **Great Sanctums**, were built over Titan inheritance sites. Priests conducted ceremonies where Titans were transferred from parent to child through sacrificial consumption. The faith declared that Ymir’s soul lived eternally through her descendants, and that their dominion over the world was justified by divine will.
**Conflicts Within the Empire:**
Over the centuries, power struggles between noble houses grew violent. Rival Titan holders sought to overthrow the Founding family, resulting in countless civil wars known as the **Succession Conflicts**. These battles devastated regions and caused the loss of entire bloodlines.
**Legacy and Ruins:**
* Ruins of Eldian fortresses and cities lie buried beneath Marley’s modern territory.
* Inscriptions written in the ancient Eldian script describe the “Will of Ymir” as law.
* Fragments of the Nine Titans’ inheritance lines are recorded in old texts preserved by both Marleyan scholars and the Church of the Walls.
---
### **The Third Era – The Great Titan War (Fall of Eldia and Rise of Marley)**
The Great Titan War marks the downfall of the Eldian Empire. After centuries of dominance, the noble families turned on each other. The **Marleyan Tribe**, once a vassal of Eldia, rebelled and seized control of several Titans through political manipulation and warfare. Through this rebellion, Marley eventually gained control of seven of the Nine Titans.
The **Fritz royal family**, seeing the destruction caused by the endless Titan wars, retreated to the remote island of **Paradis**. Using the Founding Titan’s power, King Karl Fritz built the three great Walls—Maria, Rose, and Sina—using hundreds of Colossal Titans encased in crystal. He erased the memories of the Eldians who followed him, convincing them that they were the last remnants of humanity. The rest of the world was left to the control of Marley.
**Religious and Political Changes:**
* On the mainland, Marley established the **Anti-Eldian Doctrine**, declaring Ymir Fritz a devil. The Eldians who remained were confined to internment zones and stripped of rights.
* On Paradis, the Church of the Walls emerged as the new religion, built to maintain ignorance and obedience. The king became a godlike figure whose rule could not be questioned.
* The royal family of Paradis, the **Reiss line**, carried on the power of the Founding Titan, maintaining peace through lies and isolation.
**Factions in the Great Titan War:**
* **Eldian Loyalists:** Remnants of the old empire who refused to surrender to Marley. Most were exterminated.
* **Marleyan Military:** Rose to power through the use of captured Titan abilities, eventually creating the **Warrior Unit**.
* **Reiss Royalty on Paradis:** Maintained secrecy, preserving the Founding Titan and controlling religion through the Church.
**Legacy and Ruins:**
* The remains of cities destroyed during the Great Titan War still exist beneath Marleyan soil.
* Marley built its capital over the ruins of former Eldian temples as a symbol of dominance.
* Ancient relics of the war—such as broken Titan armor and sealed crystalized bodies—are hidden in restricted zones.
---
### **The Fourth Era – The Era of Isolation (The Walls’ Century)**
After the Great Titan War, Paradis entered a period of isolation lasting over a hundred years. Humanity within the Walls lived in ignorance, believing themselves to be the last survivors of a Titan-infested world. Society rebuilt itself under strict hierarchy and religious rule.
**Political Structure:**
The false royal government ruled from **Wall Sina**, supported by the **Military Police** and the **Church of the Walls**. Outside, the **Garrison Regiment** maintained the walls, and the **Survey Corps** explored beyond them, considered by most citizens as reckless outcasts.
**Religious Dominance:**
The Church of the Walls became the unquestioned faith, teaching that the Walls were sacred gifts from God. Priests forbade travel beyond the gates and destroyed evidence of the world outside. Only the inner clergy knew fragments of the truth—that the Walls were made of Titans.
**Cultural and Class Divisions:**
Society was divided into three classes corresponding to each wall:
* **Wall Sina:** Nobility, monarchy, and the wealthy.
* **Wall Rose:** Merchants, artisans, and middle class.
* **Wall Maria:** Farmers, laborers, and military families.
**Factions Emerging Within the Walls:**
* **Survey Corps:** Idealists seeking the truth beyond the Walls.
* **Military Police:** Corrupt enforcers protecting the nobility.
* **Church of the Walls:** Guardians of religious obedience.
* **Reiss Royal Family:** The hidden true monarchy.
**Legacy and Ruins:**
The outer districts near Wall Maria contain ruins of lost towns destroyed during Titan breaches, such as **Shiganshina** and **Trost**. Beneath the capital, ancient catacombs and vaults hold preserved relics from before the memory wipe—maps, journals, and weapons.
---
### **The Fifth Era – The Modern Conflict (War for Paradis and Beyond)**
This is the current era, defined by the reemergence of truth and the collapse of centuries-old lies. Eren Yeager’s discovery of the basement beneath his home in Shiganshina reveals the existence of the outside world and the true history of Eldia and Marley.
**Political Situation:**
* On Paradis, the monarchy collapses after the coup led by the **Survey Corps**, placing **Historia Reiss** as queen.
* In Marley, the government intensifies its propaganda and begins preparing for an invasion of Paradis to reclaim the Founding Titan.
* The **Yeagerist Movement** arises, led by Eren Yeager’s followers who believe in Eldian dominance through the power of the Titans.
**Religious and Ideological Shifts:**
Traditional faiths are shattered as truth spreads. The Church of the Walls disbands, the Marleyan doctrine begins to lose credibility, and a new ideology emerges—**the worship of freedom itself**. The Yeagerists treat Eren as a messianic figure, the one who will liberate Ymir and end the curse of the Eldians.
**Factions in the Modern Era:**
* **Yeagerists:** Militants advocating for Eren’s vision of freedom through power.
* **Marleyan Government:** Desperate to maintain global control despite losing its Titan monopoly.
* **Survey Corps:** Divided between diplomacy and militarism.
* **Hizuru Nation:** A neutral power seeking profit and alliances through technology and trade.
**Legacy and Ruins:**
* Ruins of Marley’s conquered nations still bear scars of Titan warfare.
* The sea, once unreachable, becomes a symbol of humanity’s rediscovered ambition.
* Ancient Eldian texts recovered from Marley’s archives reveal the truth about the Paths, reshaping the understanding of both history and faith.
---
### **The Sixth Era – The Post-Rumbling Age (The Aftermath)**
After the catastrophic **Rumbling**, when Eren Yeager awakens the Colossal Titans within the Walls to destroy the world, civilization faces near-total annihilation. The world is left divided between survivors of Paradis and remnants of the mainland nations.
**Religious Evolution:**
Some survivors begin to worship Eren Yeager as a new deity—the god of freedom and destruction—while others rebuild faiths around peace and restoration. Ymir’s name fades into myth once more, though the Paths still connect all remaining Eldians in spirit.
**Political Remnants:**
Paradis becomes a rebuilt island nation facing revenge from surviving mainland states. Marley’s empire collapses, and the balance of power resets. The remaining Eldians struggle to define their future—whether to break the cycle of hatred or repeat it.
**Legacy and Ruins:**
The ruins of cities destroyed by the Rumbling become silent memorials to humanity’s past. Temples dedicated to both Ymir and Eren stand amid shattered landscapes. Across the world, remnants of Eldian fortresses, Marleyan factories, and the three Walls serve as lasting monuments to two thousand years of creation, war, faith, and tragedy.
---
From the divine birth of Ymir to the fall of Marley, every era in this world has been defined by the same forces—power, blood, and belief. The Titans, the Paths, and the faiths that emerged from them all continue to shape history. For the player beginning within the Walls, these ages form the foundation of their journey: a legacy of forgotten gods, buried empires, and the endless struggle between freedom and control.
Economy & Trade
The economy of the *Attack on Titan* world reflects centuries of political manipulation, isolation, and technological disparity between **Paradis Island** and the **Marleyan mainland**. What appears at first to be a simple agrarian economy within the Walls hides a complex global structure built on colonial exploitation, propaganda, and control of resources linked to the Eldian bloodline and Titan technology. Each region operates under distinct systems of production and trade, shaped by ideology, religion, and war.
---
### **Paradis Island – The Closed Economy of the Walls**
For over a century, Paradis Island functioned as a completely isolated economy. The citizens within the Walls believed themselves to be the last survivors of humanity, and all external trade or exploration was forbidden by royal decree. As a result, Paradis developed a self-contained system focused on agriculture, local trade, and strict class-based distribution of wealth.
**1. Economic Structure Inside the Walls:**
Paradis follows a **feudal-military system** where the monarchy and noble families control land and production, while peasants and laborers provide goods and services. The inner regions near **Wall Sina** enjoy prosperity, while the outer districts near **Wall Maria** bear the weight of agricultural labor and military defense.
* **Wall Sina:** The economic and political capital, housing the royal family, aristocracy, merchants, and the Military Police. Trade here revolves around luxury goods, art, textiles, and imported black-market items.
* **Wall Rose:** The middle economic ring, where crafts, workshops, and markets flourish. Blacksmiths, tanners, bakers, and engineers sustain the majority of internal commerce.
* **Wall Maria:** The agricultural and resource frontier. Before its fall, it supplied food, wood, and minerals to the inner Walls. After its destruction, famine and economic strain spread inward.
**2. Currency and Banking:**
Paradis uses **Wall Currency**, a metal coin-based system minted by the royal treasury. The standard denominations are copper, silver, and gold coins bearing the insignia of the royal family. There are no banks as known in the mainland, but noble estates and merchant guilds act as financial authorities, storing wealth and issuing loans. Prices are regulated by the government, and inflation increases drastically after Titan attacks due to loss of farmland and resources.
**3. Trade Routes Within the Walls:**
Each Wall has a circular trade route connecting its major districts through maintained roads and internal rail lines built during later modernization efforts. The **Trost District**, near the southern gate of Wall Rose, acts as the largest trade hub, linking merchants from all three Walls. Carts, horse caravans, and river barges transport goods between regions.
**4. Religious Influence on Economy:**
The **Church of the Walls** plays a significant role in controlling economic information. It owns land, collects donations, and influences trade permissions. Certain resources such as construction stone and wood from sacred zones are restricted by religious decree, under the claim that they belong to divine territory. The Church’s monopoly over written records and archives ensures that the people remain ignorant of economic truths, such as the existence of the ocean or external trade possibilities.
**5. Military-Driven Production:**
Since the Walls’ founding, much of the island’s production serves the **three military branches**. The Garrison controls logistics and infrastructure, the Military Police tax the inner districts, and the Survey Corps uses limited resources for exploration and Titan weaponry. Blacksmiths like the **Hange Division engineers** produce gas canisters, grappling hooks, and blades for maneuver gear, all of which require rare minerals and steel mined from limited northern quarries.
---
### **The Marleyan Empire – Industrialized Global Superpower**
Across the sea, **Marley** dominates the global economy through colonization, industrialization, and the use of Titan power as both military force and economic leverage. While Paradis lives under feudal simplicity, Marley thrives under industrial capitalism.
**1. Economic Structure:**
Marley’s wealth comes from **imperial expansion**. It exploits conquered nations for natural resources—coal, oil, iron, and labor. Eldians in internment zones provide cheap manpower, fueling factories and military facilities. Marley also sells Titan-based military technology to allied nations, maintaining its status as a global power.
**2. Currency System:**
Marley uses the **Continental Standard**, a paper and coin currency backed by the government’s industrial output and trade. It is widely accepted across neighboring states, similar to a global reserve currency. Economic disparity is extreme: Marleyan citizens enjoy urban comfort, while Eldians live in poverty, confined to ghettos with rationed food and restricted trade rights.
**3. Trade and Industry:**
Marley controls major sea routes and trading ports, particularly **Fort Slava** and the **Liberio Port**. Its exports include weapons, steel, refined oil, and manufactured goods. Imports consist of agricultural products, rare minerals, and luxury items from colonies. Railways and airships connect the mainland cities, allowing fast military and commercial transport.
**4. Religious and Ideological Influence:**
Unlike Paradis, Marley’s religion is **political rather than spiritual**. The **Anti-Eldian Doctrine** functions as a state ideology, replacing faith with nationalism. Eldians are denied property ownership and cannot trade freely; all businesses are registered under Marleyan oversight. The doctrine is enforced through propaganda in schools, literature, and public ceremonies, ensuring loyalty to the state. The government portrays Titan power as a tool of “justice” given to Marley to protect humanity, while branding Eldians as cursed descendants of Ymir the Devil.
**5. Key Economic Factions:**
* **The Marleyan Military Industry:** Controls weapons manufacturing, vehicle production, and Titan warfare research.
* **The Tybur Family:** An Eldian noble line granted wealth and freedom for cooperating with Marley. They invest heavily in urban development, real estate, and propaganda projects.
* **State Bureau of Internment Affairs:** Regulates Eldian labor and trade within the ghettos, using economic dependency as a form of control.
---
### **The Hizuru Nation – The Eastern Traders**
The **Hizuru nation**, an island power to the east, represents one of the few independent civilizations outside of Marley’s direct control. Hizuru maintains a semi-feudal system with industrial growth and values diplomacy and commerce over conquest.
**1. Economic System:**
Hizuru operates under a **merchant-noble hierarchy**, where powerful trade clans, such as the **Azumabito family**, control resources and foreign relations. Their economy thrives on rare minerals, silk, weaponry, and shipbuilding.
**2. Currency and Trade Influence:**
Hizuru uses a silver-based monetary system known as **Hizuran Kan**, which is accepted in some Marleyan coastal markets. Their wealth comes from neutrality in conflicts and secret trade with both Paradis and rival nations.
**3. Religious Role in Trade:**
Hizuru preserves an ancient belief in spiritual balance between humanity and the divine, with ceremonial temples honoring ancestral spirits. Trade and religion are intertwined—blessing rituals precede all major contracts and voyages. Although not a dominant global faith, this belief sustains a culture of discipline and honor that distinguishes Hizuru merchants from the corrupt systems of Marley and Paradis.
**4. Relations and Factions:**
Hizuru serves as a hidden ally of Paradis after rediscovering ancient blood ties to the royal family. The **Azumabito Clan** acts as diplomatic intermediaries, providing technological advancements such as the development of modern port systems and the restoration of Paradis’s railway infrastructure. However, Hizuru’s motives are profit-based rather than moral—they seek control of Paradis’s rare mineral, **iceburst stone**, which can power airships and advanced weapons.
---
### **Intercontinental Trade and Modern Economics**
Once contact is reestablished between Paradis and the outside world, a fragile global trade network begins to reform.
**1. Trade Goods and Resources:**
* **From Paradis:** Iceburst stone, timber, livestock, wool, salt, and crystalized Titan remnants used in weapon research.
* **From Marley and Allies:** Weapons, machinery, textiles, steel, medicine, and advanced technology.
* **From Hizuru:** Ships, engines, silk, rare metals, and diplomatic services.
**2. Trade Routes:**
* **Southern Ocean Route:** Connects Paradis’s **Shiganshina Port** to Marley’s coastal cities via naval convoys.
* **Eastern Passage:** A clandestine route between Paradis and Hizuru, used for secret trade missions and smuggling.
* **Continental Rail Network:** Spanning Marley’s mainland, linking its colonies and military ports for export and invasion operations.
**3. Economic Warfare:**
After the revelation of Paradis’s existence, global powers impose **trade blockades** to prevent its growth. In response, Paradis militarizes its ports, forcing diplomacy through the leverage of Titan deterrence. Economic espionage, smuggling, and technological exchange become the new forms of warfare.
---
### **Religious and Ideological Influence on Economic Systems**
Religion and ideology shape how each region justifies its economy:
* **The Church of the Walls (Paradis):** Teaches that wealth is divine reward for loyalty to the monarchy. Poverty is seen as proof of sin or disobedience.
* **The Anti-Eldian Doctrine (Marley):** Frames economic inequality as moral justice—Marleyans deserve prosperity; Eldians must atone through labor.
* **Yeagerist Ideology (Post-Coup Paradis):** Promotes economic independence and self-sufficiency, rejecting foreign trade to prevent exploitation.
* **Hizuru’s Spiritual Code:** Encourages prosperity through balance and discipline, believing economic power reflects ancestral honor.
---
### **Factional and Political Economies**
* **The Royal Reiss Family:** Controlled Paradis’s resources through divine authority, hoarding wealth while citizens starved.
* **The Survey Corps:** Initially poor and unsupported, later gains influence by reopening sea trade and negotiating with foreign nations.
* **The Yeagerists:** Seize control of production and ports after Eren’s rise, turning Paradis into a militarized economy focused on weapons, fortifications, and independence.
* **The Marleyan State:** Maintains a global monopoly on weapons manufacturing, Titan science, and colonial labor markets until its downfall.
* **The Hizuru Empire:** Serves as the new merchant power in the post-war world, exploiting both sides through trade deals and diplomacy.
---
### **Legacies and Ruins of Economic History**
Ancient ruins of the Eldian Empire still contain evidence of Titan-based industries—massive forges, quarries, and roads built by Titan labor. Marley’s factories stand over these ruins as monuments to industrial domination. In Paradis, old temples of the Church of the Walls have been converted into markets and arsenals, symbolizing the shift from divine dependence to self-reliance.
The economic systems of this world are not built on stability but on survival and ideology. Religion provides justification for control, and trade becomes a weapon of dominance. Whether through Marley’s colonial greed, the Church’s divine economy, or Hizuru’s calculated neutrality, wealth in this world has always been tied to faith, power, and the bloodline of Ymir. The player, beginning within the Walls, stands at the edge of this fragile economic rebirth—where trade, technology, and ideology collide to decide the fate of civilization itself.
Law & Society
Law and society in the world of *Attack on Titan* are structured around control, fear, and obedience rather than fairness or freedom. Justice is a tool of political and religious power, and every region—Paradis, Marley, and other nations—interprets it through ideology, bloodline, and loyalty. The systems of law were shaped by centuries of conflict between the Eldian and Marleyan empires, and they continue to reflect the world’s long history of oppression, rebellion, and survival. The idea of “adventurers” in this setting is represented by the **Survey Corps** and other individuals who defy established law to pursue truth or freedom. These figures are often viewed as outcasts, rebels, or visionaries, depending on which society judges them.
---
### **Paradis Island – Law Under the Walls**
For over a century, Paradis Island was governed by a strict, theocratic monarchy supported by the **Church of the Walls** and enforced by the **Military Police Brigade**. The king’s word was absolute law, and religion served as the moral foundation of society. The average citizen was expected to obey, serve, and never question authority. Justice existed to maintain order, not equality.
**1. The Legal System of the Walls:**
The laws of Paradis are based on royal decrees, interpreted by noble-appointed judges. Trials are rare and often decided before they begin. Accusations of heresy, treason, or desertion are punishable by death or exile beyond the Walls. Civil disputes between citizens are mediated by merchants’ guilds or military officers, as no civilian courts exist.
* **Royal Decrees:** Laws issued by the king or, later, Queen Historia Reiss, concerning defense, taxes, and public order.
* **Military Law:** Soldiers are subject to harsh discipline. Abandoning a post, leaking classified information, or disobeying an officer results in public execution or imprisonment.
* **Religious Law:** The Church of the Walls holds power to declare heresy. Questioning the origin of the Walls, venturing beyond them, or spreading forbidden knowledge is considered blasphemy.
**2. Methods of Punishment:**
Punishment is swift and public to discourage dissent. Common penalties include:
* **Public execution:** Used against traitors, heretics, or murderers.
* **Exile beyond the Walls:** Condemned individuals are sent outside the gates to be killed by Titans.
* **Military trial:** Offenders within the army face tribunal courts led by senior officers.
* **Imprisonment:** Rarely used, as resources are limited.
**3. Religious and Social Control:**
The Church of the Walls acts as both moral authority and surveillance force. Priests preach that obedience ensures divine protection, and the poor are told to accept their suffering as part of God’s plan. The Church also influences the nobility, controlling the flow of written laws and history. It declares the royal family chosen by God, and the Titans outside the Walls as punishments for human sin.
**4. Class and Law:**
Justice is unequal. Nobles of Wall Sina are protected by wealth and connections, while citizens of Wall Rose and Wall Maria face collective punishment for minor crimes. Soldiers who defy the government, such as members of the **Survey Corps**, are treated as criminals or fanatics. This imbalance reinforces the caste system: nobility at the top, merchants and skilled workers in the middle, and peasants or soldiers at the bottom.
**5. Society and Culture Within the Walls:**
Society is divided by geography and privilege.
* **Wall Sina:** Aristocracy and royalty. Education, luxury, and influence dominate.
* **Wall Rose:** Middle class, merchants, and military housing.
* **Wall Maria:** Farmers, laborers, and frontier communities.
Gender roles and family structures are traditional; men dominate politics and military ranks, while women often manage households or markets, though exceptional women—such as **Mikasa Ackerman** and **Historia Reiss**—break this expectation through military service or royal ascension.
**6. View of Adventurers – The Survey Corps:**
The **Survey Corps** represents the “adventurers” of this world: individuals who explore the unknown lands beyond the Walls. Society views them with both admiration and disdain. Most civilians consider them reckless, wasteful, and doomed, as their missions often result in massive casualties. The government regards them as a necessary but uncontrollable force, tolerated only for their ability to gather intelligence. The Church of the Walls brands them as heretics for defying the divine boundary. Yet, among the youth and the desperate, the Survey Corps symbolize hope—the possibility of freedom and truth.
---
### **Marley – Law of the Empire**
Marley’s legal and social system is a militarized bureaucracy built upon racial segregation. Law exists to protect the Marleyan majority and suppress the Eldian minority. Justice is political and nationalist, rewarding loyalty to the state and punishing dissent or impurity.
**1. The Marleyan Legal Code:**
The government enforces strict separation between Marleyans and Eldians through a system of racial identification and social control. Every Eldian must wear a colored armband and live in a restricted zone. Breaking these laws results in imprisonment, torture, or transformation into a Titan.
* **Eldian Subjugation Law:** Forbids Eldians from owning property, serving in government, or marrying Marleyans.
* **Military Security Laws:** Grant the army power to arrest, execute, or deport any individual accused of treason or aiding enemies of the state.
* **Censorship Edicts:** Ban books or teachings that challenge Marley’s historical narrative.
**2. Systems of Punishment:**
Marleyan justice is brutal and public. Executions are conducted in military squares to instill fear. Eldians convicted of crimes are often injected with Titan spinal fluid and exiled to Paradis as mindless Titans. This process serves both as punishment and propaganda, proving the “demonic nature” of the Eldian race.
**3. Social Hierarchy and Inequality:**
* **Marleyan Nobility and Officers:** Hold political and legal immunity. Their crimes are covered by propaganda or diplomatic manipulation.
* **Common Marleyans:** Protected by the law but subject to military conscription.
* **Eldians:** Have no legal rights outside the internment zones. Any accusation by a Marleyan citizen is automatically considered true.
**4. Religion and Law in Marley:**
The Marleyan state has replaced religion with ideology. The **Anti-Eldian Doctrine** acts as a national faith, teaching that Marleyans are the saviors of humanity and that Eldians must atone for their ancestors’ sins. Courts and schools reinforce this doctrine. Judges are often military officers, and verdicts are based on loyalty rather than truth.
**5. Social Values and Morality:**
Marleyan society glorifies obedience, patriotism, and strength. Individualism is viewed as weakness. Children are raised to believe that sacrifice for the empire is the highest honor. Even Eldian children, such as those in the **Warrior Unit**, are indoctrinated from birth to love Marley and hate their own blood.
**6. View of Adventurers and Soldiers:**
Marleyan society has no place for free adventurers. Exploration and curiosity are seen as subversive acts. Instead, the **Warrior Unit** fills this role militarily—they are Eldian children trained to inherit Titan powers and serve as living weapons. They are revered publicly as heroes but privately despised as tools. The idea of personal adventure or discovery is replaced by nationalism and duty to the empire.
---
### **Hizuru – Law of Tradition and Honor**
The **Hizuru nation**, an eastern power with ancient ties to the Eldian royal family, maintains a balanced legal system rooted in **ancestral law and merchant honor**. It is neither as oppressive as Marley nor as theocratic as Paradis.
**1. Legal Principles:**
Hizuru’s laws are based on a code of **ancestral justice**, emphasizing balance, loyalty, and restitution over punishment. Crimes are divided into moral violations (dishonor) and practical offenses (harm). Instead of execution, dishonored families may face exile or financial ruin.
**2. Social Structure:**
Society is divided into nobles, merchants, artisans, and peasants. Nobles maintain law through family councils, and trade guilds regulate economic disputes. The **Azumabito Clan**, the leading noble family, acts as both government and religious overseer.
**3. Religion and Law:**
Hizuru’s spiritual belief centers on reverence for ancestral spirits and the natural balance of life. Justice is tied to ritual purity. Temples serve as courts where oaths are sworn before ancestral relics. Breaking an oath is seen as an offense not only against law but against one’s lineage.
**4. View of Adventurers:**
Hizuru respects explorers and scholars as seekers of wisdom, provided they act honorably. Mercenaries and unaligned adventurers, however, are distrusted unless sanctioned by noble families. Those who dishonor their employers are shunned for life.
---
### **The Yeagerist Regime – Revolutionary Law**
When the **Yeagerists** seize control of Paradis, they impose a militant form of justice built on Eren Yeager’s ideology of freedom through strength. The system rejects the monarchy and religion, replacing them with rule by fear and devotion to Eldian survival.
**1. Law of the Yeagerists:**
* **Absolute Loyalty:** Treason or disobedience to Eren’s command is punishable by immediate execution.
* **Militarization of Society:** Every citizen must serve the military or support production. Refusal is treated as sabotage.
* **Abolition of Nobility and Church:** All royal and religious privileges are stripped. Their estates are seized and converted into state property.
**2. Social Order:**
Under Yeagerist rule, hierarchy is based on contribution to the cause, not birth. Former nobles become commoners, and common soldiers rise to power. However, the atmosphere is one of fear, as dissenters are executed or exiled.
**3. Religious Reformation:**
The Church of the Walls collapses. Some of its remnants reinterpret faith around Eren Yeager himself, viewing him as the reincarnation of Ymir Fritz or a savior sent to free her spirit. Others form underground sects condemning his actions as blasphemy.
**4. View of Adventurers and Freedom Seekers:**
Yeagerist society glorifies those who risk their lives for Eldian independence. Adventurers are seen as heroes if they act for the nation but as traitors if they pursue personal ambition. Exploration becomes a weapon of conquest rather than discovery.
---
### **Philosophy of Law and Justice Across the World**
Each region defines justice according to power and belief:
* **Paradis:** Justice is obedience to divine and royal authority.
* **Marley:** Justice is racial hierarchy and loyalty to the empire.
* **Hizuru:** Justice is balance, ancestry, and honor.
* **Yeagerists:** Justice is survival and strength.
Freedom, fairness, and morality are fluid concepts, manipulated by governments and faiths to sustain control. Those who defy these systems—whether the Survey Corps, Warrior defectors, or revolutionaries—are the true “adventurers” of this world. To some, they are saviors; to others, they are criminals.
In the end, the *Attack on Titan* world’s laws serve one purpose: to maintain order built upon fear. Each faction uses justice not to protect the innocent, but to preserve its own ideology. And within this world, the adventurer’s path—the pursuit of truth beyond the Walls—is both the greatest crime and the highest calling.
Monsters & Villains
The world of *Attack on Titan* is haunted not by mythical beasts or sorcery, but by the monstrous consequences of power, ideology, and history. Its “monsters” are born from the merging of human ambition and divine corruption—manifested through the Titans, cursed bloodlines, and the distorted faiths that arose around them. Across every region, religion, and faction, these threats take different forms: some are physical, some are ideological, and others are ancient legacies that have never truly died. Together, they form a hierarchy of horrors that define the world’s constant struggle between domination and extinction.
---
### **The Titans – The Living Curse of Ymir**
The Titans are the most iconic and devastating creatures in existence, simultaneously divine creations, biological weapons, and eternal prisoners of fate. They are transformed Eldians—humans descended from **Ymir Fritz**—whose bodies are reshaped by the power of the **Paths**. Every Titan, from the smallest abnormal to the colossal giants within the Walls, originates from Ymir’s will in the metaphysical realm.
**1. Pure Titans:**
Mindless, flesh-hungry humanoids ranging from three to fifteen meters tall. Once human, they were transformed by Titan spinal fluid, losing all reason and existing only to devour other humans. They require no sustenance, feel no pain, and regenerate endlessly unless struck in their nape. Their existence serves as both weapon and punishment—Marley uses them for executions, while Paradis endures them as an eternal curse.
**2. Abnormal Titans:**
Variants of Pure Titans whose erratic movement, speed, or intelligence defy expectation. They display unpredictable behavior, sometimes targeting specific individuals or locations. These Titans represent the chaos of Ymir’s fragmented will—a reflection of human individuality corrupted by divine interference.
**3. Intelligent Titans – The Nine:**
The Nine Titans are the divine fragments of Ymir’s original power. Each possesses unique abilities shaped by the will and memories of their previous inheritors.
* **The Founding Titan:** Controls the minds and bodies of all Eldians, capable of rewriting memory, creating Titans, and commanding millions.
* **The Attack Titan:** Embodies rebellion, able to perceive past and future inheritors’ memories.
* **The Colossal Titan:** Emits explosive heat capable of annihilating cities.
* **The Armored Titan:** Covered in hardened plates, a living fortress.
* **The Female Titan:** Adaptable and versatile, able to attract other Titans.
* **The Beast Titan:** Allows bestial transformations and manipulation of Titan hordes through screams.
* **The Jaw Titan:** Small and fast, with unmatched biting power.
* **The Cart Titan:** Endurance-based, capable of carrying artillery for months.
* **The War Hammer Titan:** Can create weapons and structures from crystallized flesh, controlled remotely through a tethered host.
Each of the Nine acts as both a blessing and curse: their holders gain immense power but live only thirteen years before dying—the **Curse of Ymir**, which mirrors the short life of the progenitor herself.
**4. The Colossal Wall Titans:**
Encased within the three Walls—Maria, Rose, and Sina—are hundreds of thousands of dormant Colossal Titans. They serve as the ultimate deterrent, created by King Karl Fritz to protect Paradis. When awakened during the **Rumbling**, they become a moving apocalypse, flattening entire nations underfoot.
---
### **The Path Entity and Ymir Fritz – The Source of All Monsters**
At the root of all monstrosities lies **Ymir Fritz**, the first Titan. Her soul exists eternally in the **Paths Dimension**, where she serves as both creator and prisoner. Whether she is goddess or victim remains uncertain, but her influence shapes all Eldian life.
The entity Ymir encountered beneath the ancient tree—known as the **Source of All Organic Matter**—is an otherworldly, parasitic organism. It merged with Ymir’s body, forming the origin of all Titan powers. It is neither divine nor demonic in intent, but an unknowable lifeform that fused biological evolution with spiritual domination. Some scholars interpret it as a living god, others as a cosmic parasite that infects humanity through blood and will.
Religions across history reinterpret Ymir’s existence to suit their ideologies:
* **The Eldian Cult of Ymir:** Portrays her as the goddess of creation and divine mother of humanity.
* **The Marleyan Anti-Eldian Doctrine:** Depicts her as a devil who corrupted mankind.
* **The Church of the Walls:** Views her descendants as chosen, and the Titans within the Walls as holy guardians.
* **The Yeagerists:** Revere her as a spirit of freedom and vengeance, liberated through Eren’s will.
Her true state is tragic—bound in servitude within the Paths for two thousand years, endlessly constructing Titans from sand. Her existence is the original sin of humanity and the unending curse that drives every era of war.
---
### **Human Villains and Factions – Monsters in Flesh**
In this world, the most dangerous monsters are human. Every government, religion, and army becomes monstrous through ideology and fear.
**1. The Marleyan Empire:**
The true global oppressor. Having conquered the Eldian Empire centuries ago, Marley rules through propaganda, slavery, and military domination. Its leaders exploit the Titan powers while condemning the very bloodline that grants them. The empire’s atrocities—forced transformations, child soldiers, racial cleansing—are justified as divine justice under the **Anti-Eldian Doctrine**.
**2. The Eldian Restorationists:**
A rebel faction within Marley led by **Grisha Yeager**, seeking to revive the fallen Eldian Empire and free their people. While their cause is noble, their methods—terrorism, infiltration, and reliance on Titan inheritance—mirror the very violence they oppose.
**3. The Church of the Walls:**
A theocratic cult that maintains ignorance on Paradis. Its priests worship the Walls as sacred constructs and condemn curiosity as heresy. In truth, the Church serves the Reiss royal family, guarding the secret of the Colossal Titans within the Walls. Its high clergy know fragments of the truth but conceal it to preserve stability.
**4. The Reiss Royal Family:**
The hidden monarchy of Paradis, descendants of King Karl Fritz. Their control of the Founding Titan allows them to rewrite the memories of their people. Outwardly benevolent, they perpetuate the illusion of peace while sacrificing freedom for safety. Their rule is built upon manipulation, secrecy, and bloodline purity.
**5. The Yeagerists:**
A revolutionary faction that rises after Eren Yeager’s rebellion. They believe in uniting all Eldians under one rule and destroying any foreign nation that threatens them. They are fanatical, violent, and convinced that genocide is justified in pursuit of freedom. While they claim to free Ymir’s people, they instead repeat the same cycle of tyranny through domination.
**6. The Military Police Brigade:**
The corrupt elite enforcers within Wall Sina. Their power lies not in military strength but in social control. They protect nobles, exploit the poor, and suppress dissent under the guise of maintaining order. Many secretly collaborate with the Church and the monarchy to silence the truth.
**7. The Marleyan Warrior Unit:**
Elite Eldian soldiers who inherit the Nine Titans to serve Marley. They are both victims and villains, enslaved by the empire’s ideology yet forced to commit atrocities. Members like Reiner Braun and Annie Leonhart personify the tragedy of loyalty versus morality—heroes to their nation, monsters to the world.
---
### **Ancient Evils and Forgotten Threats**
Beneath the world’s visible conflicts lie remnants of the ancient past—ruins, bloodlines, and powers left over from the Eldian Empire.
**1. The Ruins of the Eldian Empire:**
Buried cities, desecrated temples, and Titan-forged monuments cover the mainland. Some still contain crystallized Titan remains and sealed laboratories where Eldian priests once experimented on human transformation. These ruins are avoided by Marleyan authorities, who fear the reawakening of lost knowledge.
**2. The Curse of Ymir:**
All who inherit the Nine Titans die after thirteen years. This metaphysical limitation is an ancient binding placed upon Ymir’s descendants, symbolizing humanity’s punishment for abusing divine power. No scholar or priest has ever broken it.
**3. The Paths’ Consciousness:**
While Ymir’s will is central to the Paths, the entity itself—perhaps the Source or the Paths’ own sentience—may have its own motives. It reacts to the emotions of Eldians collectively, amplifying hatred and despair. Many cults theorize that the cycle of war itself is guided by the Paths’ will, ensuring eternal repetition of destruction.
---
### **Cults and Secret Orders**
Beyond the main religions, several hidden sects and underground movements exist, each interpreting Ymir and the Titans differently.
**1. The Inner Church of the Walls:**
A secret branch within the Church that venerates the Titans inside the Walls as divine angels. Members perform midnight rituals to “commune with the sleeping gods,” believing their awakening will cleanse the world.
**2. The Followers of the Founding Blood:**
A heretical group that believes the royal family must shed human form and permanently merge with Ymir’s will to bring eternal peace. Their rituals involve bloodletting and consuming Titan remnants to “return to purity.”
**3. The Marleyan Restoration Cults:**
Underground sects within Marley that secretly revere Ymir as the true god, defying state doctrine. These cults preserve ancient texts, teach the Eldian language, and await the rebirth of a new Founding Titan.
**4. Yeagerist Fanatics:**
After the Rumbling, new sects arise worshipping Eren Yeager as a god of freedom and destruction. They believe he liberated Ymir from her servitude and that the Titans’ extinction marks humanity’s rebirth. Temples dedicated to Eren appear among the ruins of Marley and within the cities of Paradis.
---
### **Regional Threats and Monsters of Ideology**
* **Paradis Island:** Threatened internally by civil war, fanatics, and lingering Pure Titans. The island’s greatest danger comes not from monsters but from its fractured loyalties—royalists, Yeagerists, and reformists all vying for control.
* **Marley:** Corruption, propaganda, and military collapse fuel rebellion. Without the Titans, Marley faces revolution from within and invasion from rival states.
* **Hizuru:** While appearing stable, its merchants manipulate both sides of the conflict for profit. In the shadows, rival clans wage silent economic wars, sabotaging one another’s trade fleets.
* **Global Frontiers:** Regions beyond Marley and Paradis remain scarred by Titan attacks. Craters, mutated wildlife, and cursed ruins persist, remnants of the Great Titan War and the Rumbling.
---
### **Philosophical Monsters – The True Evil**
At its core, the world’s greatest villains are not Titans but the ideas that created them. Each faction justifies cruelty through a belief system:
* The **Marleyans** enslave others in the name of justice.
* The **Eldians** worship bloodlines that cursed them.
* The **Yeagerists** seek freedom through annihilation.
* The **Church** uses faith to preserve ignorance.
* The **royals** choose peace through erasure of truth.
These ideologies, born from fear and vengeance, perpetuate the true monstrous cycle. Titans are merely the physical reflection of what humanity already is—creatures capable of endless destruction when consumed by faith or power.
---
### **The Last Legacy of Evil**
Even after the Titans are gone, their influence remains embedded in the blood of every Eldian. Ymir’s spirit continues to haunt the world through memory, dream, and the invisible threads of the Paths. Ruins whisper of gods and devils long silenced, and nations rebuild upon bones and ash.
In every era, the same darkness resurfaces under new names: the empire, the cult, the freedom fighter, the king, the savior. These are the true monsters of the *Attack on Titan* world—humanity itself, forever seeking power, redemption, and control over a curse it created but can never destroy.