In Between The Ends

Chapter Forty Two

The floor is yours, Mr. Arlert."

They were all gathered within one of the Parliament's large boardrooms no more than half an hour after Armin made the call, looking amongst each other apprehensively as they took their seats around the massive table, with all eyes locked on their visibly shaken commander. There were a handful of President Wohl's advisors in attendance alongside Armin's team, as well as several high-ranking military officials and a court transcribe.

Jean and Connie shared a nervous look, and Gabi squirmed restlessly in her seat. This was it: the pivotal moment where they would finally get some sort of answer for whatever was going on; though judging by the look on Armin's face, they probably didn't want to know. He was staring off into space now, not hearing the President's prompt, and Mikasa nudged his shoulder gently. His head snapped up, looking around as if he hadn't even heard them come in.

President Wohl cleared his throat when Armin didn't respond, raising his bushy eyebrows. "I must say, I'm looking forward to shedding some light on this whole situation." He said expectantly, though frowning slightly as Armin dipped his head and stared down at the piles of parchment on the table.

"Once you hear what I have to say, I'm sure you will come to regret those words, Mr. President."

Arya shifted uneasily, and she leaned forward onto the table that separated her from where Armin sat. He reluctantly met her eyes, and she tried to give him an encouraging smile.

"Just start from the beginning, Armin."

He nodded slowly, seeming to come back to himself a little. His expression cleared, and with a new sense of drive he rummaged through the stack of papers, pulling out half a dozen pages that were cluttered with writing.

"Yes, I suppose the beginning is a good enough place to start." He muttered, opening one of the Marotsara texts and giving the members of his team a long and searching look.

"So, we already surmised that these books, along with the settlement they were found in, belonged to an old community that lived on the island before the walls were built. Well, as it turns out, they are a much more ancient people than we could have ever imagined, though these records indicate that they didn't originate on Paradis. According to these books, they existed well before the Founder Ymir gained the power of the titans... 2000 years ago."

He paused for moment to read over his notes, then continued.

"If my translation is close, this tribe went by name "Children of Light", or some variation close to that. There wasn't much I could decipher on the finer points of their history, though it seems that they were a dying breed even before the move to Paradis, thanks to their persecution from Royal family. By the time they ended up stuck between the mountain and the walls, there were less than 200 of them."

"God, what did this community do to bring down the wrath of the old Eldian royals?" Oz asked, scratching his beard thoughtfully. "It's not like they posed much of a threat being as small as they were."

Armin shook his head. "It wasn't something they did; it was something they had." He opened one of the books and turned it around to show the group a large illustration spread out across one of the pages. It showcased a drawing of an enormous tree with an arch in its base, surrounded by foliage.

"This reclusive race lived peacefully inside the massive forests that covered most of the Southern region of what was once the country of Eldia. As King Fritz expanded his territory in the early years of the war against Marly, these people were forced deeper into the unclaimed lands; save for one faction who, against the pleas of their people, remained to safeguard this tree."