Alva

Alva is very happy with her prosthetic.

"After that battle, I never expected to stand again. Getting another chance to fight for what's right is an honor."

As for the low moans that come from her room at midnight, once the sun clears the horizon, let them be as if they never happened.

Unlocks at: Awakener Level 1

A.F.18@1/@1/@2 Infantry Regiment, the Kingdom of Remouahe, Port Alexandria

The situation in Port Alexandria is stabilizing. The 3rd and 4th battalions, along with three companies of musketeers, have crossed the canal to proceed to @4 for the next stage of operations. Now only the 1st battalion and a company of musketeers remain in Port Alexandria.

A squad encountered rebels during a patrol and quickly dealt with them. They brought back an interesting trinket that looks like silver but is heavier. I've stored it in the safe; the commander will like this gift.

.....

Day 13 of the garrison, soldiers from various companies are showing abnormal behavior, including but not limited to attacking comrades, officers, destroying inventory, and military equipment. These soldiers, along with the earlier madmen, are now under my direct supervision in confinement.

Their eyes are bloodshot, and they drool, looking more like pitiful animals than soldiers. Madness is spreading here; I'm worried it will become a plague.

.....

Day 30 of the garrison.

To date, 370 soldiers have shown mad behavior. After 20 days of severe hysteria, 331 of them developed limb numbness and paralysis. Their aggression remains strong; two military doctors were bitten while trying to treat them.

The madness continues to spread. I've reported the situation, hoping for swift action.

.....

The Committee took over the Alexandria garrison for 10 days; people still fall into madness, my brothers one after another. Why are only we suffering this damned plague? Why are the locals fine? Why do the rebels who hassle us remain unaffected?

My head hurts more and more, and the doctors are helpless, they fell into madness before me and became those biting monsters.

I fear I will also go mad.

They say we have to wait for the Mythag University people. Damn them, we fought for our country, we shouldn't be treated this way.

.....

I know now, I finally know. It's a vengeful spirit within that piece of silver, seeking revenge on all who invaded this land. That one-legged woman wants us to leave, wants us all gone, to return everything here to its original owners. Yes, yes, it should be this way, we never should've come, never started this war, I @1@3@4@2@1@2@3

Excerpt from the "@2 Infantry Regiment 1st Battalion Acting Commander's Log"

Unlocks at: Affinity Level 3

Hannah: Ms. Alva, you've been with Mythag University for quite some time now. The students adore you, a good many girls have pushed love letters at me to pass along. Shall I read them out?

Alva: That's really... ahem. I mean, thank you, everyone? But wasn't I here to talk about my day?

Hannah: Who knew our instructor had such an adorable side! I may have to hide off campus once this runs, or the jealous girls will corner me. All right, back on topic. Would you tell our readers what a day in the life of Mythag's most charming instructor looks like?

Alva: I'm afraid I'll disappoint you. My day is very ordinary. I'm up at four to train, so the leg gets used to moving.

At six I go to the dining hall. An Awakener's body doesn't need food, but I still... call it a habit.

From eight to noon I drill the investigators in combat technique, and sometimes I put the Keeper through extra work. Afternoon training shifts with the class schedule, some days it starts at one, some days at three.

Once a week I find time to go see Nautila and have her tune the prosthetic. She forgets things easily, but her work is excellent. After every service, the pain eases a great deal.

Hannah: And what do you do for fun?

Alva: Fun... that's honestly a bit of a foreign concept to me. Though lately I've gone down to the sea with Aurita and the others. Being around kids that uncomplicated always leaves me relaxed. And swimming does wonders for physical conditioning. Back when I was a recruit, my drill instructor...

Hannah: And that's all we have room for today! If you want to hear more about Ms. Alva's past, keep an eye out for the next issue of "Daily Life in Mythag"!

Excerpted from "Daily Life in Mythag," a special interview column in the Mythag Daily

Unlocks at: Affinity Level 5

She spent her girlhood in an army camp.

Like every child raised among soldiers, she believed in the glory of the legion without question and made it her whole life. Her world was simple: what the commander approved was right, and what the commander forbade was wrong.

"Turn your swords on the enemy, and we will give this land its true freedom. Cut down the armies that march against us, and spare them no pity. What we sacrifice now buys the peace and prosperity of tomorrow."

She trained on those words, and she went to war on them. One desperate rescue left her with a ruined leg and the title of war hero. Decorated, she was pulled back from the front to train recruits, with no idea what that ruined leg was about to show her about the world.

When her maimed leg was made a thing to sneer at, Alva left the army in a fury. Only out on the streets did she see what the commander's shining speeches had really been: liberation was a pretext for invasion, and in those foreign lands people were being torn apart.

This was not the country she had dreamed of. This was not the bright future without blood or tears.

So she raised an atoning blade against her old comrades, and swore to fight for justice that was real.

Unlocks at: Affinity Level 7

It isn't that Alva never doubted her own justice, but those dazed days and nights left her with perfect clarity.

What seems unreal is real.

Where she began has never changed. The justice she fights for was never an organization that became an invader, never some man shouting slogans. It stands, plain and upright, inside her own conviction.

Every life, every innocence, every dream and ambition and small bright hope turns to ash the moment the guns open up.

What war takes never comes back; it gnaws through everything good like a devil out of hell.

So those who start wars to feed their own appetites must taste that same annihilation. There will be true heroes, carrying a greater cause, fighting selflessly for a future bright enough for everyone.

That is what justice is worth.

...

What's wrong gets corrected.

The sacrifices have to be worth something. These severed legs and the phantom ache of what's missing have to be worth something.

Whatever was destroyed, she will take back with these new limbs.

The small, fragile things will never lose their light.

All of it for the utopia that truly holds no blood and no tears.

Unlocks at: Affinity Level 9