Power of the Titans

"What are you? A man? Or a Titan?"

- Kitz Weilman to Eren Yeager

The power of the Titans (巨人の力) is the ability which allows Subjects of Ymir to transform into one of the Nine Titans. Unlike regular mindless Titans, these Titans are intelligent, controlled by the human inside. The Nine Titans are far more powerful than regular Titans and have unique abilities.

Transformation
In order to transform, a human with the power of the Titans must suffer an injury that draws blood (often self-harm) while having a solid goal or belief in mind at the moment of injury. Being injured by another person is also sufficient. Once the transformation is initiated, a burst of energy is released (in some cases as a bolt of lightning or an explosion), followed by the generation of the Titan body and a release of hot steam. After transforming, the human body rests within the nape of the Titan's neck as the center of control. The human body is also merged with the Titan's flesh inside to varying extents, most frequently on the area of the cheeks below the eyes.

If a Titan form is pushed to its limit, the human will emerge from the nape of its neck, sometimes in a semi-conscious or entirely unconscious state. If a Titan form is not exhausted, then its human form can emerge from the Titan form in full consciousness. In some cases, a human is able to partially emerge from their Titan body without fully leaving the nape. After the power of the Titans is used, oftentimes the area around the emerging human's eyes is marked by dark lines, which resembles the Titan in their possession, for a short period of time.

The ability to transform into a Titan can be hindered by injuries inflicted on the human body. A human can transform into a Titan with injuries as severe as a missing limb, but only if a previous transformation has not occurred recently. If a human emerges from their Titan form and receives severe injury, this person cannot transform into a Titan again until said injuries have healed.

Inheritors of the Nine Titans appear to be resistant to the normal absorption that creates mindless Titans. However, this does not mean that they are immune to it. In the case of Eren Yeager, it has been shown that repeated transformations in a short period of time lead to decreased control over the Titan form, as well as diminished Titan size and power. As such, it seems that there is a limitation on how long a human can remain in a transformed Titan state before risking absorption. The length of time spent in a controllable transformed Titan depends on how skilled the human is, although even the most experienced can become incredibly fatigued for as long as several days after repetitive use. The exception to this appears to be the Cart Titan, which is known for its great endurance. Pieck is able to stay in her Titan form for at least two months.

Physiology and abilities
The height among the Nine Titans varies greatly, ranging from the 4 meters of Pieck's Cart Titan to the 60 meters of the Bertolt's Colossus Titan. Many of them however range around 15 meters. Feminine Titan forms apparel to be slightly shorter than the masculine Titan forms, as Annie Leonhart's Female Titan is 14 meters and Frieda Reiss' Founding Titan was 13 meters. Age does not affect the appearance of the Nine Titans. After acquiring the Attack and Founding Titans, Eren's Titan form becomes much more mature in appearance. The Warriors' Titan forms remains constant through their childhood and into early adulthood.

Humans with the power of the Nine Titans also gain the Titans' ability to regenerate. They are even able to grow back their limb or up to the entire head. However, regeneration from severe injuries such as lost limbs can strain their powers and prevent them from transforming for a period of time, and healing takes much longer as a human than as a Titan. The time it takes to regenerate depends on the extent of the injury and how focused the individual is on healing that area. The only surefire way to kill a human with the power of the Titans is through severing the brain's connection to the rest of the body, although it is possible to survive even this method by transferring the mind to the rest of their nervous system.

Some of the Titans have been shown to possess the ability to harden. The Armored Titan is particularly skilled at this, being able to naturally harden its entire body. It can also control the areas of hardening, removing armor for more mobility or creating claws on its fingertips. The Jaw Titan has naturally hard teeth and claws. The Female Titan is also capable of hardening. Annie's Titan is able to selectively harden regions of her Titan and even create a protective layer around her human body. The other Titans do not appear to have this as an innate ability, but it can be gained through specialized serums, such as the case with Eren's Attack Titan. Eren's Titan can harden its fists and areas around his body, which is used to seal Wall Maria. Zeke Yeager's Beast Titan can also harden, although it has not been shown.

Those with the Nine Titans are not safe from regular Titans, even while transformed, as the only way for a mindless Titan to regain its human form is by eating a human with the power of the Titans.

Inheritance
The Nine Titans, and the holder's ability to transform, can be transferred to a new host, should they be devoured by a mindless Titan. This allows an ordinary Titan to become a new human with the power of the Titans, and inherit one or more of the Nine. This has been the case with the Founding Titan for over a thousand years.

However, according to Rod Reiss, the power of the Titans resides within a human's spinal fluid, meaning that to gain the Titan's power, it is not necessary to eat the entire human, but rather a Titan can simply bite through the spine and ingest said fluid. Titan serums are, in fact, the spinal fluid of Titans, though study of the serums is difficult due to the serum's rapid rate of evaporation upon contact with air.

Inheritors of the Nine Titans do not adopt the appearance of the previous owners' Titans, as both Ymir and Frieda's Titans' appearances are vastly different from Marcel Galliard and Uri Reiss' Titans, respectively. Rod Reiss has claimed that humans can choose the serum that will give them a specific Titan form, meaning they are able to adopt the form given by the serum and not whatever form the Titan they eat possesses. However, the current holder's Titan form do experience certain changes depending on which of the Nine is received, as Ymir's Titan form gained sharp claws and teeth after acquiring the Jaw Titan and Armin's Titan form became much larger after acquiring the Colossus Titan. Eren's mindless Titan form was much smaller than his current form, and both Ymir's Titan form and Frieda's Titan form were noticeably more emaciated than their Titan bodies after inheriting their Titans.

Those who inherit the Nine Titans are also able to see the memories of previous holders to some extent. Blood relations between the inheritors of a Titan play a significant role in passing these memories. The inheritors of the Founding Titan from the Reiss family are able to access memories going back by dozens or perhaps hundreds of generations, while the current holder of the Founding Titan, Eren Yeager, is unable to see further back than his father's memories and on only one occasion saw back into the memories of Frieda Reiss who preceded Grisha. Other inheritors of the Nine Titans are shown to be able to see the memories of the previous Titan at the very least. However, this process appears to fail when blood relations are interrupted or not present, as Eren Yeager and Armin Arlert did not receive any memories immediately upon inheriting their Titan forms, and Porco Galliard was unable to see the memories of his brother Marcel, though he could see the memories of Ymir who succeeded Marcel and preceded Porco.

If an individual with the Nine Titans dies before their Titan can be inherited by being devoured, that Titan will be passed on to the first baby among the Subjects of Ymir who is born directly after the said holder's death, regardless of distance or relation to the previous holder.

Curse of Ymir
Each person who inherits the Nine Titans is fated with the "Curse of Ymir", which limits their lifespan to only 13 years after first acquiring the power of the Titans. During the last years of their life, their body will weaken until they perish.

Nine Titans
After Ymir Fritz died, her soul was split into the Nine Titans. Each of them has a name, and are unique to the other Titans.
 * The Founding Titan (始祖の巨人) is able to manipulate the memories and minds of the Subjects of Ymir, humans and Titans respectively, but only while it in possession of (or in contact with) the the royal Fritz or Reiss families. It is connected to all the Subjects of Ymir via invisible "paths".
 * The Attack Titan (進撃の巨人), no matter the age, will seek and fight for freedom.
 * The Colossus Titan (超大型巨人) is significantly larger than the others and can evaporate its body to release immense amounts of steam.
 * The Armored Titan (鎧の巨人) is particularly good at hardening and is covered by hardened armor-like skin, except in key areas necessary for movement.
 * The Female Titan (女型の巨人) is capable in every field and can attract nearby Pure Titans by screaming.
 * The Beast Titan (獣の巨人) has incredible throwing abilities and is always a little larger than the others (aside from the Colossus Titan).
 * The Jaw Titan (顎の巨人) is small, fast, and agile; it is also equipped with strong teeth and claws capable of breaking almost anything.
 * The Cart Titan (車力の巨人) has great endurance and can stay transformed for long periods of time.
 * The War Hammer Titan (戦槌の巨人) has not yet been seen, leaving its abilities and traits ambiguous.

Lineages
The Nine Titans have been passed down ever since they were split from Ymir Fritz's Founding Titan. As family relations play a significant role in passing inheriting memories from the previous holders of the Titans, the Nine Titans normally resided within noble families during the time of Eldia. Examples include the Fritz family with the Founding Titan and Tybur family with the War Hammer Titan. After the Great Titan War, Marley seized control over seven of the Nine Titans, and distributed them (except for the War Hammer Titan) among random Subjects of Ymir (now known as Warriors); the Attack Titan was lost and went into hiding. The Tybur family was allowed to keep their Titan because they were the first to fight for Marley, leaving them and the Reiss family (the Fritz family renamed) the only remaining Eldian houses left with their Titan after the war. The Reiss family later lost their Titan to Grisha Yeager in the year 845.

After Grisha's Attack Titan ate Frieda Reiss' Founding Titan, the two Titans mixed into one holder. As a result, the number of people with the power of the Titans is currently eight.

Founding Titan
 * Ymir Fritz
 * 145th King / "First King"
 * Mr. Reiss
 * Uri Reiss
 * Frieda Reiss
 * Grisha Yeager - Mixed with the Attack Titan.
 * Eren Yeager - Current holder. Mixed with the Attack Titan.

Attack Titan
 * Eren Kruger
 * Grisha Yeager - Mixed with the Founding Titan.
 * Eren Yeager - Current holder. Mixed with the Founding Titan.

Colossus Titan
 * Bertolt Hoover
 * Armin Arlert - Current holder.

Armored Titan
 * Reiner Braun - Current holder.

Female Titan
 * Annie Leonhart - Current holder.

Beast Titan
 * Zeke Yeager - Current holder.

Jaw Titan
 * Marcel Galliard
 * Ymir
 * Porco Galliard - Current holder.

Cart Titan
 * Pieck - Current holder.

War Hammer Titan
 * Willy Tybur - Current holder.

Trivia

 * Many transformed Titan forms are modeled after mixed martial artists. For instance, the Armored Titan is modeled after  and the Attack Titan is modeled after.
 * In the August 2016 Issue of Bessatsu Shonen Magazine, Isayama was asked of what is it like to come out of a Titan's body. He stated, "Just think that it’s like coming out from a sauna."
 * While the ability to turn into a Titan is commonly referred to as the "power of the Titans" (巨人の力), this term is also used by the Reiss family to refer to the Founding Titan as well.
 * Zeke Yeager has shown the most control and ability out of all people who have the power of the Titans thus far. He is able to comminute perfectly while in his Titan form and carefully pick up Mike Zacharias's vertical maneuvering equipment with his large fingers. His royal blood also enables him to turn other Subjects of Ymir into mindless Titans, which he can control to an extent. Because of this, he is called the "Boy Wonder" by Marleyan officials.
 * Grisha Yeager consuming Frieda Reiss and gaining the Founding Titan is the only known case where a person inherits one of the Nine Titans while already having one. In all other known cases, the receiver was always a mindless Titan.

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