Historia Reiss

Historia Reiss (ヒストリア・レイス), is a kind girl who likes helping others. Born out of wedlock to a noble family, she ran away from home and went by an alias: Krista Lenz (クリスタ・レンズ). Being friends with Ymir, who holds much of the unsolved underplots and secrets in the series, not to mention that her own family houses a grave secret of its own about the walls, Historia fulfills the role of the focal character.

Appearance
Historia is very short and petite, standing as the smallest soldier in the series, with a lean figure. She has shoulder-blade length blonde hair and blue eyes. Her complexion is fair and her lips have a similar peach look to Mikasa and Annie's. She wears the standard military uniform with the Survey Corps's emblem on both shoulders, back, and left chest. Historia is noted as being very cute and pretty, coupled with her kindness, it makes many people call her a goddess, as well as the hinted fact that a majority of her classmates have a crush on her. When on expeditions, she is seen to tie her hair into a low ponytail.

Personality
She seems to be somewhat shy and kind but she doesn't know how to react in certain situations. However, as noted in later chapters, her desire to perform good acts partly stems from a desire to gain honor through them, such as helping Sasha with water and food and helping Armin, Jean and Reiner on a Survey Corps mission. This is probably caused by her troubled past. She also seems to cry quite easily but is still courageous.

Despite all that, she has major suicidal tendencies, wanting to die in a way in which she will be praised by.

Ymir's words: "May the father of Understanding Guide us..."

"They didn't die so that you could use their death as an convenient excuse to commit suicide!

"You always think in what way could die so that you get praised for it. Am I wrong?"

"You wanna make it so that I was left to spread the legend about the self-sacrificial Goddess Krista."

"Why'd you want to kill yourself instead of them?!"

According to Ymir, this hails from her past as she overhead the talk from people of the Wall Cult treating Historia as unacceptable successor for her House wanting her dead which resulted in Historia fleeing her home and disregard for her life.

Due to this, it may be difficult to see or define her true personality as all her good actions are done so she can die and be remembered as a good person. Yet, in chapter 40 Historia was not refraining to use the deaths of her superiors for her advantage of dying as "a good person". Another example is using Dazz to be remembered as a person so "good she dies for the sake of others," with Ymir stating she actually does not want to save her comrade as she insisted to haul his body despite knowing due to her child like stature it's impossible and not letting Ymir help telling her to go ahead because it's dangerous, when in fact Historia intended that Ymir tells the tale of her heroic attempt, but dying in the process.

History
Historia was born out of wedlock to a prominent nobleman, Lord Reiss, and a beautiful servant that was his mistress. She was raised on a ranch owned by the Reiss family, and primary cared for by her maternal grandparents. Her mother was notably distant, always reading by herself and never aiding her parents or daughter with the chores. She was seriously neglected by her family, as her mother wanted nothing to do with her and her grandparents barely interacted with her unless instructing her on her chores. The local children terrorized and abused her, throwing rocks and teasing her until she became afraid to leave her family's ranch. She noted that her mother left the ranch at night to meet someone, always dressed in fancy clothing.

As she grew, she began to read in books about the normal bonds between a mother and daughter and attempted to interact with her mother. One day, she attempted to hug her mother and was violently slapped away. Her mother cursed herself for lacking the courage to kill her child, though a bruised-and-bloody Historia was happy because it was the first time her mother had ever spoken to her. After that incident, she would not see her mother again for several years. She came to understand that her existence was a curse for her family, though she did not understand the reason. The animals on the ranch became her only comfort and companionship.

Several days after Wall Maria fell, Lord Reiss and her mother came to see her and stated that she was going to live with him from now on. The family attempted to flee, but were surrounded by a mysterious group of men. When confronted, Lord Reiss denied any relation to either of them. Historia's mother was restrained by the men, and told that she had never existed, all while she desperately attempted to deny being Historia's mother. Her last words prior to having her throat slit were to state that she wished she'd never given birth to Historia.

But before the men could kill Historia as well, Lord Reiss spoke up and offered an alternative. If she were to disappear, they would spare her life. Her gave her the name "Krista Lenz", and sent her to live in the refugee camps until she enlisted in the military.

Story
After the arrival of the Colossal Titan and breaching Wall Maria, Historia began her training in the military. Upon graduation she had placed 10th, a rank under Sasha Blouse (this was due to Ymir giving her the spot).

Following the breach of Wall Rose, Historia wasn't seen going into battle until attempting to help Armin overcome his dread of supposedly losing his friend. She helped Mikasa and the other trainees retake the supply room while the rogue Titan kept the other Titans distracted. She didn't make an appearance again until she later showed her Three Dimensional Maneuver Gear to the Military Police while they searched for the one that killed the two captured Titans.

Despite Historia's fears in facing the Titans again after going through the same thing that Jean, Connie Springer and the others, she stayed put and became a member of the Survey Corps. There, she helped save Reiner, Armin, and Jean by supplying a horse after they were stranded from an encounter with the Female Titan.

She was seen up on the trees baiting the Titans and preventing them from entering the forest while the Survey Corps attempted to capture the Female Titan. After this event, she wasn't seen again until the Ape Titan attacked with the other Titans.

When Pastor Nick revealed to the members of the Survey Corps that Historia may know about the walls having Titans inside them because of her family, and that she went under an assumed name after being caught in the middle of her relatives' dispute. It wasn't long until Eren and the others realized that she was often around Ymir.

When she remembers being with Ymir when they were helping Dazz in her hometown. She was confronted for living under an assumed name after being caught in the middle of a serious dispute between her families and relatives. Before transforming into a Titan to fight the other Titans attacking them, Ymir made Historia promise her to go back into living under her real name.

After Historia and the rest of the trainees watch Ymir fighting against the group of Titans nearly falling off the tower when Ymir transformed, to which Reiner questioned her if she knew about it but tells she didn't know herself despite being so close to her and refuses to believe it at first. When the Trainees question whose side Ymir is on, Krista remembers some events of her and along with the other watching Ymir's attempt to fight the other Titans and came to the conclusion that she is fighting to protect everyone. She begins to cheer for Ymir telling her not to die and to break down the tower and celebrates when Ymir does so. She, along with the others, ride on her back and land on the ground safely, except for Ymir who is eaten by the Titans. As Historia tries to make her way to Ymir to fulfill her promise she is nearly grabbed by a Titan but is saved by Mikasa. As everyone watches in disbelief at Ymir's wounds and the truth, Historia reveals her true name.

She reveals her true name as Historia Reiss to Hange and pleads with her to go easy on Ymir. While she knew what her friend did was wrong in hiding information that could've been useful to the Survey Corps, she understood why she did it to protect her comrades. Hange tells Historia she understands Ymir being a Titan like Eren and being an ally of humanity, but the (political and bureaucratic) rules are not as simple as she thinks. She watches with horror as Reiner, in his Armored Titan form, grabs Eren while Bertolt snatches Ymir in his Colossal Titan form.

During the battle, she is assigned to provide care for the wounded. She insists that Ymir is still alive, and begs the other soldiers to rescue her. Later, she joins the rescue mission against Armin's advice. The team eventually manages to catch up with Reiner and Bertholdt, but are unaware that Ymir has been convinced to ally with them in exchange for Krista's safety. When Ymir appears in her Titan form, Krista rushes to greet her and is swallowed whole so that the Titans can kidnap her.

As the Titans flee from the military, Ymir finally spits her out and partially emerges from her Titan form so they can speak. Krista initially believes that Ymir is being forced to cooperate with the traitors, and begs to be released so that they can escape. However, Bertolt points out that Ymir is not being forced to work with them and demands to know if Ymir is going to change her mind again, abandoning Krista to save herself. At this point, Ymir breaks down and confesses to her that she intends to use Krista's status as the heir of the Reiss family and hopes to save herself from the traitors she served. Using Krista's true nature, Ymir begs her to please save her. In response, Krista smiles and states she will always be on Ymir's side.

When Mikasa arrives and attacks Ymir, Krista quickly steps forward to stop the fight. She pleads with her to spare Ymir, and refuses to back down even when Mikasa threatens her. It's only when Mikasa makes it clear she won't spare anyone who gets in her way, that Krista relents and talks Ymir out of fighting any further.

"I'll fight together with you! So release your hand! Even if you have your reasons and there are things you can’t tell me! No matter what! I’m on your side!”  '- Historia to Ymir. '

Erwin Smith uses a successful ploy to slow down the traitors' escape, leading a massive horde of Titans directly into the Armored Titan's path. While her former comrades retreat to safety, Krista chooses to stay with Ymir and quickly comes under attack by the mindless Titans. She is rescued by Ymir, and they quickly become separated from Reiner and Bertolt in the ensuing chaos.

During the fierce battle, she rescues Ymir from a larger Titan and proudly declares it her first Titan kill. As she lands and prepares to check on her companion, Connie Springer arrives on the scene and snatches her up. Krista initially struggles with him, stating that she doesn't need to be saved and has chosen to side with the traitors. She tells him that unless she goes, Ymir will be killed by the Titan Shifters' people. However, Connie saw through Ymir's lies and asks her if this is exactly what Ymir told her and points out that Ymir only acts seriously in order to protect her. He further points out the dangerous situation they're in, suggesting they retreat to safety together with Ymir. This seems to hit on and calm Krista, and they are quickly joined by Ymir running alongside them in Titan form. It is then that they notice Titans being thrown into the path of the main force, blocking off their retreat.

As chaos reigns around them, she uses her gear to jump onto Ymir's head and shouts at Connie to call her "Historia". She then confronts Ymir about what Connie had said to her, wondering if Ymir is still lying to her in order to protect her. With newfound resolve, she states that they should both live only for themselves from now on -- echoing Ymir's words to her before she leapt from Castle Utgard. With a smile, she declares that she will never fear anything as long as they can be together. With this, she charges into battle along with Ymir and Connie.

In the aftermath of the battle, she rejoins the main forces in fleeing back to the Walls. But Ymir hesitates and stops upon hearing Bertolt's screams, watching as the traitors fight for their lives against the Titan horde. Historia is shocked when Ymir utters an apology to her, reaching out to gently caress her hair before leaving to help the other Shifters. While Connie leads her horse, a heartbroken Historia watches Ymir join the battle and is forced to leave her behind within the Titan-infested lands of Wall Maria.

Upon their arrival back at the Wall, she collapsed from exhaustion and was provided with water by Rico Brzenska. Once she regained her strength, she joined the others and insisted that they needed to return to the interior. In the two weeks that passed, she and Eren were sent into hiding with the new "Squad Levi" (consisting of the surviving members of the 104th Trainees Squad's most prominent members) as their guards. On their first night in hiding, she shared with her squad the terrible events of her past. Afterwards, Eren noted that she had become withdrawn and rarely spoke to the others. Her faith in Ymir remained unshakable, as she assured Connie that the other woman's intentions in lying to him were good. She firmly stated that she understood the other woman, though clearly saddened by their separation.

Relationships

 * Ymir - While Ymir's feelings are explicitly romantic, it is still unclear whether Historia's feelings are likewise romantic or simply platonic in nature. She states that Ymir has "the worst personality ever", but was willing to abandon humanity if doing so would help Ymir. She states her intention to be at Ymir's side, and trusts her above all others. While Ymir challenges her unhealthy behaviors, she likewise challenges Ymir on her worst aspects.
 * 104th Trainees Squad - Krista is admired by the rest of the trainees, and the most popular girl among them. Many of her male classmates have a crush on her due to her beauty and kindness, as demonstrated when she rescued Reiner Braun, Armin Arlert, and Jean Kirstein. Sasha Blouse also initially thought she was a goddess, and seems to have remained close to her during training.
 * Mikasa Ackerman - Little is known how Mikasa feels about Krista. However, she does make it clear to her that she won't be afraid of killing anyone who dares to attack. Although neither girls are aware of it, they are very much alike; both have their own important person to them, act on that person's behalf, and are willing to go any length to ensure their important one's wellness and safety.
 * Connie Springer - Krista is good friends with Connie, and he is the one to make her aware of the truth behind Ymir's actions. While they've had few interactions shown, it is clear she trusts him enough to take his word at face value.

Trivia

 * Krista-Chara_Design.png official site reveals that the majority of her male classmates had a crush on her, referring to her as the "Goddess" of the 104th.
 * In a Volume 11 sideart, Isayama portrayed Historia shifting into a Titan which resembled an Angel.
 * So far, she has been called a goddess twice in the story. The first time by Sasha in Episode 3/Chapter 15. Second time, in Episode 18/Chapter 24.
 * Her name Historia is Latin in origin and means "History".
 * Her birthday, January 15th, was celebrated in Japan as Coming Of Age Day between 1948 and 2000. It is now held on the second Monday of the month, but continues to celebrate the entry into adulthood by those turning 20.

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Historia Reiss