Grisha Yeager

"If I knew this was the price to pay for freedom...I never would have paid it. I'm sorry, but...You've made a terrible miscalculation. I apologize. I can't hate anything anymore."

- Grisha faces the consequences of his actions

Grisha Yeager (グリシャ・イェーガー) was an Eldian doctor who originated from the Liberio internment zone in Marley, and was one of the Eldia Restorationists. He was sent on a mission from "the Owl" to infiltrate the Walls and take the Founding Titan from the Reiss family, and was given the power of the Attack Titan in order to do so. Grisha was taken inside the Walls by Keith Shadis, and settled in the Shiganshina District. He documented the details about Eldia, Marley, the Titans, and his past in three books that he hid in his basement.

In Marley, he was married to Dina Yeager and had a son named Zeke. After being sent to Paradis, he re-married to Carla Yeager and had a second son, Eren Yeager. He also adopted Mikasa Ackerman in the year 844.

Human Form
Grisha was a fairly tall, slender man with straight black hair neatly parted down the middle, a thin beard and mustache, and gray eyes. He wore a gray suit with a black vest and a white shirt, a plain bolo tie, and round glasses. On the left side of his chest, he had a large cross scar that he carved into himself as an oath and rite of passage to join the Eldia Restorationists.

Titan Form
As the Attack Titan, he was tall and had a body with a notoriously bulkier torso than his arms and legs. He had long, dark hair, elongated ears, small eyes, and his mouth was covered in flesh and a dark, thick beard along with black chest hair. His Titan form had several similarities with Eren's, including their long dark hair, elongated ears, sunken eyes, and a muscular physique. His Titan form somewhat resembled that of Zeke's, in the fact that they both possessed large and wide torsos.

Personality
Although he appeared on the surface to be a rather calm, calculated man, Grisha's most notable character traits were his hard-headed personality and his intense passion for whatever cause he dedicated himself to. Grisha's hard-headed tendency was most evident during his childhood, and usually to his own detriment. This was best exemplified by his decision to ignore his mother's warnings, and take his younger sister outside Liberio's Internment Zone, leading to her eventual demise. Grisha also demonstrated a tendency toward rashness, failing to recognize the danger his behavior put his family in, and even looking down on his parents for their subservient nature to the Marley government, despite the fact that they were only trying to keep him from suffering the same fate as his sister. It was this same rashness that led him to join the Eldia Restorationists, and to his eventual exile to Paradis.

Grisha also seemed to possess a rather profound lack of self-awareness, failing to see the consequences of his actions unless they were presented to him directly. It was this same lack of awareness that led him to ultimately drive an emotional wedge between himself and Zeke, causing Zeke to betray Grisha and his comrades to the Marley government. Grisha has also shown himself to be rather weak-willed. When offered to take up Eren Kruger's mission in the wake of the Restorationists' capture and torture, Grisha initially refused, claiming he would never have joined their cause if he had known the price he would have to pay, although he was later persuaded to accept Kruger's mission due to his strong sense of obligation to his fellow Restorationists.

History
Grisha was born in Liberio in the year 806 on the continent of Marley. One day, in the year 817, he and his sister ran out of the internment zone chasing after a blimp and were found out by two Public Security Authorities officers. One of the men punished Grisha while the other one took Faye away. However, when Grisha returned home she was not there. Her corpse was later found dead and mangled in a river. The Marley men visited the family home and explained that Faye and Grisha were at fault for leaving and denied any knowledge of her death. As Mrs. Yeager was filled with tears, Mr. Yeager smiled and explained that he would re-inform his son of their history. He then explained the history of the Eldians and why their ancestors' actions justify their outcast status in Marleyan society. However, Grisha explained that he believed the Marley men were lying and tried to say they killed his sister but Mr. Yeager silenced him and the two fought over their situation as Eldians. Mr. Yeager tried to convince his son why they needed to be punished but Grisha expressed his belief that they should not have to pay for the actions their ancestors committed.

Grisha continued to live his life being shamed for being an Eldian and eventually became a doctor. The meeting with Grice, a patient, led Grisha to learn about the circumstances of Faye's death. This gave him the motivation to join the Eldia Restorationists. Through his activities and a mole in the Marley legal system named 'The Owl', Grisha got information about Eldian history and met Dina Fritz, a person of royal descent. A year later they got married and had a child which they named Zeke.

Later in their lives, Marleyan officials recruited children to take on the power of the seven Titans their people had stolen from the Eldians so many years ago, so they could go to Paradis and take down King Fritz, who had fled there and built Walls for his people 80 years ago. "The Owl" informed the group that Marley’s real goal was to steal the Founding Titan, so they could enhance their military might. Grisha then decided he would send his own son into the program as a mole for them. Unfortunately, at the age of seven, Zeke exposed his parents and all the restorationists, and they were sentenced to go to Paradis as mindless Titans eating Eldians of their own kind. After being turned in to the Public Security Authorities, Grisha was subjected to nude torture as the soldiers attempted to get him to reveal who the Owl was by cutting off his fingers. Once they gave up on obtaining the information, Grisha and the rest of the restorationists were taken to Paradis and sat on their knees before a large Wall by the ocean. After kicking Grice off the Wall alive, the rest of the restorationists were turned into Titans with Titan injection except for the Yeagers and another member. When it was Dina's turn, Grisha pleaded for her life, and tried to point out that she was of royal descent and could be of potential use to them, but was silenced by Kruger before any of the soldiers could overhear him, to Grisha's surprise. He watched her transform into a Titan and run after their friend, Grice. Sergeant Major Gross decided not to turn Grisha into a Titan, but to throw him to the other restorationist after he had been transformed. After adjusting the dose to create a 3-4m class and injecting the other man with injection, revealed to actually be Titan spinal fluid, he threw him off the Wall to transform. He began explaining how watching people be devoured made him feel alive in such a dull society. He then began pushing Grisha off asking him to fight and die in an interesting way. However, before he could do so, Kruger pushed Gross off the Wall. As Gross is devoured, Kruger asked Grisha if he enjoyed such a sight. He then revealed that he was The Owl and claimed that he would show Grisha how to truly use the power of the Titans. Kruger then transformed into a Titan and destroyed the steamboat that took all the soldiers to the island. After destroying the Marleyan men and their equipment, Kruger returned to the top of the Wall and, after introducing himself and explaining how he became a spy, he began to speak with Grisha who asked him why he left only him alive. Kruger fell to his knees from exhaustion and told Grisha of his terrible acts against several thousand Eldians, saying he did it all to serve Eldia in the end. Kruger then said that he was entrusting Grisha with his final mission, and goes on to express regret for playing a role in his sister’s death, but that the hatred he saw in Grisha's eyes the next day was part of the reason he chose him. This reminded Kruger of his own uprising, when he watched his family be burned alive and chose to get revenge for them, however, it turned out that he had to torture fellow Eldians to maintain his identity until that day. Kruger told Grisha that he must enter the Walls and take back the Founding Titan, using the power of the Titans Kruger will give him. Grisha then asked why Kruger was not doing it himself, but Kruger explained that 13 years after inheriting the power of the Titans, the host would die, and it had been 13 years for him. He then explained that all Eldians are connected by paths to the Founding Titan Ymir Fritz once had and that no one can ever be stronger than her, so they die after 13 years like she did. Grisha then questioned this logic and the Eldian history, which Kruger explained is probably not true from the Marleyan or Eldian perspective. When Grisha asked Kruger why he allowed for Dina to die, he said that he believed it would be better than having her give birth to royal children for Marley until her death. Grisha told him that he did not believe he was fit to take on his mission, and that he would not have paid the price for freedom if he knew what it was. Kruger then commended Grisha's father for trying to keep his family safe when he knew what happened to Faye. Kruger confronted Grisha, and told him that the reason he chose him is that at the expense of others, he sought freedom by going past the Walls. He said that their brothers and sisters paid the price for their freedom, and that those actions will follow them until they are repaid, even after death. Grisha then stood up and accepted Kruger’s mission. He then told him the name of the Titan he was going to take: the Attack Titan. After taking his power, Grisha went to the Walls and began his mission.

Grisha was found wandering outside the Walls near the Shiganshina District by Keith Shadis, a soldier of the Survey Corps. The soldier was very surprised to see him, not only because he was outside the Walls, but also because he claimed to have suffered amnesia and he had no memories about the civilization inside the Walls and the military. Amazed to learn that the Eldians of the Walls were attempting to fight the Titans, Grisha claimed to have amnesia.

Keith brought Grisha back to Shiganshina, where he was imprisoned for illegally entering Titan territory. While imprisoned, he claimed to remember his name. Upon release, Grisha revealed to Keith that he "remembered" being a doctor, and asked him for knowledge about the world inside the Walls.

Keith took Grisha to a pub in Shiganshina where Keith taught him about the world. Suitably impressed by the life that the Eldians of the Walls had managed to build for themselves, Grisha was surprised to hear that Keith was unhappy with the state of the Walls, and had joined the Survey Corps in the hope of seeing the larger world. Praising Keith and the Survey Corps, Grisha caught the attention of a nearby barmaid named Carla, who began to chastise Keith for attempting to recruit more people to the corps. However, Grisha assured her that even if he was offered the chance, he would not be joining, as the corps required special people to join to its ranks. Grisha eventually found work at a hospital. When an epidemic broke out in Shiganshina, Grisha was able to successfully cure those afflicted including Carla and her parents.

Grisha and Carla eventually married each other. At a party after the wedding ceremony, Grisha began to tell guests about how Keith introduced him to Carla, before realizing that Keith had left the party early.

He and Carla would later have a son, Eren.

Years later, Grisha was making a house call, with Eren tagging along, to Mr. Ackerman and Mrs. Ackerman for an appointed medical examination in the year 844. When he arrived there, he found them dead for hours. He asked Eren if he had seen the girl named Mikasa anywhere, but he was too shocked to answer. He then told Eren to wait for him at the foot of the mountain while he finds the Military Police.

After the MPs and Grisha arrived at the murderers' hideout, Grisha hugged Eren and scolded him for the murders he committed when saving Mikasa, asking if he even understood what he had done. However, instead of continuing to scold him for killing Mikasa's kidnappers, he tells him that this time he was lucky and he could have been killed himself. Mikasa, cold and depressed, asked Grisha in what direction her home was and stated that she was cold and wants to leave. In response, Eren gave her his scarf and Grisha told her to come live with them.

Fall of Shiganshina arc
Upon learning from Mikasa that Eren wants to join the Survey Corps, Grisha is more obliging of the idea than Carla, asking his son why he wants to leave the Walls. Upon hearing his son's answer, Grisha announces that he will be departing, telling a bewildered Carla that there is no point in trying to stop an inquisitive mind like Eren's. Before he leaves, he promises to show Eren what he has been hiding in their basement when he returns.

Later, during Wall Maria's fall, Grisha travels to the Reiss Chapel in the night. Bursting in on the royal family, Grisha reveals himself to be an Eldian from beyond the Walls, and begs Frieda Reiss to use her Founding Titan ability to save Shiganshina from the Titans that are breaking in, but she refuses. In desperation, Grisha activates his own Titan ability, easily besting Frieda in combat, and devouring her, before going on to slaughter the entire Reiss family with the exception Rod Reiss, who escapes. Traveling to Trost District, Grisha locates Keith Shadis and enlists his help in searching for his family among the refugees. Upon finding Eren, the two men learn that Carla has been devoured, devastated by the news. Telling Eren that he must avenge his mother, Grisha takes his son into the woods. When Keith tries to stop him, arguing that Grisha should not put such a burden on the boy's shoulders as he might not be gifted like Grisha, Grisha simply explains that the fact that Eren is his son makes him qualified, and orders Keith not to get involved.

In the forest, he entrusts Eren with the key to his basement and injects him with Titan serum, explaining to Eren that their memories will teach him how to use the ability. Transforming into a Pure Titan Eren devours Grisha and returns to his human state, having gained the Founding Titan and Attack Titan.

104th Training Corps arc
After Eren finally succeeds in the use of vertical maneuvering equipment, head instructor of the 104th Training Corps Keith Shadis expresses to himself that Grisha would be proud of his son, Eren, and that he is finally becoming a soldier.

The Uprising arc
When Eren transforms into a Titan during experiments conducted by Hange, they ask him to try and communicate with them and the other Survey Corps personnel. He writes on the ground that he does not know how to harden his body. He then sloppily writes, "What my father did to me," referring to Grisha. As he rests after the experiment, Eren wonders where his father is and why he thought of him at that moment.

While Eren is chained up in an underground cavern belonging to the Reiss family, Rod Reiss and Historia place their hands on his back, which allows him to experience his father's memories of the night Wall Maria fell.

It is later gathered that he stole the power from the Reiss family because each Founding Titan would not only receive the power, but fall under the ideology of the First King, who deemed a world ruled by Titans as a true peace. So long as they were the users of the Founding Titan, none of them would ever stop the Titans, even when they have the power to do so and the only hope to use the Founding Titan against the Titans was giving the power to a member of another bloodline. Since Eren vowed to kill the Titans for Carla's death and was not under the influence of the Reiss family and therefore the First King, he could accomplish what the family would never do.

After Eren receives more memories of his father thanks to Historia, he searches for the man that his father met the day Wall Maria fell.

Return to Shiganshina arc
When meeting with Keith Shadis, Eren has a conversation with him where he reveals all he knows about Grisha Yeager and his past, including how he met Carla and his mysterious apparition.

During the Battle of Shiganshina District, Zeke begins to lament the Survey Corps' plight, doomed to give up their lives because their memories had been stolen from them. He quickly begins chastising himself for being too serious, like Grisha.

Afterward, in the aftermath of the battle for Shiganshina, War-chief Zeke encounters Eren, noting that the young man looks nothing like his father Grisha. Zeke claims to be a victim of Grisha just like Eren, who he claims was brainwashed by him. As Eren thinks on Zeke's words, he notices an uncanny resemblance between the War-chief and his father.

When the Survey Corps finally reaches the basement of the Yeager household, they find that Grisha had set it up to appear as a common doctor's office. However, after further investigation, they discover a locked drawer in his desk, which his key unlocks. Grisha had left the drawer empty, but beneath the false bottom were hidden three books kept intact with various preservatives. Within the first book, the Survey Corps finds an uncannily realistic image of Grisha standing beside a fair-haired woman and young child. Upon the back of the image, Grisha had left a message stating that it was not a drawing, but the light of the objects shown burned onto special paper called a photograph. Grisha's note reveals that humanity beyond the Walls lives in refinement, far from extinct.

The books later go on to tell the story of Grisha's past life outside the Walls, beginning with the day his sister Faye Yeager was killed.

Medicine
Grisha was a very skillful doctor, and served many families within the Walls. He was able to cure hundreds of people from a sickness that attacked mankind during his time in the Walls. After the plague broke out, Grisha was skillful enough to stop it. When Carla got sick, he not only cured her, but also her entire family. His great skill in medicine is likely attributed to him coming from a more advanced society outside the Walls with further advancements in medicine. He was able to gain knowledge of medical care from his father who owned a clinic in Liberio, and served many patients before being sent to Paradis.

Power of the Titans
Grisha was able to turn into a very large Titan; it appeared that he had all of the regular abilities of those with the power of the Titans, like extraordinary regeneration, incredible strength, and endurance when he is transformed. Other than these, it is unknown if he had any other unique abilities. He had some experience with Titan abilities; that was the reason why he managed to kill and eat Frieda Reiss, a Titan that almost matched his size and possessed the Founding Titan. He stabbed his own hand with a knife in order to trigger the transformation.


 * The Founding Titan: After eating Frieda, he possessed this power for a very short amount of time. However, he could not make use of it before passing it on to Eren due to his lack of royal blood.
 * Regeneration: As a holder of the power of the Titans, it is believed that he could regenerate his body faster than regular humans, even from fatal wounds.

Relationships

 * Faye Yeager - Faye was Grisha's little sister. As a child, Faye was the closest person to Grisha and he loved her dearly, wanting to protect her; even accepting punishment in her place. Faye's murder was what motivated Grisha for the rest of his life.


 * Dina Yeager - Dina was Grisha's first wife. He loved her dearly and when they were captured, he volunteered to be killed in her place. His offer was refused and Grisha was heartbroken after she became a mindless Titan.


 * Mr. Yeager and Mrs. Yeager - While Grisha originally cared for both of his parents, the loss of his younger sister caused him to develop a disdain for their acceptance of how Marleyans treated them. In particular, Grisha greatly hated his father for trying to instill the same acceptance in him and not taking action for Faye. Years later, Grisha soon came to understand his parents were simply trying to prevent him from sharing the same fate as his sister and felt somewhat guilty for not understanding.


 * Eren Kruger - Grisha had a complex bond with Kruger. When Grisha first met Kruger as a child he beat him as punishment for venturing beyond the walls without permission, though he allowed him to stay and watch the blimp he and Faye had come to see. Grisha met Kruger again 15 years later and was surprised when he revealed he was the Owl who'd been providing them information and after killing the other Marleyans, told him of his mission. He also told him he'd chosen him to continue his mission the day after they met, seeing the same look of vengeance in his eyes that also drove Kruger. While reluctant at first, Grisha accepted Kruger's mission and inherited his Attack Titan power. Grisha appears to have named his son Eren in honor of Kruger indicating a level of respect towards him.


 * Eren Yeager - Grisha was perhaps closer to Eren than anyone else in his life, surpassing even his relationship with Carla. As a father, Grisha left home for a lot of medical duties, however, he encouraged Eren's dreams to venture outside the Wall and offered to reveal to him the secrets of the basement. Because he loved Eren, Grisha did not hesitate to scold him when he recklessly put his life in danger when he went to save Mikasa. However, this was short-lived as he was happy that his son was alright and seemed to be proud he did it to protect someone. When Wall Maria fell, Grisha took it upon himself to do all he could to stop the Reiss family and then entrusted the very fate of the world to Eren. Grisha spoke of Eren as 'different' when he was questioned by Keith, and put an enormous amount of trust into his son. Grisha believed in his son's ability so sincerely that he allowed himself to be devoured, believing that Eren would one day use the powers from the Founding Titan to control the Titans outside of the walls to fight back against Marley.


 * Zeke Yeager - For much of his early life, Zeke was simply Grisha's normal and loving son, though Grisha seemingly desired to make use of the royal blood within him. However, when the Marley government decided to recruit Eldian Warriors, Grisha forced Zeke to enlist as the Eldia Restorationists' mole. For a short time, Dina and Grisha engraved their beliefs and philosophy into Zeke's mind, eventually causing him to turn on his parents because of their mistreatment of him. Aside from disliking his mother, Zeke grew to hate his father and Grisha felt remorse for the way he treated his son. Around twenty years later, Zeke mentions to Eren when meeting him that the two of them are "victims" of Grisha and have been brainwashed by him, showing his dislike for his father.


 * Carla Yeager - Grisha was very taken by Carla, as they married not long after he had cured her and her family. However, Grisha did not put all his trust in Carla, as he did not share with her his secrets of the outside world. When Eren and Grisha met after the fall of Wall Maria, he was told by his son that the Titan has eaten Carla and, after a moment of silence, told Eren to get revenge for Carla and took him away. Grisha was visibly affected by her death and when turning Eren to a Titan, was told that her death has made him crazy as his son screamed.


 * Mikasa Ackerman - Grisha knew Mikasa when she was a small child from visiting her home as the family doctor. When taking Eren along for a visit he had hoped that the two would be able to get along as friends. After her rescue from the human traffickers, Grisha showed sympathy toward Mikasa and told her to come live with him and his family. Before giving Eren an injection of the Titan injection, Grisha mentions Mikasa as one of the people Eren must save.


 * Keith Shadis - Keith was a special friend to Grisha, as he was the one to bring him inside the Walls and nurture him of the society within. Grisha referred to Keith as special and chosen, both of which deeply resonated with Keith. Grisha viewed as a very admirable man, however, as the years went on their relationship declined. Distance grew between them as Keith believed that he was not special or chosen, he had blamed Grisha for leading him to misunderstand himself. Ties with them loosened more so when Grisha married Carla, the woman Keith sought. Before Grisha's death, their relationship appeared to still be stable as Grisha ran toward Keith in a panic, however, they two were on much worse terms as Keith accused Grisha of "cursing another person" to which he responded by saying "this child is not like you."


 * Mr. Ackerman and Mrs. Ackerman - Dr. Yeager was well known to the Ackermans as their family physician. They appeared quite friendly when speaking about each other, and Grisha had been known to have been their Doctor at least since Mikasa was small, however it appears that as she grew older his visits were less frequent. Grisha seemed quite disturbed at the sight of their deaths.
 * Hannes - Hannes had tremendous respect towards Grisha for saving his wife from the plague shortly after his arrival and hoped to one day repay the debt he owed to Grisha and his family.

People Killed

 * Eren Kruger (as a mindless Titan)
 * Frieda Reiss
 * Dirk Reiss
 * Abel Reiss
 * Florian Reiss
 * Lady Reiss
 * Urklyn Reiss

Indirectly

 * Faye Yeager

Failed attempts

 * Rod Reiss

Trivia

 * The appearance of Grisha's Titan may be a reference to the giant of Norse mythology. According to mythology, he is the leader of the fire giants in the south, the ruler of Muspelheim, and, at Ragnarok, his hordes will rush to the north like a southern wind to overwhelm the gods.
 * Keith says on the day he found Grisha, there were no Titans in the area, similar to the Beast Titan.

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