Gustav the Lumbering Librarian
Cultivated in one of Valavia's military greenhouses, Gustav was deployed in the frontlines as shock troop during the Two Hundred Day War like the rest of his harvest. Though, unlike his seaweed foetus compatriots, Gustav seemed to not inherently understand his duties as a soldier, often tilting his head at obvious commands such as formations, different stances and weapon swings. The captain that managed his batch chalked it up to the well-known developmental randomness that afflicted fresh soldiers, a fair assumption, and decided not to think much of it. Gustav had no problem acting as pack mule, which seaweed soldiers excel at, but usually avoid doing, for his unit's equipment. When it came to actual combat however, he seemed completely incapable. There was no doubt Gustav had all the strength and agility necessary to cleave an enemy combatant in two and navigate the battlefield, as his growth was far above the average for his ilk, as well as the intelligence to understand these commands, being notably capable of understand written language, extremely rare for a seaweed foetus.
The problem was that, regardless of the situation, Gustav would simply not fight. No matter what weapon, no matter the stakes, even if it meant severe punishment after each battle, the massive soldier would simply hold the weapon strangely, and wander into the frontlines with a certain naivety and confusion. Finally on his seventy fourth day of deployment, Gustav was purposely forced into a position where he had to fight for his own life against a lesser enemy seaweed foetus. All his platoon thought Gustav was simply selfish and afraid, and that in direct combat, he would certainly use his attributes to defend his own life, especially against a smaller combatant than himself. They all observed from afar with a certain disdain. To their surprise, Gustav just stood, unchanged, taking blows repeatedly, staring at his enemy with his usual odd demeanor. Eventually, after severely injuring Gustav, his foe suddenly stopped and stared back at him. No one knows what exactly the foolish giant said then, as all the witnesses were too far to hear it, but the result of the exchange was the enemy, panicked and confused, turned and ran away, instead of killing Gustav.
By all of Valavia's laws of frontline conduct, Gustav should have simply been executed on the spot. Perhaps some of his strangeness rubbed on the captain, one Alexei Barnabé, that on a whim, decided he should instead be treated, wasting precious medical resources, and relieved of his duties. Gustav was crippled by the encounter, and after a few negotiations, was given to a noble in the region in exchange for rations and a few horses, a horrible deal for the noble even for a healthy seaweed foetus. Gustav took quickly to his new duties as a servant, helped by his intelligence, which only grew as he aged. His favorite thing to do is to sort the sir's books, something which takes him a long period of time due to his limp, but longer yet because he often finds himself reading new and old favorites as he organizes the shelves. Gustav is the only surviving seaweed foetus from his harvest, all the rest having died during the siege and burning of the town of Mgrye, which marked the end of the conflict.
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