Alina
Alina is an NPC in Arknights. One of the first members of Reunion, she is a major supporting character in Episode 08.
Background
Born and raised in a village in the snowy wilderness of Ursus, Alina's father, a farmer, passed away when she was a child. It was Ivan Iziaslav and his wife that took care of her and her mother. Over the years, Alina would grow to see Ivan and his wife as her foster grandparents.
Kind and warm-hearted, although honest and sharp-tongued when necessary, Alina acted as a caretaker for others, particularly the Infected, which motivated Talulah to start fighting for the cause. In her own words, her Originium Arts was not suited for battle. Thus, she always stayed in the rear and provided a listening ear and emotional support for Talulah, rather than being an active combatant herself. Nevertheless, Talulah recognized her emotional strength and viewed her as an Infected Fighter as well.
Story
Episode 08
Sometime before the events Arknights, Alina befriended a Draco named Talulah, who she lived with in Ivan's care. Their lives were peaceful and comfortable, up until the Ursus Army's Infected Patrols carried out a pogrom on the village. As the patrolmen murdered Ivan, Talulah was enraged, and Alina failed to convince her to not avenge his death; Talulah burned the patrolmen to a crisp with her Arts. To avoid further repercussions on the village, Alina urged Talulah to flee and followed along with her.[1]
For a time, Talulah and Alina wandered from one village to another. The Elafia regretted Talulah's willingness to use violence against Ursus authorities oppressing the Infected, but conceded that it was a "necessary evil" to save the Infected and one that she could not stop.[1][2] Nevertheless, Talulah was grateful for Alina's information gathering skills providing great help. The two had also started to invite fellow Infected to join them.[2]
Talulah's companions eventually grew in number and ultimately became the "Reunion Movement" after forming an alliance with Patriot and his guerrilla forces and the Yeti Squadron.[3] Despite this, they still entertained a close relationship, Alina being Talulah's confidant and oldest friend, unbeknownst to the rest of the Reunion leadership. The two also encountered Eno and Sasha wandering the tundra and took them under their wing.
One night, Talulah and Alina discussed their current situation: the Draco had started to view Reunion as her own, large and warm family bound by a common goal. However, Alina warned her that she might one day lose sight of that goal if her comrades began to leave her. She feared that Talulah would forget who her real enemies were.[4] Nevertheless, Talulah took the mantle of leader of Reunion, whilst Alina, still her confidant, became a tutor for the Infected children of Reunion, including Eno and Sasha, using what knowledge she had gathered from Patriot's books.
One day, Alina left to a village to procure supplies for the battle-worn Reunion members. Talulah wanted her to be escorted by a Reunion fighter, but she refused out of fear that it might bring unwanted attention.[5] However, by the time Alina left, Talulah and the Shieldguards learned that the Infected Patrol were scouting the village where they had traded. Alina did not return after Reunion booted the Infected Patrol from the village. Talulah desperately searched for Alina, only to find her grievously wounded and maimed, her right arm missing, in a snowy field. Talulah believed that she had been attacked by either the patrolmen or a band of dissatisfied Infected who had just left Reunion. However, Alina refused to denounce the culprit, not wanting Talulah to stray from her path for the sake of vengeance. Infuriated and devastated, Talulah hurriedly carried Alina back to the camp, setting the ground behind them ablaze as she trailed along. As her life was fading away, Alina told Talulah not to hate the people that injured her.
| “ | Talulah, you must... live on... | ” |
| —Alina's last words |
Alina died in the Draco's embrace.[6] Thus, the kind, gentle Elafia's life was taken away by horrible, bloody tragedy, that Talulah believed she could have prevented.
Legacy
Alina's death was the catalyst of Reunion's descent into the Reunion seen in the Main Theme. Without her, the Infected children under Reunion's care were left without a mentor and a parental figure. The Reunion fighters' morale faltered, especially after their increasing size attracted the attention of more enemies, most notably the Emperor's Blades.
Talulah, however, knew Alina personally the most, and was hit the hardest by her demise. She became more somber and serious, as Kevin pointed out, and either forgot or could not bring herself to have someone replace the role of her long time, close companion after all the hardships they went through together.[6] She dedicated herself fully in her struggle, to the extent of being unable to reign in her wrath, losing trust towards others, Infected or otherwise.
Had Alina survived, she, along with Patriot and FrostNova, would likely have steered Reunion clear of the belligerent course it has taken, and she likely could have stopped Talulah from burning down a village, and by extension preventing her from falling into Kashchey's manipulative trap. This means that Alina's role as a voice of reason and emotional and moral core was instrumental in preventing Reunion from turning into the terrorist organization it had become come the events of the Chernobog Incident, and she would have been a strong help in the Movement gaining the sympathy of other Infected — notably Rhodes Island.
Alina's death can be considered as having a major impact on the story of Arknights, essentially kickstarting the first act of the Main Theme. Alina was helping Talulah to not hate so she won't fall into Kaschey's manipulative trap. However, after Alina had died, Talulah inevitably came across she could not hold back her hatred for and recalling Kaschey's words, believing he was right; all humans are born evil. Therefore falling into his manipulative trap, and domino effects into Talulah going along with Kaschey's scheme for Chernobog.