Colonel Valestein

Colonel Valestein (バレスタイン大佐) was the founder of the Jaeger corp, The Northern Jaegers, and the adoptive father of Class VII's home room teacher, Sara Valestein.

Appearance
Valestein has a veteran appearance, having seen many years on the battlefield as both a jaegar and a solider. He has swept back grey hair and a trimmed moustache, along with visible stubble.

Valestein is dressed in a variation of typical jaegar gear, armoured plates and tactical clothing including bracers, greaves and chest-plate embossed with the crest of North Ambria- all in shades of dark blue and navy. He retains his part of his army military uniform in his long grey officer's coat which he wears around his shoulders like a cape.

Background
Valestein was a colonel in the North Ambrian army. After the North Ambrian disaster, the huge casualties, damage to livelihoods and widespread poverty required radical action on the part of its inhabitants. Seeking wealth and funds from other neighbouring countries, Colonel Valestein formed a group of Jaegars named The Northern Jaegars in order to fight in other nation's wars and disputes in exchange for much needed Mira which would help feed his nation's populace. These jaegars were considered heroes to the starving populace.

Sara, who had lost her own parents to the disaster, was taken in by the Colonel. She idolised hi and by age 10, was already enlisting in the Juvenile Jaeger Squad (少年猟兵隊), hoping to follow the same path as her father figure. She would join the main corp after three years of training. Sara took on the Colonel's surname as her own, becoming Sara Valestein.

A company of the Northern Jaegars led by Sara were one day hired to fight in a proxy war in a remote region in Erebonia between a Noble family and a large enterprise. their opponents on the battlefield were to be rival jaegar corps, Nidhoggr. Although achieving near victory, there was a risk of endangering civilians and in an an effort to protect one neighbourhood, Nidhoggr seized the opportunity to attack.

Sara driven into a corner and running out of options, the Northern Jaeger's supreme commander, Captain Valestein, jumped into the fray and saved them from certain death at the cost of receiving mortal wounds to his own self. In his last moments, he approached Sara and said with his last breath,

''"You know, right? This is what being a jaeger is. Please think again whether this really is the path you want to follow." Valestein soon passed away in the screaming Sara's arms.''

This traumatic experience changed Sara's perspective and she resolved to leave the life of a jaegar despite the corps victory in the conflict. The considerable amount of Mira brought in from the war was enough to feed the North Ambrian nation and they were hailed as heroes despite the loss of their commander.

Sara attributes her fondness for older men to her love for Colonel Valestein.

Sara brings up the Colonel when explaining her backstory. He is also referenced by a group of jaegars formed from the remnants of Northern Jaegars looking for a place to die following the annexation of their country by Erebonia. Sara uses the experience of losing her adoptive father to help bring the others around.

Rutger Claussell, the commander of another jaegar corps, Zephyr, remarks that Colonel Valestein was a fine man.