Why don't Grisha age?
Grisha who practice the Small Science are said to be "fed" by it, rejuvenated by channeling their particular element. For this reason, Grisha age at a slower rate than non-Grisha with the strongest and rarest of them living for centuries.
Grisha are known to age more slowly than humans because channeling their natural element rejuvenates them; those who do not practice much will grow weaker and die faster.
In Shadow and Bone, age is often heavily tied to the amount of magical power a person has, making the Grisha able to live the longest. Along with this, the stronger the practitioner, and the more they utilize their Grisha powers in Shadow and Bone, the...
Not only do they get better and more powerful as they practice, it "feeds" them. For that reason, Grisha, especially talented Grisha, age slower than other humans, sometimes living for centuries, assuming they continue to use their abilities regularly.
One can say that honing their abilities has a rejuvenescent effect on Grisha, and the more powerful they become, the longer they live. This explains why Grisha have a much longer lifespan than other humans, aging at a much slower rate.
Alina Starkov is a Sun Summoner, which is the rarest and most powerful Grisha to ever exist. Sun Summoners are able to summon and bend light, and it's the only power that is able to destroy shadow and fight back against The Shadow Fold. Alina can also summon heat from the sun.
During the Shadow Fold crossing, volcra attack the sandskiff, but Alina lets out a burst of light killing the volcra in order to save Malyen. Better known as the Sun Summoner, Alina is the protagonist of the series. As one of the most powerful Grisha, she is the only one capable of saving Ravka from the Fold.
A picture of him in Baghra's cave reveals the man hasn't physically aged a day in centuries. The Shadow Fold was created roughly 400 years prior to the events of the series and the Darkling was already an adult by then. An estimate would put him at 500 years of age, if not a bit older.
Before the operation to retake Wall Maria Keith Shadis tells Eren that he first met Grisha about 20 years ago. At this point the attack on Wall Maria which coincided with Grisha's death happened 5 years ago. So Grisha had in fact been inside the Walls for 20-5 = 15 years!
Ben Barnes is 21 years older than Alina. Ben Barnes is more than twice her age. Ben Barnes is old enough to be her dad.
What is Grisha's life expectancy?
In the original Shadow and Bone novels, Alina estimates that the average Grisha can live roughly 100 years, while 120 years is older than typical.
Fighting back, Alina defeats him using merzost, a corrupt form of Small Science, which causes her hair to turn white and nearly kills both her and the Darkling.

Grisha is still alive and surpasses the 13 year time limit before even fighting Frieda. This is 15 years of holding the Attack Titan. Titan shifters are said to only live for 13 years according to Eren Krueger.
Heartrenders can literally speed/slow people's hearts and also manipulate (and more specifically, damage) other organs that people need to survive. Delightful—but please be advised: Like all Grisha, they can't use their powers when their hands aren't able to touch.
Grisha are only able to use one amplifier.
There Is a Downside To Being Grisha
The drug known as jurda parem can make Grisha incredibly powerful. It can give Tidemakers the ability to walk through walls by altering their own matter, make Healers able to heal themselves instantly and give Heartrenders mind control.
Zoya is well known and considered to be a powerful witch by the drüskelle. Zoya later gained the abilities of all Etherealki and also demonstrated passable skill as a Fabrikator. After bonding with Juris, Zoya can shapeshift into a dragon. Zoya is fluent in Kerch, Shu and Suli in addition to her native Ravkan.
Edit. Otkazat'sya, also known as the abandoned, is a term used to refer to people without Grisha powers.
Jesper is a Grisha Fabrikator (Durast), though in Novyi Zem he and other Grisha are referred to as zowa, meaning "blessed". However, Jesper remains untrained, so his power is not properly honed and rather weak.
Weakness. Believing that he is a real Russian, Grisha does not like his lack of Russian origin being discussed, and is sensitive to terms such as: Stalin's jockstrap. The communists.
Is Mal a Grisha too?
Mal is not Grisha and doesn't have any of the Grisha powers. This is the same as in the book series. As we find out in episode 2 and episode 4 of the show, children in Ravka are tested at a young age for Grisha powers.
Being one of the rarest and strongest of all Grisha, the Darkling possesses a greatly extended lifespan, appearing as a man in his prime despite being over 400 years old. As a living amplifier his blood and bones naturally amplify the power of any Grisha he is touching.
'Shadow and Bone' Author Breaks Down the Darkling and His Complicated Feelings Towards Alina. Ben Barnes also weighs in on that iconic villain line from the books. [Editor's note: The following contains spoilers for Shadow and Bone.]
The Darkling felt a lot more like a manipulative groomer taking advantage of a young girl than a villain who looked like every other YA love interest.
While searching for the last amplifier, Mal and Alina find out the truth about Mal's heritage. He is descended from Baghra's sister, making him a great-nephew of the Darkling.
Because it is impossible for anyone to surpass the Founder, each person who gained the power of the Titans was fated with the "Curse of Ymir" (ユミルの呪い Yumiru no Noroi?), which limited their remaining lifespan to only 13 years after first acquiring it.
Grisha Yeager | |
---|---|
Gender | Male |
Hair | Doctor |
Age | 39 |
Occupation | Doctor |
No, the Eldians need to consume a Titan Shifter in order to become one. If Eren dies without being eaten, then the Titan Shifters die with him.
The two go to find the stag before the Darkling can and grow close again before confessing their love for each other. Alina gets Mal to promise to her that he should kill her if they are about to be captured by The Darkling, as she does not wish for her powers to be used against her will.
Since learning of her powers, The Darkling has been obsessed with getting Alina on his side. Whether this is motivated by his fear of being beaten or, as he claims, by the fact that with her, he would no longer face eternity alone is unclear, but he didn't go about it in the best way.
Does the Darkling have a sister?
Ulla is a half-sildroher songcaster and the half-sister of The Darkling via their late mother, Baghra. She is also known as Sankta Ursula of the Waves.
6 His Eye Color Changed After Inheriting The Attack Titan
Before getting the powers of the Attack Titan, Grisha's eyes had a notably dark color. This changed after his encounter with Eren Kruger, when the color of his eyes had become lighter instead.
As a Titan Shifter, he suffers from the Curse of Ymir, which means that he has 13 years to live after gaining his powers.
"Reclaim Wall Maria, my son!" Those were the last words spoken by Eren's father, Grisha Yeager, as the last message before being eaten by Titan Eren, although it was revealed that Grisha did what the future Eren urged later.
Mal was oblivious to Alina's love from before book one even began. He slept with Zoya and countless others before he realised who was waiting by his back door.
Four months after Alina Starkov discovers she's pregnant, the father of her unborn child finds her hiding place.
But the Shu people are often considered Ravka's enemies, in part because they're known to experiment on Grisha, the super-powered Ravkans who make up the country's Second Army.
Ymir lived 60 years as a “mindless titan”, not a titan shifter. She was turned into a mindless titan after everyone knew she was lying that the blood of the king runs through her.
Due to the Curse of Ymir, we know Ymir Fritz died exactly 13 years after becoming the Titan progenitor, and that makes her roughly 23-years-old when she dies protecting the King. Dying as a 23-year-old fits Ymir's chronology following her capture by the Eldians.
Bertolt attempted to convince Reiner to give up his aspirations, as he would only live for thirteen more years. But Reiner believed that after those thirteen years, he would be a hero to the people of Marley and be the best son in the world.
What type of Grisha is Zoya?
Zoya Nazyalensky is a competitive Grisha Squaller with the ability to summon wind. Prior to the events of the novels she was an admirer of the Darkling. She is hostile towards Alina at first, but joins her and turns on him when her aunt is killed by the expansion of the Fold.
The first members of the Grisha Triumvirate were Zoya Nazyalensky, Genya Safin, and David Kostyk, representing the Etherealki, Corporalki, and Materialki respectively. As of Rule of Wolves, the Etherealki are represented by Adrik Zhabin and the Materialki by Leoni Hilli.
As amplifiers are so rare, only Grisha who are chosen by the Darkling are allowed to have them, and most Grisha are only allowed to have one amplifier at a time.
Two Grisha have a better chance of having a Grisha child, but the child can also be born without powers. Grisha sometimes have trouble conceiving.
In the novels, the Grisha are people born with the ability to manipulate matter in its most basic form, practicing a study called the Small Science – that is crucially not the same as magic.
As a young child, Baghra lashed out and accidentally killed her sister with the Cut. Their father, Morozova, desperate to save his child, reanimated the child back to life, inadvertently making her the third Morozova amplifier.
As the inheritor of the Attack Titan, Grisha was able to see memories of his future inheritor. 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.
They are less dangerous than their Heartrender counterparts but essential to Grisha life. The final talent of the Corporalki is the Tailors. A Tailor can change a person's appearance, though it isn't permanent.
Genya is the only Tailor in the novel, and other Grisha scorn her work as silly and pointless.
His great power is what allows him to live as long as he does — the more he uses his Grisha abilities, which can rejuvenate and strengthen the body, the longer his lifespan becomes.
How many years did Grisha live?
He was able to live up to 14 years and 15 years with the Attack Titan power even before consuming the Founding titan.
The Darkling felt a lot more like a manipulative groomer taking advantage of a young girl than a villain who looked like every other YA love interest.
Conservatively, therefore, Alina could live for at least a century in Shadow and Bone but potentially even longer. Alina could perhaps live as long as the Darkling, who has walked the earth for at least 500 years.
Eren currently possesses the powers of the Attack Titan, the Founding Titan and the War Hammer Titan. He still has only four years left to live. This is known as the Curse of Ymir. I believe it was caused when Ymir was slaughtered originally.
Grisha Yeager (グリシャ・イェーガー Gurisha Yēgā?) was an Eldian doctor who originated from the Liberio internment zone in Marley, and was one of the Eldian Restorationists.
Ben Barnes was born on Aug. 20, 1981, making the General Aleksander Kirigan/The Darkling actor 41 years old in March 2023. Between the books and the series, The Darkling's age has been estimated to be about 500 years old, but presents as 30s/40s.