ONA
Description
Prince Aleksandar von Hohenberg, known to most as Alek, is one of the two central protagonists of the anime Leviathan. He is a teenage Austrian prince, the son of Archduke Franz Ferdinand and Sophie Chotek, and a member of the Austro-Hungarian royal family. At the beginning of the story he is roughly fifteen or sixteen years old and lives a sheltered, somewhat isolated life in a royal castle in Bohemia, where he passes the time playing chess against himself.
His quiet existence is upended when two of the family's most trusted men, Count Volger, a stern military officer, and Klopp, a devoted mechanic and attendant, wake him in the middle of the night and hurry him away from the castle. They initially present the journey as a military training exercise, and Alek is eager to go, but he soon discovers the truth: his parents have been assassinated in Sarajevo, and he is now a fugitive. Because he would become the rightful ruler of the empire once the aging emperor dies, he is a valuable political target, and he must flee across the Alps in a massive mechanical walking machine called a Stormwalker, a piece of Clanker engineering that he has to learn to pilot under dangerous and hurried circumstances.
Alek begins the story as a sheltered royal whose perspective is shaped by his privileged upbringing. He is intelligent, curious, and good-natured, but he is also initially unused to hardship, danger, and the harsh realities of the world beyond the castle. His early responses to his sudden reversal of fortune reveal a degree of naivety, and he struggles to accept the loss of his former life and the responsibilities that come with his identity as a prince. His core motivations revolve around survival, understanding the truth about his family's fate, and finding his place in a world at war without the protection he once took for granted.
His path becomes intertwined with the British airship Leviathan when it crashes in the Swiss Alps, and he and his companions help the British crew repair their vessel. It is there that he meets Deryn Sharp, a young Scotswoman serving in the British Air Navy disguised as a boy named Dylan. Despite belonging to opposing sides of the conflict, with Alek representing the machine-reliant Clanker powers and Deryn serving among the Darwinist British who use genetically engineered creatures, the two form a close friendship that deepens over the course of the series into a romantic bond.
His key relationships shape his growth considerably. Count Volger acts as a stern mentor figure who tries to instill discipline, political awareness, and a sense of duty, while Klopp provides steady, caring support as a guardian and technician. His relationship with Deryn is the most transformative, as she challenges his assumptions about class, nationality, and the people on the other side of the war. His tenderness is also shown in his care for a newborn genetically engineered loris named Bovril, a small creature he nurtures and keeps safe. Through this bond, he comes to appreciate living beings as much as the machines he was raised to admire, and he begins to see the Darwinist worldview with greater sympathy.
Across the story, Alek matures from a sheltered prince into a more grounded and open-minded young man. He learns to look beyond national borders and ideological divides, recognizing that ordinary people on both sides of the conflict have more in common than their leaders would have them believe. He also confronts difficult truths about identity, loyalty, and trust, particularly through his friendship with Deryn, and he becomes more willing to act on his own conscience rather than simply follow the expectations placed on him as a royal.
In terms of abilities, Alek is a capable pilot of the Stormwalker, a complex walking machine that requires coordination and a steady sense of rhythm to operate effectively. He demonstrates a strategic and analytical mind, hinted at by his fondness for chess, and he repeatedly shows resourcefulness, courage, and a willingness to put himself in danger to protect those he cares about. His growth as a pilot and as a person runs parallel to his journey from passive royalty to an active participant in the events reshaping his world.
His quiet existence is upended when two of the family's most trusted men, Count Volger, a stern military officer, and Klopp, a devoted mechanic and attendant, wake him in the middle of the night and hurry him away from the castle. They initially present the journey as a military training exercise, and Alek is eager to go, but he soon discovers the truth: his parents have been assassinated in Sarajevo, and he is now a fugitive. Because he would become the rightful ruler of the empire once the aging emperor dies, he is a valuable political target, and he must flee across the Alps in a massive mechanical walking machine called a Stormwalker, a piece of Clanker engineering that he has to learn to pilot under dangerous and hurried circumstances.
Alek begins the story as a sheltered royal whose perspective is shaped by his privileged upbringing. He is intelligent, curious, and good-natured, but he is also initially unused to hardship, danger, and the harsh realities of the world beyond the castle. His early responses to his sudden reversal of fortune reveal a degree of naivety, and he struggles to accept the loss of his former life and the responsibilities that come with his identity as a prince. His core motivations revolve around survival, understanding the truth about his family's fate, and finding his place in a world at war without the protection he once took for granted.
His path becomes intertwined with the British airship Leviathan when it crashes in the Swiss Alps, and he and his companions help the British crew repair their vessel. It is there that he meets Deryn Sharp, a young Scotswoman serving in the British Air Navy disguised as a boy named Dylan. Despite belonging to opposing sides of the conflict, with Alek representing the machine-reliant Clanker powers and Deryn serving among the Darwinist British who use genetically engineered creatures, the two form a close friendship that deepens over the course of the series into a romantic bond.
His key relationships shape his growth considerably. Count Volger acts as a stern mentor figure who tries to instill discipline, political awareness, and a sense of duty, while Klopp provides steady, caring support as a guardian and technician. His relationship with Deryn is the most transformative, as she challenges his assumptions about class, nationality, and the people on the other side of the war. His tenderness is also shown in his care for a newborn genetically engineered loris named Bovril, a small creature he nurtures and keeps safe. Through this bond, he comes to appreciate living beings as much as the machines he was raised to admire, and he begins to see the Darwinist worldview with greater sympathy.
Across the story, Alek matures from a sheltered prince into a more grounded and open-minded young man. He learns to look beyond national borders and ideological divides, recognizing that ordinary people on both sides of the conflict have more in common than their leaders would have them believe. He also confronts difficult truths about identity, loyalty, and trust, particularly through his friendship with Deryn, and he becomes more willing to act on his own conscience rather than simply follow the expectations placed on him as a royal.
In terms of abilities, Alek is a capable pilot of the Stormwalker, a complex walking machine that requires coordination and a steady sense of rhythm to operate effectively. He demonstrates a strategic and analytical mind, hinted at by his fondness for chess, and he repeatedly shows resourcefulness, courage, and a willingness to put himself in danger to protect those he cares about. His growth as a pilot and as a person runs parallel to his journey from passive royalty to an active participant in the events reshaping his world.