Disclaimer: I do not own Horizon Zero Dawn
I was skeptical on whether I would like the game that this fandom is based on. It was a birthday gift, one of three other games I ordered online at a very cheap price for my birthday. Since I'm obviously a nerd and weird in many aspects the other two were Japanese games I'm still trying to finish.
The game shared some similarities to other games that was for sure. It seems all the recent games want you to climb as high as you can to complete a mission. This game though had you make decisions on what kind of Aloy you would be, had the right kind of Sci-Fi elements in it I really enjoyed, and who doesn't like the idea of dinosaurs existing as machines? I was surprised when I learned Aloy was a clone but it did make sense on why people shunned her so much in the game. Anyways I'm rambling, this chapter is short and if you enjoy it nonetheless it will encourage me to write more.
There were no outcasts in the land. Aloy was a revered and respected woman even though she was the clone of a scientist. Machines were still roaming the land with powers that should only be faced by those coming of age to be Braves. In the safety of the walls the only thing Hugh had to worry about were Striders and Watchers.
The meadows were teaming with five Watchers. Although ever an experienced Brave like Hugh could be kicked or smacked to death by Striders and Watchers…they presented Hugh with neither a challenge nor the thrill of hunting. He threw a rock, the tool for distracting machines.
His arrow was pulled back and fired in the eye of a Watcher. The Watcher shut down from the blow and before the other one's eyes could change red, Hugh fired another arrow seconds apart from the last one.
It was a good thing Machines shut down. If a Machine spots someone they can share what they see with other Machines. For the last two Watchers, Hugh threw three rocks on three spots on the ground. It was a slow aiming time for the archer before three arrows were shot in three eyes of the Watcher's. A good Brave would not let Machines just die. He would salvage the most important parts from their wreckage thinking of needs in a tripcaster ammo.
The village needed him now to hunt a Sawtooth or rather two Sawtooth's who didn't hurt anyone, however, Machines and humans cannot be friends. The wire of his tripcaster was shot at a tree being detached on a rock. He had six wires the Sawtooth's wouldn't be able to see when they started chasing Hugh around.
Both Machines jumped on top of rocks. They didn't spot Hugh yet so he acted smart waiting until their faces were in sight. He fired a fire arrow first at one's vulnerable back component and another at the face of the second Sawtooth.
"Over here you useless four-legged copper metals!" Hugh shouted.
The sound was a Machine's advantage. Machines are never programmed to be deaf. Those scampering in a forest are a Sawtooth's meal. Hugh made one run through a wire shocking and immobilizing it. If the second Sawtooth was any smarter it wouldn't run around the rock making it shocked and immobilized. The Sawtooth was recovering from its shock status; it chased after Hugh scampering around the same corner the other Sawtooth turned from. Hugh used a heavy attack with his spear five times on the Sawtooth that couldn't move.
It seemed cowardice to him except he had to put that behind to survive against two Sawtooth's. Leading a Sawtooth into a trap again; circuits needing time to restart and Hugh using spear attacks to weaken them.
He didn't fight the way his father fought Machines. His father respected a fair face-to-face battle, but his personal life was a cruel man to his wife because of the responsibilities he's failed to uphold. Hugh picked up a fully ammoed machine killing Machine gun and fired many bullets in their armor.
OOO
A good warrior could never be one with nothing to lose except his pride. Hugh was a proud warrior with a wife holding the seed of a new life for him. Her name was Stacy and she was as smart as she was beautiful. The bag she carried their newborn son was made of boar skin and rabbit bone tarsals.
For a year and a half, it would be the only bag she would carry her unnamed son. She would clean the room vigorously waiting until her son cried so she could cradle him back to sleep. She wasn't sure she could make it to the site where names could be blessed—the only strength she had for standing was seeing her young boy smile.
A breeze filled the room when Hugh came inside holding what was considered a grail of rejuvenation. She stood even when a gentle hand touched her back. The hand she leaned back on when she felt faint from labor pains, the grail she chugged down as fast as she could be hoping it would help her feel better. She was so lightheaded she almost forgot how rejuvenation in the grail doesn't work that way.
She finished all of the grail's nectar. If it wasn't for the pain and stuff she drank she would gladly kiss her husband on the lips for his safe return against the ferocious Sawtooth's. There was someone he had to greet though before worrying about her.
"Hi there. You have been brought into a world of two kinds of life fighting for prosperity." Hugh put one of his fingers to the babies face its hands clanged to. Being a baby it took three fingers to make a handshake. " You can rely on me to protect you from those invaders when the day arises."
The baby made a noise. He knew even from a young age what deterred him from the tall thing that speaks.