Hey guys.

Finally, some reviews! Thank you to the guest who left them: those mean more to me than favorites or followers. I'll do my best to answer them.

Guest: Is the "extra Nora" the unfamiliar woman that Teb noticed? If so, then yes, she will have a part in what is to come.

Chapter 2: A Fragile Bridge, A Fragile Understanding

"Are you alright?"

Aloy turned to see Varl joining her on the floor, a plate in one hand and a cup in the other.

"Aside from being tired, sore, and emotionally drained, just amazing."

"Sorry," Varl replied, shifting uncomfortably.

"Don't be, it's not your fault." Aloy said, feeling a bit guilty for venting at him. "How's Sona?"

"The healer said she'll be ready to head back to the Sacred Lands in a week," Varl said. "Knowing Sona, she'll have us out of here in four days,"

Aloy let out a snort, which seemed to ease the tension in Varl's face.

"You uh, wanna go to one of the tables?"

"Not really. I'm not used to eating with such a big crowd,"

"Wha-oh, right. You...never shared a meal with others as an outcast, did you?"

Aloy sighed. "Nope. The first time I shared a meal with anyone other than Rost was the morning of the Prov..." she stopped. "Sorry,"

"Don't be." Varl replied. "It's not your fault,"

"I wish I could believe that," Aloy replied.

"Aloy, none of them would have made it back if not for you. You couldn't have saved all of them,"

"I don't want to talk about it," said Aloy. What she wanted to say was that none of them would have been targeted if she hadn't run into Olin. No Proving massacre, no War Party ambush, no final attack on the Sacred Lands. But she couldn't admit to Varl: it would be hard enough when she told the Braves that she would be leaving again.

"Okay...well, let's not talk about it then." Varl tried. "Uh...well, what do you think of what everything tonight?"

"I might try it again," she admitted.

"That's my drumstick, go find your own!"

"I grabbed it first, you-"

"If either of you two lunkheads start throwing food, I'll kick your ass out and make you pay for everything!" Erend yelled. "That goes for all of the Vanguard!"

There was some roars of outrage at that order, but eventually, they all died down. Give an Oseram a beer and a dinner, and he'd find no room to complain. The Nora, on the other hand...

Varl suddenly spit out the contents of his cup before coughing violently. "What in All-Mother's name-"

"Give,"

The bewildered and still gagging Varl handed Aloy the goblet, and she gave a sniff. Her suspicions were confirmed.

"Yep. Scrappersap," she said, handing him his cup back.

"Keeps you warm in a snowstorm, strips the grit out of a gearwheel," Erend said, walking over to the two Nora.

"Why would someone drink that?" Varl asked, finally catching his breath.

"For the Oseram, it's a sign of manhood," Erend said with a shrug. "You're handling it pretty well."

"Umm...thanks?"

"I mean it. I remember one time one of the Vanguard slipped it to a Sun Priest. He was whining about being poisoned for hours." Erend added, his face strained from trying not to laugh before he gave a surprisingly accurate impression. "O great sun, why have you subjected your loyal servant to such agony?"

Aloy and Varl joined in Erend's laughter.

"Anything else from the table we should avoid?" Aloy asked.

"The vegetables," Erend joked, prompting another round of laughter.

This Nora was unlike any customer Aidaba had ever had before.

She was used to working with either Carja or Oseram: she could count the Nora she had sold to on one hand. All of them were like the ones currently resting in the Lodge: fit, robed in leather and animal furs, long braided dreadlocks, and the harsh, focused eyes of a hunter that she was so used to at the Lodge. While not weak by any means, this man was thinner than most: she could see ribs from the exposed part of his front. His gaze was soft, and filled with a childlike curiosity as he examined the products available. He held no weapons, not even a quiver for arrows. If he wasn't a hunter, then what was he doing here in Meridian?

"Are...you going to buy anything?" Aidaba finally asked.

The man thought for a moment. "How much would one of these cost?"

"Carja silks are thirty Shards a roll, fifty Shards for two,"

"And...how many Shards for the fabric for bandaging?"

"Ten,"

The man's face fell slightly as he checked one of his pouches. "Two rolls of bandages,"

"Forgive me for asking, but you don't exactly seem like a hunter," Aidaba said, handing him the rolls.

The man shrugged. "I'm not much of a fighter: every time I've tried to hunt, I end up hurting myself more than the prey. I'm a Stitcher for my tribe,"

"A...Stitcher?"

The Nora let out a sigh. "Yes, I...make garments and armor for the tribe,"

"Like...a weaver?"

His face lit up. "I think so. I couldn't do much during the fight, so I brought supplies for the journey here. The army made me a 'honorary quartermaster' for the battle," the man said. "I think you're the first Carja I've met who understands what Stitchers are,"

"A lot of the Carja soldiers aren't very bright. Their heads must be baking inside that helmet," Aidaba replied. "But...are men normally Stitchers?"

"Well, every Nora should be able to make their own outfits if they need to, but no, men are usually either hunters or alchemists," the man replied. "Why do you ask?"

Aidaba felt her face burning. "I hope this doesn't sound rude, but...I don't think we've ever had a male weaver. The idea is a little bit scandalous,"

The man blinked. "Really?"

"No. Well...weavers usually only make clothing. Armorsmiths generally make the armor, and they're usually men," Aidaba added. "But it sounds like they're one and the same for you?"

The man nodded. "The process isn't that much different. Although, we don't have a lot of difference between clothing and armor. We can't waste a thing, so we everything we get, we use. We don't do anything...fancy unless it's for special days. Naming ceremonies, funerals, that sort of thing,"

"Naming ceremonies?"

And so began an exchange of knowledge. The man (Teb was his name) listened dutifully to everything Aidaba could tell him about the Sundom, a wide-eyed look of curiosity in his eyes the entire time. He was amazed at the Carja silks, the softness of their touch and how many colors they could hold. His jaw dropped at the mention of the Maizelands...no, the idea of people farming the land in any form. He seemed uncomfortable with the idea of servants and nobles, but it was only clear in his face, not his words. Meanwhile, Teb told her about life in his tribe, which sounded nothing like the writings of Well-Traveled Aram. The people there were warriors, but generally treated each other like family. The leaders were women, but men and women were otherwise equal in every respect. The face-paint was a sign of family, not the markings of a warrior. Rather than hold prisons, they sent their criminals into the wild to fend for themselves. He also told her about the Proving, the disasters that had fallen upon the tribe since the last Proving, and how Aloy had saved the tribe every time.

"And yet you still came to the Sundom?"

"Well, after all that she did for us, it would be wrong not to return the favor." Teb said. "Most of the time...I feel like deadweight. If I can't fight, I have to find some other way to help."

Teb was certainly like no Nora she had ever meant, or any person for that matter. She was always told that the Nora were savages, but how could a barbarian hold such a sense of gentleness and honor? What was the Sav...No, the Sacred Land truly like?

With every step closer, the ground rumbled harder.

Varl began to notch an arrow, but he couldn't get a grip on any of them. It was then he realized that his hands were shaking, and not because of the trembling ground.

Get over it, he told himself. It's a machine, you've fought machines before.

But this was the first time he had been so close to a Deathbringer. It dark hide reminded him of a Corruptor, but it was bulky and slow, every step cementing itself into the ground with legs too small for its top. Varl could see lights coming from its head, but none of them looked like eyes it could see from: only slits and small dots, too small to target. Every inch of this machine seemed to be decorated with weapons. Dragging behind its back was a black...ball of some sorts, larger than a man. Varl took a closer look, and his stomach dropped: it was swarming with corruption. If this machine was carrying it...

"All-Mother protect us," he heard one of the Braves mumble.

Suddenly the demon turned: to the side first, then up at the Braves.

"ELIMINATE ALL TARGETS," a voice rumbled from the ground. It was like no voice Varl had ever heard: it was if the whirs and scratches of machines had somehow managed to sound like human words. It could be nothing but the Metal Devil itself.

The whirring of the Deathbringer snapped him out of his shock, but even so, he had less than a moment before a barrage of fire shot towards him.

"Varl!"

Varl shot up, his eyes adjusting to the dim light. He was back in the Hunter's Lodge, laying on one of the cots laid out for the Nora.

"Nightmares?" a familiar voice asked. Varl turned to his right to see Aloy looking at him with concern.

"A flashback," he replied. "Yesterday, when the Metal Devil made it to the mountain,"

Aloy's face darkened. "That says everything,"

Varl nodded. "That voice...it's like-"

"Like nothing you've ever heard before," Aloy finished. "Like a hundred spears scraping off your flesh,"

"Exactly." Varl finished. "I don't know how I survived,"

Aloy looked at the ground. "I shouldn't have let HADES get that far,"

"Stop blaming yourself," Varl replied. "You stopped it, that's all that matters."

She turned to him, and Varl was taken aback at the look in her eyes. He was used to seeing determination and confidence, a sureness in her eyes and a calmness in her stance. Now Aloy looked at him, seeming exhausted and defeated in spite of everything she'd already done. In the dim light, she looked ten years older.

"I would if I could,"

"How can you blame yourself for anything?" Varl asked indignantly. "You've saved the Nora four times, you've done more than anyone else here,"

"It's not enough," she argued. "It's never enough. People have died because of me, innocent people were killed by people trying to hurt me."

"I know how that feels," Varl said. Aloy stopped what she was planning to say. "What?"

"Before the Red Raids...my family lived in Mother's Vigil...well, now it's the Forsaken Village. I was nine years old at the time, Vala was almost four. When the Carja broke through to the Embrace, the village fell within a night. During the Raid, I got separated from my family. Sona sent my father back into the village to find me. But the Carja found me first. If my father had arrived one second later, I would have been in a cage on my way to the Sun-Ring."

"So what happened. Did your father fight them?"

"No, there were too many of them to take on alone. The other Braves were protecting the families. So my father threw down his weapons, and told them to take him in place of me."

"And...they did that?"

Varl looked at the ground, trying to stop the emotions rising to the surface. "The general told his men to let me out. My father looked me in the eyes, told me he loved me and to run as far away as I could. So I ran. The Braves found me the next morning, hiding in the river. When Sona learned what had happened...it was the only time I've seen her cry."

"I...I'm sorry, Varl,"

"What I learned that day is...if someone dies for you, then the only thing we can do is honor their sacrifice. They didn't give their life for us to feel guilty,"

For a moment, Aloy was silent. "Thanks, Varl,"

He managed a smile. "Glad I could help,"

They were silent for a while, neither of them said anything. Varl decided to break the silence. "Aloy?"

"Yeah?"

"Remember at the Spire, when we were talking before the battle?"

"Why do you ask?"

"What was really bothering me...what's still bothering me is that...well, it's hard to explain. It feels like...like everything I knew is crumbling, and now I don't know what to believe. It's not that Meridian's nothing like I've ever seen, it's like nothing I imagined! It's supposed to be the tainted lands, but how can it be tainted when it seems so much stronger than the Nora? And they call us savages? They think that we're the heathens? If they believe the exact same thing as us...how am I supposed to know which one of us is right?" Varl looked around nervously. "I hope that Sona's still asleep. If she heard that-"

"Let's just hope she didn't," Aloy finished.

"Right. And that's part of it: I feel like I'm doing something wrong, but I can't stop myself from thinking it. And I'm not sure if I should,"

"You shouldn't, Varl," Aloy insisted.

"Then what should I do?" he pleaded.

Aloy was silent for a moment. "In the mountain, you told me that you'd be willing to see what I've been learning, as long as the goddess willed it,"

"Yes,"

She got to her feet, reaching for her armor. "If I'm not back by morning, tell the others I had to take care of something."

Varl blinked. "Where are you going?"

"To take care of something,"

For the second time, Nakoa found herself walking from the Hunter's Lodge, cursing herself for her weakness.

How was it that she could go after that butcher Zaid, feeling only righteous anger, and yet still be too afraid to speak to her own tribe? Even if they didn't welcome her, she was sure Aloy could convince them otherwise. She had no reason to be afraid, and every reason to approach them.

Yet she walked away again, like a coward, for a reason she couldn't explain.

Aside from the Nora sleeping on the floor, life had returned to normal for the Hunter's Lodge.

Unfortunately for Talanah, that meant enduring the complaints of the Hawks about outsiders being allowed. Of course, now that the Banuk Ardik had become the first non-Carja Hawk, there was nothing that could or would be done. Of course, some idiots still whined anyway.

Aloy had left in the middle of the night to "take care of something", according to Varl. That was nothing to worry about. What was worrying Talanah was where Aidaba had went. Ligan said he had seen her enter this morning, but she was nowhere to be found in the Lodge. Talanah's search was interrupted by the Sun-Priest taping her shoulder.

"Excuse me, ma'am. I have a message from the palace for you, as well as one for Aloy and another for the Nora,"

"Someone say my name?"

Talanah and the Sun-Priest turned to see Aloy at the base of the staircase.

"Ah! Yes, I have a message from Sun-King Avad for you," the man said, unraveling one of the scrolls. "To Al-"

"I can read glyphs," Aloy interrupted. "But thanks,"

The poor man was still sputtering in shock when Aloy grabbed the scroll from his hands. "Weren't you the Sun-Priest at the Blessing?"

"Ah, I...yes! Oh, I remember now! You were the girl who spoke to me after the Blessing! Such an honor that we meet again!"

"Uh, thanks?" Aloy said hesitantly. "And I can take the scroll for the Nora, if it's any easier,"

"Hm? Oh, of course!" the Sun-Priest stammered, handing her the other scroll. "May the Sun light your path!"

"Isn't that normally for funerals?" Aloy asked, as soon as the Sun-Priest was out of earshot. "No, wait. That's 'may the Sun light your passing', right?"

"Right," Talanah said. "Since when do you know glyphs?"

"I taught myself," Aloy said nonchalantly, glancing at her scroll. Deciding not to question it, Talanah decided to read her own scroll, which was an invitation to a celebration at the palace tomorrow evening. Depending on who you ran into, it could be a pleasant night or the longest night of her life.

To Aloy:

My gratitude for your efforts cannot be expressed in words. This, along with several other topics of discussion, is why I request your presence at the Temple of the Sun. If you could, please convince the Nora to accept my invitation. There is something of importance I wish to discuss. For the small chance that this message is intercepted, I would prefer to discuss this matter in person.

His Luminance Avad, 14th King of the Radiant Line

From the way it read, it sounded like Marad had written most of it. Avad wasn't that fussy about his title. Aloy sat at the bar to read the second scroll.

To the Nora,

I am aware of our long and heated relationship. In spite of that, and of the recent atrocities brought down upon your people, you chose to fight at the Spire. The Sundom owes you a great debt, myself included.

I would like to meet with your War-Chief before you return to the Sacred Lands, both to express my gratitude in person and discuss something of importance. I am certain that Aloy will be able to lead you to the Palace of the Sun.

His Luminance Avad, 14th King of the Radiant Line

As expected, Sona's face soured at the thought. "Tell him that we decline the offer,"

"Avad doesn't normally request meetings, Sona," Aloy countered. "He wouldn't have sent this if it wasn't something serious."

Sona's scowl deepened. "If he's so concerned about a 'royal audience', then he can have it here. I am in no condition to move,"

"Who are you, and what have you done with War-Chief Sona?" Aloy asked. A couple of Braves chuckled at the remark. "Could we send another Brave in your place?"

Sona looked ready to vomit. "Very well. Varl, go to with Aloy to this 'palace of the sun',"

Varl blinked in surprise, but put on a stoic face. "Yes, War-Chief Sona,"

"Did you take care of that...something?" Varl asked, as soon as they had left the Lodge.

"Yes." Aloy replied.

"Dare I ask?"

"Now's not the time," she answered. "Come on, I'll show you to the palace,"

The air was warmer than Varl would have liked, but there was a thankfully a breeze that alleviated some of that. In contrast to the razed land by the foot of the mountain, this section of Meridian still seemed intact, and bustling at that. Just like when he had first walked to Meridian, everyone's eyes seemed to follow him as he walked through the street. More than ever, Varl felt out of place, aware of his...differences. Everyone was either Carja or Oseram...wait, was that a Nora?

"Teb?"

The Nora jumped in surprise, turning away from the stall he was inspecting. Sure enough, it was Teb: his father had been a good friend of Sona, and a fellow Brave. What he lacked in confidence and fighting skill, he made up with his dedication and loyalty. But what was he doing in the markets?

"Aloy!" he stammered, somehow sounding more uncertain than usual. "...and Varl! Uh...hi! Umm...What are you two doing out here?"

"Going to speak with the Sun-King," Aloy said, her eyebrows raised curiously. "Oh, hey Aidaba. Talanah was looking for you,"

"I...had to pick up a few things from the market. I'll be at the Lodge soon," the woman next to Teb muttered. A smirk grew on Aloy's face.

"Oh, that reminds me. What brings you here, Teb?"

"Well, I...was...getting supplies. For the journey back. To the Sacred Lands," Teb said, only increasing Varl's confusion.

"Smart thinking. I'm sure the tribe needs...cumin for the journey back," Aloy replied, her smile widening.

"Oh! Well, that's..."

"Mine." the Carja woman finished. While she no longer seemed flustered, Varl couldn't help but notice that her face was almost as red as her dress. "Teb offered to carry my baskets...i-in exchange for me showing him to the right stalls."

"How generous of you, Teb," Aloy said, as if she were teasing him. Teb rubbed his head uncomfortably. "Well...it was the least I could do,"

"Maybe you should head back soon, Teb." Varl said. "Your face looks a little sunburned."

Aloy let out a cough that sounded suspiciously like a laugh, and Varl began wondering if there was some joke he was missing.

"Well, we should probably get to the Palace. Meet you back at the Lodge," Aloy said. "Come on, Varl,"

"Did I miss something?" Varl asked, as the two continued their walk through the streets.

"Nothing important," Aloy said, her smile still wider than Varl was used to seeing it. "In the meantime, are there are questions you have about the Palace?"

"A few," Varl admitted. "Have you meet the Sun-King before?"

"A couple of times," she replied.

"What's he like?"

"I'll let you decide for yourself,"

Before long, they were at the foot of the largest building Varl had ever seen. There were two massive towers, with a lower platform at the center adorned with blue tapestries. The gates and walls were rimmed with elaborate copper designs that made Varl unsteady to look at.

"Well, here we are. The Palace of the Sun,"

Another day, another chapter.

I spent about five hours creating character notes and re-watching Horizon Zero Dawn gameplay to try and make this authentic as possible.

A lot of fics I've seen feature Varl seeing Aloy as a god, which I've always had a problem with. While he certainly idolizes her, what I've seen in game shows that he has enough courtesy to treat her like a relatively normal human being. At the very least, his idolization is less pronounced than most of the tribe, which is why Aloy is more willing to reach out to him. Just to be sure, I wanted to extinguish as much of that overdone BS as possible.

As for the bit with Teb and Aidaba, I wanted to flesh out his character a little more. Out of all the Nora in the game, Teb seems the most open to exploring other cultures: if you interacted with him in The Looming Shadow, he mentioned that there were materials in the markets that he had never seen before, and said that the Sundom "couldn't be any more different from the Sacred Lands", but didn't say anything negative. As a Stitcher, what he would first notice as notably different would be the clothing: the armor of the Carja is far more uniform than the outfits of the Braves.

As always, let me know what you think, preferably in review form.