Author's Note: I haven't typed up a fanfiction in years. I've been too busy with college, considering I'm steps away from my Bachelor's and soon on to my Master's (GRE in June, Baby). I'm a little rough on the writing, so apologies if it's rather, er, too fast-paced.

Eliz is actually pronounced like "Ei-leez," like similarly to Eileen. Also, if she had a voice actress, it would be Ashley Johnson (Ellie from The Last of Us).

Chapter 4

"Eliz!"

Eliz wasn't too focused on her parents nudging at her as she attempted to process the situation she had been in. "We have to go!" she heard, muffled, as if it was distant. The woman shook her head before getting up. She scuffled to the bottom floor. "When we open the door," Erend began, "We're heading straight to the palace. We need to check on Avad!"

With that, he kicked the door open. Eliz slapped herself before grabbing her whip. "Stay focused," she told herself, over and over again. Her parents ran straight towards the palace, and Sylens urged Eliz to follow him. She threw one side of the whip to the rooftop of the building, and climbed her way up. Sylens followed behind her. Luckily, due to their location, the intruders weren't able to see them. When she witnessed her parents getting into short fights, Sylens did what he could to put them down. In the distance, Eliz noticed Glinthawks making their way towards the two. "We have to run," Eliz called. When the duo got to the gate, there was fight between Carja guards and the intruders. "Start using your Focus," Sylens barked. While Sylens took on an approaching Glinthawk, Eliz turned on her Focus. She saw commotion at the Palace, which caused a small panic. "We have to go! NOW!" With that, Sylens had already finished off the Glinthawk. Aloy and Erend already snuck their way through the commotion via the cranes from under the bridge. Eliz rolled her hand, causing the whip to roll with it, and threw it to grab hold of the nearest platform. The duo began to follow Eliz's parents until they made it to the entrance of the palace.

Luckily, it was still safe for the moment being. Aloy and Erend were quickly greeted by a young man, around eighteen. He bowed. Eliz knew the boy, since even before they were little. He was also an Oseram child, but also a Carja, as he was the Sun King's son. Cy wasn't necessarily confident in himself, contrary to his name. He was shy and timid. "We have to get you out of here!" Aloy said softly, gripping the boy's arm. "Where's your father?"

"Up ahead. My Uncle Itamen and grandmother are with him as well."

Cy approached Avad with a grim expression on his face. Avad perked up upon seeing his comrades enter the tent. "We may have to use the tunnel to find safety," Avad noted. Over the course of the years, the tunnel was constructed for situations such as that. Itamen, now a strong and capable young man, removed the entrance from under a rug. The grandmother, now much older and frail, proceeded to climb her way inside. Erend kept an eye out the tent for anyone who managed to approach. He urged Eliz to enter once everyone else has done so. With a pout, she sighed, and made her way. One thing that Eliz wasn't fond of was tunnels. She hated small spaces, and a rocky ceiling above her head. She always had nightmares of being covered by debris and rubble. She hoped and even prayed that she wouldn't become victim to it at that moment.

The group was greeted by Vanasha, a much older Uthid, and some of his men. "I saw the attack," she said in a soft whisper. Avad looked down. "I didn't even hear anyone plan it. I figured the Shadow Carja would be responsible, unless perhaps they were too wary of spies and constructed a new plan with a smaller group," Vanasha continued. Aloy placed her hand on Vanasha's shoulder as they continued onwards. After a sigh left her lips, she began her bit. "Sylens made his way to Meridian as fast as he could, but it was too late. He has an idea on who attacked, but it's not from where you were," Aloy slipped to Vanasha. The woman in purple looked to the older man. She smiled. "We appreciate every bit of information," she said to Sylens. Eliz kept close to her father. She even grabbed his hand, and squeezed it as tight as she could.

The group traveled as far as Daytower, upon a short meet with some Oseram soldiers. The royal family was moved into a small cart, and with Aloy's help, the cart was soon carried on not by people, but by nearby Striders. Upon Daytower's entrance, Aloy and Erend were quickly greeted by a familiar face to them. However, Eliz stood next to Cy, with her lips pursed, one side curled up into her cheek. The man approached the two younger beings and introduced himself. "We have shelter for you and your family, Young Cy," Balahn said softly. Cy nodded, before moving off to join with his family. Balahn then placed a hand on Eliz's shoulder. "You're the young one of the Nora and Oseram," he started. "I've never heard of a result of those two tribes, but you look capable."

Eliz scoffed. She rubbed the dark circles that formed under her eyes. "Appreciate it, Sir."

"Your mother and Father said they will be making their way to The Claim. Will you be following, Ma'am?"

Eliz turned to her parents, and turned around to look at Sylens. Much to her disappointment, Sylens had already disappeared.

Eliz definitely had a liking to Sylens during their short meet together. Granted, he was old. Eliz definitely was not fond of older people. On the other hand, he was also strong, capable, and knowledgable, which were traits that gained her respect. Eliz entered a small hut. She tugged at her rich brown hair. For the first time in days, she got to process all that was happening. She's seen people die. Her home is most likely gone. She doesn't know who made it out, in exception to the royal family. Eliz's mind was spinning, as tears began to stream down her face. All she wanted to do was run away.

That night, she did run away. As she witnessed her parents curled in a cuddle on the bed across from her, she packed some belongings. She unclipped her Oseram overskirt from her waist, and clipped it up higher, around her neck, to provide some warmth. Eliz left the hut, and made her way to the entrance. She was stopped by a few Carja guards. "We were asked to leave you here, Ma'am," the one right from her notified. Eliz wasn't having it. She moaned in a bored tone. The young woman walked back to the middle of Daytower, trying to figure out how to free herself. She remembered the night she and Sylens jumped onto the rooftops. She did just that, jumping from shingle to shingle, and rappelling down the mountain, out of sight. She didn't know where she was going, but with her Birthday Focus, and a sense of curiosity, she went wherever her feet took her.

Eliz entered a small settlement North of Daytower. She rolled the whip around her sides, doing a slight whistle. It was a reckless move, as anyone within distance would surely be slaughtered by the sphere. With the other side wrapped around her hips, she made her way to the first pub. The settlement was definitely of Oseram origin, which suited her just fine. Eliz grabbed a pint, complete in a stein. She sat on the ground, sipping the savoring taste of the beer. She scratched her roots, as her rich, brown locks began to tangle. Pulling her fingers down her hair, she attempted to brush it out. Once Eliz finished her brew, she placed the stein on the counters, although it upset her because she liked the design. The young woman dragged her feet to the nearest haystack, before making a spot. She began to drift off, as she hadn't in over a day.

Eliz suddenly woke when she felt a hand trickle up her abdomen. Her eyes scanned to a few men standing in front of her, with hungry eyes. Of course, Eliz knew the situation first-hand, and knew how to get out of it. She yawned, gave the men bored eyes, considering her face naturally sat in a rather mean expression, and spat the first words of the confrontment. "Yeah, yeah, let me just stretch a bit before we do this," Eliz said in a rather sarcastic tone. When she raised her arms out, one man grabbed her right bicep. "You won't need to," he said, flirtatiously. Eliz scoffed. The man moved his hand down to her forearm, and then to her hand. He suddenly violently jerked her forward into his arms. Eliz rolled her eyes, and pressed her pinky in a certain motion that caused the man's eyes to suddenly jerk open. The men were immediately stunned when the first one bent forward in pain. Eliz removed the dagger from his chest. "Anyone else want a piece of this?" she yelled slightly, confident that she could handle the other three. One, angered, began to approach her, attempting to grab her. Eliz summoned her whip, sliding from the man's grasp, and wrapped two of the spheres around his shoulder blades. When the second and third men attempted to attack from behind, Eliz slid to the side, allowing them to trip on the wires from the whip. Their weight from the whip sent the spheres flying from the second intruder's shoulder blades, mutilating his torso. The other two spheres messily hit right through the other two men, decapitating them. Eliz, again, witnessed the gore that sent shivers down her spine the first night. This time, she was party to the murder of four men who attempted to rape her. Her knees began to fall weak, as surrounding passerby witnessed the messy event. Some people began to scream. Ohers continued to watch her collect the whip back to its slot. She had to clean the mess from them. She never imagined she would be picking brains from spikes.

Eliz soon ran away from the settlement when the guards began to approach her and the bodies. She thought she would just stun and wound them. She didn't think she would actually end up killing the men. She dropped her whips into the river, hoping the current would wash away the mutilated parts and blood. She summoned her hidden blade, dragging it through the shallow area of the water, running it through the dirt and sand. Her subconscious prompted her to make out a small design in the sand. "Mom and Dad are probably worried," she told herself over and over again. Regardless, she knew she didn't want to go back.

As a few days passed, Eliz continued to take on machines rather than make her way into settlements. Machines weren't as much as a big deal as humans. They were just machines, right? As she scuffled through the tall grass, Eliz slowly made her way up to the closest machines she could, and would quickly override them, to allow a distraction for her to pass. However, this tactic didn't play much of an effect on her shard situation. Eliz was running out quickly, and her hidden dagger was growing dull. Eliz just needed a forging station- just one. No shards, allow her to do the rest. Eliz walked all the way to the only other place she knew that existed, Pitchcliff. She remembered going there multiple times growing up. She knew the way there and back to Meridian. In the back of Eliz's head, she definitely wanted to go back to see how damaged the city really was. She made her way into the settlement, and ran to the nearest forging station to begin her work. Eliz began to use a tool to remove the dagger from her gauntlet, before running it through spinning metal. She sighed. "I've done this before," she would tell herself over and over again. The only problem was, one mistake, and her whole hand could end up taken by the wheel. Placing her right hand into a mit, Eliz ran the blade through the metal. She looked away from the sparks as they painfully tickled onto her abdomen. When she finished, she slowly slid her finger through the blade to make sure it was sharp enough. Once satisfied, Eliz clipped the dagger back into the gauntlet, and re-secured it.

Eliz soon left the settlement on her own, despite some Oseram guards protesting. One approached her, and placed a hand on her shoulder. "Look, Ma'am," he began, "I know you were out in the lands for awhile. Rest is on me." With that in mind, Eliz curved her lips into a half-smile. She definitely wanted to rest. At the same time, she didn't think she could until she could reach back to Meridian.

The guard who asked her to stay didn't show his face. She definitely knew that he was around her age, though, judging from his voice. The man opened his hut and allowed her to take his bed. "I have this shift, so you may sleep in here," he said softly. Eliz questioned his motives, and his reasoning for being so nice. At the same time, she was exhausted, and just wanted a good night's rest. The bed was way too comfortable for her to begin to worry. Eliz suddenly drifted to sleep as fast as she went in.

Hours later, she was woken by a hand nudging her shoulder. The same Oseram guard was standing at the bed before her. "Eliz," he said softly. Eliz asked herself how he knew her name. She moved up and let her legs hang from the bed to the floor. He sat next to her, removing his gear. "How do you know my name?" she groggily asked. Once the young man removed his helmet, he turned his head to see her.

"I've seen you many times with the Captain. You're the Captain's daughter."

Eliz gave him a confused look.

"I was sent here from Meridian. I was just a rookie when I was around fifteen. You were probably around thirteen when your Dad brought you out to see us train."

Eliz remembered the day her Dad took her to introduce her to the Vanguard. However, the young man didn't strike a resemblance of any sorts.

He was definitely built, no doubt. However, his face was rather young. The young man had lighter blond hair, which was loose. His eyes were almond shaped, which gleamed with the sun, showing a grey-ish hue. His nose was soft, but rounded. His lips were thin, and scratched up, most likely from the Meridian attack.

Eliz removed herself from the bed before grabbing her whip. She definitely remembered his face at this point, and knew she would meet him again.

"I'm Deo, by the way."

Eliz nodded, waving her hand in the air as if mocking a handshake. "Pleasure to meet you, Deo. I have to run. Please don't tell my Dad that you saw me."

"I kind of hand no choice. All the Vanguard saw you here."

Eliz scoffed, before opening the door. She rubbed the back of her neck, before making her way back onto the road. If there was one trait that Eliz had, it was her stubbornness. There was no convincing the girl to do anything. She knew that more than anyone. It was a common Oseram trait.

Eliz quickly took her closest opportunity to override a Strider, before horsing her way back to Meridian. "If they were smart," she began to tell herself, "They would meet me there." Eliz let her whip flow freely in the warm, sandy air as said sand went through her like a gust of air. One thing Eliz hated more than anything was getting sand in her eyes. She knew no matter what that it would anyways, however.

Eliz began to have an anxiety attack as she began to picture how Meridian would look after the attack. She wasn't fond of the idea of Meridian being a ruin. The young woman had a fear that contradicted her parents: she was afraid of ruins. She was afraid of rubble. She was afraid of being buried alive. One small slip and she would be crushed by heavy debris. Eliz tried to not let the thought eat at her as she continued on.

Some of the way, she still questioned why Deo was so kind to her. Yeah, he told her that he was in the Vanguard. It didn't matter- he still didn't have any obligation to treat her like that. He wasn't obligated to offer his hospitality. Usually, men who offered such had darker motives. Deo was different however. "Maybe it's the age," Eliz said out loud, not thinking as such. The Strider halted, hearing the words. "I was talking about Deo!" Eliz huffed a groan in addition to her spat back to the Strider.

Once the clear night hit, Eliz made camp near the water. Water was her favorite thing. She was so fond of it, as it trickled through her fingertips. The Strider made a spot near her, acting as an alarm for any intruders. Eliz knew to stay quiet, however, to prevent any machines from ways away from identifying her. She knew to stick to the road as it was the safest option. Eliz yawned as she removed her Oseram overskirt from her hips. She folded it as if it were a pillow. With that, she leaned it against a stump of a fallen tree.

Please, Carja and Vanguard. I hope you saved the city.