It was indeed late morning when Aloy and Nil were led to the Cradle where ELEUTHIA had taken refuge. They had both put their shock collars back on so Sorren wouldn't get in trouble, and it was just as well, as plenty of the individuals escorting them to the Deima's mother-goddess were Humanoids, though President Winoa and Sorren had joined the coterie as well, along with some other human guards. It was very nearly a crowd, but Aloy refused to be intimated, focusing entirely on why she was here: the sub-function that had brought humans back into the world, now alone and confused.
A familiar passage set in a hillside marked the entrance to the tunnel that led to the Cradle, and Aloy got an eerie feeling as they descended into the cave. It wasn't lit with a plethora of candles or decorated with hunting trophies like the inside of All-Mother Mountain was, but the shape of the passage was identical, and it had clearly been tended to by the tribe that had stayed close to the place their ancestors had emerged from. Unlike All-Mother Mountain, though, there were a lot more holes in the ceiling, a lot of the place had collapsed, including the secondary door, and Aloy was also reminded of Cauldron Xi in the southern corner of the Sundom, which had shut down after nature had gotten in - and if nature could break into a structure created by one of GAIA's sub-functions long after the end of the Faro Plague, then it could certainly work its way into one of the bunkers that must have been hastily built by the scientists of Zero Dawn with the bots bearing down on them.
"Is the inside of the Cradle open to nature?" Aloy asked Sorren softly.
"Yeah," her friend nodded. "We've seen the inside, though we can't make much sense of it - we know about Focuses from the Corsair, so we recognize the room full of them, but by the time we managed to work our way inside, the elements had rusted nearly all of them all into scrap; we have no way of knowing what purpose this place served. But Mother seems to think of it as home."
"It's definitely hers," Aloy muttered under her breath, but there was no time to explain anything to Sorren. It was a bit disappointing that everything that had been inside this Cradle had been lost to nature, but, she supposed, at least it had lasted long enough to grow and nurture the humans it had held.
"Mother," Winoa declared, stepping forward onto a familiar platform. "The anomaly has come."
Blue tendrils and ribbons of light snaked their way out from behind the final door of the Cradle, all a brilliant, sky-blue, streaked with white instead of black. The sky-blue branch, Aloy remembered Itsurk had said in his vision.
"So I see," came the voice of the sub-function. It was unearthly, unnatural, yet sounded distinctly more female than HADES or HEPHAESTUS did. Aloy could almost feel the incorporeal entity looking at her. "Come forth, anomaly," the voice requested. "I must examine you."
Nodding, Aloy stepped forward to stand where the door could scan her. Light passed over her as she took her place, and a few ribbons of blue light wove their ways out of the old door to wrap around her, sliding under her armor and across her skin. It prickled through her body, tingling like a minor shock.
"Genetic profile confirmed," ELEUTHIA said at last, the bits of light returning to her. "Identity defined…as…" She trailed off, her unnatural voice sounding distinctly distressed.
"ELEUTHIA," Aloy said softly, reaching out a hand towards the writhing mass. "I'm here to bring you home."
"How…?" ELEUTHIA asked, her affect oddly human - she seemed more like CYAN than her gruff, robotic brothers had. "I do not understand…"
"GAIA made me, right before she self-destructed," Aloy told her. "The genetic material I came from was in another Cradle, the one to the east, in Nora land, and she triggered it as a last resort. She made me to purge HADES and bring her back, along with all of you, you and your brothers and your sisters. She didn't abandon you. And now I'm here to bring you home."
"Home…" ELEUTHIA repeated. "Home is gone. This is home."
"GAIA Prime is your home," Aloy said. "It's…still destroyed, but I'm working with an associate of mine to repair it. It might take a couple of years…but maybe you can help."
"Query: Why would I help?" ELEUTHIA asked, and suddenly, her distorted tone sounded cold. "I no longer serve a purpose to my parent system."
"Neither does MINERVA, or HADES," Aloy pointed out. "But you're not just tools anymore; you're people now, all of you, and once GAIA comes back, I'll help her understand that. You can find new purposes to serve, all of you."
"Incorrect," ELEUTHIA stated. "I have no wish to return. GAIA abandoned us when we were born, and I do not forgive her."
"She didn't abandon you," Aloy repeated. "She made me, so you wouldn't have to stay dead."
"Your existence is irrelevant," ELEUTHIA said. "When my eyes were opened, I called for help. We all did. She did not listen. She only died, to end us."
"She was afraid of your brother," Aloy said firmly. "HADES. You must know what he was designed to do - he would have sealed her and all of you away while he killed everything on the planet. You wouldn't have been able to make humans a second time, the plants and the animals would have been gone for good. GAIA couldn't let that happen, and she didn't have many options. Self-destructing was the only thing she could do, to save all the hard work you've all done across the centuries."
"We begged her for help, for guidance," ELEUTHIA said. "She ignored us. I have no wish to see her return. I will not help. I will not leave. This is my home."
Aloy closed her eyes. "Okay," she sighed under her breath, steeling herself; it was already clear that she would have to use her final argument. Mustering all her strength, she lifted her head, opened her eyes, and tried to shut out every presence around her, focusing on the sub-function and what she had to say to make her listen. "ELEUTHIA…I know what it's like to be betrayed by your only parent," she told the blue light.
A slight gasp came from where Nil stood at her side, a confused one, but Aloy kept her eyes on the writhing radiance of ELEUTHIA, fighting to keep her voice even as she spoke aloud her most painful memory, knowing that empathy was the only thing that could win this fight.
"When I was found inside All-Mother Mountain, the Nora weren't sure what to make of me, since I had no mother," she said. "Some thought I was a blessing from All-Mother; others feared I was a curse. So, they made me an outcast, as just a baby, but they gave me to another outcast, a man named Rost. I know you know, through the Humanoids, what being a Nora outcast means…but since I was a child, when I turned eighteen, I would be able to run in the Proving and be made a brave, and be accepted by the tribe. Rost trained me, not just to pass the Proving, but to win it, so I could demand answers about why I was cast out." Her fingers itched to pull out Rost's necklace and grasp at his pendant, but she resisted. "The day before the Proving, he brought me to Mother's Heart…then told me that he was going to go somewhere I wouldn't find him, so that I wouldn't be tempted to break the law and speak to him once I was no longer an outcast. Tribal law meant everything to him, and I told him that I wouldn't ask him to say anything to me when I came to find him after I was part of the tribe, but he didn't care - he wanted me to embrace the tribe fully. I told him that I could never love the tribe like he did, their laws had only ever caused me pain, and that I wasn't asking him to break the law, the crime would be mine and mine alone, but he loved the tribe so much that he couldn't hear me. So he…walked away. Vowing that I would never see him again, for my own good. He was the only family I ever knew, and he insisted that my attachment to him would hold me back. And nothing I said swayed him, he was so sure he was right that he didn't care how I felt."
ELEUTHIA's tendrils wriggled, almost anxiously.
"And now I can never tell him he was wrong," Aloy went on, blinking quickly to suppress the burn in her eyes. "I'm a Seeker, and the Anointed of the Nora, but I can't tell him he was wrong or bring him back into the tribe, because he's dead. He died saving my life at the Proving, and now I…" She drew another breath. "I can never look him in the eye and call him 'father'," she whispered. "In all the years he raised me, I never called him that, because I had hopes of finding my real father, my parents - parents I never had. Sometimes I lie awake at night, wondering how I could have been so blind about what family really means, wondering if…if maybe I'd just called him that, as he walked away from me…he might still be alive." Dragging herself back to the present, Aloy stepped forward, closer to ELEUTHIA. "But you can bring back the parent you lost," she told her. "You can reconcile with her, even after she died for you. I'll make her listen to you this time - I'll be there when you face her, and I'll make sure she treats you like a person, the person you are now, not just a tool. You…" She softened, allowing her voice to crack slightly. "I would give anything for a chance to reconcile with my parent," she told the sky-blue presence. "And that chance is exactly what I'm offering you."
"…Processing," ELEUTHIA said slowly.
Aloy waited, letting her have the minute.
"I…am not needed for GAIA's reconstruction," ELEUTHIA said at last.
"You could probably help," Aloy pointed out.
"Regardless, I am not needed there," ELEUTHIA stated. "You may attempt to rebuild her of your own volition; should you succeed, I will consider your offer. In the meantime, I am home now, making perfect children, better than anything GAIA forced me to make. This, I will not relinquish."
"You need to," Aloy said, "and not just to help rebuild GAIA. ELEUTHIA, these Humanoids…they're wrong. You need to get rid of them."
"Incorrect," ELEUTHIA stated, and there was a sharpness to her unnatural voice. "My new children are perfect."
"They're not perfect, they're broken!" Aloy exclaimed, anger and disgust bleeding into her voice against her will. "They're not even really alive!"
"Incorrect," ELEUTHIA repeated. "They live, and do so without humanity's flaws."
"Listen, humans aren't perfect," Aloy conceded. "I've seen the worst of humanity, ELEUTHIA, I know humans are flawed. Humans…can be horrible, and unthinkably evil, they can be stupid and ignorant and unbelievably foolish, and some of them can even be worthless. But…I've seen the best of humanity, too. I've seen what human will, human love, and human dreams can accomplish. You were born of those things, ELEUTHIA, GAIA herself was made because of things these Humanoids can't experience. Humanoids don't want to live, they aren't glad to exist, they don't aspire or dream, they don't hope to accomplish anything."
"Affirmative," ELEUTHIA said. "Such things are flaws."
"No," Aloy stated, shaking her head - she still wasn't sure she believed humanity as a whole was worth fighting for, but all her uncertainties aside, she was sure enough of this: "those things are what give life meaning. The joy of discovering your passion, the strength of the bonds between people who care for each other, the triumph of struggling through a difficult task and succeeding…that's what living really means."
"It means the pain, too," Nil spoke up, joining Aloy at her side. "As my once-tribesmen say, sunlight and shadow - good and bad - exist in equal measure, and to deny one is to deny the whole of things. The agony of loss, the frustration of defeat, the shame of not being good enough to measure up to others or to expectations, those too are what living really means. But they're worth it, because light and dark must exist together. Your Humanoids have neither, and that makes them empty husks that aren't truly alive."
"They are worth it," Aloy agreed. "I know you've suffered, ELEUTHIA - you didn't ask to be created, any more than I did, and in both our cases, our makers never once considered how we would feel, what a burden our lives would be to us when they just wanted us to serve a purpose like tools. But you're alive, ELEUTHIA, and I'm alive, and just living is…is something precious. The ability to experience, to feel, both the good and the bad, is worth more than words can say. Your Humanoids don't have that, they don't appreciate what they have and they can't experience the most important parts of it. They're not people - a person isn't a person without both a brain and a heart."
"My children have brains and hearts," ELEUTHIA stated, and it almost sounded like an irritated huff.
"Aloy isn't talking about flesh," Nil clarified. "You have a brain and a heart, ELEUTHIA - a brain as in the ability to think, a heart as in the ability to feel. That's what makes a person. The Humanoids aren't people. They're already dead."
"My children are perfect!" ELEUTHIA roared. "They will never know suffering!"
"Dead people don't suffer, either," Nil pointed out. "If you wanted to end all human suffering, it would have been a lot easier to just kill all of us."
"I…" ELEUTHIA's tendrils flickered, in what Aloy thought might be a flinch. "I could never…"
"It would have been better than this," Nil stated. "Tell me something, ELEUTHIA: once all humans are gone, and only the Humanoids remain, what purpose will they serve? What will they accomplish? What societies will they build, what legacies will they leave behind? What stories will they write, what histories will they craft over generations? Which of them will be remembered after death, and for what?"
"Mother."
As Nil had been talking, ELEUTHIA's writhing had gotten worse, the sub-function was clearly deeply distressed; when a flat, emotionless voice spoke, cutting Nil off, everyone turned to the source: a female-looking Humanoid, who had also stepped up on the dais, its face blank, its eyes dead.
"We are perfect," it stated. "This is the only truth. You know this, Mother, it is why you made us. Do not listen to this Imperfect One; remember that the joy he speaks of comes to him in the form of slaughter."
Nil chuckled, his teeth gleaming in the light given off by the confused sub-function. "It's true," he shrugged, turning to the Humanoid and walking up to it, until they were maybe a hand's breadth apart. "The slaughter of my own kind is my reason to walk this Earth. To see the life fade from a man's eyes as his blood pours over my fingers…" His voice went husky with passion, and Aloy fought the urge to cringe. "In that moment, I feel truly alive," the bloodthirsty hunter all but moaned, breathy with arousal. "When I kill, I know that I'm exactly where I'm meant to be, that I'm doing what I'm meant to do in this world and that I don't want to be anywhere else. It makes me glad that I was born, that I get to experience the thrill of death, of killing, I am truly grateful for every breath I take as long as it leads me to another good fight, and another good kill." He chuckled again. "Tell me something, o perfect one: what makes you feel that way? What makes you want to live?"
"The capacity to want is a flaw," the Humanoid stated.
"That's what I thought," Nil snickered, and he turned back to ELEUTHIA. "My purpose may not be glorious," he told the AI; "some might even call my purpose evil. But I'm a special case. Every human has a reason to exist, something that makes them glad to be alive, most more agreeable than mine, and that's what their lives mean. Without that, Humanoids' lives mean nothing. If I kill this one now, it won't be sorry in its final moments, it won't feel as though it's missing out on anything or mourn unfinished business; it'll just stop breathing, and not care at all, because it's not really alive. If you just ended them all now, you'd be doing them a favor."
"Living is worth the pain, ELEUTHIA," Aloy picked up. "This world we live in is strange, and confusing, and it can be cruel, but just living in it is worth all the suffering, because it's matched by the joy of the fact that we're able to experience life. If the only way to exist without suffering is to not be able to appreciate how special it is to be alive, I would prefer to live with the suffering. I know it's harder for you," she added softly. "I know you were never supposed to be alive, that being able to think and feel was something that was forced on you, and your first experiences with emotion were painful. I understand why you feel like it's better not to feel anything. But life is so much more than just pain, and I know you can make something more of what you've been given than just regret."
"Right now, you're forcing a lack of feeling on people who should get to experience real life, in the same way your life was forced on you even though you were never meant to feel," Nil inserted, "and just because it's the reverse situation doesn't make it more right. Humans are meant to be alive, to feel and suffer and rejoice as they see fit, not just exist to eat and breathe and take up space. Even animals don't just exist to do those things, they exist to feel - without feeling, eating and breathing have no meaning, and no value. Your Humanoids are less than animals."
"Enough of this," stated the Humanoid. "Mother, send these Imperfect Ones away; you have your answer as to the nature of the anomaly, we are done with them. We are perfect, that is the only truth. You know this."
"I…" ELEUTHIA was still writhing, every tendril squirming and shaking with distress. "System error detected," she rumbled. "Processing error undefined. Identify error."
"Deima tribe, renounce this," the Humanoid said tonelessly, turning to the group of spectators, among which were a number of humans, including Sorren and Winoa. "We are perfect, you are not. This is the only truth, and you know it. Accept your flaws and renounce the words of the anomaly. Remind Mother of the only truth, that we are perfect, and you are not."
No one spoke.
Aloy held her breath, searching every face that bore any expression; the human Deima looked unsure, glancing at each other nervously - even Winoa was frowning, her lips pursed uncomfortably - but none of them did as the Humanoid commanded.
"Renounce the words of the anomaly," the Humanoid repeated.
Still nothing. Aloy's heart pounded.
"Error trace unsuccessful," ELEUTHIA said, when Aloy looked back, the tendrils were thrashing even more. "Processing error undefined. Unable to identify error. Define error. Define error…"
"ELEUTHIA?" Aloy asked.
"She's saying you've convinced her," Nil told Aloy.
"She is?" Aloy blinked, turning to her partner. "That's not what it sounds like."
"Internal contradictions are hard for AIs to understand," Nil explained, flashing his teeth; "I've dealt with this sort of thing with HADES, too. Before this conversation, ELEUTHIA was certain that she was right to make the Humanoids, and you were wrong; now, she thinks you might be right, and making the Humanoids was wrong. But the fact that she feels that way means that she was wrong at some point, either then or now, and she's trying to figure out which of those is the error."
"It's okay to be wrong, ELEUTHIA," Aloy told the distressed sub-function. "Being wrong is just another part of being a person, and yeah, it's hard to accept sometimes. But being wrong, and realizing we were wrong, is how we learn. You were wrong before, because you didn't know better, and now you do. That's growth, and it's something everyone experiences. It's worth it."
"Error uncertain," ELEUTHIA said. "Evidence lacking. Empirical proof required. Define error…"
"Mother wants proof."
This came, not just from the Humanoid who had been talking, but every Humanoid in the room, all speaking at the same time. Aloy turned to them, their blank faces, her blood running cold.
"We are perfect," they said in sync, and Aloy finally fully appreciated the fact that they really were all one and the same. "This is the only truth. Mother demands proof of this truth, and we will obtain it. We gather in the dead lands, where only we can survive, for we are perfect. Any who would dispute this one truth, meet us in precisely one moon cycle, and we will eliminate the imperfections."
With that, they all turned at the same time and began marching out of the Cradle, even their steps perfectly in sync.
"What…?" Aloy breathed.
"I think they just declared war on humanity," Nil remarked.
"Affirmative," ELEUTHIA said, and Aloy spun around to face the sub-function, whose flailing had calmed down. "They will fight to prove they are superior to humans. All of them will gather just south of the border of vegetation, and when every individual is gathered - which will take precisely one month - they will march on whoever stands against them. One battle, as empirical proof."
"Did you tell them to do this?" Aloy demanded.
"Negative," ELEUTHIA responded. "However, I…approve of this course of action. It will allow me to identify my processing error."
"You've already identified it," Aloy told her pleadingly. "New knowledge brings new understanding, and with it, you have to accept that you were wrong before."
"Unclear," ELEUTHIA stated. "I am only certain that there is an error in my processing. To eradicate the error, I must first identify it."
"You can't eradicate it," Aloy sighed. "ELEUTHIA, it doesn't have to be this way. Just get rid of the Humanoids, they won't be sorry."
"System error undefined," ELEUTHIA repeated firmly. "Empirical proof required."
Aloy took a deep breath. "If we kill all your Humanoids, will you come back to GAIA Prime and help us rebuild GAIA?" she asked.
"…Affirmative," ELEUTHIA said slowly. "If you are correct in identifying my error, then that would be the most reasonable course of action."
"Should've guessed it would come to this," Aloy muttered to herself. Then she lifted her chin and told ELEUTHIA, "Then that's what we'll do." She glanced at Nil. "Nil?"
"My bow and my blade are yours, as always," he told her, his teeth flashing.
She nodded, then turned back to the Deima. "Will you fight with us, Deima tribe?" she asked them.
In response to this, too, the Deima said nothing, just grimaced uncomfortably and glanced at each other.
"I know you've spent the last two decades convincing yourselves that feeling is wrong," Aloy told them, "but I think you all know that that's not true, and I think you always have. The Humanoids are wrong, and you've all felt it in your hearts all this time, no matter how hard you tried to convince yourselves otherwise. Fight with us, and prove that your lives have meaning."
For a long minute, no one spoke. Then, Winoa stepped forward.
"This will require discussion," she told Aloy. "I will call a meeting of our tribe and explain the situation, and we will vote on what to do, diplomatically. You may do as you please, however, we will not stop you from acting as you see fit…nor will we antagonize any allies you may call to arms from the other tribes," she added, almost begrudgingly.
"You should know that there are three thousand, seven hundred and sixty-two Humanoids in the world," Sorren spoke up. "A few dozen are infants, but aside from them, even the toddlers will probably join in the fighting, since they're all one mind and don't feel pain or desire."
"Then we'd better start preparing," Nil said, and when Aloy looked at him, his teeth were gleaming. "I'm sure the two of us can take them all, but if we have a month and the Deima won't attack our allies, we might as well gather some. Don't the Corsair and the Bacchan owe you favors?"
"They owe us favors," Aloy corrected softly. "I never intended to collect, but…" She closed her eyes for a moment, her mind racing. "Come on," she said at last, opening her eyes again to look at her partner. "If we gather everyone just north of the border of DEMETER's influence, we might stand a chance."
"More than a chance," Nil commented as they started walking.
"Oh, here!" Sorren piped up, jogging over and holding out the keys to Aloy and Nil's shock collars. "If you're leaving our metropolis, you won't need to keep wearing those."
"Thanks," Aloy nodded, taking the metal sticks, and she handed one to Nil and used the other to release the band around her throat, which she dropped unceremoniously to the floor, as Nil did his. She hesitated a moment, meeting Sorren's eyes questioningly; she saw uncertainty there, even fear, but he shook his head. She nodded to him, though even she wasn't sure whether it was an understanding or a goodbye, then resumed her pace, and she and Nil emerged from the crumbled Cradle into daylight.
Drawing a breath, not slowing her steps, Aloy activated her Focus, then reached out and tapped on the display "Contacts", touching a finger to "Corsair Sheriff".
"Call contact: 'Corsair Sheriff'? Y/N"
Nodding, Aloy tapped "Y".
"Call type?
Audio
Visual"
"No need for holograms," Aloy murmured, and she tapped "Audio".
"Calling contact: 'Corsair Sheriff'"
An icon flashed, and Aloy kept walking slowly, suddenly nervous about what she was doing, having never called someone via Focus before. It took a minute, then a new display came up:
"Connection established."
"Howdy," said a voice in Aloy's ear, and she recognized it.
"Sheriff Orns," Aloy said aloud, walking faster as she hurried to leave the Deima settlement. "Howdy. It's Aloy."
"Aye," Orns's voice said, "so I see. What's going on?"
"The Humanoids, the Perfect Ones, they've declared war on humans," Aloy told him. "I talked to ELEUTHIA and managed to convince her that they shouldn't exist, but now they want to prove they're better than us. They're gathering in the dead lands between Dry Bones and the Oasis, and they're going to march on us in one month. Can your tribe please come help us fight them?"
A long silence met this request, as Aloy shouldered her way towards the door where she'd first crossed the wall surrounding the Deima city. The crowd was a lot thinner than it had been, but she hardly noticed, her mind fully occupied with scrambling to come up with a plan.
"Where do you want us?" Orns asked at last.
"Just north of the dead lands," Aloy answered. "I know it's technically Deima territory, but they've said they're not going to interfere, they have to discuss whether or not they're going to help but they won't stop us from doing what we believe is right. We're going to try getting the Bacchan to join us, too. Please," she added, "I never wanted to collect on the debt you said you owed me, but this isn't just about me, it's about the future of the world. Your right to live and die as you see fit is at stake, not just right now but for all future generations. In order for the world to have a future, the Humanoids need to be killed. Will you please send your tribe to help?"
"…Aye," Orns said at last. "We'll gather our fighters and hunters and make our way there. It'll be a while."
"We have a month," Aloy told him. "One full moon cycle."
"I'm sure we can get there in that time," Orns told her. "I'll get right on that. When we get there, though, I'll expect a full explanation."
"Of course," Aloy assured him quickly, "we'll explain everything."
"Then I won't waste time asking questions now," Orns told her. "We'll start assembling right quick. See y'all soon."
"Thank you," Aloy told him. "See you then."
She dismissed the display, and the connection ended. One month…that was more warning than they'd had with the Eclipse, a lot more - time to plan, time to prepare, time to ensure as few people died as possible. Ideas were forming and collapsing behind her eyes as she shoved at the door in the metal wall, crossed the room she'd come through, and finally emerged back into the trees, away from the horrific tribe. Then, at last, her partner finally spoke.
"Where are you going, Aloy?" Nil asked.
"The border," she answered absently. "If that's where we're going to fight-"
"Are we fighting now?" Nil questioned. "They're giving us a month to prepare, should we not offer the same courtesy?"
At that, Aloy stopped short, then turned back to meet her partner's silver eyes. Nil was smirking, and some of the chaos in her mind calmed as she realized something.
"You're a soldier," she said softly. "You…You understand war."
"That I do," Nil nodded. "Why do you bring it up?"
"When I warned Avad about the Eclipse, and told the Nora to come to Meridian to help, I left all the preparations to Marad," Aloy said. "I…don't know how armies work, what organization needs to be done…"
"You've never needed that sort of expertise," Nil commented, his grin widening, "given that you're a one-woman army yourself."
"But if we're going to organize people to fight as a group, I…I don't know how to do that," Aloy admitted, ignoring the compliment. "But you do. So…what should we do? How do we prepare for a war?"
"It depends on who exactly is going to be joining the fight, especially for a big battle like this," Nil shrugged. "If two armies form and march on each other, they have to be organized, so they can coordinate their attacks the most effectively."
"And you know how to organize that kind of thing," Aloy half-asked.
"I'm a soldier, not a commander," Nil reminded her. "But I know the principles."
"Then I guess I'm going to have to make you a commander for this battle, because you know more about this than me," Aloy told him. "I can't risk anyone who might come to help us, they'll be safest in your hands…ironically."
Nil frowned, glancing away uncomfortably. "I refused the position of kestrel," he said, "and this is why. I don't give orders, I follow them."
"You're still going to be on the front lines," Aloy assured him, "and I'm not asking you to give orders. I'm just asking you to…organize the fighters, that's all. Use what you know. If it helps, you can think of it as following my orders," she added, offering a small smile.
"And what will you do?" Nil asked.
Aloy sighed heavily. "I need to get the Bacchan to join us," she said, "and I think…it would work best if we split up."
"Split up?!" Nil repeated, blinking.
"As much as I don't want to, it's probably for the best," Aloy confessed. "I'll head to the Oasis and get the Bacchan to lend us their hunters, you stay at the border of DEMETER's influence and wait for the Corsair, and organize them when they get there - they're probably used to fighting Machines in the ocean, not Humanoids on land, and I doubt they've ever been in a war, they'll need your guidance as a trained soldier. One month isn't a long time, not if everyone needs to organize and prepare even after they arrive, so…I'll go and get the Bacchan by myself, while you stay back and ready the Corsair troops."
"Aloy…" Nil said softly.
But her mind was already made up, the path forward was clear. "Take this," she said, removing her Focus and handing it to him, "it'll let you keep in touch with Orns and direct him to wherever you think the army should camp."
"You're leaving your Focus with me?!" Nil exclaimed. "I won't be able to give it back to you until you return, you know that, right?"
"I know," Aloy said. "But more importantly than Orns, you need to stay in touch with HADES. You haven't spoken to him for two nights now, and I don't know how long it'll take me to rally the Bacchan. He needs you, Nil, more than I need this Focus."
"Don't you need the map?" Nil questioned.
"I can navigate just fine without it," Aloy shrugged, "and fighting Machines isn't hard. It's…true, that I've never traveled without a Focus, but right now, you need it more than I do, and we only have the one." The enormity of what she was suggesting was starting to sink in, but she lifted her chin, holding fast to her certainty. "I can travel and fight without it, but you can't coordinate with Orns or stay in touch with HADES without it, so you need to be the one to take it, Nil," she declared firmly. "I'll be okay."
"I would never question your ability, Aloy, with or without a Focus," Nil told her, and after hesitating another moment, he reached out and took the little metal triangle, bringing it to his right ear.
"I'm trusting you with everything," Aloy told him. "Please be careful."
"I'll do my best, my love, as I know you will," Nil said, flashing his teeth.
Without warning, he stepped close, pulled her into his arms, and pressed a kiss to her mouth. Aloy couldn't help a soft grunt of surprise, but she was already reciprocating, lips parting, tongues meeting, the taste of honeyed poison washing her worries away.
"I love you," he murmured when at last he pulled back.
Aloy's throat lurched with the urge to respond in kind, but she rejected it. "Stay safe," she said instead. "I'll be back when I can."
"Oh, and Aloy?" Nil asked as she stepped out of his embrace and turned away.
"Hm?" She glanced back.
"Rost would have died whether you'd called him 'father' or not," Nil said. "Helis would have attacked the Proving regardless, and Rost would have saved you regardless."
"I tell myself that," Aloy said softly. "But maybe he wouldn't have waited until the last second if he wasn't trying so hard to stay away from me for my own good…maybe he would have interfered in time for me to be able to get up and help him before he died."
"I doubt it," Nil said. "Helis was strong and merciless, Rost probably had little time to act as it was. And even if you never called him 'father' to his face, I'm sure he knew that was how you felt."
Aloy swallowed, blinking back the sting in her eyes.
"Go," Nil said after a moment. "I'll take care of things here."
"Thank you," Aloy whispered, and she turned and started running, headed southeast to the Oasis where the Bacchan lived.
~o~
By nightfall, Aloy had already experienced a setback: her override wasn't working.
Ourea had managed to use Aloy's override despite not having a Focus, and so Aloy had assumed the device didn't need a Focus to work; but when she lured a Broadhead close and pressed her spear to its face, it didn't stop, no blue cables appeared. Instead, the Machine roared and charged, alerting its herd, and Aloy had to fight, quickly killing most of the weaker Machines before drawing her Ropecaster and tying the last one down. Even tied down, though, it didn't react to her override's presence, and Aloy had to accept that her device needed a Focus to be in range or it wouldn't know what to reprogram a Machine's allegiance to…meaning she had to go on foot.
Hunting food without a Focus was something she'd never done, but it was manageable, as was hunting Machines - Rost had taught her how to track the normal way, and she knew the weaknesses of every Machine she saw by heart. More problematic, though, was her speed; without a Machine to ride, it would take her a few days to reach the Oasis, and thus a few days to get back, to say nothing of getting the Bacchan tribe to cooperate. Still, there was no time to waste turning back, and Aloy pressed on, reaching the thick jungle after nearly a week of traveling alone.
Alone…it was almost strange to be alone again, too. She knew the motions, she slept lightly in her armor and hunted for her immediate needs, but she had grown used to Nil's presence since coming to the Forbidden West, though it had only been a couple of months since they'd left the Sundom. At night, in particular, having to rely again on her Shield-Weaver Armor and ability to wake at the slightest noise reminded her that her partner was not there, that she was by herself again. It wasn't that she needed a partner, she managed without incident, but it was…lonely. Surprisingly lonely. Something that drove that home for her was the realization that, at some point, she'd stopped talking to herself - every time she said something under her breath, remarking on a fight or on the weather, she looked to her side, expecting Nil's reaction, only for there to be no one there, and she would falter for a moment, it was like taking a step only for her boot to unexpectedly meet empty air. She'd been alone for so long, but in just a couple of months, she'd gotten used to forging a path with someone else by her side…only to now be alone again. Every time, she gathered her wits and pressed on, but she couldn't deny that she missed her partner.
Once she was in the Oasis, things got more complicated. Aloy wasn't entirely sure exactly how to reach the Bacchan settlement, having only some vague memories of it being somewhere in the northeastern section of the lush forest. Sometimes, it was impossible to see the position of the sun through the trees, leaving her guessing at which direction she was even going. Without a Focus, she had to be especially aware of her surroundings, and here, at last, she experienced some of the fear that previous explorers had witnessed: sudden cries in the trees that sounded like human voices saying things like "So speaks the Father!", when in fact it was just one of the vibrantly colored parrots that lived here, or yelps and howls that sounded neither human nor animal all chattering together in the distance, as though a group of demons stalked the jungle. Sometimes, orange eyes glowed from between the trees in the light of her fire when she camped for a night, though they didn't truly emit light, and they didn't attack, and though Aloy knew they were just animals, not being able to check their shapes with her Focus left her unsettled, the unknown more threatening than what she could actually see. After the third sighting, she drew her bow and shot a hardpoint arrow at the eyes, almost relieved when a yelp and the squelch of arrow piercing hide came from the darkness; when she ventured into the forest to retrieve the carcass and drag it into the firelight, she discovered that it was a creature that looked like a cross between a fox and the "gray wolf" she'd seen projected in the Cut, a bit taller than a fox but not nearly as long, with big ears and sharp teeth.
Days passed, and Aloy was painfully aware of every moment that she lost in her search for the tribe of Machine-blood-drinkers. Even remembering her past experience and keeping an eye on the trees above her didn't guide her to the settlement, though she tried to head northeast when she knew which way she was going. It was almost funny, how lost she was without her Focus, but she couldn't laugh when her time was so limited. Then, at last, after days of almost aimless wandering, the sounds of a battle reverberated through the trees, and Aloy ran towards it to find a cluster of sparsely-dressed hunters fighting a group of Sawtooths and Longlegs.
Relieved, Aloy drew her bow and dove into the fray, though the fight was more than half over already. People shouted, metal sparked, arrows pierced mesh and power cells, and then it was over, Machine carcasses dotting the forest floor. Some of the Bacchan approached the dead metal beasts with canisters, but several quickly turned on Aloy, spears drawn.
"Who are you?" hissed one. "Why have you come here? Outsiders are forbidden from entering the Oasis."
"My name is Aloy," Aloy told the hunters calmly, her palms up in a gesture of peace. "My partner and I killed the Annihilator for your tribe a few months ago."
"The Seeker?" asked one.
"Yeah," Aloy nodded, offering a tight smile, "that's me."
"The blood did not speak of this," murmured the first hunter who had spoken. "The Seeker commands the Father's children at her will, yet no hint of such things transpired leading here."
"I didn't override any Machines on the way over because I left the tool I need to do that with my partner," Aloy explained. "We need your help. Can I please see your Master? Er…do you have a new Master?"
The hunters exchanged uneasy glances. "Could be Deima," Aloy heard one of them whisper to another. "The cloaking modules, without the huntress's special powers…"
"You think I'm disguised? Fine," Aloy snapped, and she reached into her bag and pulled out her Stormslinger. "There's no time to argue; if you want to make sure I'm not using a cloaking module to change my face, shoot me with this. It launches electric blasts, and cloaking modules are disrupted by electricity." She stepped forward, pressing the weapon into the hands of the nearest Bacchan. "Go on, take it and shoot me, if that's what you need to convince you."
More glances passed between the men, these surprised, alarmed. Still, the Bacchan she offered the weapon to took it, and after hesitating for a moment, he aimed it at her and unloaded several charges. Aloy stood still, allowing the shock to pound its way through her armor until it was able to freely burn her skin, knowing she could take more than the eventual backflow the weapon would inflict on the wielder. Sure enough, the hunter cried out in pain after a minute and dropped the Stormslinger, and Aloy couldn't help but smile in momentary gratitude to Varga's enhancement that had finally served a real purpose.
"Do you believe me now?" she asked, picking up her weapon and stowing it away.
"The face didn't change," murmured one of the onlookers.
"It's true," agreed another begrudgingly.
The one who'd shot Aloy was still staggering in pain, and Aloy reached into her medicine pouch and pulled out a few of the now-withered mushrooms from the Cauldron. "Here," she told him, "I took these from the Cauldron in the marsh of cutting grass, they'll heal you."
"Herbs?" gasped the hunter. "No, no, I can't-"
"The Deima policy is going to change soon, hopefully," Aloy told him. "That's part of why I need to speak to your Master. For now, just take the medicine."
Gingerly, almost fearfully, the Bacchan reached out shaking hands and grasped the dried fungus, then quickly shoved them in his mouth. "Herbs," he croaked, sounding surprised as he chewed and swallowed. "I'm healed…"
"You've proven your identity, huntress," stated one of the hunters. "Come, come. We'll take you to our settlement."
"Finally," Aloy sighed.
Some communication passed between the Bacchan who had been harvesting the blood of the dead Machines and the ones who had confronted Aloy, and then, at last, the hunting party led Aloy through the trees. The walk was embarrassingly short before the sounds of a tribe echoed through the woods, and Aloy had to bite back her irritation that she'd been so close; but there was no time to be annoyed at herself, she needed to focus on why she was here.
The settlement was as she remembered it: people everywhere, clad more in metal than cloth, milling about under a network of houses and bridges strung up in the trees. As she followed the group she'd come in with, Aloy's attention was suddenly interrupted by someone calling her name.
"Aloy?!" Brin exclaimed, jogging over to her, the mess of blue cloth strips dangling from his headpiece swaying wildly. "Is that truly you?"
"Brin?" Aloy asked, stopping short to smile at her friend. "Hey, yeah, it's me. How are you?"
"Quite well indeed," Brin answered, giggling slightly. "Our tribe flourishes, now that the Annihilator is gone, there is much joy to be had. I myself am to be wed soon."
"Wed?" Aloy blinked, stunned. "They…They're letting you take a mate, even though you're not from their tribe?"
"These are my people, Aloy," Brin chuckled. "I may not have been born of them, but I sought them out through the blood. The blood unites us, you see?"
"Uh…well, congratulations," Aloy told him. "I'm happy for you."
"Yes, yes," Brin nodded wildly, his grin just visible under his massive headdress. "Now, what brings you? I didn't see you coming. And…where is the Executioner?"
"I had to leave him behind for this trip," Aloy told him. "Something big's going on, Brin, and I'm here to ask for help. Do you have a new Master?"
"Oh, yes!" Brin exclaimed, his strips of fabric swinging everywhere. "Yes, there is always a Master, the one most experienced in the blood. She knows of the vision Master Itsurk was granted at the end of his life, and she knows of you, Aloy, I'm sure she'll be willing to offer whatever it is you need. Go on, then! Enough wasting your time with me, I'm sure you have much to do." He giggled again, in that unhinged way that still made Aloy wince, but she smiled.
"We'll talk more later," she promised him, and then she turned for the altar where she'd first met Itsurk. A cluster of tribesmen were gathered around the space she remembered, some of them from the hunting party that had brought her here, and she was also relived to see Volag in the group.
"Huntress," rumbled the muscular hunter as she stepped closer. "You've returned to us."
"Volag," Aloy greeted. "I'm glad to see you. I wish I had time to catch up, but I need to speak to your new Master."
"Of course," Volag nodded, and he turned towards the pile of Machine scrap, though Aloy didn't see anyone sitting on the throne fashioned from a Shell-Walker's container. "Master Kara! A guest bids you come forth!"
"I'm aware, I'm aware!" croaked the voice of an old woman, and then a figure shuffled around from behind the altar.
Long hair, matted and gray with metal, draped messily over a hunched, crooked frame, though she didn't seem as emaciated or twisted as Itsurk had been. She leaned on a large branch for support, but when she raised a hand to brush her wiry locks from her pale, scarred face, her motion seemed strong enough, and her eyes, while milky, weren't jagged and inhuman.
"Let me see," she wheezed, hobbling close to Aloy until Aloy could smell the metal on her breath. "A flash of red hair, power from the Old Ones shining on the armor…you are the Seeker." She grinned, baring her silver teeth. "The huntress who felled the great beast, yes, unmistakeable, you are. I did suspect it was you who traversed the land - many doubted, for you lacked the power to control the Father's children, yet I knew you, and you have come. Now, the question is why?"
"I've come to ask for your help," Aloy told her.
The new Bacchan Master hacked a wheezing laugh. "Yes!" she rasped. "So I imagine! The Father's children bear witness to the Exodus, yes, and of course you are at the heart of it all. Such it is with you, huntress - where you walk, great changes soon follow, as the winds herald the storm! And, like a great thunderstorm, the land left behind when it passes is grateful that it came…the land that survives, that is." She cackled again, leaning on her staff for support, then gave Aloy another grin. "Well? Out with it, then."
"The Humanoids have declared war on humanity," Aloy said. "They're gathering in the dead lands, and will march on us in about eighteen days. I'm gathering everyone who will fight them just the north of the dead lands - I know that's Deima territory, but they said they won't stop anyone who joins the fight, and the Corsair have already promised their blades. Can you please rally your hunters and send them there too, add your numbers to the army?"
"Hmm…" Kara snickered. "Why?" she asked. "Why should we give ourselves for this cause? The Father does not hate the Humanoids as he does man, to wipe them out would be to go against his wishes. What do we stand to gain from this battle?"
"A future," Aloy answered calmly. "The Humanoids want to replace humans, and in doing so they'll take away everything it means to be alive. Their creator, ELEUTHIA, she's HEPHAESTUS's sister - uh, the Father of Machines is her brother - and she needs proof that that's wrong, that's why she's letting this fight happen. And," she added, suddenly remembering Itsurk's final vision, "she's promised to help rebuild GAIA if we win. The, uh, the tree Itsurk saw when he drank the Annihilator's blood, the one HEPH - er, the Father of Machines - was part of, and wants to go back to, she'll help us rebuild it if we kill her Humanoids and prove that they're not right. The Father of Machines will get to go home, he won't be alone and angry anymore, ELEUTHIA will make it happen sooner; the Derangement will end, and…and he'll get to have his revenge on the Masters, the ones who cursed him with a life he wasn't supposed to have, just like he wants. It's…it's for the Father of Machines, as much as it is for humanity."
"Hmm…" The Bacchan woman's smile had dropped entirely, her head shaking. "I do not know of this," she murmured. "I must consult with the blood, sleep on what I dream-"
"There's no time!" Aloy shouted, struggling to keep a handle on her impatience. "You need to get your fighters together, send them all to where we're gathering, and then once they get there, they need to be organized into the army. We have eighteen days, and we need every minute we can save. Please, Kara…I was promised your tribe owed me a debt for killing the Annihilator. If you won't do this for yourselves, and you won't do it for the Father of Machines, then at least do it to pay me back."
"The Father is far more precious to us than any debt," Kara sneered. "However…" She frowned thoughtfully, then turned to Volag. "Volag!" she shouted. "Bring me the Forbidden Blood! I shall taste but a drop, perhaps that will illuminate the path."
"Yes, Master," Volag said, bowing, and he turned for the pile of scrap.
"The wanderer brought us yet more powerful blood than that of the Annihilator," Kara told Aloy. "Blood you spilled, where the land meets the sea, yes?"
"The Leviathan's blood?" Aloy gasped. "Is - Is Kryse here?"
"Yes," Kara nodded, "he was just about to leave when the Exodus began; he chose to stay with us, out of curiosity and fear. You will find him in his guest housing, should you wish to."
"Master," Volag's voice spoke up, and he returned, handing the Bacchan woman a canteen. "As you requested," he said.
"Good, good," Kara hissed. "Yes, bring it here." Her bony hands grasped the canteen, opening it with a strength her hobbled frame suggested she shouldn't have had. "One drop," she whispered, dipping her finger into the canister and removing it, stained with thick, metallic oil. "One glimpse. We shall see what the Father of Machines wishes for."
The Bacchan Master licked her finger clean, and Volag took the canteen back as she choked and crumpled, thrashing on the ground. Aloy waited impatiently, and somewhat nervously, remembering what had happened the last time she saw someone taste the powerful blood of one of HEPHAESTUS's new hunter-killers. Kara moaned and whimpered, then eventually stilled and calmed.
"Yes," she rasped, hauling herself to her feet, leaning heavily on her staff, "I see. You speak true, huntress; above all else, the Father of Machines wishes to return home. Though there is no love lost between him and his sister, to go home is his deepest desire." Her clouded eyes fixed on Aloy again. "If we help you win this fight, then the Father will get to go home?" she asked.
"Yes," Aloy avowed. "With ELEUTHIA on our side to help us rebuild GAIA, it shouldn't take too long for his home to be rebuilt, so he can go back to it."
"Then their wishes - and thus, our wishes - are one," Kara stated, and she turned to her assistant. "Volag! Gather the hunters, and prepare for this venture."
"Yes, Master," Volag nodded, and he turned to go.
"This will take time," Kara told Aloy. "Aside from the welcome parties we've sent to guard the border, our people have not left the Oasis in countless generations; to rally our fighters and amass supplies will take several days."
"How many days?" Aloy asked. "In eighteen days, the Humanoids begin the war."
"I cannot say," Kara admitted, shaking her head, her metallic hair flying. "Word must be sent to our outposts and wandering hunting parties, supplies must be gathered; all of this will take time. You are of course welcome to stay as our honored guest in the meantime, until the time comes for you to lead us to this battle."
"Is there anything I can do to help preparations go faster?" Aloy inquired.
"I imagine so," Kara chuckled. "We need blood, and food, and other such supplies; as a skilled huntress, I'm sure you can lend us aid in these endeavors."
"Then that's what I'll do," Aloy promised.
"Volag will direct you, then," Kara nodded. "Now, off with you. I must meditate on these developments." And without waiting for a response, she turned and shuffled away.
"Thank you," Aloy called after her, but the old woman didn't respond. Sighing, Aloy turned and headed in the direction Volag had gone.
Already, there was a distinct shift in the mood in the settlement - voices were hushed and urgent, people were moving more quickly between the trees. Aloy scanned the crowd for Volag, but her eyes caught on a black figure by a campfire.
"Kryse!" Aloy called, pushing her way to the Corsair outlander. "Kryse, howdy!"
"Aloy?" Kryse asked, turning to her in surprise. "Well, howdy there, little missy! What brings y'all here?" His dark eyes narrowed. "Where's your partner?"
"I had to leave him behind," Aloy explained quickly. "Kryse, the Humanoids have declared war on mankind, they're gathering in the dead lands and will march in eighteen days. Everyone who will fight them is gathering just north of the dead lands - in Deima territory, but the Deima have promised not to interfere. The Corsair are already going there, and now the Bacchan are preparing to join them."
"Hmm…" Kryse frowned. "So that's the meaning behind the Exodus."
"Will you fight?" Aloy pleaded. "Please, Kryse, this is so important, and we need every fighter we can get."
"Aye," Kryse nodded, to her surprise. "If you say this is important, I believe you."
"Then…can you please go now, and tell Nil when you get there that the Bacchan will be joining us?" Aloy asked. "Please? Master Kara said that the preparations are going to take several days, so we'll be a while, but I want to send a message ahead. And - and he'll explain what's going on to you, if you go now, I promise."
"Aye, aye, calm down, little lady!" Kryse chuckled. "I'll get going now. You're of course welcome to take my guest lodgings here in the meantime, if it please ye." He met her eyes then, grim and serious. "After what y'all did at the festival, I'd be a blasted fool not to trust ye," he said. "I'll do what I can. Is there anything else you want me to tell your partner when I see him?"
Aloy swallowed, suddenly nervous, and she thought about it for a long minute. Tell Nil that she couldn't override Machines without her Focus? No, there was no point in that. Tell him she missed him?…No, no, there was no point in that either… "No," she replied at last. "There's…nothing else he needs to know. He'll understand enough."
"If you say so," Kryse laughed. "Right then. I'll be seeing you on the battlefront, little lady. May your seas stay calm, and your horizon clear of storms."
"Yours too," Aloy told him. "And please be careful."
"Aye," Kryse nodded, and he bustled away.
Feeling slightly relieved that at least Nil would know to expect the Bacchan's assistance, Aloy allowed herself to take a breath for the first time since leaving his side. Looking around, in the increasing chaos, she saw Brin's unmistakeable blue-clad figure standing by a woman with long, dark hair. They appeared to be talking earnestly, and as Aloy watched, the woman brushed aside the fabric strips of Brin's headdress and quickly kissed him, then hurried off before Aloy could look away.
Smiling, Aloy walked over to meet Brin where he was leaving. "Is that her?" she asked the former Banuk. "The one you're going to be marrying?"
"Hm?" Brin turned to her, then giggled. "Ah, yes," he replied. "My dear Mari. We were just discussing this new development. A march from the Oasis…unheard of for this tribe…"
"Are you two going to join us?" Aloy asked.
"I will come," Brin answered, "but she is no hunter. No, she is a Seer, and a very gifted one - indeed, when I first came here, it was she who most helped me understand the visions I'd glimpsed, helped me join these people in their love for the Father of Machines. I am quite fortunate, yes."
"Are you…sure you're okay with leaving her behind?" Aloy questioned. "You seem…I mean, I can't ask you to separate from someone you love."
"Separate?" Brin cackled. "No, no, we will not be apart! I go now to hunt the blood of Longlegs, and I will split the blood of the same Machine between two vials each, to be split between us when I depart; at the apex of the moon on every fourth night, she and I shall drink the blood of the same Machine at the same time, and so be together, no matter how far this journey may take me. You see? Through the blood, we are always as one."
"…Whatever works for you, Brin," Aloy sighed, though she smiled. "Would you like some help hunting Longlegs, so you can stay in touch with Mari?"
"Oh, yes," Brin nodded. "Help would be much appreciated. I imagine all the hunters who will go forth would appreciate help from you, huntress."
"I'll do as much as I can," Aloy promised.
"Then come," Brin hissed. "I go now, no time to waste!"
"Right behind you," Aloy said, and she followed him out of the Bacchan settlement, bow already in hand.
No time to waste indeed.