The Shard watched as the Nora outcast fought the bandits. With ease he overpowered his assailants, despite their numbers and skill - he was simply their better in all respects. One eventually tried to take him down with a bow whilst he was distracted fighting another, only for the bowmen to be impaled upon a thrown spear, launched by the outcast as he subdued the other raider. Eventually, the remaining raiders fled, unlikely to return. Only then did the outcast allow his exhaustion to show, collapsing to the ground as he tried to catch his breath.

Sudden movement turned the shard's attention toward a set of trees behind the outcast. There, a machine was slowly advancing toward the man - hunting him, it realized. As the outcast regained his breath, the machine made a mistake - perhaps it knocked over a pebble or stepped on a branch. Whatever happened, the outcast sensed the hunter's presence and turned to face it.

Realizing its cover had been blown, the monster charged, ready to go in for the kill. Despite having had time to rest, the outcast was still winded from the previous battle, and though he raised his spear to face the machine, he knew he would not win. That didn't mean he would die without a fight.

Roaring, the sawtooth pounced.

A moment later, it flew into a nearby tree.

Stunned, the outcast stared at the machine, then at his savior - the observing shard. Briefly, the sentient fragment stared at him, examining his features in depth, before turning its attention back to the sawtooth. Focusing on the machine, it began to reach into the automaton's CPU, working to subvert it to its own will.

It took only a matter of moments to subdue and subordinate the machine to the shard's will. Once the process was complete, the sawtooth ran off, no longer seeking the man's death. As it disappeared, the shard turned its attention back toward the outcast, who instantly brandished his spear, daring it to attack him.

The shard stared at him a while longer, then turned away. It had a mission to complete.

Although the exact origin of the Nora's name was a mystery, the most likely source were the crumbling NORAD stations around the Sacred Lands. Some of these likely carried details on where more Faro Plague machines were buried, which would certainly be useful when they woke up in the future. Already, a much larger shard was ambling toward the nearest outpost, ready to harvest the data they would find.

Perhaps this outcast would help them in the future. Then again, perhaps not. True, one individual could alter the destiny of all, but that was still a long shot, by any means...

…..So why did the outcast look so familiar?

XXXXXXXX

"Did you ever see that machine again?" asked Aloy, ever curious.

"Occasionally," replied Rost, who had just finished retelling his tale to Aloy. "Now, though, sightings have become more common. I've seen that machine and its kin on the outskirts of the Sacred Lands, never causing harm, just observing."

"Why?"

"That I do not know. Please, do not concern yourself with this mystery. Focus on the Proving."

"..Of course."

XXXXXXXXXXXX

AN: For the record, I apologize for any OOC tidbits with Rost and Aloy - I'm relying on online walkthrough videos to get their characterization, since I don't have a PS4.

For those wondering, the shard is derived from sentient tissue that Flame grew from the cores within himself, and the shard is functionally equivalent to the sentient conculysts and battlysts. The bigger one mentioned to be headed toward a NORAD outpost is the equivalent of a Teralyst.

So, read and review! This is Flameal15k, signing off!