A/N: Here we go! A little early, right?
Well, that's because today is pretty special. As of posting it is January 10, 2024. Exactly one year since I started writing fanfiction. Now, A Digital Mother is considerably newer than Hearthfire but since I want to celebrate a year of writing, I thought I'd do something really special.
I'm doing double uploads to both Hearthfire and A Digital Mother. Two chapters each in a single day, making four in total! I've been working on this for a while and its been exhausting, but I hope you like it! I'll be posting one in the morning and one in the late afternoon/evening.
Oh, I wanted to let you know I corrected a continuity error. I was doing some research and realized that the Nora face paint is meant to symbolize family ties, not their jobs. Kind of confusing, considering how they're named in the games. So, I went back and corrected a small reference to that in chapter 3.
Thank you so much for your support for this story! Your comments and reviews are what has kept me writing, and I appreciate them all. I hope you enjoy the chapter. Please leave a comment or review with your thoughts and opinions!
A Digital Mother
Chapter 8
Rost
Rost carefully observed as the team of Seekers combed through the ruins Aloy and Vala had discovered. They were meticulously investigating the underground structure, searching for the bodies of the brave souls who'd lain entombed within for so many centuries. Rost felt… conflicted about the whole situation. On the one hand, finding one of the bunkers of the Alpha's had to be providence. A sign from the All-Mother. On the other hand, its discovery meant that Aloy had been in danger.
Now, Rost was fully aware that he could not keep his daughter from danger. She had a long and treacherous road ahead of her. He just didn't think the danger would begin so soon. Because of this, he had resolved to begin her training as soon as possible. Still, it would have to wait a little longer.
The discovery of the bunker had become one of the major topics discussed by the Matriarchs at the annual meeting and had led to Rost leading this team of Seekers. At first, Rost was unsure if he counted as a proper Seeker, since he had originally been a Death Seeker whose spirit had been returned by the All-Mother, but the High-Matriarchs resolved that issue by conveying the traditional Seeker blessing upon him.
They'd gotten rather used to the ritual, since they had created no less than 27 Seekers in the time since Aloy's birth. Every year saw a few young Braves request the blessing following their completion of the Proving. Once it is given, they were usually handed over to Karst for training and lessons on what to expect in the realms beyond the Sacred Lands before being assigned a team and heading out. So far, only the Banuk actually knew that any Nora were leaving the Sacred Lands, of course. Most Seekers went about disguised while in Carja and Oseram territory. Nora relations with the Carja could be described as tense if one was being generous and their relationship with the Oseram was practically non-existent so the Seekers tried to keep a low profile.
So, here he was. Watching a team of other Seekers, including Karst and Fassa, hack away at the spikes of rock and ice that blocked one of the doorways. It was rough going, but they were dedicated. The people who had died here deserved a proper burial out in the open. Not to be entombed here for eternity. Already they'd recovered 14 bodies and what appeared to be 6 working Focuses. Still, there were several rooms that they could not access either because they were blocked by ice and rock, such as the room they were currently trying to enter, or because they were sealed by doors that would not open.
Doors that had that odd red light on them. Yes, Rost could see the lights around him, thanks to the Focus temporarily attached to the side of his head. Not that it would stay there. No, it would likely be handed back to High-Matriarch Teersa once the cleanup was finished. He was entirely uncomfortable with using it, partially because he had no clue how it worked! No idea how to manipulate the lights or anything else the device showed him. In that respect, his baby was more advanced.
Since High-Matriarch Teersa had seen fit to return the Focuses to Aloy and Vala a few days ago, the two girls had done practically nothing except play with the odd devices. They'd learned a great deal so far, but Rost was not comfortable enough with the situation to join them. It was just so far out of his area of expertise. In fact, he likely wouldn't be the one leading this team if it wasn't for the fact that he was one of only two Seekers who'd ever entered a ruin of the old ones!
The other, a lovely young dark-skinned woman named Talna, had only just returned from her first Seeking around a month ago. She and her group had ventured into The Claim disguised as Carja merchants and while most of her group spent their time learning how the Oseram built their remarkable inventions, Talna had joined a team on what the Oseram called a delve.
The Oseram were the only tribe Rost knew of that actively explored the ruins of the metal world and it was these expeditions that the Oseram called delving. They would pull up relics of the old world and either give them to their tinkerers for experimentation or sell them depending on what was extracted from the ruin. Compared to her, Rost was inexperienced. He'd only gone into ruins while in pursuit of the marauders he'd been tracking and only paid attention to following them, not exploring or taking relics.
Since Rost was the older, higher-ranking Brave, he was overseeing the expedition but had appointed Talna as his right hand. She had more exploration experience, so she was in charge of the team that was currently hacking away at the spikes of rock and ice. Rost was overseeing the group that was removing the bodies and clearing away what they could. He was pulled from his thoughts by Talna walking up to him.
"As far as we can tell, this is the last room not blocked by a door." She spoke softly. "If we can't get through them, then we won't be able to find out what's inside. There could be more bodies back there."
Rost nodded. "I am unsure of how we would go about it. The Focus allows me to see much, but I am afraid I do not understand what it shows me."
"I'm… hesitant to suggest this, sir but… perhaps your daughter might be able to help us?" Her voice was nervous, almost scared. Rost sighed.
"I'm afraid you're right." He didn't like it. Not one bit, but she had a point. Aloy did know more about how the Focus worked than he did. She could actually use the damn thing, while he just sort of looked around at what it showed him. "Once we have cleared what lies beyond this passage, I will retrieve her. She may be able to get us through the blocked doors, but I don't want her seeing more dead bodies than required."
Aloy
"So, what does this symbol mean?" Aloy asked, excitedly. She was sitting in a secluded spot high up inside the village of Mother's Watch. Lying on the ground next to her was Vala, who was also playing with her Focus. Her brother, Varl, was out in the woods training with their mother.
"It is a representation of a speaker." The voice of GAIA, her new spirit friend replied. "A device that allows the transmission of sound at loud volumes. It is used to indicate audio files and, in this case, volume controls."
"Volume?" Vala asked, confused.
"I think that means how loud something is." Aloy said.
"It does. Very good, Aloy." The little redhead preened at the praise the motherly voice gave her. She snapped out of it when GAIA continued to speak. "If you would like it, I can upload a learning module to your Focuses. There is much data contained within, but for starters it would teach you to read the language used by the device."
"Really?!" Aloy asked, excitedly.
"That would be easier than trying to guess…" Vala admitted, sitting up.
"What other… data? What else can it teach us?!" Aloy couldn't contain herself. Learning the secrets of the old ones? Of the Alpha's? Who could resist?
"It does not contain the sum of all human knowledge," GAIA said, her voice sad, "but it can teach you a great deal. Aside from basic reading and mathematical skills, it can go on to teach you many of the higher educational disciplines. Advanced engineering, programming, basic medical knowledge, and much more. Along with educational data, the package contains some media. Music, literature, and entertainment programs that I have pulled from my memory. They are not all complete, but I believe you might enjoy them."
Aloy was vibrating in excitement. Sharing a beaming grin with Vala, the two girls practically begged GAIA to give them the information. Soon enough, she could see what GAIA called a 'progress bar' floating in front of her. It wasn't in her immediate field of view, meaning she could still see and play with her Focus, but she was able to keep an eye on it.
The two girls continued to play, occasionally asking GAIA to explain a symbol or a concept they didn't understand. Still, Aloy found herself glancing at the progress bar every few seconds. It either seemed to be moving ridiculously fast or painfully slow yet she couldn't stop watching it! Eventually it was nearly complete.
"Your Focuses will temporarily reset once the download is complete. They will shut down briefly but will reactivate after a few seconds. Once they do, you should see a new icon on the main menu."
Sure enough, the moment Aloy saw the bar fill to completion her Focus squeaked, and the lights went out. Having been using it near constantly for the last few days, the world felt a little duller once the lights were gone. Still, the excitement was palpable with both girls nearly bouncing with anticipation. It was either an hour or half a minute later, but the devices squeaked again, and the lights reappeared. True to GAIA's words, there was a new symbol floating in what she called the 'main menu.' GAIA said it was supposed to look like a book with something floating over it.
Unfortunately, before either of them was able to tap the icon, they were interrupted by Aloy's father approaching them. He looked tired, dirty, and kind of damp, but both were fully aware that he had been exploring the ruin they'd found with the other Seekers and were eager to discover what they'd found.
"Daddy!" Aloy shouted, happily bounding towards him and, ignoring how dirty he was, gave him a huge hug.
"Hello, little one." He replied, returning her hug. "Have the two of you been having fun?"
"Uh huh!" She nodded in affirmation.
"Good." He smiled. "I'm sorry to say this, but you won't be able to spend the day playing tomorrow. The other Seekers and I need your help. There are a few doors down in the ruin we can't access. You said you were able to open one of the locked doors before, right?"
"Sure!" Aloy said, excited.
"It was kind of confusing, but we were able to make it work." Vala added.
Aloy's dad nodded. "Then tomorrow the two of you will accompany me into the ruins to try and unlock the doors." This, of course, prompted the eyes of both girls to start shining with excitement and joy.
The next day, Aloy was giddy once again as her father helped her and Vala climb down into the ruin. Vala's mother, Sona, was also with them wearing a small Seeker mark attached to her belt. She wasn't exactly happy about them having wound up down there, nor that they were going back, but she did say she was proud of how they were handling it. The last member of their group was Talna, who Aloy thought was very nice.
"It's hard to imagine people living down here." Aunt Sona muttered as they entered the room where all the bodies had been before. They weren't there anymore though. Aloy's father and the Seekers had already removed them.
"I imagine it wasn't frozen over when they were alive." Miss Talna commented.
"No. It was not." Aloy looked over to see that Vala had also heard GAIA's voice.
The nice spirit lady had asked that they not tell anybody her name, and neither she, Aloy's daddy, nor Granny Teersa wanted anybody to know that they were still hearing her voice through the Focus. Granny Teersa said that GAIA was super important and that everybody would bother her if the rest of the tribe knew Aloy or Vala could hear her and that didn't sound very nice. She seemed to talk to Aloy more than Vala though neither were sure why. Aloy liked GAIA, who kept speaking.
"The environmental controls malfunctioned after the personnel died, meaning everything has frozen over. This also led to the creation of the rock formations. It may be possible to reactivate them if the control room is intact and their systems have not decayed. That would also allow the water accumulated on the floor to drain away."
Aloy didn't really get what she meant, but it sounded like they might be able to melt the ice and remove the water if the 'en-vi-ron-mental controls' weren't broken. Maybe they'd find them? The group continued on through the halls, with Aloy and Vala looking around in interest. They'd been a little too scared to really pay attention the last time they were down there.
There were clear signs of the Seeker's work. Tools still lying around, rock formations that blocked doors and windows were gone, and obviously the bodies were gone. This time though, Aloy paid close attention to the glowing panels that still floated above a few of the tables she could see. Most of them were fuzzy or distorted but a few looked like they could be interacted with. She wondered what they were for but couldn't approach since they were being shepherded through the ruin by her father and Auntie Sona.
"Here we are." Miss Talna said, pointing at a door. No wonder Aloy and Vala hadn't seen it last time they were there. It had been behind an opening that was completely blocked by rock and ice spikes. GAIA called them 'stalac-mites and stalc-tites.' Aloy wasn't sure she could say those properly, or what they really meant. "This is the first door we can't open."
"Well, girls? What do you think?" Her father asked. Aloy and Vala tapped their focuses. "I can see the red circle, but I don't know how to make it do anything."
"The red circle means it won't open. It's locked." Aloy told him. GAIA had explained that it meant the power to the door had also been cut.
"Last time, we had to follow the purple lines coming out of the door. Aloy, look." Vala was pointing. Sure enough, there were more purple lines that led through the wall to another room.
"This way." Aloy said to the group. They moved along the passage to another closed door.
"Why is this one blue?" Aloy's father asked. He was the only other member of the group wearing a Focus.
"That means it will open if you have a Focus." Aloy replied. Stepping forward, she reached up and spun the ring of blue light. The door opened with a 'hiss.' Inside, there was another panel that showed the orientation of different circles. The problem was, there were only three on the panel and four on the wall nearby. One of the lights was out.
"The combination panel is damaged." GAIA's voice said in their ears. "I will attempt to access the data to discover the missing link. Aloy, please scan the console to the left of the panel." Aloy did as requested. The floating purple panel was badly distorted, but she scanned it anyway. "Thank you, little one. Accessing. Please turn the left middle ring once to the left."
Nodding at each other, Aloy and Vala moved to the lights on the wall. Starting on the left, she turned the ring of light until the red marker was facing down. Then turned the next one to the left. On her right, Vala was turning the other two rings. When the last clicked into place, they heard a 'hiss' and a 'click' from the other room.
The two girls excitedly led the group back to the first door. This time, Vala reached up and spun the lock, causing the door to open. Vala and Aloy high-fived as the door slid open, grinning widely. Aloy felt a hand on her shoulder. Looking up, she could see her daddy smiling at her.
"Well done." He said. To her right, she could see Auntie Sona congratulating Vala as well.
"We should explore a bit." Miss Talna cut in. "There might be more locked doors."
"I do not like the idea of taking the children further into this ruin, but I suppose you are correct." Auntie Sona grimaced.
They continued on. Mostly it was just rooms full of frozen over equipment that they didn't understand and looked pretty broken. Miss Talna did insist on entering every room first, and there were a few they wouldn't let either of the girls enter. She had a feeling there were more bodies in them. Aloy and Vala did have to open another door, but they convinced her father to be the one to open the unlocked door. He was hesitant and clumsy, but he managed it. Inside the room was a series of desks, all of them with distorted panels glowing above them.
"This is the primary control core." GAIA spoke into their ears. "Environmental control should be just to your left." Aloy looked at the desk she was indicating. She surreptitiously moved over to it while the others began exploring the adjacent rooms. Vala followed close behind.
"What do I do?" She whispered.
"Please scan the mound on top of the desk. The panel should be projecting out of it." Aloy did as instructed. "Accessing. Power to the control core has failed and the geothermal generator is operating at minimal capacity. I believe I can bring them, and the rest of the facility controls back online if we repair the power systems."
"So, how do we do that?" Vala asked.
"I am afraid you lack the engineering knowledge to do so. We will have to wait. For now, you can attempt to restore emergency power to the environmental controls by replacing the power cell. The cell will be more than enough to operate environmental control indefinitely. There should be some in a storage cabinet within the control core."
The two girls looked around wildly. There were a few cabinets at the back of the room which they attempted to open. Some were frozen shut, but they managed to open the middle one. Inside were three odd cylinder things. Aloy scanned one.
"Is this it?" She asked.
"Yes. Take one and go to the left wall. There should be a bank of rectangular devices." Aloy did as instructed. "Open the third one from the left. Two from the bottom. Your Focus should give you access. Good. Now remove the damaged cell but be careful." The redhead gingerly pulled the blackened cylinder from the slot.
"What now?"
"Place the new cell in the slot and close the hatch. Then move back to the console." Aloy did so. The panel flickered and disappeared before coming back to life. It didn't look distorted at all now! She didn't know what any of the symbols meant, but she could see them! "Tap the large blue button at the bottom of the screen."
The moment she did so, there was a loud mechanical groaning noise followed by a rattling sound. Panicked voices filled the air as the adults came running back into the room. Auntie Sona scooped up Vala while Aloy's daddy did the same to her.
"What happened?" Her father asked, frantically. The noise had stopped.
"We fixed it!" Aloy said, proudly pointing at the screen.
"Fixed what?" Auntie Sona asked.
"What did you do?" Her father looked at her suspiciously.
"We turned the en… enviro-mental con-trol's back on." Vala explained.
"And… what are those?" Miss Talna asked.
"They'll make everything not frozen!" Aloy replied with a grin. "Look!" Sure enough, the ice around a vent was already beginning to melt, as was the ice covering the floor. That made things a little wet, but it wasn't a problem since Aloy was in her father's arms.
"I… suppose that will be helpful, but not if it floods everything!" Talna told them. "What about the water?"
"It appears to be draining away." Auntie Sona had put Vala back down and was pointing at a spot where the water was draining into a crack in the floor next to the wall.
"Let's get out of here." Aloy's father said. "Before the girls start messing with anything else."
"Aw!" Aloy pouted. "But I want to turn everything else on!"
"No." His voice was stern. Aloy knew better than to argue with that voice. "I will consider letting you come back when you're a little older but for now, we are leaving." Auntie Sona was nodding her head in agreement.
Teersa
Teersa sighed to herself as she looked over the final report by the Seekers who were clearing the ruins. Whatever Aloy and Vala had done made it far easier to navigate the bunker, so they'd finished faster than expected. In total, they had recovered 28 bodies and 9 working Focuses, not counting the two owned by Aloy and Vala. They had found enough Focuses for every body, but most did not work. Rost had also returned his to her, though the High-Matriarchs were likely to give it back once Aloy and Vala could teach someone else how to use them.
It made sense for the War-Chief and her second to possess the relics of the Alpha's. Especially since Aloy already had her own. Teersa still remembered the All-Mother's descriptions of what they could do. The Goddess had told them that the Focus could show 'a hunter the weaknesses of their prey, or a skilled healer the exact treatment needed to save the life of their patient.'
If they could figure out how to make the devices do that, then they would be invaluable. So far, Teersa and her fellow High-Matriarchs had come up with 4 candidates to receive a Focus. Sona and Rost, obviously but the other two were Karst and Fassa. They were the leaders of the Seekers, being the most experienced of them and so it made sense for the two of them to possess the devices. The other 5 would wait until deserving bearers were discovered. Though, one was likely to be kept in the possession of the High-Matriarchs at all times.
This was all conjecture, of course, until Aloy and Vala figured out how to show others how the little things worked. Considering the two did almost nothing but play with them the entire time they were within Mother's Watch, Teersa doubted it'd be long before that happened. Until then, she had other things to worry about.
Some of the Seekers had taken on the role of spy, considering the rising tensions between the Carja and other tribes. The Derangement was apparently having a devastating effect on the Carja and all reports said that their Sun King was beginning to behave irrationally. Already, Sona had stepped up production of weapons, improvements on defenses, and increased patrols. The Carja had already tried invading the Sacred Lands once a few generations ago. They were not keen on being caught unawares should the Sun King decide to attack. Word had also been sent to their Banuk allies, just in case.
Speaking of the Banuk, the first hunting party had been a roaring success. Young Aratak, the second to the party leader, had done what he'd claimed and become the first Banuk to kill a Stalker. Indeed, that first party had successfully created a large map of new machine sights and migration patterns, while simultaneously making a dent in the population, before the Banuk returned to The Cut. Two more hunting parties had arrived since with the last being led by Aratak, rather than Enak. His first time leading a hunting party, according to Tesona, who had led the Nora delegations to all three joint hunts.
They'd been most grateful for both the ample hunting opportunities and for the warning about the Carja. Trade between the two was increased and now any Nora Seeker who ventured into The Cut was welcomed with much hospitality, though still had to prove themselves a skilled hunter if they were new. The last Banuk hunting party had even been invited to a celebration in Mother's Crown following the end of the last expedition. No outsider was allowed into the Embrace, of course. That could only be allowed for diplomatic envoys or friends of the tribe and had only happened three times in all of Nora history.
Indeed, their relationship with the Banuk and the information brought back by the Seekers from Carja and Oseram lands meant that the Nora tribe was stronger than ever. Each and every Brave was armed with the new and improved bows, along with at least one other weapon of their own choice. Most had tripcasters or slings. As for the villages, they were better defended and better stocked than ever.
Mother's Vigil, once destroyed by the marauders Rost had chased to the ends of the earth, had been fully rebuilt, repopulated, and had been given high, sturdy wooden walls. It was manned by a decent sized garrison now. What few traders that still came through Daytower were escorted to the village by groups of Braves but were no longer allowed inside. There was even talk of building large crossbows on the walls of their villages to defend against machine attacks against the walls.
This had happened twice since the beginning of the Derangement with the last resulting in four casualties amongst the residents and defenders of Mother's Tears. Of course, they weren't entirely sure how to build such things. The last group of Seekers returning from The Claim had only made mention of seeing a prototype of such a device. Still, if the Carja did decide to attack, the Nora and Banuk would be ready.
Aloy
"Bow." Aloy said the word slowly. It was floating in the air above her bow, only it wasn't Nora glyphs. No, it was in the language of the Old Ones. She'd started on the learning module GAIA had given her the day after returning from the ruin but was still trying to memorize the alphabet. Vala was doing slightly better, but Aloy said that was just because she was a little older.
"Come, Aloy." Her father called her. "It is time we descended to the valley. Follow." Aloy sprung up and ran after him. She was starting her training today! They began to descend into a secluded valley with her dad explaining things as they went. "The wilds can be dangerous, even with our patrols. You must stay close and do as I say. No wandering this time. Promise me."
"I promise." Aloy said. She really didn't want to get in trouble again.
"See here." He pointed. "Do you remember what this is called?"
"Salvebrush." Aloy replied.
"Very good." She preened a little. "What is its use?"
"Its berries are medicinal. Always keep some in your medicine pouch."
"Excellent." He patted her shoulder. "Take a few now and put them in your pouch." Aloy did as instructed, removing 12 berries from the nearby plants and putting them in the pouch hung at her belt.
"Come now. Further downriver, we will find a herd of machines. Pay close attention if you wish to learn how to hunt." Aloy followed after him eagerly.
"Are they dangerous?"
Her father nodded. "All machines are dangerous, Aloy. Now, more than ever. Their power must be respected, but do not worry. I will be beside you the whole way." She gave him a winning smile. They continued walking through the woods for some time until her father suddenly crouched down. "There is a machine coming. Into the tall grass, quickly."
Aloy crouched as well, following her father as he hid himself in a patch of tall redgrass. She peeked out of the stalks to see the machine that was coming. "It's little." She whispered. It was! It had one big eye, two legs, and a stubby tail but wasn't even taller than Aloy herself.
"That is a Watcher, Aloy. While in packs, they alert other machines to the presence of humans but can sometimes be found alone. You must learn to avoid their gaze if you are to survive in the wild. Now stay still and wait for it to pass us."
"Try scanning it, Aloy." GAIA's voice sounded in her ear. Driven by curiosity, Aloy did so. The machine glowed, and her focus seemed to pull some kind of information from it. A line of triangles appeared on the ground, and the Watcher appeared to be following it!
"Come now, across the trail to that patch of tall grass." Her father said in a rushed whisper. They crouch-sprinted across the trail and into another hiding spot. "The slower you move, the quieter you will be. Remember that." Aloy nodded.
They kept going, avoiding two more Watchers as they went along the trail. Aloy made sure to scan them each time until they passed beyond the range of the Watchers. Her heart was thumping with excitement. Aloy loved it out here! Just her and her daddy, plus GAIA in her ear, out in the woods and getting to learn about machine hunting? What wasn't to love?
"You did well." Her father told her. "They didn't see or hear you."
"I think I can see their path." Aloy told him, causing her father's eyes to widen in surprise. "When I scanned it, I saw a trail on the ground that the Watchers seemed to be following."
"That… is incredibly useful." He told her, impressed. "To know the route a machine will take is invaluable. Perhaps the Focus truly will be an asset. If what you say is true, I may have to accept one when the High-Matriarchs decide it is time." He turned away, gazing out in front of them. "Enough for now. Stay with me. The heard is close."
Aloy followed along down the trail but was distracted by something she saw on a nearby rock formation. It was a boy! A teenager climbing up a Brave trail! Wait… she knew him! "Look! It's Teb!" Teb was a nice boy she knew in the village. He would look after her sometimes when her daddy was off doing stuff as captain of the guard.
"Ah, yes." Her father muttered. "I forgot Than was taking some of the hopefuls out to these trails today. Teb seems to be lagging behind a bit if he's alone." Up on the trail, Teb spotted them and waved.
"What's he doing?" Aloy asked, confused but waving back.
"Training for the Proving. You'll be doing the same soon enough if you still plan on becoming a Seeker." Aloy's head shot to her father, eyes wide.
"I do! I want to be a Seeker!" She did! Being a Seeker meant going outside the Sacred Lands! Exploring ruins! Aloy loved exploring!
"Then listen close and follow." Her father smiled at her and kept moving, with Aloy close behind. As they crossed a bridge, he shouted, scaring off a pack of machines across the river.
"Why'd you do that?" Aloy asked.
"Despite the Derangement, some machines still startle easily and run." He explained. "Those, you will have to approach by stealth. You'll see. We'll catch them further down the valley. Now, I've already taught you that throwing rocks will distract a machine, yes?" Aloy nodded. He'd explained that to her and Vala just before teaching them about Salvebrush. "Good. Grab a few a wait on that ridge. On my signal, throw them and lure the Watcher over to me."
Aloy did as ordered and rushed for the ridge, grabbing a few rocks as she went. She watched, silently, as her father scrambled down the trail and into some grass. Once he gave the signal, she threw the rock. The Watcher turned and headed closer to him. Just a little farther… there! Her papa leapt out and skewered it with his spear. The rest of the Strider pack was totally unaware. She moved to join him when he waved. Together, they approached the herd of Striders.
"All machines have their weak points, Aloy." He whispered. "Like the eyes. Can you guess another?" She scanned the Strider. Parts of it seemed to be glowing yellow. Maybe that was a weakspot?
"The canister?" She asked. Striders had a canister of Blaze on their backs.
"Very good. Did the Focus show you that as well?" She nodded. "Useful indeed." He muttered. "Now, target either the eye or the canister and be ready to roll out of the way if it charges."
Aloy had already begun learning how to shoot, along with the other children, so she was confident in her aim. She'd even learned how to make her own arrows! The redhead was even trying to convince Old Naka to teach her how to make a bow! She drew an arrow and aimed. The Strider was facing her, so the eye was a better bet. She took a breath and released the arrow. It flew and with a loud 'clang' it went right into the Strider's eye! The machine collapsed without a sound, but the other Strider's saw it fall and bolted away. Aloy stood and cheered! She'd hunted her first machine!
"Well done, Aloy." Her father said, proudly. "That's enough for today. We'll harvest the body and head back."
"I'm proud of you, Aloy." GAIA said, her voice motherly. "Good job." Aloy could only grin like a loon under their praise. They were still harvesting the parts from the Strider when a pained cry echoed through the valley.
"That sounded like Teb!" Aloy said, scared and alarmed.
"Follow, Aloy! Quick!" She bolted after her father as they ran towards the source of the screams. They ran frantically, coming into view of the trail just in time to see Teb fall from the cliff, alerting and angering a pack of Striders. Thankfully, he'd landed behind a bush and some rocks, so they hadn't spotted him yet.
"Damn." Her father cursed. "If they find him, they could kick him to death. If I shoot, it may cause a stampede that will trample him."
"I can see their paths!" Aloy whispered. "I could sneak through and get him out!"
"What? Aloy, no! It's too dangerous."
"If I don't, he'll die!"
"Agh… fine." Her father looked pained.
"I do not like this, Aloy." GAIA said in her ear, "but I do understand. Be careful."
With one last hug from her father, Aloy slid down the cliff into the tall grass. Using her Focus, she scanned the machines around her and, using the skills she'd learned so far, marked their trials so they wouldn't disappear. She took it slow. Only going into the open when she was completely sure she wouldn't be spotted.
Slowly. Agonizingly slowly, she made her way towards Teb. She was nearly caught by a Watcher but managed to dive into the grass before it got angry. She rounded the boulder Teb had fallen behind and approached him.
"Teb! Are you okay?" She whispered.
"Aloy!" He was holding his side, a pained look on his face. "How did you get here?"
"Long story!" She replied. "Follow me!"
Together, they stealthily made their way through the grass and trees with Aloy signaling Teb to stop and wait whenever they were about to cross a machine's path. She didn't know how long it took, her heart pounding in her ears the entire time but eventually they made it back to the ridge where her father was waiting. Reaching down, his strong arms pulled first Aloy, then Teb up and onto the ridge. Safe from the machines.
"Are you alright?" He sounded scared as he hugged her.
"I'm okay." She whispered, equally scared and excited.
"Thank you, Aloy." Teb wheezed. "I don't know how you did that, but I owe you my life. All-Mother bless you."
"Teb!" There was shouting and soon enough, a group of five teenagers led by an older man with a grey beard came running down the slope. All were dressed in traditional Nora garb with hair beads and face paint. Aloy had her beads, but proper face paint had to wait till she was old enough to design one for herself.
Bead strings, woven symbols, and face paint were meant to distinguish the family and occupation of a Nora. It didn't matter where a person wore it but a string of painted beads represented close ties. Family and friends or others with whom the individual Nora shared a strong bond. Most Nora women wore them in their hair, while the men typically attached them to a quiver or wore them as necklaces.
Woven symbols were meant to demark the chosen profession of the Nora, like her father's Brave and Seeker marks, worn as part of his armor. Face paint was meant to show blood relation. Since she was technically not from the same blood family as Rost, she couldn't share his paint. She would get to design her own once she was older to represent 'her' family. The Sobecks.
For now, she simply had a single vertical line just over her left eye. As for her beads, she had one for Rost, one for Alana, one for Elisabet Sobeck, one for Granny Teersa, one for Auntie Sona, one for Varl, and one for Vala. They all had a different pattern or design. She still needed to design one for GAIA.
"Captain!" The older man, Than, shouted as they got closer and spotted Rost. "Did you save him?"
"Aloy did." Her father said, patting her on the shoulder and sounding proud.
"It was incredible." Teb added. "Somehow… she just knew where the machines would go!"
With many questions and congratulations, the party of teenagers accompanied Rost and Aloy back to Mother's Heart. It took forever for Aloy's heart to stop pounding with excitement. She couldn't wait to tell Vala about today!
"You scared me half to death today, Aloy." GAIA's caring voice said in her ear as they were leaving the ridge, "but I'm proud of you."
GAIA
Thanks to Aloy, GAIA now had full control over the bunker at Mother's Watch. Sure, the power was still mostly out, but she could now direct what little was there remotely. She'd also expanded her network as far as she could without having someone tap the Minerva tower in Meridian for her. That would have to wait.
The year following Aloy falling into the ruin had been one of the best of GAIA's digital life. She'd gotten to speak to her baby almost every day! Aloy talked to her, asked her questions, confided in her, relied on her. GAIA's digital heart could just burst with joy! She even got to talk to Aloy's friend, Vala. Such a sweet girl, but with a stubborn streak a mile wide. Rather like Aloy, actually. No wonder they got along.
Still, her joy was killed a little by what her network was showing her. The Carja were mobilizing their army. She could only connect to one Tallneck in Carja territory, but its data showed large troop movements headed north, east, and presumably west. Already a contingent was moving towards Daytower if the data she was receiving was correct. If her fears were accurate, the Sacred Lands of the Nora were about to become a war zone.
A/N: So, what did you think? Please, please, please leave me a comment or review with your thoughts and opinions! I love seeing them and appreciate them all!
The end of this one was another moment where I wanted to pay homage to how a specific canon event would be similar but different thanks to the changes I've made. That will happen a few times, but I will NOT be copying canon verbatim. Just showing how a canon event is changed by the ripples I've created.
I'm a big fan of the ripple effect, and that's how I write. One small change to canon and exploring the ripples that come from it. Of course, that means that things are relatively close to canon at the start, and that things that are unaffected by the ripple will be identical until encountered, but things will get more different from canon the farther out I go.
About the numbers of the Nora. I would guess that pre–Red Raids, there were a few thousand of them in total. Aloy says that 25K is bigger than a tribe so I would estimate that the Carja are somewhere between 15-20K given the size of their territory. The Mad Sun King is also mentioned to have sacrificed thousands. The Oseram are likely somewhere around 10k if I had to guess while the Banuk would be somewhere around 6-7k if you include Ban-Ur. That would put the Nora at somewhere between 2-5K before the Red Raids. Do you think I'm accurate? What are your thoughts on tribe populations? What about the Tenakth, Quen, and Utaru?
About the Focus. I think it has two different methods of producing sound. It must have speakers to project sound at a loud enough volume for everybody to hear, but I think it also works sort of like headphones. Have you ever seen or used headphones that don't go in your ear? They sit on a bone just in front of your ear and project sound into it. I don't know how it works, but I think the Focus works like those. That's how Aloy and Vala can hear GAIA but nobody else can.
About Aloy's face paint. She will be a proud Nora in this story, which means she will have face paint, but what do you all think of the design? Any suggestions? Nothing too ridiculous please. Not like the Tenakth ones in Forbidden West.
Answers to Questions
On FFN
Resurrection99: Thank you!
Dracofighter: My intention is to take it as far as it will go. When I catch up to Forbidden West, I may go on hiatus until the next one is released, but depending on how long it takes that may be a non-issue. Either way, my intention is to go as far as the story can possibly go.
Guest: The changes will be slow, since it makes sense for the limited number of Focuses to be handed out sparingly, but the changes will be there!
MeliodasGremory23: Thank you!
Dreetje: Aloy is one of my favorite characters of all time!
Rios: Thank you!
Vmage2: Now that she's old enough, we'll be seeing a lot more from Aloy's perspective.
Dragon Master 888: I have a plan for the bunker. I don't know about secrets, but Aloy will be using it. I'm glad you went back to the games!
On Ao3
Luna_Shadow_Wolf: Thank you! What did you think of the introduction to the Red Raids?
Jpx0999: The subfunctions are sentient right now, but I don't know yet if I will keep them that way. I could go the canon route and restore them to their original settings but most of them seem relatively peaceful, just scared. So, I'm not sure if I'll have them stay sentient and act as support to GAIA or reset them.
Boudica96: Thank you!
WolvezRock17: I'm glad you're enjoying it!
Reactivegull12: That prayer idea might just happen! Not sure. As for the Red Raids, I have a plan for how the Nora are going to handle it. I think you'll be interested!
TheLoveOfHorizon: Thank you!
Alana_chan: I'm glad you found it too!
Ryanlarsen84: Don't worry! I will not be shipping Vala x Aloy and at present have no plans to do anything horrible to Vala! She was such an interesting character; I wish she'd lived! They will basically be sisters and will probably be very eager to add Beta to their sisterhood when I get to her. As for Teb, we got to see him here! What did you think? As for the Seekers, I have a plan! I think you'll find it interesting.
