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Bloodborne belongs to FromSoftware, Horizon Zero Dawn belongs to Guerrilla Games
Chapter 2: The Sport of the Hunt
LOG: The Night: Data Corruption Partial:
Cyrus Bishop: I look back over this increasingly barren planet and wonder, what would have happened if I hadn't ended the Night? Then I think, everything would be so much worse. At least they get to experience the sweet release of death. Not even the biomass devouring capabilities of the Swarm can permanently kill me. As with in Yharnam, each time I die, I reawaken at a lantern. At least the beasts of Yharnam didn't learn.
…/…
"You still haven't answered my question. How did you get into the Embrace?" Aloy asked.
"Let me answer with a question." Cyrus replied. "Do you want an answer you can understand or would you prefer the truth?"
Aloy just raised an eyebrow.
"If you really must know, I am very well-traveled." Cyrus said.
"Then where are you from originally?" Aloy asked.
"A city called Yharnam." Cyrus answered. "You won't find it anywhere on the planet, Yharnam was destroyed long ago."
"I'm sorry." Aloy said.
"Don't be. I'm the one who ensured it was destroyed." Cyrus replied.
"You really don't inspire confidence in your character, you know that right?" Aloy asked. "Why did you destroy your home?"
"First, I didn't destroy it, I made sure that it was destroyed. Subtle difference. As for why? Well, sometimes, the only way to cure a plague is to burn the source. Extrapolate from that what you will." Cyrus vaguely replied.
"You make it even harder to like you." Aloy deadpanned.
"Not trying, Aloy." Cyrus replied.
The two soon made it to the main gate of the embrace. It was rather rudimentary. Large logs whittled to a point and stuck in the ground. The gate itself was broken. Probably from the Scarabs that had made it to Mother's Heart. It was serviceable, but not the best defense. Better than nothing.
The sounds of fighting could be heard from the other side.
"Watch yourselves!" A male voice called out shortly before they heard the sound of a machine dying.
They passed through the gate. The Nora looked at them in surprise.
"A strider!" One of the brave exclaimed.
"An outlander?" Another question.
"When did he pass the gate?" One muttered.
"Is he an enemy?" another asked, leveling a spear at Cyrus.
"They're with me." Aloy announced as she dismounted her strider to speak with the dark sinned man who appeared to be in charge.
Cyrus ignored the resulting conversation between Aloy and the man she greeted as Varl. He knelt over the machine they had destroyed and inspected it. It was similar to the Striders, newer parts, white in color, not designed by Faro.
The Good Hunter noted that a few of the Nora Braves still leveled their spears at him. He rolled his eyes as he walked towards Aloy and Varl.
"Aloy, before you make the journey to Mother's Crown and beyond… is there any chance you could search for Sona? The tribe needs her leadership. I'd go after her myself, if she hadn't commanded me to hold this gate at all costs." Varl asked as he approached.
"Where was she last seen?" Aloy questioned.
"The war party massacre site. A wooded hollow across from Devil's Thirst, on this side of the river. You might be able to pick up her trail there. She went after the killers who attacked the Proving, who killed those we love, who tried to kill you…" Varl answered.
"I get it, Varl. I'll see what we can do." Aloy replied.
"We?" Varl asked.
"The Outlander." Aloy repeated.
"Recent traveling acquaintances." Cyrus interjected.
"I see." Varl replied. "Please, just find them."
"Will do." Aloy said as she turned and left.
Cyrus glanced at the gate before following Aloy.
"So, what have you volunteered me for?" Cyrus asked.
"We're going after the war party who went hunting the killers who attacked the proving." Aloy answered. "The party was massacred near Devil's Thirst."
"Devil's Thirst? And you think I'm ominous." Cyrus joked.
"I never said you were ominous." Aloy countered.
"It's in the subtext." Cyrus said. "Now, what is Devil's Thirst?"
"A ruin of the Metal World built by the Old Ones." Aloy replied.
"The… Old Ones…" Cyrus repeated.
"Yeah, do you not know about the people who lived before us?" Aloy asked.
"You mean humans." Cyrus replied, sighing in relief. "Yes, I do know about them, I just don't call them the Old Ones."
"What do you call them?" Aloy asked.
"The dead." Cyrus answered with a chuckle. "In all seriousness, I prefer the term the ancients."
"Ok then." Aloy replied. "It's getting dark."
"Rest for the night?" Cyrus suggested.
"Yes. There should be a campfire near here." Aloy replied.
Sure enough, there was a large campfire at the fork in the road. Aloy laid out a small bedroll while Cyrus sparked the wood with his flintlock. The dry wood caught fire pretty quickly.
The Good Hunter faced the rising moon. Cyrus raised one hand straight up and held another out to his side in the Make Contact gesture he learned way back in Yharnam. He breathed deeply and closed his eyes.
"Flora of the moon, will of the ancients, I ask that you let this night end. Allow the moon to fall once more and the sun to rise. Let all wake in a new dawn." Cyrus prayed.
He shifted his arms so his right arm was up and the left was out to the side. He repeated his short prayer and shifted arms once more. With it done, he opened his eyes and leaned against a rock. Aloy was looking at him curiously.
"What was that?" Aloy asked.
"A ritual I perform each moonlit night, ever since I left Yharnam." Cyrus answered.
"Why?" Aloy asked.
"You're too curious for your own good, you know." Cyrus stated. "During my time in Yharnam I endured a nightmare that was an endless night. I don't want it to happen again. That's not really important right now. You should rest."
The night passed peacefully. Cyrus stayed quiet, tended the fire and watched the moon as it journeyed across the sky. About one hour before dawn, Cyrus did see a group of strangely dressed people walk by. They seemed to ignore their little camp. Aloy woke up about two hours later and they continued on their journey.
A short way down from the campfire, Cyrus could smell blood. They rounded a bend in the road and found the reason why. A man with white armor and a red headdress was crouched over a few bodies.
"There's danger ahead." The man said as they approached.
"For you maybe, outlander." Aloy replied. "This is Nora land."
"I thought we had left Nora land. How much land do you people actually control?" Cyrus asked.
"The sacred land of the Nora stretches all the way to Daytower." The man replied. "And yes, I know. No trespassers except on pain of death. Though your friend appears to be an outlander too, Nora girl."
"It's Aloy." Aloy responded. "And yes, I know. He's different."
"Honestly, I'd like to see them try and kill me. I take it this is your handiwork?" Cyrus asked, gesturing to the bodies.
"Indeed. Slavers, thieves and killers. The kind that gives honest killers a bad name." The man replied.
"Varl did mention bandit attacks." Aloy muttered.
"And that name is?" Cyrus asked.
"Nil." The man answered.
"Cyrus." Cyrus introduced himself.
"You have the feel of an honest killer about you." Nil said.
"Never fancied myself as one." Cyrus replied. "Always have been a Hunter though, and beasts with the form of men are as good a hunt as any."
"Well, if you feel up for a bit of sport, there's a bandit camp over the rise. The bastards have been holes and preying on any who pass by. Not wandering right into my waiting weapons like good little bandits." Nil replied.
"Sounds like as good of an invitation as any to break up their little party." Cyrus replied.
"It is." Nil said.
"Cyrus?" Aloy asked.
"Aloy, why don't you continue the hunt for your war chief. Investigate the massacre site. I think Nil and I are going on a hunt." Cyrus said.
"I guess I'll meet you back here?" Aloy asked.
"Sounds like a good plan to me." Cyrus said.
Aloy continued off in the direction they were heading earlier while Cyrus and Nil crested the rise and saw the bandit camp in the ruins.
"There's a signal, they light that and more bandits will come running. If you're feeling altruistic, we could also free their captives." Nil said, pointing the specific targets out.
"How do you want to do this?" Cyrus asked. "Pick them off at range with your bow, sneak in, or walk through their front gate and slaughter them like the beasts they are."
"I think I'll follow your lead." Nil said.
"Fearmongering it is." Cyrus muttered. "Pick off the centuries, I'm going to draw their attention."
Nil smirked and took aim. Cyrus began walking towards the entrance of the camp. The soft twangs of Nil's bowstring alerted him that his order was being followed. The Good Hunter smiled as he approached one of the bandits. His footsteps weren't loud enough to alert the man. He got close and slammed his fist into the base of the man's spine. The man fell to his knees and Cyrus grinned.
Using his cosmically inhuman strength, Cyrus rammed his hand in through the man's back and pulled. A great spurt of blood showered Cyrus as he reveled in the man's violent death. His grin turned manic as echoes filled him once more. Blood echoes filled him. This would be fun.
The nearest bandits were horrified at what they had just seen. Not that Cyrus really cared. He withdrew his pistol and the Burial Blade. The nearest bandit wasn't given time to think as Cyrus cut him down. Arrows from Nil soon joined the Hunter's massacre. The camp didn't stand a chance.
Cyrus grinned as he approached the last bandit. An arrow sticking out of his thigh.
"Mercy?" The bandit pleaded.
Cyrus didn't respond. He simply stabbed the man with the Burial Blade. Freeing the hostages was a simple matter of slashing the ropes that held them in place. Though they were grateful to be released, the Nora hostages were still wary of the outlander covered in blood.
A large campfire was set and more than a few Nora were quick to take over. Cyrus vacated the camp rather and met with Nil outside the ruin.
"You understand, don't you?" Nil asked.
"Understand… what?" Cyrus replied.
"The thrill of the challenge; the life leaving their eyes." Nil answered. "It feels good, doesn't it?"
"I would be lying if I said no." Cyrus responded. "Then again, I think you and I find a different joy in."
"Oh?" Nil prodded.
"Yes. You seem much more comfortable at range, and that saddens me. At range, you don't get the rush of madness that comes from bathing in their blood." Cyrus said.
"Much like that first bandit who's spine you pulled out?" Nil asked.
"Indeed, Nil." Cyrus said. "Now, I think this is where we depart."
"True, there are more bandits out there. More camps to empty. Perhaps we'll meet again?" Nil suggested.
"Perhaps. Farewell Nil." Cyrus replied as he turned to leave.
The Good Hunter made his way down to the river below the camp. It wouldn't take long to wash any loose blood off. His thoughts wandered as he sat in the river. The ruin that the bandits had made into a camp was rather familiar, as were the ruined towers in the distance. Aloy wasn't back yet, so he figured that he wouldn't be missed if he explored the ruins.
The ruined city was indeed familiar. He may have only visited Colorado Springs a couple times, but considering that his last visit was about a month before going under, the memory was still fresh. And the ruin, though ruined, still held the familiarity of the old American city it once was.
Loud thuds and mechanical whirring drew his attention to a giant machine walking around the city. It was giraffe-like in its appearance, but with a giant disk as its head and several stories tall. The giant machine walked by him with no acknowledgement of his presence. Cyrus watched warily as it wandered down the ruined city street.
He walked into one of the ruined buildings. A few dead machines were on the ground. Arrows sticking from their single eye. Aloy had called them watchers. Cyrus knelt next to one of the corpses and examined the intricate machinery. The Watcher was far more elegant and intricate in its design than any of the Faro Swarm, except perhaps the Horus units. Scarabs were fast and could enslave machines to their network, but they had rather obvious structural weaknesses, and Khopeshes were slow, bulky, and overheated far too easily.
That being said, it wasn't hard to see the weakness in the Watchers. Their large eye was an obvious target more than anything else. Cyrus sat back and thought. Each machine he had seen thus far had weaknesses that could easily be exploited. The Strider that Aloy rode around on could, probably, be easily knocked over. All of the machines did have one exploitable flaw. Out of sight, out of mind. Hide for a few seconds and you would essentially be forgotten.
That was one thing he appreciated about sentient targets. They remembered you were there, even if they couldn't find you. The challenge was something that he really did appreciate.
Cyrus climbed her in the ruined building. A piece of the wall jutted out over the ruined street below. The tall machine was wandering down that same street. Cyrus smirked and stepped to the edge of the wall. The machine walked by and he leapt onto the antenna-like structure on the side of the machine's neck. It was surprisingly stable, all things considered. He leaned back against the neck of the machine and just watched as it wandered in circles around the ruins of Colorado Springs.
The sun was starting to go down when a new sound entered the ruin. Fast running machines followed by the sound of a woman's voice. He watched as a Strider and Aloy on a Strider were running through the ruins.
He held his pistol aloft and fired a bullet. The bang resounded through the empty city. Aloy pulled her mount to a stop and looked around. Cyrus fired again, and Aloy finally saw him. The Hunter stood and waved at the seeker. He leapt back to the building he had started on when the machine passed by it and made his way down to Aloy.
"Made friends with a Tallneck, I see." Aloy stated as he approached.
"Is that what it's called?" Cyrus asked, glancing at the machine.
"Yes." Aloy replied. "I take it your raid on that camp was successful?"
"It was. I found a rather kindred spirit." Cyrus replied.
"In Nil?" Aloy asked.
"Yes." Cyrus said. "How goes your hunt for the Nora war party?"
"I found Sona." Aloy said. "And we've planned an attack on the attacker's main compound. I told Sona we'd be there tonight."
"So, you came back to get me?" Cyrus guessed.
"And I brought you a ride. It's not that hard to-" Aloy began as Cyrus mounted the machine.
"Not my first time, Aloy." Cyrus said as he grabbed a couple of the cables in the same manner as Aloy. "Now, where to?"
"Devil's Grief is where they've set up camp. It's some ways north of here." Aloy answered.
"Lead on then." Cyrus said.
Aloy turned North and rode off, Cyrus following close behind.
ERROR-DATA_CORRUPTION-BEGIN_FILE_RECOVERY…/…
Data Log TEH-002
I don't think I'm going to include all of the side activities that you can do in Horizon in this story. There will be some, obviously. However, since my primary focus is going to be on the Hunter, Cyrus, and not Aloy here are obviously things he can't/won't do. For instance, Tallnecks. He can't override them and he won't climb them. Getting on one of the antennas on their necks is the most he does.
For future reference, I do plan on including the Frozen Wilds and Forbidden West. However, I have yet to complete Forbidden West, and have no idea when I should include the Frozen Wilds.
Another interesting challenge that I'm working with is involving more Bloodborne in this world. Obviously Yharnam is ancient history and I have plans to incorporate more of that history… alongside other elements of Bloodborne.
Thank you to all who read this, your feedback and views are much appreciated.
Goodbye viewer; Fare thee well.
End Log S.T.K.