A/N: I'm back! Cutting it kinda close, but I got it out. It's been an exhausting couple of weeks so I'm just grateful I got to write at all. That said, this chapter is on the shorter side so sorry about that! It's a good one though.

As always, I love your comments and reviews and I hope you keep them coming. They help my motivation so much and I read every single one.

Oh, and check out the note at the bottom. I left a little information for you.

A Digital Mother

Chapter 11

Karst

Karst and his party fought their labored breathing as they rushed along the trail. Every once in a while, the lead Seeker would stoop to the ground or suddenly change course as she examined the muddy and disorganized tracks. If he was honest with himself, Karst had never expected to be in a situation like this when he requested the Seeker's blessing all those years ago.

The first Seeker in a generation. It was a strange title to bear. The only living Seeker that predated him was Captain Rost, and even he hadn't technically been a true Seeker. He was now, but that was beside the point.

The years following his blessing had been filled with adventure, wonder, and excitement. He'd hunted with a Banuk Werak, traded with Carja while disguised as one of their own, perused the wonders of the old world in the markets of the Oseram, and recently had even delved into the ruins themselves after Rost and Sona's daughters accidentally found one within the Embrace.

Before the Goddess appeared to the Matriarchs, all Karst had wanted to do was be a merchant. He didn't care much for hunting or combat like other teenagers. As a Nora, he could of course hunt and fight with the best of them, but that didn't mean he liked it. No, Karst was more interested in people. Talking to them, learning about them, trading with them. At first, he figured that he would only learn about other Nora or maybe the occasional Carja trader, but then the revelation came. The Goddess herself had asked for Seekers to be anointed.

While most children dreamed of being War-Chief, or maybe a Matriarch if they were a girl, Karst was fascinated by the idea of the Seeker as a child. A Nora blessed by the Goddess who could come and go from the Sacred Lands as they pleased. Unfortunately for Karst, when he was young there were no living Seekers to share their stories. Before the appearance of the Goddess, it had been generations since a Seeker was named. Technically Rost counted, but since he was an Outcast at the time, Karst remained unaware of him.

So, when it was announced that the All-Mother herself had called for Seekers to be blessed, Karst had jumped at the chance. He knew he only had one chance of guaranteeing that he'd receive the blessing, and that was by winning the Proving. With that goal in mind, the young man had thrown himself into his training with wild abandon.

His friends and even his parents were confused by his sudden enthusiasm until he revealed to them the reason for his sudden dedication. Amazed and excited, many of Karst's friends joined him in his pursuit of the blessing. The training was long and arduous, but Karst achieved his dream. He won the Proving and, kneeling before the Matriarchs, requested the Seeker's blessing for himself and his friends.

The years that followed had allowed Karst to see more sights and interact with more people than he'd ever imagined. Some, like the Banuk, were shockingly similar to the Nora. Indeed, their time among the Banuk had almost felt like being among their own tribe. Aside from that nonsense about their 'blue light' but Karst knew better than to make comments about that in front of a Banuk.

He respected the Banuk both as warriors and as people, but that didn't mean he agreed with all their beliefs and philosophies. As for the other tribes he'd interacted with, the Carja had been pretty much what he'd expected. Proud, arrogant, and a little bit sun crazed. Not all Carja were like that, of course, but it was best to be prepared for at least a little bit of arrogant behavior when interacting with any Carja. Karst doubted many even realized how rude they were being sometimes but when they spoke with members of other tribes, they really came across as quite arrogant.

As for the Oseram, he was torn. While he greatly respected their bravery, honesty, and ingenuity there were elements of their society that he was instintually opposed to. Indeed, the primary aspect of their societal structure was the complete opposite of what he was used to and Karst did not like it. Nor did the other Seekers.

The Nora were a matriarchal society, meaning that women were the primary ruling figures. Indeed, the highest position a man could reach was War-Chief, and even they were subject to the will of the Matriarchs. The Oseram, on the other hand, were almost violently patriarchal. In some regions of The Claim, women were treated little better than property and it was beyond difficult to not react in anger when they were first exposed to it.

There were Oseram that were opposed to this, and they were the ones Karst was most fond of, but they were also not the ones with the power to change things. Still, at the end of the day it wasn't his problem. He didn't like some of the practices of Oseram society, but there was much about it that deserved respect and there were individual tribesmen he genuinely liked. He hoped they weren't under attack by the Carja like the Nora were.

The Carja attack on the gate and Mother's Vigil had come as a huge surprise. Nobody was expecting the attack, and it was only thanks to their preparations in response to the Derangement that the village wasn't completely overrun. In response, the border villages were being fortified and it was decided that the Seekers would be deployed as spies.

They'd been in the middle of discussions on the structure of teams and deployment locations when a scout came rushing in with word of an attack. The scout was from outside the Embrace and had come across a destroyed Nora caravan on a routine patrol. After reporting to their leader, the scout was sent running for Mother's Heart to report to the Captains, War-Chief, and High-Matriarchs. War-Chief Sona, of course, immediately dispatched a team to investigate.

Flashback

"Goddess protect us…" Ozea, a dark-haired woman, muttered next to him. The group slowly walked forward, treading carefully around the destroyed tents and broken bodies. The team of Braves dispatched by the War-Chief numbered nine Seekers and three Braves. Karst was in command of the party, as the leader of the Seekers.

"Captian Yore was right." Karst muttered. "The Carja must have found one of the hidden paths."

"But which one?" Fassa, his second asked, half to him and half to herself. Karst could only shake his head, unknowing. Fassa was a beautiful woman with dirty blonde hair and had been one of his dearest friends since childhood.

"Karst?" Torst's voice drew his attention away from his second. He was a lean man with dark hair and skin.

"What is it?" He asked.

"Where are the rest of the bodies?" Karst narrowed his eyes in confusion. Looking closer at the carnage, he realized what his fellow Seeker was talking about. There weren't nearly enough bodies to account for the number of tents and the amount of luggage. In fact, nearly all of the dead looked to be Braves. Fighters. A horrible feeling ran down his spine.

"War-Chief Sona said that the Carja were looking for captives when the army attacked Mother's Vigil…" He muttered. Though, in the silent horror that filled the camp, his voice might as well have been a thunderclap.

"You don't think the Carja have taken hostages, do you?" Fassa asked, horrified.

"I'm almost certain of it." He pointed. "Look. There are toys and other such things scattered amongst the luggage. There were children in this caravan, but none have been found wandering and there are no bodies."

"If they are being taken to the Sundom…" Ozea muttered, "then they must have left tracks. Stealthy soldiers might be able to avoid leaving a trail, but it would be next to impossible to hide the presence of prisoners. Especially children."

"Search everywhere." Karst ordered. "Find that trail and as much evidence as you can! We need to know which direction they went!"

The team was frantic, but thankfully it didn't take them long to discover the trail. It led off into the woods and headed north-west from the destroyed camp. While the others made preparations to move the bodies, Karst and Fassa stepped away. Lifting a hand to the side of his head, Karst tapped his Focus, activated the call function and tied Fassa's Focus into it. There was a soft gonging noise that repeated itself every few seconds until it was replaced with a voice.

"Karst. Fassa." War-Chief Sona's voice said in his ear. "Report."

"We've found the caravan, War-Chief." Karst said, speaking quickly. "All evidence points to an attack by humans, not machines. We're assuming Carja, but there are no bodies aside from our Braves. It looks like they took captives."

"The trail leads northwest." Fassa interjected. "Towards Dawn's Sentinel."

"With your permission, War-Chief." Karst continued. "We'd like to go after them.

"Permission granted." War-Chief Sona said, gruffly. "Karst. Take your Seekers and follow the Carja. Even if they take them out of the Sacred Lands, you're to follow them. When you have an opportunity, I want you to try and rescue our people. Fassa, you stay behind. Return to Mother's Heart for now. Soon enough, I'll need you to head north and handle talks with the Banuk."

"Understood, War-Chief." They both said in acknowledgement. Karst could tell Fassa wasn't happy about staying behind, but he personally agreed with Chief Sona's decision. As first and second in command of the Seekers, it made little sense for them both to be gone on a potentially deadly mission.

"Karst." The War-Chief addressed him.

"Yes, War-Chief?"

"Stay in touch and bring our people home."

Flashback End

So, here he was. Leading a team of seven other Seekers along the trail left by the Carja and their captive Nora prisoners. He didn't know if they would succeed, but he knew they had to try. No Nora should be forcibly removed from their Sacred Lands and Karst would not allow any of them to die so far from the All-Mother's embrace.

Aloy

Aloy was sitting on her bed with her back against the wall of the hut. Knees pulled up against her chest, she was grinning from ear to ear. The inside of the hut she shared with her father was warm and cozy. His bed sat on the far wall across from hers and there was a fire pit in the middle. There was a table with some chairs and various tools, utensils, and assorted items scattered around. A relatively new addition was a workbench covered in tools, half-built arrows, bombs, and other such things that sat against the back wall.

This was Aloy's workbench. The place where she practiced her newfound skills in weapon building and engineering. GAIA said she was learning far faster than an average person would. In fact, the spirit voice told her that she'd inherited her intelligence from her ancestor, Elisabet Sobeck. The woman had apparently achieved the highest level of education possible for the Old Ones by the time she'd turned sixteen years old. Aloy was rather proud of having that connection to her ancestor and worked hard to honor her memory. Though, she likely wouldn't be touching her workbench that day.

Today was one of the few days where she had time to herself. Vala and Varl were spending time with their mother before she left the Embrace again and her father was busy dealing with something at the gates. Seeker Fassa was about to leave to deal with something involving the Banuk, and he was helping them prepare.

The 8-year-old redhead took the opportunity to indulge in one of her favorite new hobbies. TV. The Focus and its learning module contained thousands of hours of media developed by the Old Ones for the purpose of entertainment. According to GAIA, there used to be a hundred times more, but the records were all destroyed by Accursed Faro. GAIA told Aloy that she'd 'pulled everything she could from her memory,' whatever that meant.

Unfortunately, this meant that not everything was intact. Nor was it all from the same time period. A lot of the media developed towards the end of the Old Ones couldn't be played because the Focus wasn't designed for it. It needed a 'VR Environment.' Aloy was studying the module every day, but she still wasn't sure exactly what that entailed. Regardless, there were many hours of music and 'television' from older eras that she could indulge in.

Aloy was particularly fond of some of the music since she could listen to it while she studied. Her day was fairly structured. Mornings were filled with training. She'd rise early and join the other young children in going through archery exercises or other training. Some days they would stay in the village, others they would go out and do hunting exercises or practice running the Brave Trails.

By late afternoon, they'd be cut loose to play or maybe help out around the house or the farms. Some days Aloy would go help the mothers at the farm, others she would do her chores around her hut, and still others she would just spend the time working on the learning module. She liked listening to music while she did that. Evenings were her favorite time of day, since she got to spend them with her father. Lastly, she would spend maybe an hour either working on the module, tinkering with her tools, or watching something mindless with her Focus before going to bed. Today though, she had the day off. Most of it would be spent diving into the module, but she wanted to have a little senseless fun first.

A flat panel was being projected out from her Focus and on it, a video was playing. Aloy grinned, watching the small animated green figure and taller armored figures sit around the cartoon campfire.

"Come. Sit. Your helmets, remove them. Your faces I wish to see." The green cartoon figure said. This was Yoda. She liked him. GAIA had recommended the Star Wars series to her, since she had most of it saved and so far, Aloy was loving it.

"Not much to look at here, sir." One of the armored figures grumbled as the three removed their helmets. The three cartoon men all shared identical features. "We all share the same face."

"Deceive you, eyes can." Yoda giggled. "In the force, very different each one of you are."

Aloy watched happily as Yoda walked around, giving each of the clone soldiers a pep talk and showcasing just how different each of them was despite being nearly identical in appearance. Unfortunately, her enjoyment was interrupted by someone banging on the door to the hut. Huffing, Aloy paused her show and stood. She didn't even get a foot on the ground before the door burst open, revealing Vala.

"Aloy!" Her friend said, brightly.

"Vala?" Aloy was confused. "I thought you were spending the day with Aunt Sona."

"She got called away." Vala grumbled. "High-Matriarch Lansra wanted to talk to her about the war." Aloy grimaced. Neither of the girls was very fond of Lansra. Aloy loved Granny Teersa and High-Matriarch Jezza was nice, but Lansra? Lansra was mean, grouchy, rude, and all those other things her father and Granny Teersa told Aloy she shouldn't be. She wondered why High-Matriarch Lansra's parents didn't teach her that.

"I'm sorry." Aloy said. She knew just how much spending time with Aunt Sona meant to Vala. Since she was the War-Chief, Aunt Sona was always busy leading the Braves. It would be even worse once she left the Embrace to take control of the war against the Carja. They might be able to talk to each other on the Focuses now, but it was likely Aunt Sona would be gone for years.

Despite how little Vala saw of her mother, Aloy couldn't help but feel a little jealous of her friend.

Vala had a mother. She wasn't around a lot, but she still had a mother. For most of Aloy's life, it felt like there was a hole there. A question at the back of her mind. What was it like to have a mom? Siblings? Not to be misunderstood, Aloy absolutely loved her father. He was the single best person on the planet. If it wasn't so embarrassing, she would thank Granny Teersa every day for asking him to raise her.

As for siblings, she and Vala were as close as any pair of sisters she knew and Varl might as well have been her brother. The thing was… there was always a gap there. When Aunt Sona came home, she would spend family time with Vala and Varl, but not Aloy. Aunt Sona loved Aloy, she knew that, but Aloy wasn't her daughter.

Though… that weird hole felt a little less empty these days. Ever since she met GAIA. Aloy had asked Vala once what it was like to have a mother and the description she gave was… oddly similar to how Aloy interacted with GAIA.

Aloy could tell GAIA anything and she'd listen. She would help Aloy with her problems, explain things she didn't understand, and even comfort her when she was sad! Not that she held back on lecturing the little redhead when she did something stupid… Aloy's ears were still ringing from the lecture she'd gotten after accidentally setting off a paint bomb in her hut. She'd had her father lecturing her in one ear and GAIA scolding her in the other. Not a pleasant day.

Still, all things considered, she was happy. Since meeting GAIA, it felt like that hole in her life where her mother should have been was slowly closing. Despite all the uncertainty surrounding the war and the tribe, Aloy was happy.

Rost

"The War-Chief is making a mistake." Rost just barely heard the muttered grumble coming from the petulant Brave.

"Oh? You're questioning your War-Chief?" Fassa asked, whirling around to face the speaker. Evidently, she too had heard him.

Rost was standing at the front gate of Mother's Heart along with Fassa, her Seeker team, and the usual compliment of gate guards. The Seekers were making some final preparations before leaving and making their way north to The Cut. So far, the Nora had not heard a thing coming from their Banuk allies since the Carja assault on Mother's Vigil. If they had been attacked, Rost hoped they were able to repel the Carja force.

Unfortunately, instead of having a peaceful sendoff and letting the Seekers be about their business, the most difficult and irritating member of the Mother's Heart garrison had decided he couldn't hold his tongue. Rost sighed in irritation.

"Well?" Fassa demanded. "Answer me!"

"Yes!" Resh spat out, actual spittle flying from his mouth. "Getting involved with those Banuk heathens was a mistake! We don't need them! We don't need to check on them! The Nora can easily repel those sun-loving freaks without help from the Banuk! You should be doing your duty to the High-Matriarchs and hunting down the soldiers that killed our people! Not wasting your time with those frozen heathens!

"The captain of the Seekers is doing just that, Resh." Rost reminded the stubborn fool. "He's been tracking them for days. Last we heard; they'd followed the party into the Sundom."

"They should have attacked before the Carja could take our people beyond the border!" Resh shouted. "Now the captives are outcast! They have passed the border and Nora law forbids their return!"

"That doesn't apply here, and you know it!" Fassa countered. Indeed, it did not. Nora law clearly stated that to willingly leave the Sacred Lands was to be banished forever. This also held for those who were directly banished by the Matriarchs. However, those who were taken from the Sacred Lands against their will were not necessarily banished.

It was rare that such a thing occurred, but there was a precedent. Generations ago, when the Carja last attacked, several Braves were captured and taken beyond the borders. When they eventually escaped and returned home, the High-Matriarchs of the time had chosen to welcome them back.

At the time, it was believed all lands beyond their borders were tainted and cursed. Now, though, they knew different. The words of the All-Mother had revealed the truth of the taint. They knew that it came from the Metal Devil already but were unaware that the goddess had labored to cleanse the world of it and make it safe beyond their borders.

There was some debate amongst the tribe about whether or not this meant they should all be allowed to leave the Sacred Lands. If the land beyond was untainted, then why were they confined to their borders? This had caused a great deal of argument, but it was eventually agreed that they would adhere to the law for the time being, but that the laws themselves would be relaxed a little.

"The High-Matriarchs themselves have declared that none who are taken captive by the Carja will be banished." Rost reminded Resh softly. The man had been a thorn in his side since the moment he'd taken the captainship of Mother's Heart. Resh did not reply. He simply growled and stomped off. Rost shook his head and turned back to Fassa.

"Has he always been such an ass?" She asked, exasperatedly.

"Ever since I've known him." One of the gate guards grumbled, causing the woman to let out a huff and turn towards her team.

"We should get moving."

"Safe travels, Seeker." Rost said, extending his arm.

Fassa took his arm in a warrior's handshake. "My thanks, Captain. Keep the Embrace well protected while we're gone."

"Always." He nodded.

Having seen the Seeker party off, Rost originally intended to return to his home and spend the day with his daughter but was unfortunately waylaid by his Focus making noises at him. He was still a little wary of using the device but could not deny that it was useful. Utilizing his limited skills at reading the glyphs of the old ones, he recognized that Sona was attempting to contact him.

This was odd. She was supposed to be spending the day with her children, so why would she be calling him? He could only imagine that it was for some kind of emergency so, waving farewell to the gate guards, he moved into the empty guardhouse and accepted the call.

"Rost." Sona's distorted voice came through. "Karst has a report. I've connected High-Matriarch Teersa as well."

"I'm here, Sona." High Matriarch Teersa's voice joined Sona's. "What do you have to report, Karst?"

"We've tracked the Carja past Dawn's Sentinel and south into the Sundom." Karst reported. "They've stopped at Morning's Watch, but we have a problem."

"Problem?" Sona asked.

"Yes, War-Chief. It looks like the area beyond the gate has been turned into a slave camp. Loa was able to disguise herself and get some information out of the guards. It looks like our people are going to be split up here and taken to different slave camps across the Sundom. They aren't alone though."

"What do you mean?" Rost questioned the Seeker.

"Loa reported members of practically every tribe we know of being held in the camp." Karst reported. Seems the Carja attacked the tribes to the north and west before they hit us. They've been splitting up captive groups to make it harder for them to try and coordinate an escape. Aside from the captive Nora, Loa saw Banuk, Oseram, and what we think are Utaru all held in the camp.

"Will you be able to get our people out?" Sona demanded.

"I doubt it." Karst admitted. "From what we can tell, they're splitting up the captured Nora in the morning so our only chance would be tonight. They're just too heavily guarded to get just our people out. Our only option would be to start a revolt and free all the captives."

"Is it possible?" Teersa asked.

"I would guess so." Karst replied. "It's an all or nothing deal, but I believe it's possible. The issue is, where would the other captives go? It's not like they can sneak through Carja territory to get home. They'll be recaptured."

Rost did not like the idea that came into his head, but if their only option for freeing the captive Nora was to rescue the members of the other tribes too, they had little choice. "Karst."He spoke up. "Do you know of the pass between the Sundom and the south-western lake of Valleymeet?"

There was a narrow mountain path that ran through the mountains south of Daytower. The problem was the western exit was directly above a cauldron. A machine spawning ground.

"The one above the cauldron? I know it, but why?"

"If you can free all the captives under cover of night and eliminate the garrison, you might be able to make it to the pass by dawn. You could evacuate the prisoners into the Sacred Lands. They could then return to their homes by heading through The Cut and going around the Sundom to the north."

"Rost!" Sona's shocked voice came through. "They may be prisoners, but you'd invite Oseram and Utaru into the Sacred Lands? We don't even know if the Banuk prisoners belong to the Werak we've been trading with!"

"Forgive me, War-Chief." He said, contritely, "but at this point any enemy of the Carja is a friend of ours."

"That… is a very good point." Sona admitted, grudgingly.

"I'm afraid I agree with Rost." Teersa added. "We should not abandon anyone to the tortures of the Carja. As High-Matriarch, I am authorizing you to do this, Karst. Free all the captives."

"Agreed." Sona sighed. "Seeker Karst. You're to free all the prisoners being held at Morning's Rise. Stay safe and come home."

"Understood." The Seeker replied, his voice like steel.

A/N: And done! What did you think? We got to look at Karst's perspective for the first time. He was very interesting to write. Aloy's maturing a little and starting to show a little bit of self-awareness about her emotions, so that was interesting. Resh made another appearance too. I've got some ideas that involve him, but I'm not sure how far I want to push it.

Oh, and before you get any ideas I will not be 'redeeming' him. Resh is an ass and will always be an ass. I wish Aloy got to punch him in Zero Dawn.

So, about Aloy's face paint. I've looked at your suggestions and had a few ideas of my own. I did a little quick tinkering in photoshop and I'm actually going to put the images I did at the bottom of the Ao3 version of the chapter. I'd love your opinion on them! I'm fond of number 1 personally, but I'd like to hear your thoughts!

Answers to Questions

On FFN

Dragon Master 888: Glad you liked it! I'm still unsure if I want to go the backup subfunction route, but I appreciate your input.

Rios: I'm thinking about having her give the strider either a joke name like 'Clanker' or maybe an astrology / battlestar galactica reference. Not sure yet.

Frostwolf3227: I'm doing fine! Thank you for the concern though. As for GAIA, she will not be interacting with the general population much. Only a specific few and they'll be keeping her involvement a secret, so they don't cause a panic.

LunaShadowWolf: Thank you! I appreciate your input. I've got some ideas in my head on what to do with the six months between Zero Dawn and Forbidden West and finding a subfunction or two is one of them. Just not sure what route I'll take yet.

On Ao3

Ryanlarsen84: Wow that was a lot of reviews you left today! I love it! As for the mount name, I kinda like Athena. I'll think about it. Regarding Minerva and Eleuthia. GAIA's communication skills are limited and they were both hiding way in the west so she can't reach them. The only possible AI she could reach at the moment is CYAN but she doesn't know about her yet. About the Utaru. Can you guess some of my plan from that last segment of the chapter? As for the Oseram. Not sure about having them develop something but Aloy? She is learning engineering. Thank you for the face paint suggestions! One of the ones I posted is based on the mark of pride so thank you for that!

WolvesRock17: She is definitely gonna be a menace! I'm so glad you liked the chapter and I appreciate your input. I'm still not sure which direction to go, but I guess we'll see.

YoGO: Apollo is 100% out of reach. The Zenith's have the only copy. You're right about that.

Ao3Prime: Thank you!

TheLoveOfHorizon: Thank you!

ReviewerDWJ2: I'm glad you like it. You make a good point. Ted might have deleted the backups when he destroyed Apollo.

LeeviBrokerColors: I am leaning towards them keeping their sentience, but I'm not sold on it yet. Also, don't worry. You didn't come across that demanding.

Reactivegull12: I'm sorry things have been so eventful! I hope it gets quieter. Don't worry about Zaid. We'll see him again. As for him and Rost… we'll see. I've got a few ideas running around my head.