A/N: I'm back! Sorry about the delay but life does sadly happen. Thank you all so much for your comments and support! They mean so much and are a huge help with my motivation.
That being said, I do hope you will leave a comment or review at the bottom of this chapter. It's got some things I've been planning since day 1 as well as a few things I know you've all asked for.
A Digital Mother
Chapter 25
3039
Ersa
"The NORA?!" Avad and Marad's voices both shouted, eyes bulging from their sockets and mouths wide with shock. Ersa stifled a laugh at their expressions. Even having learned the truth of the liberation network from its source, she still had a hard time believing it, so as amusing as their expressions were, they were understandable.
The three of them were alone in the Sun King's private lounge inside the palace of Meridian. To one side was a balcony over which they could see the vast fields and mesas of the Sundom. It was a beautiful sight and as an Oseram, Ersa could appreciate the beauty of the construction. The palace of the Sun King was designed for opulence and leisure and succeeded in both quite spectacularly.
She'd returned from meeting with the Nora only that day and gone straight to Avad's palace. After giving her preliminary report, she'd asked for a private audience with her friend and Marad which they granted easily. Once in private, she relayed the details of not only the Utaru request but the secret of the liberation network. The secret that had been hanging over their heads since the end of the war. The simple fact that it was the Nora, of all tribes, who were responsible for freeing the slaves and aiding in delivering Meridian and the Sundom from Jiran's tyrannical rule.
"But… I… but…" Marad stammered, a hand reaching up and threading its fingers through his short hair. "I'm… going to go over there…" He wandered away in a daze.
"Well." Avad coughed, eying Marad's dazed form as he walked towards the balcony. "I'm glad that we've solved that particular mystery at least. I'm also quite glad that the Nora were willing to accept the peace. I understand their reluctance to reestablish trade, but that will come with time."
"We should focus our efforts on the Utaru and Tenakth for now." Ersa replied. "The Tenakth are the most aggressive of the tribes and we need to make peace with the Utaru to finalize talks with the Nora."
"Yes." Avad nodded slowly. He wasn't really able to move his head quickly or his crown-headdress thing would wobble around on top of his head. While amusing, it would not look very dignified if his crown fell off."
"It doesn't make any SENSE!" Marad suddenly shouted. "But it makes perfect sense! If it was the Nora then that means… but then that would mean… but then why did… when did… HOW did… I don't UNDERSTAND!"
"Should we… help him?" Ersa asked, watching Marad slowly come to grips with reality again.
"Leave him be for now…" Avad said, rubbing his temples. "Frankly, I need some time to wrap my head around the idea too. Marad will get his head on straight eventually. He always does."
Unknown – Four Months Later
The disheveled man stared down at the bloody, broken bodies of the Nora guards and spat on the one closest, dropping the rock he'd used to kill the filth and taking the bow and spear off one of the corpses. He knew he needed to be quick so he took a few moments to hide the bodies before running off, keeping to the shadows of the night as best he could. The next guard rotation wasn't scheduled for nearly a week so if he could make it far enough, he'd be safe. Safe enough to track down his quarry. He'd been listening to the Nora for days now in secret. They never even noticed him, so he had a general idea of where he was supposed to go. He'd waited for years but knew in his heart that he would have everything he'd ever wanted if only he was willing to wait until the opportune moment. He grinned, knowing his patience would pay off soon. Yes. Most of his plans could wait. First, he would start with revenge.
Aloy – Six Days Later
Aloy couldn't help but stare at the imposing ruins in the distance as she trudged along the trail. An ancient, ruined city just… sticking up out of the ground. All that was left of Denver, a city of the Old Ones after the Faro Plague wiped them out. The itch to run off, away from her companions to explore those ruins was almost too much to ignore but thankfully her better judgement outweighed the desire to explore.
"Aloy?" Vala asked, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You alright?"
"Yeah." She replied, grinning at her friend. "Just curious. I wonder what it looked like before the world ended…"
"Maybe we can explore it one day." Vala said, staring out at the ruins. "Only one more year till we're Seeker's after all." That was true. Just one more year, and they would both be 19. Old enough to run in the Proving, be recognized as adults by the tribe, and petition the Matriarchs for the Seeker's Blessing. One more year till Aloy's mother told her the truth about everything. The truth about why and how she'd been born.
"Aloy! Vala! Keep up!" The voice of Tesona, one of the leaders of their band shouted over the column.
"Sorry!" The two girls shouted back, jogging to catch up with their hunting party.
The party itself consisted primarily of other Nora teenagers the same age as Aloy and Vala. Around 20 of them, accompanied by half a dozen full Braves led by Tesona and Aloy's father, Rost. They were the first children of the Nora chosen for a very special hunting trip. Not only were they on their first hunt outside The Embrace, but they were the first group of children who would be participating in joint hunts with the Banuk! The two tribes or, more specifically, the Nora and the Banuk of The Cut wanted to foster closer relationships between them, so they'd agreed to have a joint training hunt with the younger members of the two tribes supervised by the more experienced hunters.
Aloy and her companions had left The Embrace a few days ago, moving fairly slowly so that they could explore a little. They'd passed through Mother's Crown, only stopping for the night before moving on to Mother's Song. That was already a treasured experience for Aloy. She'd met Sial, Karst's mate but not any of the other refugees so it was a joy to simply wander around the village and speak to people of so many different tribes! Sadly, the Oseram who'd been living there were all gone back to their homes in The Claim, as were the few Banuk that'd resided there during the war but there were still a great many Utaru for her to talk to! They were a fascinating people and while she did not agree with their more pacifistic nature, the redhead was still beyond intrigued by their culture. The 'Land Gods,' of Plainsong sounded so fascinating!
Her mother shared what she could of the Land Gods and the history of the Utaru as she knew it, along with the fact that Plainsong was actually situated next to a climate control station! One meant to control the terraforming system GAIA used to maintain the biosphere! Aloy desperately wished to visit it one day and hoped the Utaru of Plainsong would be welcoming to her and the Nora as a whole.
Jogging along, she caught up with the head of the column and grinned at her father who just flashed her a look of exasperation. She'd developed a habit of wandering off during this trip, fascinated by every ruin she could see and knew her father was mildly frustrated with her. Not enough to really get her in trouble though. Turning northwest, away from Devil's Grief, they entered a valley with high stone walls. The usual path they would take to the northern lakes was currently blocked by a huge pack of Bellowbacks so they were taking a route that went around them.
This path wasn't one commonly used by the Nora, but it was one known to them as being… odd. There was a small, ruined metal structure at the base of the valley which sloped upwards, but it was the slope itself that was strange. The oddness came from the stone stairs that led up the incline to the top of the valley. Nobody knew who'd built them or why. Though, the odds were that it was the Old Ones who'd done it. Aloy wasn't sure why though.
As she started to climb the stairs, Aloy's focus pinged, and up ahead of her, just at the top of the stairs, there appeared a faint purple glow. Aloy's eyes widened, her head whipping around, searching for Vala and her father. Both of them were looking towards the top of the stairs while Vala had a hand on her own focus. Aloy grinned and bounded up the steps, her father and friend hot on her heels. Kneeling on the ground and ignoring the looks of confusion on the faces of the others, Aloy examined the location of the ping.
There seemed to be an object buried in the ground that was emitting a low signal. Tapping it out of curiosity, Aloy was treated to an incredible sight. A static, slightly glitching image expanded across her field of view. Thousands of people stood in poses of joy and excitement while down below, the partially ruined structure was replaced by a massive stage. There were people standing on it, holding instruments while lights shone brightly, and huge a letter V hung in the sky above their heads. In the distance, she could see the city of Denver, still fully intact. As Aloy stared in wonder, a voice suddenly began to speak out of her Focus.
"Apocashitstorm Tour, day 5. The Grey Swarms opened for Turtlesmash the night I OD'd here - or so the police report said, anyway. I was fifteen years old. When I woke in the hospital two days later, your face was the first thing I saw."
Aloy's eyes widened as her focus saved the audio and the image to its databank. Tapping it quickly, she stared at the information. Accompanying the audio was a long segment of text. The datafile she'd downloaded was named 'Sterling-Malkeet Amphitheater' and the name of the author was 'Bashar Mati.'
"So…" Her father breathed out, standing behind her. "That's what these stairs were for. This place was a theatre."
"It's beautiful…" Vala muttered, still staring at the image.
"Rost?" Tesona called out, walking over to them. "What is it?"
"Ah." Her father shook his head. "Forgive us, Tesona. The Focus shows those who wield it many wonderous things, but it does tend to lead its wearer to distraction on occasion. There is something here, but only those who have a focus can see it. Would you care to?" He removed his focus and held it out to her.
"No." She shook her head with a smile. While Tesona did not have a Focus of her own, there simply not being enough of them to go around, she'd used both Rost and Sona's in the past and knew enough about how they worked. "Your description is enough for me. What did it show you?"
"I shall describe it while we walk. Aloy, Vala, please rejoin the party. You can examine the data later."
"Right." Aloy nodded, swiping away the text. Everybody in the tribe knew about the Focus and this wasn't the first time she, her father, or Vala had been distracted by what the remarkable device showed them so most of her peers were fairly used to them being briefly sidetracked.
"What did you see?" Arana asked as the two girls rejoined the column.
"This place used to be a theatre used by the Old Ones." Vala replied. "Looks like they would put on musical performances here like we do back in Mother's Heart."
"Really?" Arana's eyebrows rose up. "I'd never have guessed that…" She looked towards the ruined metal stage at the base of the stairs with a contemplative expression.
Vala
When the encampment came into view, Vala grinned. It was not a village by any stretch, but the continuous joint hunting expeditions between the Nora and Banuk had transformed the temporary campsite beside the southernmost of the northern lakes into a far more permanent camp. The perfect blending of Nora and Banuk styles that made up an excellent staging ground for the hunts to come.
The Nora contingent quickly made camp, pitching their tents and setting up fires while they waited for the Banuk to arrive. She would be sharing a tent with Aloy like she always did on hunting trips that would last more than a day. The young dark-skinned huntress was in the process of bringing firewood back to their tent when word came up that the Banuk had arrived.
As was custom, when the two parties arrived their leaders would meet in the huge central tent that lay between the Nora and Banuk camps. In this case though, it wasn't just the leaders. Luckily, Vala, Aloy, and a number of the other young Nora were allowed to join since the entire point of this was for the younger members of both tribes to meet and interact with each other.
"Honored Banuk. Welcome to the Nora Sacred Lands." Rost bowed his head in acknowledgement to the gathered Banuk inside the tent. Their leader was a tall, broad woman with dark skin though her headdress was too elaborate to tell what color her hair was.
"It is our pleasure to be here, Brave of the Nora." The Banuk huntress replied. "I am Kolu, second to Chief Aratak. With me are Titra, my second, and Naltuk, apprentice to Shaman Ourea."
"Well met." Rost replied. "With me are Tesona and Bherg. They will serve under me as leaders of the Nora contingent." Then he turned to them. "Allow me to introduce some of the children. This is Vala, daughter to War-Chief Sona." Vala bowed her head to the Banuk in greeting. "My own daughter, Aloy." The redhead nodded. Rost continued on, introducing Bast, Arana, Thairn, and all the others gathered in the tent.
"It is good to meet the next generation of Nora hunters." Kolu nodded her head. "I will let the children of Banukai introduce themselves. Perhaps we old timers should give them all a chance to know each other without our supervision." She smirked. Rost agreed and soon enough, it was just a group of twenty teenage Nora and twenty teenage Banuk standing in and around the central tent.
"Your name was Vala, yes?" A Banuk teen was the first to speak, walking towards Vala. "Daughter of the Nora war leader?" Her skin was dark, like Vala's and her brown hair fell to the sides out of her large, furred headdress. "I am Mailen, of the Banuk."
"Well met, Mailen." Vala nodded reaching out a hand, which the Banuk accepted. "I am indeed Vala. Daughter of Sona."
"And you were Aloy, right?" Another Banuk said, walking up to them and addressing the redhead next to Vala. "The name's Ikrie." The other Banuk girl was paler skinned than Mailen and with rounder features. They were both quite beautiful, in a rather fierce way. After a moment of silence from Aloy, Vala turned to her, confused. The redhead was staring at Ikrie, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. Vala nudged her with her elbow.
"Ah. Right. Sorry, yes I'm Aloy." The redhead stammered out, reaching out to clasp Ikrie's forearm.
Vala grinned at the red flush in Aloy's cheeks. Though she'd never expressed romantic interest in anyone, the redhead had confessed to Vala that she very much preferred the female form to the male one. Clearly, Ikrie was ticking all the right boxes if Aloy was acting like that and Vala could see why. Ikrie was quite pretty, after all. Personally, Vala liked both men and women but if pushed, she'd say she was more partial to men. Not that either of them had ever really bothered with or felt romantic interest in anyone before, of course. Sure, Vala'd had a few cushes over the years, but it never amounted to anything. They were both far too focused on their training for that.
"Good to meet you." A flirty smile came across Ikrie's face. "You mind answering a question for us?"
"Um. Of course." Aloy replied, regaining control of herself. "What is it?"
"The triangle of metal you wear." Mailen spoke up. "It is said amongst the Banuk of The Cut that if a Nora wears this mark, it is an indication that they are a hunter of exceptional skill. We were curious if that was true and what you'd done to earn the mark so young."
"It's… partially true." Vala replied. "We call them Focuses and there are only ten Nora who bear this mark. There were eleven, but Captain Yore died as a hero fighting against the Carja and her focus was destroyed."
"It is true that any Nora who wears a focus is an exceptional hunter, but that is not the only way to earn one." Aloy added. "The way we… earned… ours is a secret bound by an oath to our High-Matriarchs. We can't tell you how we got them, but we can say that the other eight Nora who wear them are some of the best Braves our tribe has ever produced."
"What they're not mentioning is that these two," Arana cut in, draping her arms around their shoulders, "are the best and brightest of the younger generation as well. They're both better hunters than half our adult Braves combined."
"Arana!" Vala scolded her. While she knew how good she was, Vala did not like to brag!
"Oh, really?" Ikrie grinned at Aloy. "Then I'll have to pay extra close attention to you during this trip so I can find out how good you really are."
"Well, why don't we partner up then?" Aloy asked, flushing again. "I mean, the four of us. Five, if you want to join, Arana?"
"Nah." The other Nora girl smiled. "I know I can't keep up with you and groups of four work better. I'll team up with Thairn and mingle a bit with our guests. You four have fun!" With that, she walked away only to stop, wrap her arm around Thairn's and drag him towards a group of Banuk teens. Frankly, Vala had a feeling those two would wind up becoming mates within less than a year of their Proving.
Aloy
Aloy sighed, berating herself silently for how she'd acted in the tent while she inspected her equipment. She just couldn't help it! There was something about Ikrie, the Banuk girl that was… magnetic! She was pretty, confident, and just about everything Aloy liked. It was no wonder she'd felt an all but instant attraction to her.
"Having a crush is perfectly natural, dear." Her mother's voice spoke through her focus.
Aloy turned bright red. "Mom!" She hissed, embarrassed. "I do not have a crush on Ikrie!" Thank goodness Rost wasn't in the tent by then or she'd be getting a similar talk from him! Having one parent always looking over her shoulder was embarrassing enough.
"Yes, you do." Vala chimed in with a cheeky grin, rising up from her bunk and staring at Aloy with that mischievous smirk of hers. "You went completely tongue tied." She giggled. "I've never seen you like that before. It was so cute!"
"I do not have a crush!" Aloy retorted, adamantly and only partially lying to herself. "I just met Ikrie. I don't really know anything about her."
"So, get to know her!" Vala said, sitting fully up on her cot. "We're teaming up with her and Mailen after all. You'll have plenty of chances to talk to her while we hunt."
"Vala has an excellent point, Aloy." Her mother chimed in, speaking through both their focuses. "Even if it ultimately leads to nothing, you will never have known what might be if you don't take the chance. Spend some time with this girl and see if that little spark you feel could grow into something greater."
"Besides, it's not like there isn't a precedent for this now." Vala added. "Sial might be Utaru rather than Banuk but she's still an outsider and the Matriarchs were happy for her to join the tribe as Karst's mate."
"Woah, woah." Aloy bolted up, ears and cheeks burning. "How did we go from a crush to talking about bonding? I just… let me do this my own way, okay?"
"Alright." Vala raised her hands up in defeat. "Just don't be surprised if I keep teasing you about it if you don't. Best friend privileges." Aloy's only response was to chuck her bedroll at the giggling Vala's head.
The next morning found them all well rested and ready to begin. Aloy stood with her back straight as she listened to her father and the Banuk hunt-master explain. The Nora and Banuk teens were to divide up amongst themselves into smaller parties who would then go out into the woods with an adult hunter as supervision. The Braves had a good idea of what machines were nearby, so there was no chance of running into something ridiculous like a Sawtooth but there were definitely Shellwalkers and Bellowbacks in the area. Not to mention Lancehorns, Striders, Chargers, and Glinthawks.
Personally, Aloy was hoping for a Shellwalker hunt, but her companions would have to agree to that first. She'd never hunted one, but the stories made her curious. Plus, she was hoping to kill the Shellwalker and keep it's shield arm intact so she could study it. If they could find a way to make a Shellwalker shield usable by a human, it would be a huge game changer.
"Alright!" Her father shouted. "Pair off and split up! Do not leave the camp without an adult hunter or we will make sure you are stuck here for the remainder of the hunt!"
"So?" Ikrie asked, walking over to them with Mailen tailing her. "What should we hunt?"
"Personally, I would prefer a challenge of some kind." Mailen added. "Striders and Chargers are child's play. If we want to join the White Teeth, we must have experience hunting larger prey."
"The White Teeth?" Aloy asked, confused.
"It's one of the most prestigious Weraks amongst all the Banuk." Mailen replied, looking proud. "It's been our dream to join them since we were small."
"It's basically all Mailen has talked about for the last ten years." Ikrie said, with a hint of irritation in her voice.
"Well, if you want a challenge, why not search for some Shellwalkers?" Aloy asked, addressing Mailen.
"Oh, not this again." Vala muttered.
"What?!" Aloy retorted, indignant.
"Aloy." Vala glared at her, making the redhead cringe back. "If this is about your stupid glider idea again, I swear…"
"It's not!" She cut off her friend, flailing for a justification. "I mean, yes, I want to study their shield arm but that's not the only reason why I'd suggest it! We both need experience with larger machines and Shellwalkers are a perfect way to start out."
"Well…" Ikrie interrupted their bickering, "I don't mind going after some Shellwalkers. Sounds like a good place to start."
"Agreed." Mailen nodded.
"Ha! See?" Aloy grinned at Vala before scampering off to grab an older hunter.
Vala – A Few Hours Later
Vala stalked silently through the underbrush, her bow held tight in one hand and an arrow ready to draw in the other. To her right and slightly behind was Mailen, the Banuk girl. Through the trees she caught a glimpse of Aloy's hair and Ikrie's headdress. Behind them stalked the hulking Bherg, a Nora hunter who was their supervisor for this trip.
"I'm curious." Mailen spoke up, whispering slightly. "Why did you object to going after Shellwalkers? You said your friend was doing something with a….glider? What's a glider and what does it have to do with Shellwalkers?"
Vala sighed. "I love Aloy like a sister," she told the Banuk girl, "but she can be very fixated on her projects. Aloy is what the Oseram would call a Tinker. She builds things out of machine parts and other materials. Some of it is utterly incredible, like this," she patted the pullcaster tied to her belt, "but some of it is dangerous. She's been trying to design a device that will let her fly, sort of. More like a slow, controlled fall. She's been at it since we were children and has almost broken her neck nearly every time she's tested it, but she still won't give up on it. There are a few versions that work but they're all big and bulky so they're hard to carry. Aloy wants to use a Shellwalker shield to make one you can carry on your belt or attached to your arm but still be able to fight with it."
"Huh." Mailen huffed. "Sounds like she's a handful."
"You have no idea." Vala muttered.
"I'll be honest though, that glider thing sounds kind of amazing."
"… yeah, it kind of is. If it works."
Rost
"Rost!" The voice of Sona shouted in his ear. Wincing slightly, Rost excused himself from the tent for a moment. Stepping out and into the empty camp, he raised his hand up to tap his focus.
"Yes, War-Chief?"
"Fram and Berl are dead." Rost's eyes went wide with shock.
"What?!" He hissed into the device. "How?"
"We're not sure." Sona replied, her voice tight with anger. "When their relief came to replace them on the wall, there was no sign of either of them. Just a lot of blood. It took them a few hours to find their bodies, but it looks like they've been dead for around a week."
"Damn." Rost cursed. "What about the traitor?"
"Gone." Was the curt, furious answer. "We followed his trail to the wall of the Embrace. It looks like he managed to climb over it when the guards weren't looking. What tracks we could find after that lead west, towards the Sundom. I've already sent out a hunting party but… well, I thought you should know."
"Right." Rost sighed and nodded. "Thank you for telling me, Sona." If the traitor truly had escaped a week ago then he could be anywhere by then. If he was headed towards the Sundom though… At the very least, until he was found, he'd need to instruct Aloy to be far more careful during her wanderings once they returned. That man was dangerous.
Aloy
Aloy stalked silently through the trees with Ikrie at her back. Up ahead, they could see the Shellwalker convoy. One walker and two Watchers making their way down a beaten trail. Turning, Aloy signaled to the others that she'd spotted the machines.
"Let's take them quietly." She whispered to Ikrie.
Normally, she and Vala would use their focuses to coordinate, but that wasn't something they'd been given permission to do just yet in front of outsiders. Instead, she resorted to the Nora's tried and true method. Hand signals. Making sure the machines couldn't see her, Aloy stood up and gestured towards Vala and Mailen. Her hands flashed through the signs for 3, quiet, and split, meaning that there were three machines, they should take them quietly, and split them up between the four of them. Lastly, she signaled that she would handle the big one alone.
With an acknowledgement sign from Vala and a nod from Bherg, their supervisor, Aloy and the others began to stalk. Silent as shadows, they padded their way forward, following the path of the machines. Ikrie tapped her on the shoulder and sprinted ahead, sliding into a bush and pulling out her bow. Aloy split off, taking a wider arc around the column so that she could come out ahead of the Shellwalker. One quick tap of her focus easily showed her the path it was taking.
At the back of the column, Vala dove out of a bush, spear impaling the Watcher at the back of the line. Using her momentum and body weight, she forcibly dragged the carcass into the thick grass on the side of the trail. Aloy held her breath as the other watcher perked up, it's one eye scanning for whatever had caused the disturbance. If it moved closer to Vala it would easily spot her but thankfully Ikrie's aim was true, and an arrow sprouted from the eye of the machine. Aloy grinned as the Watcher collapsed and the Shellwalker continued on, unaware of the fate of its companions.
Aloy held her breath as the Shellwalker came closer to the tree she was hiding behind. Shuffling quietly, she turned her body so that it wouldn't spot her as it passed the trunk. Once it stepped past her, Aloy sprang into motion, her spear darting out. With one mighty thrust, she pierced the logic center housed inside the Shellwalker's head, causing it to spazz out and then collapse, motionless.
"Nicely done, flame hair!" Ikrie shouted, running up to her and clapping her on the shoulder. "I can see why your friend said you two are the best hunters of your generation."
"Thanks, Ikrie." Aloy smiled with a faint blush, "but we couldn't have done that without you. You're a good shot."
"Ah." Ikrie waved the compliment away. "I prefer a sling and open combat to sneaking around, but it does have its uses, I'll admit."
"Well done, hunters." Bherg complimented them, walking up towards them from further down the trail. "A fine set of kills. Now come, let's harvest the parts and drop them back off at camp."
"Oh, yes!" Aloy grinned and busied herself with detaching the shield arm. She could see what was likely the emitters contained within and frankly didn't trust herself to just harvest them, so she decided to remove the entire appendage. It was heavy, of course, but worth it.
It wasn't exactly a long trip back and they hadn't been gone for more than a couple hours, so the group decided to head out for another hunt. This time, they took down a huge herd of Lancehorns with Aloy and Vala both getting to showcase their skills as a sharpshooter while Mailen and Ikrie demonstrated their own skill with slings and elemental bombs.
As darkness began to descend, they trudged back into camp, their packs heavy with Lancehorn parts. Exhausted but cheerful, the party split up and wandered away towards their respective tents. Aloy dropped her pack on the ground and stretched, feeling her back popping and cracking as she did. Stepping back out of the tent, she wandered towards the far edge of the camp, staring out into the darkness and yawned. Once she was alone and well out of earshot, she tapped her Focus and called her mother.
"Hello, little one." GAIA's soothing voice came through, causing Aloy to smile. "How was your hunt?"
"Hi mom." Aloy replied, still smiling. "It went really well, all things considered. Though, it would be easier if we could use our focuses. I get why gran said not to, but it's still annoying."
"Sometimes, it is better to maintain secrecy even if it sacrifices convenience, Aloy. Regardless, I do hope you'll tell me how your day went. I am able to observe some, but I'd rather hear you tell me about it."
"It went well, like I said." Aloy smiled, sitting on a stump and regaling her mother with the details of their hunt. Sure, she could watch, but that didn't mean her mother was aware of Aloy's thoughts or the exact details of what she'd been doing throughout the day. Just as she was describing their battle with the Lancehorns, something caught her eye.
"What was that?" Aloy muttered, standing up.
"What is it, Aloy?"
"I could have sworn I saw… hauh!" Aloy gasped, turning to one side just a second too slowly as an arrow skated across her collarbone and forced its way into her right shoulder. "AAARGH!" She screamed as the force of the hit sent her tumbling to the ground. The arrow hadn't gone in deep so it too fell to the ground, broken in half and covered in her blood which now leaked freely from the wound. Dimly, Aloy could hear her mother screaming her name and a commotion growing in the camp behind her at the sound of her scream. Through the haze of pain, she looked up at the approaching figure.
"You…" She gasped out, clutching her burning shoulder. There had to have been a toxin of some kind on the arrow. She'd been accidentally shot before, but the wound had never burned like this one did.
"I've been waiting a long time for this, girl." The demented smile on Resh's disheveled face gleamed almost madly in the dim firelight. His hair was matted and long, with his beard reaching down to his waist. The rags on his body were hanging off him and were covered in dirt and other, slightly more offensive filth. A lethal, serrated blade was held in his outstretched hand. Kneeling down, the monster who'd tried to kill her father so many years ago grabbed ahold of her hair and pressed the serrated edge of the knife to her exposed throat. "I'll kill you first, you little monster. I want to hear that pathetic fool you call a father howl in pain at your death before I kill him. He took my destiny away from me, so I'll take everything he loves away from him."
Aloy's hands scrabbled in the dirt, seizing on a thin, round object as Resh pulled back the knife to deliver the final blow. With a cough, Aloy took her chance and spat in his eye. Resh recoiled with a cry, dragging her hair and head with him. Taking the only opportunity she had, Aloy drove whatever it was she'd grabbed into her attacker's eye. The nock and feather end of Resh's own arrow pierced his eye socket as she drove it down, finally forcing him to let go of her hair. Desperate and afraid, Aloy seized his knife and drove it into her assailant's chest one, two, three, four times. Over and over again until the pain in her shoulder and collarbone flared and the weapon dropped from her hands.
Just barely, through the haze of pain, shock, adrenaline, and fear she could hear voices and the thunder of pounding feet. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she registered Vala's face coming into view, her hands reaching out to staunch the bleeding. She heard her mother screaming for her to respond but just couldn't seem to form the words. Her father came into view, kneeling down beside her while another Nora stared in shock at the body. Later, when the toxins were purged, she was fully recovered and given the time she needed to process all that had occurred, Aloy would find it ironic that the man who'd once tried to take her father away from her was also the very first human she ever killed.
A/N: So…. That happened. Thoughts?! I've been planning that since day 1! I've always intended for Resh to be the first person Aloy killed. Mostly because I hate him and desperately wish I could have killed him in game.
What about Marad though? I personally pictured Weiss' meltdown in RWBY Volume 9 and used that for my inspiration. If you don't know what I'm talking about, look it up! It's very amusing.
About Aloy and Ikrie, I do not intend for this to be an endgame ship! I'm not sure if I will take them much further than flirting with each other but even if I do, it will not be a long term relationship.
Let me know what you thought about the chapter!
Answers to Questions
On FFN
Guest1138: Thank you! As for your idea, I think that would be a great crossover! I'd love to read it.
Dracofighter: Thank you!
Bob19h: Eh. Cybernetics for no reason feels like far too much of a departure from the main story for me. Remote controlling machines sounds slightly more probable though.
Bargo: Thank you! I'm so glad you enjoyed that. I really didn't intend to go so deep into the Red Raids but they were just so fun to write! I know what you mean about Beta though! I love her and I wish canon Aloy was nicer to her from the start.
SpinFire66: Thank you! As for the song, it is one of my favorite Sabaton songs and it fit so well! I had to include it!
MrJyrgen: Thank you! Hope you liked the reveal.
Zaber999: I don't really have the time to tackle a third big story and that feels like it'd be a big one. I would want to make that a much longer story. It's a really fun idea though! Maybe I can do something like that once I finish one of my current stories.
Damon Blade: Thank you! Hope you liked the reaction.
On AO3
TriforceWolf: How about confused and dumbfounded Blameless Marad? That was so fun to write! As for the Osseram, no I don't think so. That'll be for the Nora Seekers more than anybody else.
Jpx0999: Not most of the world, but the people who matter do!
Jays_Mockery: I'm so glad you like it!
Drunk_off_of_happiness: Thank you so much! I hope you liked this update too.
Depresen_t: Thank you!
ReviewerDWJ: Glad you liked it! I hope you liked Marad and Avad's reactions.
DragonFang09: Thank you!
Alex3773: Yup! It's been a long time coming but I'm excited for what comes next.
TheLoveOfHorizon: Thank you!
RoneC: I'm so glad you enjoyed the story! Thank you for commenting on the ships too. Love it when people who read through the story answer questions from older chapters.
Ryanlarsen84: Thank you so much! Asfor who killed Jiran this time… who knows? Not a big plot point, but one I have chosen not to mention. As for the shrine to the Alphas, it is fairly accessible to the public since only Nora ever go near it. It is inside the walls of Mother's Heart so the only outsider to have seen it is Sial. I see it as her already having heard the story from Karst or another Nora and not paying much attention to the shrine itself. Others might have a reaction though.
SpiritDeNight: Glad you're excited!
MaverickStone: I'm so happy you enjoyed it! Hope you enjoyed this chapter too.
Valkrus: Oh, they will definitely have a conflict of opinions but that is a long way off. I've got ideas for it but they are pretty nebulous.
Reactivegull12: Welcome back! Glad to see you commenting again and I'm so glad you liked what you read! Hope you liked this chapter too!
The_General_Gist: I'll be honest, I don't think Faro was still sane by that point or if he was, he would be utterly unable to speak. Though, it is all but confirmed in canon that he died to the Quen. Aloy does say he rigged the place to self-destruct if he died and that's what it did so it has to mean he died, right?