Chapter Text
Chapter 2.
Bleach bone blues.
Watchers and lancehorns fell faster to teamwork, it was actually impressive. Erends louder way of fighting made sneaking behind the machines easier.
“She left in the middle of the night, with the best of us on her tail. But uh, this is where they were found.”
She activated her focus, and poked around as Erend stood looking confused.
“I’m… im not gonna take it for granted that it was the shadow Carja who did this.”
“No one hates her like the shadow Carja do. She kicked their asses out of meridian and they’ve had two odd years to kick their wounds”
“Hmm. Looks like there’s cart tracks. Let’s get moving”
“Alright”
——————
The woman, who remembered her name when asked by the man in gold, sat up on the bed holding a bowl of…
It smelt spicy, chunks of roughly cut meat in a reddish sauce. Some sort of legume? The bowl was ceramic, with imperfections that ruled out the possibility of it being factory made, the spoon was wooden and hand carved with designs of birds on the handle. Elisabet took a hearty bite, and almost choked.
The meat was delicious. It had the fat mostly cut off, but the almost sweet and nutty flavour mixed well with the heat of the legume stew. After a lifetime of quick meals and a year of ration packs that could be favourably described as bland, it was a shock to the palate. The gold and white dressed man was staring intently as she wolfed down the rest of her meal.
“Might I ask you name?”
“Eisabet Sobeck. Surprised there’s not thousands of UN officers swarming the place to take me in”
“UN? They are your tribe?”
That was cause for concern. The other stuff could be dismissed as rich people being weird, like Teds obsession with those blue shirts and Tildas collection of ‘artistic nudity’ that was probably an excuse to have breasts on display on her walls. But not knowing what the UN is.
“Who are you? Where am I? What year is it? A-and what happened with the Faro plague?”
She was halfway to hyperventilating, and the questions surrounding only made her head spin further.
“I am Avad, 14th Sun King of the Carja. You’re in Meridian, the palace specifically. As for year, well that varies with each tribe, but for us Carja it’s the 3rd year of the 14th reign. And I cannot say I have heard of this Faro plague”
“Your radiance, if I may…”
“Ah, of course Marad”
The other man, Marad it seems, stalked up beside her.
“Elisabet, we have had our royal historian look into the armour you were wearing when you were found. It is… peculiar to say the least. Even the Oseram couldn’t make sense of it, but it told us enough. You’re one of the old ones.”
“The old ones…..”
“Those who created the ruins, and the spire. Come, look out of this window you’ll see what I’m on about”
Standing on wobbling legs, the king helped her to her feet. They walked to the window together, and Elisabets eyes widened in realisation.
“Oh no. No no no I’m not meant to be alive. That’s… that’s one of MINERVAs’ broadcast towers. But that means…”
The two men looked cautiously at the woman before them. She took a breath before continuing.
“Zero Dawn worked”
And her world shattered with that revelation.
——————
Dimmed bones was something incredible. Aloy still got a little thrill from exploring the ruins of the old ones, something about a rebellious nature came to mind. Rost had always outwardly disapproved of her thirst for old ones knowledge, but even he would admit it came in handy. Like the time he broke his forefinger and she had splinted it in a way he could still draw his bow.
Scrapes and sprains were more than common in the embrace, they were a fact of life.
“Wait. Those aren’t shadow Carja they’re my tribe! The Oseram!”
“Is this how your people usually greet each other?”
No sooner had the words left her mouth than an arrow whizzed past her head. The fight was on, and Aloy was ready for it. It was an ambush, and they were outnumbered.
But not outsmarted. Arrows and bombs flew as Erend and Aloy began to surgically take down each and every enemy. One of them dropped something, right before an arrow pierced her eye.
“It’s calling machines!”
Blood pumping, Aloy took a leaping jump onto the back of the ravager, wrestling against it with her spear while Erend took on another. He picked up the weapon to dropped, and fired wildly into the other group of machines.
“Nice one!”
Aloy shouted from below another ravager, they seemed never ending in how many had come. They took the last one down, and the fight was up.
“Oseram. Not shadow Carja. Looks like I was wrong about everything, like usual”
She gave him a sympathetic look.
“I’ll look around, see what happened”
Erend only nodded.
——————————
“So much blood, it was a massacre…”
Onto the next clue, Erend following her closely.
“Look. Vanguard weapons. But no blood on them… they didn’t fight back”
Leather straps, a rock with blood on it, and a tripod with a used power cell nearby. Shattered rocks following the line from the tripod. Erend was picking at the ground.
“I have a theory, but it takes some imagination.”
“Seems like your theories are better than other people’s facts. Go on”
“The Oseram ambushed Ersa and her men with a new weapon. Maybe something with waves of force or sound. They mounted it there, it cracked the stone here. I think it paralyses people instead of killing them, it would explain why there’s no blood on the weapons”
“But why paralyse them if you’re just gonna move them and gut them”
“They were trying to hide something, look here. The bloody rock”
“Yeah the one they used to smash my sisters face in”
“Or someone else’s. These leather straps have been cut as if they took the armour off someone”
“That- that can’t be. Her body is in Meridian lying in state I saw it!”
“You said she was unrecognisable. That she had her helmet. Maybe they switched the bodies, someone around the same size, put them in her armour. Mutilated enough so that she could be Ersa”
Aloy huffed, the arid air was stifling, but less so than Erends gaze.
“Let’s go back to Meridian. Take another look at that body. If it’s really Ersa then of course I’m wrong, but if it’s not…”
“Then my sister could be alive! Let’s go! Fast!”
She whistled for a mount, and a charger came. Helping Erend on, they set out to Meridian.
“This is quite the party trick eh? I’ve just realised you never got your answers about Olin. When we’re back in meridian we should go check that out too. And by the way, thanks for this. It means a lot”
“Thanks Erend, I’m glad to help. It’s taken my mind off my own troubles for a while anyway”
“Yeah… I’ll have to talk to the king and Marad when we get there, you should come with. Avads gonna wanna see you”
————————————
The Carja, this group of monarchistic tribals (?), they seemed genuine. Elisabet had never met any monarchs, they existed sure but she had never been one for meet and greets. Regardless, this ‘Sun King’ was respectable from what she could tell. The fond look on his face as he passed each window, looking on at his subjects.
The other man, Marad, had called for the historian, and some documents for her to look over. Marad was different from Avad, he would have done well back in her day. A spy, that much was clear, Elisabet was used to spies. Still he seemed a pleasant man.
What Elisabet could only assume to be another Carja, a woman this time, walked in the room holding a pile. Avad turned towards them.
“Ah thank you Kira, fast as ever”
The woman bowed, and walked away again.
“I must say there aren’t many records on the old ones, your ideas surrounding modesty and such, so please forgive me if these clothes aren’t up to your standards”
“Oh no these are, wow these are nicer than half the stuff I used to wear. Thank you Avad”
“Call for me or my staff if you need anything, I must leave for a while to see to my people”
He closed the door as he left, and she quickly changed. The clothes were largely silk and linen, handwoven. A wrap for her torso, a thin undershirt, and an undergarment that wrapped around and under for protection made up the groundwork of the outfit. A shorter silk shirt, and a long but baggy pair of trousers made for a mid level.
The shoes were slightly confusing to get on, having to tuck the trousers into them before tying made for a fun practice in humility, Elisabet landed face first on the floor prompting the Carja woman Kira to come back into the room, thank god she only laughed quietly. Kira helped her tie the shoes, and made a comment about how dressing for a party was far worse.
“I’ll do my best to avoid them then”
She was still blushing when Marad came back in, a pile of scrolls and books in one arm.
“My apologies Elisabet. The royal historian seems to have taken a sabbatical. She won’t be back for a while. I hope these suffice, they are largely first hand accounts from different royal historians. I will quickly give you a rundown of the various tribes that live in the area.”
“Please do”
Placing a crudely drawn map on the table, he began to talk.
“Firstly, it is widely believed that all tribes came from the savage east, though through infighting and circumstance we have migrated and spread out across the land.”
He pointed to the map, signalling the so called ‘savage east’. Colorado.
“The Carja. Our ancestors were led to meridian by the first Sun King, Araman. It is said that he found the leaves of the old ones, which taught us to worship the sun. Araman followed the shadow of the spire to this mesa, where Meridian stands.”
He pointed again to the map, the location of meridian. Utah.
“The Oseram are said to be the first tribe to delve into the ruins of the old ones. They lack a larger government, instead they live in villages and clans. As for religion, they believe the world is one large machine, and that the old ones fell due to their failure to maintain it. This isn’t true of all Oseram, and they tend not to worship like Carja. Their largest settlement is The Claim”
The map indicated where this Claim was. North of Carja territory.
“There is the Nora. They are… backwards. To say the least. They are Matriarchal, worshiping the ‘all mother’. The Nora are almost famed for their strict laws. Anyone who commits any taboo is liable to be outcast, even children. These terms can last years, or for life.”
“Wait children? That seems cruel”
“Perhaps, but many regard these outcastings as relatively humane. Anyhow, the Nora are deeply against anything remotely to do with the old world, even stumbling into a ruin is grounds for outcasting. They live in the savage east”
“Odd that they’d chose to live there, a lot of our, old ones that is, buildings were there.”
“They worship the All Mother, and given that their largest settlement; Mothers Watch, is heavily guarded at the best of times, many believe that their All Mother is some form of idol.”
Elisabet looked at the map, for mothers heart.
“Looks like Mothers Watch is sitting on top of EULETHIA-9”
Marad raised an eyebrow.
“Ignore me. There any other tribes I should know about?”
“Just the Banuk. Largely nomadic, they live in the far north, bordering the Nora’s land. They worship the blue light, what that means is a mystery to all but the Banuk. There’s a gathering of them here, in the mountains”
“Oh, that’s Yellowstone. I wonder if CYAN is still up and running”
He raised his eyebrow again.
“An old AI, artificial intelligence. We made it to monitor the volcano, make sure it dosent go exploding on anyone”
Marad hummed, laid the books down on the table, and with a bow, he left. Reality came crashing back down.
Zero dawn, something had gone wrong. And the worst part was she didn’t know what had happened. Picking up the blank book Marad had left on the table, alongside the charcoal pencil, she began writing her theories.
————————————
‘Zero Dawn possible failures;
RFE- required for eleuthia. I can safely assume that these have been successful.
MINERVA: RFE
Operational. The ‘spire’ is a marvel of engineering. No Faro machines seem to remain.
HEPHAESTUS: RFE
Operational. Terraforming has taken place.
AETHER: RFE
Operational. Yet to detect any major weather issues, but given Meridians climate it seems to have been successful.
POSEIDON: RFE
Operational. Earths hydrosphere is required for agriculture, and the Carja have maize fields that I can see.
DEMETER: RFE
Operational. Given the variations of legumes and flowers I can see, DEMETER has been a resounding success.
ARTEMIS: RFE
Operational. The Carja like bird imagery, and there is a goat pelt being used as a rug in my room. All good signs.
ELEUTHIA:
Operational. It’s terrifying to know I’m the only person like me left, but it’s incredible to see how these new humans have developed. They’re all so unique, it’s good to see after so much death.
APOLLO:
Unknown. I can only assume the worst. APOLLO hasn’t functioned in the way we had hoped, if at all. And I have no clue what happened, and I doubt I’ll be able to find out for a while. These new humans know very little of my lot, everything has been gleamed from ruins and conjecture. It makes me nervous to think about what could have happened in the cradle facilities.
HADES:
Unknown. If I knew what year it was I’d be able to make a guess, but 3rd year of the 14th reign dosent exactly help me. I might be able to tell from ruins, but nothing concrete.
GAIA:
Unknown. If APOLLO failed then I don’t know what that means for GAIA, she can function perfectly well without any of her sub functions but still, not being able to communicate with anyone? Poor thing. I just hope she’s still out there.
Notes.
This is a strange new world. Everything I knew is gone, and no one knows the truth to why. And I don’t think I can tell people. I mean, one guy gets arrogant, builds machines that kill indiscriminately and then I have to get a bunch of people killed to fix it? And I don’t even fix it the world dies and then is reborn. Jesus. I don’t even know if these people know about Jesus. God GAIA, where are you? I miss you’
—————————
Erends legs were shaking by the time they got to the Meridian gates. Riding was no easy task, especially not at the breakneck speed they were going.
“Aloy, you’re my friend and I love you but… you steer like a maniac”
“I’m your friend?”
Erend stopped for a second.
“Well yeah! Of course you are! I mean you practically dropped everything to help me out while you barely knew me. I kinda hoped you saw me as a friend”
“It’s not like that Erend, it’s just… I’ve never had a friend before.”
He threw an arm around her, shaking her slightly.
“We’ll get used to it. If you keep helping people then you’re gonna have enough friends to face down an army! Aw man I’ve gotta introduce you to the vanguard after this, they’re gonna love you”
Erend walked her through Meridian, pointing out different landmarks and the best stalls for turkey skewers. It was a pretty big place, like Mothers Heart but less wooden. At least everyone here was immersed in their own thing, children running in the streets, salesmen shouting their discounts, guards chatting happily.
They reached the palace, and Aloy was once again blown away.
“Right, so talk to Avad and Marad, get Olins key, look at the body, check out Olins place, and go”
“Sounds like a plan”
“Great. Hey look, there’s Marad!”
The man was standing side by side with a contingency of guards. He looked the spy equivalent of shocked, which is a slight widening of the eyes, as they approached.
“Greetings Erend.”
“Hi Marad. This is Aloy, the Nora I went to find”
“I see. And did you find what you were after?”
“Sort of. Listen there’s a coupla’ things we need to do while we’re here. Aloy needs a look at Olins place and I need to look at Ersas’ body”
Marad pursed his lips.
“We should see the Sun King, please follow me.”
They followed behind dutifully, Aloy looking shocked at the crow of people on the steps.
“Petitioners for the King. Nobles are much like toddlers in the way they demand attention at every single little thing”
Erend huffed out a laugh, and pointed Aloy towards the palace proper. The guards opened and then closed the doors behind them, giving the group a measure of privacy.
“Aloy might I ask a few questions before we proceed?”
“Sure. If it’s about Olin, I’m tracking him down to find out why the Nora proving was attacked. He was there, with a device like I wear, I’m hoping to get some answers”
“I see. I’ll get you his key, it’s in the Sundoms interest to find the reason behind such an attack too. Please, into this room”
—————————
Avad was, at a lack of other words to describe him, regal. A once outcast Nora meeting the Sun King of the Carja. Aloy couldn’t decide what Rost would think about all of this, but deep down he would be proud of her regardless of how many Nora taboos she had crossed already.
“Aloy, the Nora huntress who has already done so much for the Carja. And Erend, a pleasure to see you again. I hear you are with good news”
Erend paced slightly before answering, collecting his nerves.
“Possible good news. Aloy tracked down where Ersa was ambushed, turns out it wasn’t Shadow Carja”
Avad motioned for him to continue. There was a muffled thump coming from above, but Avad seemed to ignore it.
“It was Oseram, with some new weapon that paralyses instead of killing. Listen I know this is a long shot but I need to look at her body. There’s a chance that..”
“Of course Erend. Go, please report back quickly. If there’s a chance she still lives, we need to investigate.”
He set off, running off into another direction.
“Aloy, thank you for helping him. Thank you for helping all of us. I’ve heard about the bandit camps you’ve been taking down, and your work at daytower. Please, if there’s anything we can do to help, let me know.”
“I just need to get into Olins place for now, but thank you. I might end up needing a hand later on.”
Avad stood up for a moment, his hand resting on his chin in a thoughtful manner.
“Aloy do you have any relatives?”
“Not that I know of. Why?”
“There is….someone I believe you should meet while Erend is away. Follow me”