Chapter Text
As she neared the entrance of Mother’s Heart, Aloy spotted Rost waiting for her. Her heart constricted at the idea that after today, she would have to sneak out to meet the only parent she’d ever known. She was still determined to run the Proving – more than ever – and to still have a relationship with him. What did the Nora ever do for her, that she should forsake the man who’d raised her for their laws? Cast her out at birth for some unfathomable reason, taught their children to shun her… She wouldn’t even have survived if not for Rost. No, she would never stop going to see him, talking to him, not for anyone and certainly not because of the stupid tribal laws.
And yet. It wouldn’t be the same anyway, would it? Rost was as honorable as he was stubborn. If he’d decided to respect the law and not address her, she wouldn’t be able to make him change his mind. She’d lost count of how many times, as a child, had she tried pestering him with questions until she got an answer. And yet, every time, he’d stuck to his decision not to tell her anything about his past, why he was an outcast, what was outside of the Sacred Lands… She’d never been able to make him say or do anything he didn’t want to. Which meant that after today, he’d never speak to her again, no matter what she told him. The thought made her unspeakably sad.
Rost noticed her coming, and stood up to greet her.
“It’s time. Are you ready?”
Aloy swallowed before replying, “Yes. I guess. It’s… louder than I expected.” She wasn’t lying. How did anyone ever hear anything in this noise? Did people yell to talk to each other or something?
“You’ve never been so close before,” Rost commented matter-of-factly.
“I guess everything’s bigger up close”, she admitted. That was another part of it; the buildings seemed so tall and wide compared to their little cabin. Did anyone manage to have any privacy there? Or would she be expected to bathe and change in front of a bunch of people?
“Soon it will all seem familiar,” he said in a reassuring tone. “Like home.”
Aloy couldn’t picture it. Not with it being so noisy, so smelly, so… involved all the time. She wanted to tell Rost it would never feel like home, not when he wasn’t there, not when it was so big and full of people she didn’t know. But she didn’t want to disappoint him now or to be subjected to a lesson, so she just said, “I don’t know about that.”
“Look for High Matriarch Teersa,” he instructed, ignoring her doubts as ever. “She will help you. Any other concerns?”
“What should I expect once I’m inside?”
“There will be people celebrating, and feasting,” he described. “More than you’ve ever seen in one place. No other village compares to Mother’s Heart. It is the seat of the High Matriarchs, a center of Nora life, a jewel of the Sacred Land. Give it time, and you will grow fond of it… as I was, back when I was of the tribe.”
She doubted that, actually, but there was still one big question plaguing her mind. She asked, “Are you sure they’re going to let me in?”
“I’ve told you, Aloy. By law, any child outcast can run in the Proving –”
“And any who pass are made Braves, and are outcasts no more. I know that. But not everyone follows the law like you do, Rost,” she insisted. What if the Nora decided the motherless wasn’t worthy of being a Brave? Wasn’t worthy of running the Proving? Then all these years training for this would be for nothing. It occurred to Aloy that maybe she put all her eggs in one basket in a potentially perilous way.
“Have faith, Aloy,” the man insisted. “The tribe will honor your right.”
Will they, though? Aloy couldn’t help but wonder. Rost, for all his qualities, tended to have a blind faith in the Nora religion. Which was understandable, in a way; it was the last tie he had to the tribe. The problem, however, was that he expected everyone else to follow said religion and its rules blindly. It was highly frustrating, actually; running the Proving may be her right, but that wouldn’t be of much use to her if she wasn’t even allowed inside the settlement. As an outcast, no one talked or listened to her anyway; how could she argue that she had a right to this, if her only option was to scream it in the void? Knowing arguing would just end up in an endless circle, though, she just asked, “Any final lessons before I go in?”
“No. You’ve learned every lesson the wilds have to teach,” he replied confidently.
“It was you who taught me, not the wilds,” Aloy pointed out. Not sure my bow and spear will be much help here, though.”
“It is with bow and spear that you’ll win what you’ve wanted all these years, Aloy. Answers.”
He had a point, she had to admit. The young woman took a deep breath, then said, “I’m ready to do this. See you back home in a few days?”
“You will not find me there, Aloy.” Wait, what? Why not? “Here, take this. To remember.” He searched his pouch, and held out a pendant. A bone, carved in the shape of a drop, with a big hole in the middle, hanging from a cord. It was obviously hand-made, not that it mattered much, or at all, to Aloy at this moment.
“Why are we talking like we’ll never see each other again? No… no!”
“You should be with the tribe,” Rost stated, starting to pull away. “And I will always be an outcast.”
“But I told you, I have that figured out!” She insisted, desperately. As he started to walk away, she kept blocking his path. “I’ll come to you in secret. I’ll be the one breaking the law, not you! You don’t even have to talk to me!”
“This… attachment to me will only hold you back,” he explained. “It is my wish that you embrace the tribe. You’ve lived in isolation long enough.”
Yeah, and thanks to whom? It’s not like she’d decided as a baby to be cast out.
“Not until now, I didn’t,” she muttered, looking down.
“For your sake, I must go where you will never find me. This is goodbye.” On those words, he turned away.
Aloy was half-tempted to point out that he’d taught her how to track, and she would be able to find him; but telling him so would only make him more careful to cover his own tracks, and she would need every advantage she could get.
Another, more vindictive part of her wanted to wish him good riddance and throw his necklace back at him. Hurt him like he was hurting her. But what would be the point? She knew she wouldn’t hurt any less after lashing out at him.
“I see,” she said in a soft voice, before holding up the pendant. “I’m glad to have this, then. It will remind me of you, of everything you did… and how you helped prepare me for this day.”
It wasn’t a lie, either. This pendant was the first thing he’d ever gifted her that didn’t have a purpose. Her first bow had been given with the intent to teach her to hunt machines and animals alike. He’d made her clothes and shoes since she was a little girl, until she grew old enough to learn how to make her own. He’d helped her make her spear once she’d stopped growing and her training had been completed. But this? She could see no outside purpose in this necklace.
Rost looked at the pendant, then looked at her, and she could see in his eyes that he was touched by her words, even if he would never say it out loud. “Thank you."
“Heavier than it looks… but the cord is strong,” she commented, trying anything she could think of to make him stay a little longer. It was a failed attempt, though.
“May All-Mother bless you, Aloy,” Rost said before walking away, and this time she let him.
“And you,” she whispered, watching him go.
Once he’d disappeared from her sight, she muttered to herself, “I have to let him go, for now. First, the Proving; after that… I’ll see where his trail leads.”
She turned around and walked up to the Gate with a smile, trying to appear confident in her right to go into the settlement. The guards, however, weren’t fooled, and they crossed their spears to bar her way. She felt her smile fall from her face.
“You will turn back, outcast,” the one on the left warned, “or bleed - your choice.”
She felt her breathing accelerate, on the verge of a panic attack. See, she knew it! How was she supposed to run the Proving if she couldn’t even enter Mother’s Heart and join the other competitors? Maybe if she slept right outside the Gate, she could see them come out tomorrow morning and join the group then? She did have a sleeping bag at the cabin, she could always go and get it… though that likely meant running into Rost, and admitting the Nora weren’t letting her in already… he would be so disappointed, and she couldn’t bear to see that look on his face.
Before she had time to decide, however, a voice could be heard from behind the Gate. “Make way! Make way!” The guards started to walk forward, and she stepped back instinctively as the Gate opened. An old woman walked through, ordering, “Braves, stand aside! She is welcome here.” The men complied, and the High Matriarch - for she had to be; who else would give orders to the Braves and be obeyed, at this age? - smiled at Aloy and waved her over, saying, “Mother’s Heart is open to you, child. Come. I assure you, most Nora aren’t as rude as those idiots.”
Aloy nodded and followed the old woman. She had a feeling she knew already, but was compelled to ask anyway, “You’re… Teersa?”
“Who else would I be?” Teersa asked in an amused voice. “Come on now. I’ve been waiting for this day a long time.”
Aloy entered the settlement, looking everywhere around her as she did so. That last sentence made her pause, however. “You have?”
“Oh, yes. But, for the moment, I must leave you. There is still a lot to prepare for tonight and tomorrow, so in the meantime, enjoy the festival. Oh! Down the path to the right, you’ll find an old friend who can’t wait to see you!”
An old friend, here? That didn’t sound right. The only non-Outcast Nora she knew was Karst, and he hardly counted as a friend, nor would he have told anyone about knowing her - especially not a High Matriarch. He was way too scared of being cast out again. She tried to convey her confusion to Teersa. “But I don’t know anyone here!”
That seemed to amuse the High Matriarch even more. “Ha! Try telling him that.” Before Aloy could say or ask anything more, the old woman continued, “We will talk later! May the Goddess protect!”
“What is going on…?” Aloy muttered to herself. She walked down the path Teersa had indicated, and spotted a man waving her over. She couldn’t exactly pinpoint his age - younger than Rost or even Karst, that’s for sure, but quite older than her. Maybe in his early thirties, or late twenties? She walked over to him, and he asked, “It’s Aloy, isn’t it? I’m remembering your name correctly?”
How did he know her name? She was sure she’d never seen him before. “Are you the ‘old friend’ Teersa told me about? I don’t know you,” she said bluntly.
“I see you don’t recognize me,” he replied. “Well, it was a long time ago, and I’ve probably changed quite a bit since then. Teb is my name. You were half the size I was then when you saved me from a herd of Machines.”
Of course! The boy she’d saved, the day after she’d found her Focus. He was training for the Proving, so he must have been a few years younger than she was now. Not surprising then that she couldn’t recognize him at first; it had been what, thirteen years, more or less? She’d just turned six back then. “I remember,” she said with a nod. “You tried to thank me.” And got scolded by his father for that - but she’d appreciated the intention. It was more than what most Nora would have done.
“I never forgot that day,” he acquiesced. “All these years, I hoped to see you again, if you came to run in the Proving. As you can see, I didn’t turn out to be much of a hunter.” He gestured at himself, and she could see what he meant - Teb didn’t have a lot of muscles, wasn’t carrying a bow or spear, and his posture was way too relaxed to belong to someone used to always being on watch for dangerous machines. “I serve the tribe as a Stitcher instead. A maker of garments and armor. In preparation for this day, I’ve made an outfit for you. I hope you’ll like it.”
She was sure she would, but she didn’t have a lot of shards at the moment, so she felt the need to ask, “What’s it going to cost?”
“Cost?” Teb repeated, surprised. “Nothing! Consider it the thanks I tried to give years ago, long overdue.”
She followed him inside his shop, where he held out an armor. As she stepped behind a panel to try it on, Aloy could see the set was both similar to what she was wearing and different. The undersuit was made of linen, and a hide top went over it, as well as a fur pelt to drape around her shoulders. For each arm, a layer of hide to wrap around her arm, and an upside-down fur pelt cushioning a plate from a machine. There was also a skirt made of hide, with a linen and twine trim. She tucked the flaps under her belt to stop them from moving at every gust of wind, and put on the leather pants that went under. A knee guard was made of a small plate, tied into place with a blue cord and leather. The shoes were made of rough leather and fit snuggly - she could already sense they would be great for climbing and sneaking.
She stepped back out and thanked him sincerely, adding, “I’ve never had anything like this before.”
“Well, it’s yours. I think you’ll find it affords more protection than… what you were wearing. Every outfit offers some advantages. It’s always a trade-off”, he explained. “Anyway, I shouldn’t keep you any longer. Head for the Matriarchs’ Lodge if you want to find Teersa. You’ll know it when you see it. A large wooden building with a mob waiting outside.”
“A mob waiting outside?” she asked. “What are they waiting for? Is there something wrong?”
“They want the Matriarchs to do something about the Red Raids. But you might not have heard about them?”
She shook her head. Rost hadn’t told her anything about Raids, though he’d taught her to fight humans as well as machines. Did he know about that, or was he just trying to prepare her for every eventuality? Something to ask him about when she tracked him down, she decided. “No, that’s the first time I hear about that. What’s the Red Raids then?”
“Well… it’s a bit hard to explain.From what the older Braves have told me, machines weren’t always this aggressive. Most of the time, if a hunter went after them, they would just bolt and run away; not dangerous, unless you were stupid enough to get in the way. But then there was the start of what they call The Derangement, and that changed everything. I don’t have to tell you that now, when you shoot one, the whole herd charges you like an angry boar. And every few years, a new and more dangerous machine comes along. Now, we’re protected from most of it because we’re right under the eye of the All-Mother. So most of the dangerous machines haven’t reached us… at least, not yet. From what I’ve heard, the Sawtooth started prowling other lands a decade or so ago.”
“Okay, but what does that have to do with the Raids?”
“I’m getting there. You see, the tribe in the lands next to ours is called the Carja. And they don’t have Matriarchs like we do. They’re ruled by a king, I think they call him the Sun-King for some reason? And they don’t worship the All-Mother but the Sun. Anyway, from what some escaped prisoners told us, the Sun-King apparently has this crazy idea that spilling enough blood to his god will appease the Machines. So he’s raiding the tribes, and they take prisoners. Those prisoners are put to work as slaves, and periodically sacrificed. Some rumors even claim he bathes in their blood afterwards, or mates with the female slaves while watching the sacrifices.”
Aloy made a disgusted face, which didn’t escape Teb. “Yeah, I know, that doesn’t seem like the most sane fellow. Anyway, his soldiers are always dressed in red when they come to raid us, and they spill a lot of blood, so the Raids have been called the Red Raids.”
Well. Now she understood why, if Rost knew about them, he hadn’t told her about it. He probably didn’t want to risk her going in search of one of those Raids to fight and getting taken. Which… she might have, when she was a couple of years younger and thought she knew everything better. That also explained why he wanted her to fit in the tribe so much; if she had to fight against the Carja alongside other Nora, she’d have to trust them to have her back, and vice-versa. Even more so than against machines.
“You really should go, now,” Teb said gently. “Enjoy the festival as much as you can before the big day tomorrow. Don’t tell anyone, but I’m hoping you’ll be the one to win the Proving.”
“Thanks, Teb; for the information, and for the encouragement.”
She left the hut, having put her old clothes in a bundle that she’d get back from him tomorrow. Rost’s necklace was still hanging around her neck; she wasn’t planning on taking it off any time soon. As she walked in the direction Teb had indicated, another voice, familiar this time, reached her ears. “Aloy! Over here!”
She turned towards the voice, and noticed Karst standing by the side. She walked over to him. “Karst? What are you doing here?”
“Careful”, he hissed. “Pretend like we’ve never met. I wasn’t supposed to trade with outcasts in the wilds, remember?”
“How could I forget? And how generous of you to talk to me now,” Aloy deadpanned.
“Don’t be like that. You know I’ll be rooting for you in the Proving tomorrow. Can’t wait to see the looks on some of these faces when you win. And if you need any last minute supplies, I’m your man.”
Well. That was… unexpected. And oddly touching, to know that the merchant had a soft spot after all and was rooting for her. “So… Mother’s Heart. Thought you preferred the wilds?”
“Well, a man can’t drink alone all the time, can he? Truth is, I get lonely once in a while,” he confessed, as though revealing a shameful secret. “There. I admitted it. Don’t think less of me.”
“I won’t hold it against you… if you give me a discount,” she teased him. He recoiled.
“You can’t be…”
“I’m joking, Karst. It’s good to see you.”
“Hmph, don’t go soft on me,” he grumbled. “All sales are final. If it breaks, you’re out of luck.”
“Sorry, but I don’t need to buy anything right now.”
She bid him goodbye and continued down the path, towards the Matriarchs’ Lodge. A crowd was indeed assembled there, shouting demands that something be done about the Carja. Another High Matriarch, with darker skin and hair than Teersa but a similar outfit, raised her hands as Aloy woved her way through the ranks of people.
“Please, please! Tonight is not the time for talks of war. In a moment, we shall bless the Proving. I will ask you not to bring shame to this sacred tradition by sowing discord.”
“We have heard your complaints about the Red Raids, and we share your worries,” Teersa added, coming to stand to the left of her sister. “I promise you, we are not staying idle, waiting for the next attack by the Carja. But even the All-Mother didn’t defeat the Metal Devil in one day, and so these things take time. Now, please make a way so that all aspirants can get in place for the Blessing.”
The crowd dispersed, some of them still grumbling unhappily. Others threw her looks that varied from disgust to curiosity about what she was doing here, and whispered as she passed by. Once enough people had gone, she noticed a bunch of lanterns had been placed on the ground, and the aspirants for the Proving were starting to kneel behind them, one young per lantern.
Teersa spotted her and called her from where she was standing. “Aloy, take your place right there,” she said, pointing to a lantern. “The prayer lantern is yours. I made it for you.”
Aloy smiled and nodded, grateful for the gesture. As she walked towards the lantern, she heard a third Matriarch, who hadn’t spoken until now but was standing on the right of the trio, spit out. “Blasphemy.”
“Sisters”, the first one hissed, sharply. Aloy looked quickly on her left and right side before kneeling. On her left was a blond boy, his hair braided in a multitude of short tresses, his head bowed towards his lantern. On her right, a black-haired girl with dark skin, like the Matriarch standing beside Teersa. She was kneeling too, but seemed more thoughtful than anything.
The first Matriarch spoke again, louder this time. “Aspirants, before each of you sits a lantern crafted by your mother. In her honor, light its flame!”
Aloy hesitated. In honor of her mother, whom she’d never known? Who had, possibly, abandoned her at birth? Who obviously hadn’t crafted her lantern, since Teersa had said she’d done it herself and she was clearly too old to be her mother? She didn’t really like that idea. For herself, perhaps? She briefly met the eyes of the girl on her right, before dismissing that one too. Even if just in prayer, it seemed too arrogant to just honor herself. She looked to her left, and tried to smile at the boy - who sneered at her, and shook his head before looking at his own lantern again. What was his problem? Probably another Nora who thought she had no place being here… She’d show them all, come morning. For now, she had more important things to worry about. The perfect prayer came to her just in time. “In honor of Rost,” she whispered, looking to the sky as she lit the lantern, “and all he did to help me get here.”
“All-Mother, hear our prayer,” Teersa said loudly while the aspirants stood up, holding their lanterns between their hands, and sent them into the sky. “What is the child, but a Mother’s hope that takes flight? A glowing flame that climbs the air, set free to the wind? Sailing the sky ‘til it fades and falls? So from one to another passes the chain of love.”
The ceremony being over, Aloy figured she might as well go to sleep. Tomorrow would require her to be well-rested and use all her energy, so she followed most of the aspirants - from a distance. She still needed to be somewhat alone for a little while longer, so she walked slowly and tried not to pay attention to the stares and the whispers as she walked by. She heard a woman telling a group of children the story of the Old Ones, and of the All-Mother defeating the Metal Devil. It made her feel grateful that her Focus wasn’t any bigger and could easily pass for jewelry - that way no one would try to make her part with it. She had the feeling it wouldn’t be very welcome among the Tribe… which meant that, starting tomorrow, she’d have to be careful with using it in public if she didn’t want to get in trouble.
She finally reached the bed-house. The door was being guarded by a man, probably in his forties or fifties, who scowled at her as she came up the stairs and muttered “Motherless chuff.” She stopped where she was and hesitated for a second, before asking, “What did you say?”
“Find your bed, outcast, and dream of winning the Proving,” the man spat out. “That’s the closest you’re going to get.”
She turned to him, seeing he’d deliberately turned his own back to her, and said in a nonchalant tone, “Oh, this is the bed-house? With you standing guard, I figured it was the latrine.”
Turning to her again as she walked inside, he starting saying, “You- your very presence here mocks-”
She slammed the door on him before he could finish his sentence, rolling her eyes. At least this one was honest in his disdain - not like the ones who’d whispered behind her back all evening. As she stepped further inside, the blond boy from earlier spoke up, with a spiteful tone.
“Well, well, look who’s come in from the wild! The motherless outcast! I see you’ve still got a scar from where that rock I threw hit you! Now that’s a cherished memory.”
Well, that explained the look he’d given her during the Blessing Ceremony. She remembered, very clearly, the little boy who’d thrown a rock at her head the day she’d found her Focus. So he was the same age she was, and running in the Proving tomorrow? That was one Nora she would take a particular pleasure in defeating. The dark-haired girl she’d seen before tried to shut the boy up. “You can be a real lard sometimes, Bast. Cut it out.”
But Bast, since that was his name, didn’t seem to hear - or didn’t want to listen. He kept taunting Aloy. “You didn’t know the words to the Blessing, did you? But no one hears your prayers anyway.”
If he knew how little I care about the All-Mother hearing me, he’d probably have a fit, she thought with amusement before stepping up to him. He looked her up and down and mocked, “Aw, you even try to dress like real Nora; not that it fools anyone.”
“So this is how it’s going to be with you, is it?” the red-haired asked, adopting an unfazed look.
“This is how it’s going to be with everyone, outcast. You belong in the wilds, not in Mother’s Heart. And you definitely don’t belong in the Proving.”
Was that the best he could do? ‘Outcast’ as an insult had stopped having an effect on her years ago, after hearing it too many times, it had started to just roll off her shoulders. She couldn’t agree more about belonging in the wilds, and in fact intended to spend as much time there as possible, even after the Proving. As for belonging in that, specifically, well it’s not like he could do anything about it, was it? All that boasting was just for show anyway, and she took care to let him know she knew that.
“You can sense it. You already know you’re going to lose.”
“Ha!” he laughed. “I’ve trained all my life for the Proving! I’m not afraid of you - I’m not afraid of anything!” More boasting and pretending… was that all Bast was capable of?
“Really?” she asked in a doubtful tone. “Confidence is quiet. You’re not.”
“You know, I often think of the day I gave you that scar,” the boy deflected, pointing to her head. “It’s a cherished memory.” Yeah, you’ve said. Not five minutes ago, Aloy was tempted to point out. Instead she decided to knock him down a peg.
“The look on your face when I knocked that stone out of your hand was pretty entertaining. But I suppose you leave that part of the story out when you tell it, don’t you?”
“I branded you that day,” he proclaimed, “to mark your shame.”
Well, if he thought of scars as shameful, he should be careful about not being heard by the older Braves. From what she’d seen, most of them had a few scars here and there - and there were probably more hidden under their clothes that she hadn’t seen. Battle scars weren’t a mark of shame, they were a mark of strength.
“All you did that day was make me stronger. Just wait. I’ll show you tomorrow.”
“Yeah right!”, he scoffed. “This is boring!” On that, at least, they agreed. “Time for Bast to get some sleep! You’ll be the one surprised tomorrow, outcast. Not me.”
Did he just speak of himself in the third person? “Oh, are you going to shut your mouth? Because that would be a surprise.” On those words, she turned away from him, leaving him sputtering. The girl from before came to her with a smile.
“Nice job handling Bast,” she praised. “That should keep him quiet… ‘Til morning, anyway.”
Aloy couldn’t repress her smile; obviously she wasn’t the only one to think Bast was full of hot air. “I don’t believe we’ve met,” she said, holding out her hand. “I’m Aloy.”
“Oh, I know who you are,” the girl said, shaking her hand. “The competition. The others, they’ll finish the Proving, most of them. But win it? That’s down to Bast, you... or me. Vala.”
Well, she was confident too - but the red-head had a feeling that was entirely justified in her case, and not a drop of boasting was involved. Still, she couldn’t help but reply, “Nice to meet you, Vala. You’re right. I am going to win tomorrow.”
“Never celebrate a victory before it's earned, girl”, Vala said wisely. “My mother taught me that. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to get some sleep. I plan to be well-rested when I run you into the ground tomorrow. Your bunk’s right there when you want it.”
“Okay, thanks.” Vala’s mother sounded like someone Rost would have gotten along with, Aloy thought. He’d have scolded her for that little bit of boasting. With a sigh, she went to lie down on her bed and stared at the ceiling. In the corner of her eye, she saw Vala roll on her side, facing her.
“So. Your first day in Mother’s Heart. What’d you think? You’ve never slept in a Nora lodge before. Not very private.”
Indeed, it was not; which was why Aloy would have appreciated some time to herself, thank you very much.
“Comforts and distractions. That’s what I think,” she said in a short tone, hoping to quiet Vala.
But it seemed her competition was in a chatty mood, for she insisted, “Not all comforts are bad.”
Goddess, would this girl leave her alone? “Comforts are weaknesses,” Aloy spat out.
“You sound just like my mother,” Vala said in a disappointed tone. Offended, Aloy turned around, but the other girl didn’t give her time to speak. “You can always go back to living in the wilds if you have to,” she added sharply. “In the meantime, get some rest."
On these words, she turned away, leaving Aloy to her thoughts.
*_*_*_*_*_*_*_*
The aspirants were woken at dawn the next day by Resh banging on the door of the bed-house. “Wake up, everyone!” he called in a harsh voice. “No time to waste, you have a Proving to run! You have five minutes to get dressed, after that we’re leaving without any stragglers!”
Oh so no breakfast then? Aloy thought. That was just as well; digestion would only slow her down, and she needed to be at her top capabilities today. She put on her armor and boots in quick gestures, before stepping outside alongside Vala. She noticed the other girl was eyeing her hesitantly, as though wondering if a gesture of friendship would be welcomed, and felt a pang of guilt for how she’d acted the previous day. Turning towards her main competition (she wasn’t counting Bast as a serious one, unlike Vala) she held out a hand and said, “Hey, sorry about last night. I’ve never been in a place so crowded before, and Bast’s behavior didn’t help with the irritation. I shouldn’t have lashed out at you, though. Good luck for today.”
“Apology accepted,” Vala answered with a smile, shaking her hand. “And good luck to you as well.”
One by one, the other aspirants stepped out of the hut, squinting against the rising sun. As Resh led them outside the settlement and towards the wilds, they naturally fell into a line behind him, everyone keeping some distance for each other. Snow had fallen during the night, and the land around them seemed hushed - almost like nature itself understood and respected the importance of the moment for the little group.
They’d been walking for maybe half an hour when Aloy elbowed Vala and pointed out at the mountain next to the path, the highest they’d seen so far. “Look! I found something to rival the size of Bast’s ego.”
Just as she’d hoped, the other girl grinned and nodded, before saying “I don’t know, actually; I think that boy’s ego might be even bigger than that.”
Ahead of them, Bast turned around briefly, as though realizing they were talking about him, then turned back to face the path. It didn’t take them much longer, after that, to reach the foot of a mountain with a few waterfalls, where Resh simply ordered, “Climb.”
The blonde boy turned once again towards Aloy and Vala, who’d reached the mountain right after him, and bowed mockingly. “Ladies first! Please go ahead.”
The two girls looked at each other for a second before shrugging; any advantage was good to take at this point, to get a better chance to win, so they both started to climb. Aloy had to hand it to her, Vala was a good climber; she didn’t have any trouble keeping up with the redhead. The dark-haired girl smiled at her for a few seconds before Bast shoved himself between them, trying to make them lose balance as he climbed ahead. Aloy stared after him angrily for a few seconds; obviously his show of politeness earlier had been intended to lure them into a false sense of confidence so he could act like a jerk after.
She met Vala’s eyes and the dark-haired girl shook her head, before lifting a corner of her lips in a sneer intended at the boy now above them. Saving their breath, they didn’t say anything before continuing to climb; but both knew the other was just as exasperated by their rival, which, in a sense, was comforting.
Once everyone was on top of the mountain, the aspirants walked towards Resh, who’d somehow reached there before them. Walking to the head of the group, Aloy noticed he wasn’t even out of breath, and suspected there was another, easier path the man had followed.
“Braves!” he called. “Ready yourselves!”
Aloy half-crouched, ready to use her spear or bow as soon as she would have to; turning briefly towards her, Resh asked in an exasperated voice, “What will it take to get you out of here?”
He turned his back to her, and shortly after that, a couple shouts rang out. “Grazers!”
Aloy drew her bow; shooting a Grazer would be more efficient than fighting one with a spear and risking the whole herd turning against her. “They moved so fast!” a girl commented, and she briefly rolled her eyes. That one mustn’t have prepared that much for the Proving, if she was surprised by the speed of the machines.
A single, well-placed fire arrow brought down her target, as well as a few other Grazers, and she hurried to harvest a horn, that she raised in the air to show she’d succeeded… a few seconds before an arrow hit it from behind, shattering the trophy between her hands. She turned around to see Bash chuckling with contempt, followed by Resh. “Your trophy is shattered, outcast!” the man taunted. “Looks like you’ll need another.”
Is that so? She thought. Well then it’s a good thing I brought down a bunch of Grazers and not just one, isn’t it?
Not paying Resh any mind, she rushed to the nearest Grazer and harvested a new horn that she secured to her back, before running towards a nearby arch, trying to join the group. “I’ve got to catch up,” she muttered. “Faster, come on!”
In the distance, she heard a Proctor saying, “Slow and steady now; all you need is to finish.” Speak for yourself, she thought bitterly. She needed more than finishing; she needed to win. “That makes all but one; is the outcast coming?”
As she started climbing the last part, she heard one girl say in a surprised voice, “She was right behind me!”
“Looked strong, I thought,” the Proctor commented.
She reached the start of the trail just as the last aspirant disappeared from view; not unkindly, the Proctor said, “Dead last, girl. Might as well walk from here. Bast will win, or Vala; you’ll be made a Brave, so long as you finish.”
The man had a point; she had no chance of catching up on the trail now. But maybe she could find a shortcut… She looked around and spotted the start of another trail, visibly older and less maintained. The Proctor followed her gaze and tried to warn her. “Oh, now! That’s an old trail! Two died on it last year; it’s falling apart. Better dead last, than dead altogether!”
Not for me. Aloy took a few steps back, preparing to sprint and jump on the trail.
“By All-Mother! Are you crazy? You’re going to kill yourself!” For a couple of seconds, the redhead thought the man was right; she was going to miss the jump, and fall to her death here, on the Mountain…
To her surprise and his, though, she landed on the first pole, then on the second, before jumping again and grabbing a stone on the Mountain.
“It doesn’t get any easier!” the man yelled as she hauled herself up. “You’re insane to go that way!”
She ignored him; failure wasn’t an option, and she didn’t have time to explain why; not that anyone else would ever understand anyway. In the group ahead, someone asked, “Who’s in the lead? I can’t see!”
“Bast!” another contestant replied as Aloy went down a zipline, “with Vala right behind!”
She had to hurry up. She didn’t have time to waste if she wanted to catch up with them all… As soon as her feet touched ground, she ran towards the fallen tree ahead of her before jumping on another ledge. “Stop dragging,” she told herself, gritting her teeth. She hauled herself up, then ran towards another ledge alongside which she crawled. A brief look downside told her she was gaining. Someone must have looked up and noticed her, because she heard a voice yell out, “Hey! Out there, the outcast!”
“On the Old Trail?” “Is she crazy?”
The redhead ignored them, One jump to the side, another ledge, then another platform with a fallen tree as bridge. The one on the next platform was broken, though, which meant she had to rappel down. Ignoring all rules of safety, and knowing Rost would have a heart attack if he saw her, she jumped into the void before throwing her hook and rope up to catch on the broken tree. As soon as she had landed, she gave the rope a sharp tug to get the hook down and started running again. Instead of being above the group, she was now just below them, as she’d seen a few contestants running while she was going down.
She jumped onto another ledge, hauled herself onto another platform, then ran towards the next part of the climb - which, to her surprise, led towards an arm of the old Metal Devil, that served as bridge. Thinking of her competition, she muttered, “They had the tribe… but I had the wilds!” Out there, precision wasn’t enough; she had to be perfect, Rost had taught her that. She ran towards another climbing spot, and crossed a new tree before going down a zipline… that put her just a few seconds ahead of Vala and Bast. Not wasting a second, she ran towards the endline, marked by a trunk and where a smiling old woman was waiting. Kneeling down, she planted her trophy beyond the trunk, followed immediately by Vala, and a fraction of a second later, by Bast.
The boy clearly wasn’t happy about this, though. Standing up, he started shouting to anybody who would listen, “She didn’t win! The outcast cheated!”
Worried, Aloy turned towards the woman, who was clearly there to judge who had won or not. What would she say? Surely whoever picked the judge made sure they would be fair and unbiased, right? But what if running the old trail was considered cheating? No, the Proctor would surely have told her that instead of just predicting her death… The old woman’s face was unreadable, her eyes as gray as her hair, when she spoke loud enough for her voice to carry.
“An Outcast? Win the Proving? Never.”
Aloy felt her world crumble around her ears. No. No, this couldn’t happen now, not at the last minute, not after everything she’d done… She felt tears welling up in her eyes at the unfairness of it all. Why let her run the Proving at all, if she had no chance to win anyway? But then the tiniest smile formed on the old woman’s lips, as she added, “For she is a Brave now!”
“You did it!” Vala congratulated her, visibly and genuinely happy for her. Aloy turned towards her out of reflex, barely able to comprehend what was happening through her relief. She’d won. Soon enough, she would know who her mother was, and why she’d been cast out at birth.
“As are all of you,” the judge interrupted, “so long as you put your trophy on the altar. But it is Aloy, once outcast, and now brave, who is first among you!”
Cries of deception rose out around her, Bast being the loudest of them all, but she couldn’t care less. She felt a rush of euphoria run through her veins. The old woman came towards her.
“Congratulations, Aloy.”
“Thank you, Matriarch…” she let her voice trail off as she realized she didn’t know the name of the person in front of her.
“I am Osna, and I am no Matriarch,” the judge said in a kind voice. “You may not know this, but as winner of the Proving, you are allowed to ask a boon of the High Matriarchs.”
“I am aware,” Aloy nodded. “I already know what I want, actually…”
“Don’t tell me,” Osna warned, raising a hand, “or anyone else. Tradition states that the Matriarchs must be the first ones to hear your request. They will summon you tomorrow; until then, a feast is awaiting you and your new tribemates. Be merry, enjoy the food, and the attention that comes with winning the Proving.”
Aloy held back a grimace; she’d have preferred to get this over with tonight. Not wanting to start off on the wrong foot with the tribe, though, she nodded. Osna spoke up again, this time loud enough for everyone to hear.
“You will go down this zipline,” she announced, “and find yourselves not far from Mother’s Heart. Go enjoy the feast, for tomorrow your training under the War Chief will begin.”