Aloy

Aloy
*Aloy of the Nora Savior of Meridian The Entity The Outlander Aloy despite the Nora Flame-Hair
Biographical and chronological information
Home universe:	Hijik'luui Universe
Date of birth:	April 4, 3021 (2399 NE)
Physical and biological description
Species:	Human
Gender:	Female
Height:	1.68 meters (5'6 feet)
Hair color:	Red
Eye color:	Green
Skin color:	Light
Societal and political information
Affiliation:	Tribes of Hijik'luui Earth Alliance of Civilizations Multiversial Federation
Status:	Alive
Father:	Rost (adoptive father)
Mother:	Elisabet Sobeck (Biological mother and clone)
Marital status:	Unmarried
[Source]

Aloy is a female human hunter, archer, Nora Brave, Seeker and machine hunter of unparalleled skill, Aloy is the genetic clone of 21st century roboticist and engineer Dr. Elisabet Sobeck.

She was created by GAIA, the governing artificial intelligence of Project Zero Dawn, a global terraforming system that Sobeck had designed and whose implementation she had spearheaded, which restored life to Earth after its eradication by the Faro Plague. GAIA created Aloy for the purpose of stopping HADES, a rogue AI bent on reactivating the Faro Plague in order to wipe out life again, and repair the AI itself, after it self-destructed in an attempt to destroy the rogue AI. Aloy succeeded, saving life on Earth and the humans of the new world that Zero Dawn created. In doing so, she unraveled the mysteries of why the world became as it is, and also learned the true nature of her origins.

Biography

Conception and Early Life

On August 26, 3020 (2398 NE), the AI GAIA received a transmission from the rogue AI Nemesis that turned her subordinate functions into self-aware and erratic AIs. The HADES sub-function, which was designed to reverse terraforming operations and create a clean slate if GAIA did not produce a sustainable environment, immediately attempted to take control of GAIA's terraforming systems to eradicate life on Earth once more. In order to prevent this, GAIA activated a fail-safe, overloading the GAIA Prime reactor in an attempt to eliminate HADES. However, this act would lead to GAIA's destruction as well, and cause the eventual breakdown of the terraforming system. To prevent this, GAIA activated the Lightkeeper Protocol and created a clone of Elisabet Sobeck. This clone would have the gene print necessary to access the Alpha Registry and enter Zero Dawn facilities to rebuild GAIA's system core upon reaching maturity. GAIA ordered ELEUTHIA-9, presumably the cradle facility at which the Alphas’ genetic material was stored, to produce the Sobeck clone.

On August 26, 3020, ELEUTHIA-9 received the gestation order from GAIA Prime shortly before GAIA went offline. The genetic material of Elisabet Sobeck in cryo-storage was used to create a clone of Sobeck and gestated in Ectogenic Chamber B1-001. On April 4, 3021, the clone was deemed viable and delivered at 9:30 am.

Youth

As per GAIA's instructions, the newborn clone was placed outside the entry hatch of ELEUTHIA-9 by a multi-servitor. In the time since the original occupants of ELEUTHIA-9 had left, the facility's door and the surrounding cave had come to be seen by the Nora tribe as the embodiment of their deity, All-Mother. The High Matriarchs found the baby upon hearing her cries; while High Matriarch Teersa believed that the child was a gift from All-Mother, many of the Nora tribe, especially High Matriarch Lansra, feared that the baby was a curse, placed in the Sacred Mountain by the metal devil. As no person except for the High Matriarchs could enter the mountain, it was deeply suspected that the baby was not born of a human mother. Because of this, she was made an outcast by Nora law.

The High Matriarchs placed her in the care of Rost, an outcast who kept to Nora traditions, and who would come to love the child as if she were his own daughter. With the help of Teersa, Rost was able to perform a traditional naming ritual for the baby, whom he named Aloy. Aloy grew up with Rost in his home within The Embrace, fully aware that Rost was not her father and that she was an outcast, though she was unaware of the reason why.

Finding the Focus

One day, after being shunned while picking berries with other Nora children, Aloy ran away in a fit of rage and accidentally fell down a hole into a ruin of the Old Ones, a place forbidden for Nora to enter. While exploring the cave in search of an exit, she discovered a small, arrow-shaped device that displayed information and recordings through holograms. Eventually, she found a way out of the cave and reunited with Rost, who immediately inquired about the device and demanded to see it, though she refused to do so; he reluctantly allowed her to keep it. The next day, while learning survival skills from Rost, Aloy used her Focus to save a Nora boy, who had fallen from a Brave trail into a pack of Watchers and Striders that had surrounded him. As outcasts, however, she and Rost received no gratitude when the boy's father arrived to retrieve him.

As she stormed off in frustration, Aloy was struck by a rock thrown by Bast, another Nora child, who mocked her for being a "no-mother". While Rost treated her injury, Aloy demanded to know why she was an outcast, and who her mother was. Rost tentatively admitted that he did not know exactly why she was outcast, or even who her mother might be, but that the High Matriarchs likely knew. The surest way to get the High Matriarchs to tell her was to run in the Proving, Nora's coming-of-age ritual: not only would the winner be granted a boon, but Aloy would be accepted into the tribe simply by completing the Proving. Aloy resolved to win the Proving and learn the truth about her mother.

Proving Preparations

With instruction from Rost, Aloy spent the next twelve years honing her survival skills in preparation for the Proving. Two days before the ceremony, she helped Rost track down a Sawtooth that had been causing problems for the hunting parties and killed the machine single-handed; while almost dying in the process. Rost's final lesson for Aloy was not how to kill a dangerous new machine, but to do her part in protecting the tribe once she was accepted in.

Bringing her to Mother's Heart the day before the ceremony, Rost gave her his daughter's necklace to remember him by; realizing he wanted her to forget him, Aloy tried to convince him that she'd still go to see him in secret, but Rost refused, knowing that Aloy's connection to him would prevent her from embracing the tribe. Telling Aloy that he would go where she would never find him, Rost gave his farewell as he walked away, leaving a heartbroken Aloy at the gates.

Aloy was welcomed by High Matriarch Teersa and entered Mother's Heart for the first time in her life. While walking through the settlement, Aloy spotted a foreign man in robes attempting to speak to a crowd. The audience's reaction to the Carja Sun-Priest was initially hostile until another foreigner named Erend spoke in his defense. Aloy befriended Erend soon after and was introduced to his traveling companion, Olin. To Aloy's surprise, Olin wore a Focus device similar to her own, though he said very little about himself or the Focus when Aloy questioned him, being highly evasive and defensive.

Aloy eventually retired to the lodging with the other Proving contestants; Resh, standing guard outside, insulted her for being both motherless and an outcast. Retorting with a snide remark, Aloy went into the lodging but was again met with jibes from Bast. After exchanging some words about the time young Bast attacked Aloy with a rock, Aloy went to bed but was still uneasy with her new surroundings. Vala, another contestant who is welcoming to Aloy, tried to bolster her.

Mission to stop HADES

Anointed as a Seeker

Aloy awakened within All-Mother, which was supposed to be off limits to all members of the tribe except for the High Matriarchs. After recovering her clothes, gear, and Focus, she saw a projection of a woman who looked remarkably like her, only much older and with short hair. She met Teersa, who explained that Aloy was brought inside the mountain because it was seen as a sacred rite to die near one's mother, and explained that the mountain itself had given birth to Aloy. Finding a giant door, it scanned Aloy, though it announced that the system was corrupted and could not accept Aloy's genetic code. Teersa exclaimed with joy that the goddess knew Aloy, though Aloy angrily snapped that it didn't recognize her because of corruption, and if she could heal it then maybe the door would open. She anointed Aloy a Seeker, which would allow her to leave the Sacred Lands in order to find the truth. Aloy accepted the mission, though asked what had happened to Rost. Teersa then told her that his remains were given a proper burial near his home.

Out of the Embrace

Right before the ceremony the day before The Proving, Aloy met Olin, an Oseram that helped the Eclipse cultists target her. The now self-aware AI HADES put out the kill order because it found a picture of Elisabet Sobeck, and Aloy looked just like her, so HADES wanted her dead. The Proving was then attacked by the Eclipse. She then found out that the Eclipse used Olin's focus to target her. Aloy swore revenge on Olin for killing her fellow Braves. She found out that he had a residence in Meridian and made the long journey to the Sundom to find him.  

Before she could leave Mother's Watch, several corrupted Striders and a Corruptor attacked the village. After defeating the Corruptor, Aloy retrieved a component that the Corruptor had used to control the other machines. She attached the component to her spear, giving her the ability to override machines, which she first used on a Strider. Aloy reached the Main Embrace Gate, where she met Varl. Varl told her to head to Mother's Crown to begin her journey to Meridian, but also asked her to find War-Chief Sona and her war party, who had gone missing searching for the Proving killers.

Aiding the Nora War Party

Aloy located the battlefield north of Mother's Rise where the war party was last seen. She came across Dran, who told her that the war party was on the trail of the killers, but an ambush of corrupted machines threw them off. Aloy followed a blood trail up a ridge overlooking Devil's Thirst, encountering War-Chief Sona and the remnants of the war party. Sona had tracked some of the killers to a nearby camp, and Aloy aided Sona and the Nora party in dispatching them. Aloy figured out where the rest of the killers were through a datapoint: camped in the Ring of Metal in Devil's Grief. Although the area is considered taboo, Aloy and Varl convinced the war party to finish the counterattack to avenge the dead.

Aloy and the Nora took out several enemy camps along the route to the Ring of Metal before regrouping and coming up with a plan to wipe out the final camp. Aloy and Varl snuck through to the heart of the camp, finding a large number of corrupted machines and cultists. Aloy decided to infiltrate the camp alone to ignite a large stockpile of Blaze, blasting a hole through the camp walls for the Nora party to charge through. The Nora successfully killed the remaining cultists and machines, purging the last of the killers from Nora lands.

Journey to the Sundom

Aloy journeyed to the edge of Nora lands at Mother's Crown, where she met Marea. Marea informs her that Daytower is the Carja gate to Meridian, but the army has sealed the gate due to the concentration of corrupted machines in the area. Aloy cleared the corrupted zones, passing the Forsaken Village, and defeated a Corruptor right outside Daytower gate. She was then granted entry, and continued on the path to Meridian by the Way of Broken Stones, leaving Nora lands behind.

In the Sundom

Finally reaching the gates of Meridian, Aloy finds that the city guard has barred outlanders and merchants from entering the city because of the recent murder of Captain Ersa and her Vanguard. However, a drunken Erend emerges and personally escorts Aloy into the city. Once they are alone, Aloy relays what she knew about the Proving killers and Olin's connection with them. Despite his disbelief of Olin's betrayal, Erend accompanies Aloy to the apartment Olin stayed at. Using her Focus, Aloy finds evidence that Olin knew the killers targeted her, but also realizes that Olin's wife and child were being used as leverage.

Aloy locates Olin at Rockwreath, surrounded by cultists. She witnesses the cultists raise two Corruptors from the earth and reactivate them. Suddenly, something disrupts the Focuses of the cultists; an unknown voice taps into Aloy's Focus, revealing that he disabled the Focuses to assist her. Aloy dispatches the cultists and defeats the Corruptors, with only Olin remaining. Aloy demands answers from Olin, and he readily reveals what he knows about the Eclipse. Under the command of a 'metal devil' called HADES, the Eclipse are excavating deactivated machines to use; the Eclipse are led by Helis, the man at the Proving massacre who tried to kill Aloy and fatally stabbed Rost. Though Olin does not know who the woman is that resembles Aloy, he remembers seeing her image at Maker's End. Depending on player choice, Aloy either kills Olin or spares his life, but regardless promises to rescue his family.

Plot against the Sun-King

Seeing the power of Aloy's Focus as she investigates Olin's apartment, Erend asks Aloy to help him find the murderers of his sister Ersa. Though reluctant at first, she eventually agrees. Meeting Erend at Red Ridge Pass, Aloy investigates the area where the Vanguard fell, and begins to suspect that the fight was staged. Following some cart tracks up to Dimmed Bones, Aloy and Erend are ambushed by Oseram mercenaries. Although Aloy is unsure what their motive is, she suspects that Ersa was not murdered but taken hostage, and another corpse was put in her armor to fool the Carja.

Upon arriving at Sun-King Avad's palace, Erend confirms that the body found was not Ersa's. Marad names Dervahl as the man likely behind the scheme, and sends Aloy and Erend to Pitchcliff to meet an agent tracking Dervahl. However, they find the agent dead, with a crude map drawn with his blood marking Dervahl's location. At the camp, Aloy, Erend, and several Oseram soldiers take out the machines and Dervahl's men, but as she enters the cellar, Aloy triggers a sonic blast that alerts a large guard. After killing him, Aloy loots a pair of earplugs that block the sonic waves, allowing her to get into the workshop and disable the sonic devices. She and Erend find Ersa alive but badly injured; Ersa explains that Dervahl took her hostage after meeting under false parley, and that Dervahl plans to destroy Meridian and Avad. Ersa dies of her wounds immediately after, as Aloy discovers Dervahl's plan to destroy Meridian with a large shipment of Blaze.

Aloy and Erend return to warn Avad, and Marad points them to a warehouse purchased by an Oseram landlord, most likely the place Dervahl is storing the Blaze. In the warehouse, Aloy finds a bomb on the main floor, and a number of Blaze barrels on the upper level. Unable to disarm the bomb, Aloy decides to push the Blaze barrels out the window in hopes of reducing the blast radius. She and Erend push the barrels out and escape before the bomb detonates, causing an explosion that only damages the warehouse itself. Knowing that Dervahl wanted Avad to watch Meridian's destruction, Aloy races back to the palace. She finds Avad incapacitated by sonic devices, and Dervahl trying to detonate his bomb, unaware that it had already gone off. Aloy disables the sonic devices and battles Dervahl, keeping him pinned down until Erend and the Vanguard arrive to arrest Dervahl. Avad expresses his gratitude and offers her a place in his court, but Aloy declines as she has not finished her quest.

Project Zero Dawn

Still intent on learning who the mystery woman is, Aloy goes to Maker's End, guided by the same voice who had disabled the cultists' Focuses. She discovers the Eclipse excavating a machine called a Deathbringer, which she manages to kill along with the cultists. Through a cultist's Focus, HADES finds out that Aloy is still alive. Though met with an identiscan like at All-Mother mountain, the door opens for Aloy, allowing her in.

As she works her way up the ruins, Aloy learns that Maker's End was originally a facility belonging to Faro Automated Solutions, a corporation of the Old Ones that made machines. Eventually, they made machines for war, such as the Deathbringer and Corruptor. She identifies the woman as Elisabet Sobeck, who had worked for FAS for a time. Reaching Ted Faro's office at the top of the ruins, Aloy begins to learn of the circumstances of the Old Ones' disappearance. The Faro war machines had the ability to self-replicate and were powered through consuming biomatter, but a glitch caused the machines to go rogue and ignore commands. They had begun what would eventually wipe out all life on Earth. Ted Faro wanted Elisabet Sobeck to fix the glitch, but without a backdoor the glitch could not be reversed. However, Sobeck did produce a solution, named Project Zero Dawn.

Once the recording had ended, Aloy vented her frustrations on what she had just witnessed, reminding herself that it was impossible for Sobeck to have been her mother, as she died centuries ago. Suddenly, she heard the unknown caller criticized her for ignoring the monumental discovery she had just uncovered. An irritated Aloy demanded her unseen ally reveal and identify himself. Bemused by her choice of inquiry, the stranger revealed himself in hologram form and identified himself as Sylens. Although Aloy is distrustful of him, she follows his suggestion to head to the Grave-Hoard, the former U.S. Robot Command. Descending into the bunker of the Grave-Hoard, she takes out more corrupted machines and cultists before coming across them tinkering with a metal devil and reactivating another Deathbringer, which she fights. Further into the ruins she finds out that Project Zero Dawn was implemented alongside a military campaign called Operation: Enduring Victory.

Aloy concludes that she needs to get to the Orbital Launch Base, which Sylens tells her lies underneath Sunfall, the capital of the Shadow Carja. Since any Eclipse members wearing Focuses would identify her, Aloy suggests crashing the network to disable communication with HADES. She goes to the Eclipse Base, her target being an immobilized Tallneck the Eclipse have modified as a transmitter. Sneaking around and taking out the cultists, Aloy finds the Tallneck. Climbing to the top, she finds the module's casing, but is shocked when she tries to open it. HADES, located in a metal devil, closes in on her and claims Aloy cannot destroy it. Aloy thrusts her spear into the module anyway, crashing the Focus network and forcing HADES to withdraw. However, Aloy flees under heavy fire from Deathbringers and Eclipse cultists, barely escaping with her life. Upset with Sylens for risking her life, Aloy shares some angry words with him before moving on to Sunfall.

Aloy enters Sunfall without alerting the Eclipse and gets to a vent that leads into the Zero Dawn project facility. Encountering another identiscan door, Aloy is allowed access but a door malfunction stalls her. She authorizes an emergency venting procedure, which opens the door but inadvertently alerts Kestrels to a presence in the ruins.

In the Zero Dawn facility, Aloy reaches a holographic theater and a message from General Herres explains the truth of Operation: Enduring Victory. The military operation was not a superweapon program to stop the Faro Plague and save humanity, but a means to buy the amount of time needed to complete Project Zero Dawn. Humanity and all life on Earth would go extinct regardless of how successful the operation was. In the next hologram theater, a projection of Elisabet Sobeck explained Project Zero Dawn. The hope was to create GAIA, a fully-automated terraforming AI with a number of subordinate functions: GAIA would generate the deactivation codes for the Faro Swarm, build the arrays to broadcast the codes and shut down the machines, then work on cleansing the Earth, and finally reintroduce life. Aloy learns more about the subordinate functions in subsequent rooms, but still does not understand how she and Elisabet Sobeck are connected; she also learned that HADES was a subordinate function designed to revert the biosphere if it proved unsustainable for life.

In Sobeck's office, Aloy finds copies of the Alpha Registry, which would gain her access to All-Mother mountain. Aloy realizes that she can now figure out who gave birth to her inside the mountain. Sylens callously remarks that she was not made by a "who" but a "what", which angers Aloy. As they argue, Kestrels descend outside the office, and Helis stuns Aloy with a blast bomb.

The Eclipse assault

The Sun-Ring

Aloy wakes up trapped in a cage, dangling above the Sun-Ring. Helis reveals that just before Aloy crashed the Focus network, he sent out orders to the Eclipse to invade Nora territory. He then crushes her Focus and condemns Aloy to be "the first of thousands" to die. Aloy is dropped into the Sun-Ring and forced to fight a corrupted Behemoth. However, she is able to use the Behemoth's strength to her advantage, tricking it into running into the pillars and knocking down the platform and cage. Aloy retrieves her weapons and takes down the Behemoth, challenging Helis to fight her himself. Helis sends two Corruptors into the Sun-Ring, but before Aloy can fight them, Sylens blasts through the walls on an overridden Strider, with another for Aloy to ride. She and Sylens escape the Sun-Ring.

Once they were far from Sunfall, Sylens give Aloy a new Focus, with a copy of the contents of her old one, including the Alpha Registry. Sylens chooses not to help Aloy warn the Nora of the impending Eclipse attack, but he does apologize for being rude to her in the Zero Dawn Project Facility. He rides off, and Aloy heads in the direction of the Sacred Lands.

Return to the Sacred Lands

Aloy reaches the Sacred Lands, but the Eclipse has already ravaged much of the land, leaving a trail of destruction. A wounded Brave tells her that the remaining Nora has taken refuge in All-Mother Mountain, and Aloy battles her way to Mother's Watch. More Eclipse and a corrupted Thunderjaw are attacking the entrance to the mountain, but Aloy quickly turns the tide of battle, and some of the remaining Nora Braves assist her in defeating the machine.

In All-Mother Mountain, Aloy finds the remnants of the Nora tribe, reuniting with some of the people she met early in her journey. Teersa and Jezza welcome Aloy home, but Lansra remains hostile, convinced Aloy has come to awaken the Metal Devil. Dismissing Lansra's attempts, Aloy uses the Alpha Registry on her Focus to open the bunker door, and she enters, finally close to the answers she has sought.

ELEUTHIA-9

The facility behind the door is ELEUTHIA-9, a Cradle facility where the first humans after the Faro Plague were gestated in and birthed from artificial wombs. Aloy learns that the early humans were raised by multiservitors, but when the food supply was depleted, they were forced out into the wilds. The APOLLO function is also mysteriously offline, which explained the lack of knowledge the tribes had of the Old Ones. Further into the Cradle, Aloy scans a datapoint, a final message from GAIA. GAIA explains that data transmission from an unknown source corrupted the GAIA Prime facility, turning the subordinate functions into self-aware chaotic entities. HADES took this to mean that GAIA had failed and took control of her terraforming system, intending to destroy the world as it was designed to do. GAIA ordered her Prime reactor to overload in an attempt to destroy all her subordinate functions including HADES, though this would mean she would also be destroyed, and warned that without her, the terraforming system would gradually break down, causing Aloy to realize this was the cause of the Derangement. GAIA sent out a transmission to ELEUTHIA-9 to gestate an embryo with Elisabet Sobeck's genetic material, granting her unilateral access to Zero Dawn facilities in hopes that this clone could rebuild her. At the last minute, HADES sent out a virus that destroyed the coding that bound it to GAIA's main system, letting it escape before the Prime reactor overloaded. Though fearing the possibility Aloy wouldn't be able to discover her message, GAIA maintained confidence that Aloy, addressing her as Elisabet, would find a way and instructed her to find the Master Override at the ruins of GAIA Prime, giving her the means to purge HADES, for its very existence made rebuilding GAIA too great a risk.

As the message ends, Aloy was left devastated at the realization that she was essentially a clone created for a single purpose, and not born naturally. Though struggling to come to terms with this, she resolved to go to GAIA Prime and finish what she was meant to do. Exiting the Cradle, the Nora was in awe and, believing she had spoken directly with All-Mother, began to worship her as the "Anointed." Angered that these same people who shunned her as a child are now treating her like a saint, Aloy argued that her task would affect the rest of the world, and the Nora could no longer isolate themselves. Knowing that the Eclipse would launch an attack on Meridian, Aloy asked the remaining fighters to meet her there, and she headed for GAIA Prime.

GAIA Prime

Aloy scales Bitter Climb to reach the entrance to GAIA Prime; she sees the immense damage caused by GAIA's self-destruction and is skeptical that GAIA could ever be repaired. In Sylens' workshop, Sylens suggests that it would still be possible to repair GAIA, but it would take years, and at the present the critical task is stopping HADES. Aloy enters the facility, finding datapoints from the Alphas who lived there to finish GAIA after the Faro Plague had decimated the globe. She also finds Elisabet Sobeck's journals, heavily damaged, but Sylens has her scan them anyway, as the Focus can gradually rebuild them.

Further in, she comes across a shrine to Elisabet Sobeck and listens to the datapoint Charles Ronson recorded, learning of Sobeck's fate. When a port seal malfunctioned, the Faro swarm detected GAIA's energy signal, threatening GAIA and the Alphas within the facility, as if they reached the facility, they would destroy the last chance of life being recreated. While the Alphas argued over the situation, Elisabet donned an environmental suit to protect herself from the swarm and went outside to repair the door, knowing that she would be permanently shut out. By the time she made the other Alphas aware of this, it was already too late, and she was trapped outside, but at peace knowing that GAIA would survive. Aloy reacts with sorrow upon discovering Elisabet's fate, and she defends Elisabet's kindness to Sylens.

Reaching another area of the facility, Aloy opens a door to a conference room that was apparently devoid of air, with the corpses of the Alphas scattered about. She watches the hologram of Ted Faro revealing to the Alphas that he purged APOLLO to prevent humanity from repeating the mistakes of the past. He then vented the atmosphere of the room, suffocating and killing the Alphas. Horrified by Faro's actions, Aloy nonetheless knows that the Alphas did not die in vain, as they succeeded in their goal. She finds the Master Override on the conference table, and makes her way back to Sylens' workshop to meet Sylens face-to-face again. Sylens admits that he had worked with HADES before and formed the Eclipse, to do what HADES commanded. Aloy realizes that HADES is targeting the Spire to reawaken the Faro swarm and destroy the world again. Sylens leaves his lance to Aloy, and she attaches the Master Override to it. Now with the power to stop HADES, Aloy decides to head for Meridian.

The Cut

However, intrigued by rumors of dangerous new machines at the edge of Banuk land, Aloy took a detour from her mission to explore the Cut. While scaling a path that led beyond the Grave-Hoard, Sylens tuned in and rudely asked Aloy what was she thinking, since she was deviating from her mission. Ignoring him, Aloy arrived in Song's Edge in time to witness a Banuk funeral, held for the members of a werak who fell during their expedition to Thunder's Drum. Conversing with an Oseram merchant named Burgrend, Aloy learned of the details regarding the expedition: Aratak and Ourea, the chieftain and shaman of the dominant werak in the Cut, respectively, organized the march to defeat a "Daemon", which Ourea claimed lived on Thunder's Drum and was driving the machines further into a frenzy. Aloy immediately decided to investigate further, at which Burgrend directed her to Naltuk, Ourea's apprentice, to find Ourea and get more details.

Aloy soon found Naltuk, who was observing the sudden appearance of Control Towers and Daemonic machines across the Cut. Once Aloy dealt with a Control Tower and the nearby machines, Naltuk directed Aloy to the Shaman's Path, which would lead her to Ourea's Retreat in the mountains. The journey ahead was treacherous, and saw Aloy introduced to the Frostclaw and challenged by more dangerous machines. Eventually, she made it to the retreat, and found Ourea attempting to communicate with a Spirit. At Ourea's request, Aloy showed her how she managed to enter the facility (the entrance was blocked off using a holographic locking system accessible only via Focus), which briefly re-established connection with the "Spirit" Ourea was trying to commune with before the Daemon cut off the transmission.

Grateful for Aloy's help, Ourea explained what she knew. They later agree to work together to save the Spirit. However, the main barrier they face is getting access to Thunder's Drum. Initially, Ourea's brother Aratak refuses to let them traverse through the pathway leading to Thunder's Drum due to the dangerous enemies that travelers would typically encounter. As a result, Ourea suggests the idea for Aloy to challenge her brother for the position of the werak chieftan to secure access to Thunder's Drum. Aloy challenges Aratak, but daemonic machines ambush them in the final stretch of the challenge. They team up to fight off the machines, and impressed by Aloy's skills, Aratak concedes leadership to her.

Soon afterwards, Aloy, Aratak and Ourea team up, heading to an ancient ruin at Thunder's Drum, the Firebreak facility to free the "Spirit". They later discover that HEPHAESTUS, one of GAIA's sub-functions, took control of Cauldron EPSILON from an unknown remote location, enslaving the previous governing AI, CYAN, who Ourea earlier deemed as the voice of the "Spirit". After entering the Cauldron Core, HEPHAESTUS, released a Fireclaw to battle the trio. After Aloy, Ourea and Aratak defeated the enemy, they head to the core.

Once they arrive at the Cauldron's core, Aloy tries to initiate the override, but fails due to HEPHAESTUS releasing a burst of electric charge as a defense measure, blocking her from completing the process. Grabbing Aloy's spear, Ourea risks her life to finalize the override, and later succumbs to life-threatening injuries sustained from high voltage electrical shock. With control restored, CYAN's full access privileges was reinstated, which left HEPHAESTUS no choice but to swiftly abandon its efforts at the facility. Later, CYAN triggered the self-destruction of Cauldron EPSILON and transferred itself to the auxiliary control center at Ourea's Retreat. Moments later, Aratak in shock and devastated over the passing of his sister, tries to collect his remaining thoughts. Aloy gently persuades with compassion, reminding him to never forget the sacrifice Ourea made. She further adds that his sister would have wanted him to survive and prevail no matter what tragedy befalls him as it's a reflection of the sheer perseverance and strong will, that the Banuk tribe is known for. After consoling him, Aloy quickly flees with Aratak from the collapsing facility, leaving Ourea's body behind.

After a successful escape from the Cauldron's destruction, Aloy and Aratak meet again at Ourea's Retreat to discuss matters with CYAN. Shortly after, Aratak leaves the retreat after CYAN attempts to console him. Subsequently, Aloy continues her conversation with CYAN, asking her pertinent questions relating to her experiences and information she gathered in past missions, before departing for another mission. Prior to embarking on her next journey, CYAN asks whether Aloy will visit her again to provide any updates as she could share valuable insight that could further Aloy's understanding of the events that occurred in the previous world inhabited by the Old Ones. Much to CYAN's pleasure, Aloy reassured her with a definitive answer, stating that she would be glad to offer that to her.

Prior to finishing the remaining mission at the Cut, Aloy attempts to converse with Aratak who informs her about the remaining Daemonic Fireclaws that roam around, still presenting a grave danger to the Banuk people. Before ending the conversation, he thanks Aloy and tells her that he resolves to have the werak protect CYAN. Prior to departing, Aloy cedes her position to Aratak. Afterwards, he requests her help to eliminate the remaining threats caused by HEPHAESTUS. After finishing the mission, Aloy returns to Naltuk, who thanks her for assisting the Banuk. He then bids her with a respectful farewell.

Battle of the Alight

Aloy returns to Meridian to warn Sun-King Avad of the impending attack. Marad tells Aloy that allies have arrived to bolster the defenses around Meridian and the Spire, including a Nora party led by Sona. After overseeing preparations for the battle, Aloy returns to Olin's apartment to rest. She ponders how Elisabet could have slept with the weight of the world on her shoulders, and how Rost could sleep after his family was lost. She makes one last attempt to speak with Sylens, but silence is all she hears, and she falls asleep.

Early the next morning, Aloy is woken by a Carja soldier, telling her the watchtowers have spotted the Eclipse forces. Readying herself for battle, she meets with Avad, soon witnessing an explosion atop a mesa that opens a wide path for the corrupted machines to break through. Helis and his soldiers infiltrate Meridian, and though Avad wants to take him on, Aloy instead tells him to rally the Vanguard and send reinforcements, then rushes off to deal with Helis. She fights a one-on-one battle with Helis and runs him through with her spear, at last avenging Rost's death.

Aloy aids the defenses against the onslaught of machines, facing waves of Corruptors and Deathbringers. A Deathbringer fires at the ridge above Aloy, bringing it down on top of her and knocking her out. Teb pulls her out of the rubble, but by that time much of the surrounding area is ablaze. Aloy races to the Spire, but at the base of the mesa she sees HADES has already begun the transmission to revive the Faro swarm. With her allies by her side, Aloy approaches HADES, who revives a powerful Deathbringer to keep her at bay. As HADES continues the transmission, Aloy and her allies battle the Deathbringer and more corrupted machines. Once the machines are defeated, Aloy reaches HADES and drives the lance with the Master Override into it.

Aloy's Focus displays a quiet hologram with Elisabet Sobeck's image, and a synthetic voice announces that the Master Override is armed, needing a name and rank to activate it. Aloy states "Elisabet Sobeck, Alpha Prime" and the Master Override is activated, purging the extinction protocol. HADES is disabled, the force knocking Aloy to the ground, and across the land the Faro machines instantly deactivate. Recognizing that she was successful, Aloy smiles with relief, and trudges away from HADES and the lance still embedded in it. She shared her victory with Erend and Varl, and raised her bow in victory as cheering resounded.

That evening, as Meridian rejoiced in their victory, Aloy slipped away from the celebration and left the city on a Strider. Sometime after the final battle, Aloy made the journey to Nevada, finding Elisabet Sobeck's childhood home. There, Aloy found Sobeck's body, still in her environmental suit, on a bench surrounded by a triangle of flowers. She activated her Focus and saw a hologram of Sobeck's face. She gently touched the suit's helmet with an expression of simultaneous grief and joy. She noticed a globe locket in Sobeck's hand and took it. She gazed at it, held to her heart and looked up at the sky with a beatific smile. At last, she knew her 'mother'.

Introduction to the Wider Multiverse

Remnant Wars

War for the Faro Plague

Opening attacks

In 3040, six months after the near second genocide of humanity, the Coalition of Independent States discovered the universe and learned of the Faro Plague through extensive surveying and remote access of surviving ancient databases. With the Coalition eager for a new weapon to give them an edge over the Alliance, which while in a state of peace, both it and the Alliance both were under the belief that it was temporary and eventually a war will break out between it and the Alliance of Civilizations, saw the Faro Plague, a race of endlessly-reproducing, life-consuming war machines, as the perfect new weapon, and prepared to invade.

Not two days after the Coalition discovered the Plague did the invasion begin with the primary objective of reactivating and weaponizing the Faro Plague, and secondary objectives of conquering the universe and defeating the local factions. The mass amounts of transmissions between Coalition ships disrupted the Focuses (ancient technological devices used for gathering info and communicating that were place just in front of the ear) of anyone who owned them, including Aloy and many in the technologically advanced Quen tribe, and also alerted the artificial intelligence that managed machine production across Earth, HEPHAESTUS.

In the hours leading up to the Coalition invasion, the tribes began to notice the Cauldrons across the West Coast of North America and around the world began ramping up production of heavy combat machines in anticipation for the unknown enemy, and were horrified at the sight of the monstrous machine army, though they were surprised that the war machines simply ignored the humans, and everything else, not even fighting back when the humans tried to attack them, further befuddling the tribes. General meetings of each tribe's leadership was called as ministers, elders, executives, and kings debated on the course of action for the anomaly. Aloy traveled to the capital of the Carja tribe, Meridian, to take part in the discussions and provide her expertise with machines.

As the meetings were ongoing, the Coalition launched their invasion, and began striking all over the planet, though unbeknownst to them, the human population was concentrated in the West Coast American region and ended up invading entirely uninhabited areas. Eventually, however, forces found their way into the populated areas and began a proper attack. The forces of the seven tribes stood no chance against the Horde, simply due to their overwhelming numbers, horrifying creatures, and massive technological gap, as the Coalition attacked with air power, space power, firearms and energy weapons, while all the tribes had to fight with were bows, spears, and swords.

Coalition forces used probes to locate the necessary intact facilities to reactivate the Faro Plague, and began excavating them, since they were-long buried. Within hours, the facilities were operational again, and Coalition scientists were at work reactivating the swarm. Meanwhile, Horde forces continued to annihilate defending forces, spearheaded by countless swarms of Chimera converted Tyranids to destroy heavily secured facilities for the Horde to claim and fight against the Faro plague.

Aloy barely survived the next few hours and was whisked away from the ruins of Meridian by the Alliance, which had just arrived, where she was barely surviving a battle with a Carnifex, and hundreds of others were saved. Once the Alliance realized what the Coalition was after and the tribal populations were preserved as if they never existed on the planet, the Alliance was free to unleash a bioweapon to kill the Tyranids and bombard the Coalition forces on the planet, which further destroyed the planet's biosphere, but since all civilians were evacuated, this was a minor concern. Though the planet was bombed with weapons, the Coalition troops in the excavated facility were safe from the chemicals, and suceeded in reactivating the Plague.

Asset to the Allies

Aloy spent several days after processing the information she would be told of the known multiverse and its major powers, and deal with what has occurred on her homeworld, while dealing with the loss of people who died fighting. She was somewhat grateful, but felt she had failed as the Faro plague was in the hands of the invaders who almost destroyed her entire planet for it and will certainly use it as a weapon on all life.

Upon Aloy being brought before a board of Alliance commanders, she argued her case about the danger of the Faro Plague, and what it could cause if the weapons escape the universe. The threat of the Plague hastened the Alliance initiative. The admiral commanding the campaign immediately had a transdimensional interdiction vessel requisitioned, which succeeded in jamming the KFV drives of the Coalition starships. An immediate blockade of the planet followed, and bombardments increasing in aggression and frequency, trying to destroy the Coalition forces on the surface as well as the many millions of Faro Plague war machines now active. These efforts would ultimately fail, however, as a well-coordinated strike destroyed the interdictor and created an opening for a Coalition ship carrying many Faro bots, including multiple FAS-BOR7 Horuses, to escape during a battle between Alliance and reinforcing Coalition ships.

Missions to stop the Faro Plague

After the war, Aloy got a chance to personally meet Siegfried Nirav Velichkov, scientist and herald of the Entity known as the Planter, who had worked closely with the Allies in saving her universe and talked with him about the threat of the Faro Plague, now that it had escaped the universe. While she was grateful the Alliance had saved her world and was already beginning to reterraform it, she knew the same fate that befell her world would happen to others, and swore to work to stop that, while also working closely with the Alliance.

Throughout the Chaos Wars and well into the Second Multiverse War, Aloy, with great aid from the Alliance, would chase down leads on locations where the Horde had deployed the Faro Swarm, hoping to uncover a way to shut down the swarm multiverse-wide. Her success came with a critical strike on a deep-space Coalition facility containing the access codes for shutting down the Plague, which the Coalition had the foresight to install in the event the Swarm turned on them, unlike Ted Faro. After delivering the codes to the Alliance, the "antivirus" was injected into a dead FAS-ACA3 Scarab and transmitted to the rest of the Swarm in every universe through the hivemind, shutting down their machines. Alliance alterations to the code permanently damaged some systems in the machines, preventing their reactivation. Every copy of the machines' blueprints was also deleted, preventing any effort to revive the Swarm from scratch.

Multiverse Civil War

Aloy was one of many heroes who fought in the colossal Multiverse Civil War. Fortunately, she survived the ordeal, though many of her allies in the war did not, meeting their ends in one way or another.

Personality and Traits

Aloy is curious, determined, and intent on uncovering the mysteries of her world. As a child, she was rather disobedient and got annoyed by her guardian Rost's borderline fanatical devotion to the laws, not being able to see what was so bad about the ruins of the Old Ones. Unlike many in her tribe who shun the use of technology, Aloy sees technology as a practical and unique tool to aid her in her quest, a belief that was born when she used it to save a young man from certain death. She frequently uses her Focus throughout her life to aid in hunting machines and tracking individuals. Her early use of the Focus has made Aloy more aware of a bigger picture outside of the Nora tribe, spurring her to be more curious about the Old Ones. She also became more skeptical about tribal lore and beliefs, seeing the All-Mother and what the tribes believe to be her vestiges as what they really are: remnants of Project Zero Dawn.

Aloy is shown frequently to be not good with people, the result of being treated as less than human for the 18 years of her life and having little human interaction outside of Rost. She is very blunt and sarcastic, never hesitating to tell people exactly what she thinks of them even when it wouldn't be wise to do so. She is especially shown to despise those who consider themselves better than others, such as Ahsis, and is disturbed by the behaviour of people such as Nil, not being able to tell if the latter is better or worse than the bandits he kills. She is also rather impatient and has little tolerance for those who waste her time or dodge questions, one of the many things that puts her at odds with the ever-elusive Sylens.

At the same time, however, years of being shunned as an outcast has made Aloy compassionate and sympathetic towards others in need, particularly towards those who are still outcasts. Her benevolence is her greatest strength and has garnered the respect and trust of many who have interacted with her. However, there are limits to her empathy; when Elida asks her if she knows what it's like to only be alive when you're with someone else, Aloy admits that she doesn't, since she's never been in love before and is a loner by nature. Despite this, she does clearly understand the physical nuances and taboos of human behaviour, as she is able to understand when others are attracted to her, and she turns her back on Inatut so that he can get dressed privately, though it's possible that Rost simply taught her these things, so that she could fit in to her tribe in the event that she won the Proving.

Aloy had a strong relationship with Rost, seeing him as the father that she never had and being devastated when he sacrificed himself to save her from Helis, though this was quickly replaced with a burning hatred for the latter. After this tragic incident, she no longer considers the hut she grew up in her home, since Rost is no longer there for her, though she can come back throughout the game to visit Rost's grave and tell her how she's been doing. Eventually, she can ask to have Teersa tell her the story of why Rost was made an outcast, and is very thankful when she does so.

Despite Rost's presence, living without knowing her mother was a source of emotional distress for Aloy and compounded her alienation from the rest of the tribe; it is evident that this is the primary reason Aloy was cast out of the tribe. Aloy's desire to know her origins became her life's goal and her primary motivator to complete her training for the Proving. However, Rost noted that she was only training to win the Proving for herself, as proven when she misses the point of the test when she fights and defeats her first Sawtooth. He tells her that there will come a time when she will have to fight for her new tribe and serve a purpose greater than herself. Aloy understands, but states it will have to be for a cause she believes in. Even after being appointed a Seeker, Aloy's primary motivation is to learn where she came from and who her mother is, caring little for the history of the Old Ones or the fact that the people who are hunting her massacred a large portion of her tribe. It's this single-minded attitude that results in her being considered a "spoiled child" by Sylens. After learning how she was born and why, however, Aloy finds the purpose Rost spoke of; defeat the Eclipse and prevent HADES from causing a second Faro Plague.

As a former outcast-turned-Seeker, Aloy has little respect for laws, especially if they get in the way of what she believes to be right. This is especially shown in regards to the law forbidding contact with outcasts; having once been an outcast herself, she willingly talks with and assists them, with no concern for the possible consequences. She also encourages people who start questioning harsh laws; among the Banuk, she readily encourages tribesfolk who themselves start to ask these questions. In a private conversation with Talanah, Aloy states that she does not consider herself part of the Nora tribe, believing 'Aloy despite the Nora' to be a more fitting title than 'Aloy of the Nora'. As such, she is absolutely outraged when the group start worshipping her after she learns the truth about herself, considering being treated as an idol to be no different than being an outcast, and outright rejects the title 'Anointed' they bestow upon her.

Aloy has shown great physical and emotional resilience during her journey, always moving towards her goal despite the harsh obstacles she comes across. When she discovers that she is not the child but a clone of Elisabet Sobeck created by GAIA, Aloy is shattered by this revelation, feeling that she is a mere instrument "born in destruction and fire" instead of a person. However she quickly gathers herself together, realizing that she was created in order to protect the world from being destroyed by a second Faro Plague. She also becomes somewhat more optimistic as time passes; while Sylens is convinced that Ted Faro doomed the Earth and humanity to oblivion by erasing APOLLO, Aloy, due to all the things she has seen as a Seeker, believes the world they live in is still worth fighting for, even if is a wasteland.

Powers and Abilities

Physical Capabilities

Aloy is very nimble and can scale rock faces with ease. She is even quick enough to dodge charging machines. Having been trained to fight by Rost, she is more than capable of taking on most human enemies as well as machines of many sizes.

Hunting Skills

Aloy is highly proficient with the bow and arrow, having practiced since childhood under Rost. Aloy has an intricate knowledge of machines and can combine materials salvaged from them with natural materials in order to craft ammunition, traps, and tools. She is even able to fit override devices to her spear. Even without the aid of the Focus, Aloy is an excellent tracker, being able to find a trail made by humans or machines.

Intelligence

Through use of her Focus, Aloy learned how to read the ancient glyphs of the Old Ones (English). After acquiring a Corrupter's override component, Aloy can ride some of the Machines she reprograms, cutting her travel time in half. Aloy has demonstrated skill at scientific observation and inference, correctly concluding, for example, that the Earth is a sphere and not flat from observing the shape that its shadow casts on the moon during a lunar eclipse. She routinely demonstrates curiosity and acute powers of observation (albeit enhanced by her Focus), reasoning and deduction, all traits of a competent scientist. This may be due at least in part to her genetic makeup: she is a clone of the exceptionally gifted Old One scientist Elisabet Sobeck. Being a clone of Elisabet Sobeck, Aloy also has the maximum genetic clearance for all Zero Dawn facilities. This allows her to use the Master Override, as well as access any GAIA facilities that require Alpha clearance.

Relationships

Family and Relatives

• Rost
• Elisabet Sobeck

Friends

• Siegfried Nirav Velichkov

Quotes

"I just heard the Alliance is helping to restore my world to what it was once was."

"Yes, indeed, but I also suggested adding actual animals, considering your people need to adjust from hunting machines now, with your AI protectors gone. It will take time, but I doubt that's what you're thinking about, is it?"

"No. The Horde brought death to my people; my world almost died because they were after the Faro Plague. With it, countless worlds might share the same fate as mine. I have to stop this."

—Aloy and Siegfried after the Coalition obtained the Faro plague.

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"What about this do you not understand?! This isn't just war for our universe, but every universe! If these things escape with the Horde, they'll wipe out hundreds of civilizations just like they wiped out mine! We can't take the chance they'll escape!"

— Aloy arguing before Alliance commanders about the danger of the Plague.