Living Antiquity

~27~

We barge through the inner door into the commons, not even eight hours later, due to hitching rides from Avalanche's flock, to see Varl point at the other door.
"They're coming up the other side of the mountain now. You'll enjoy this," Varl grins, leading the way to the other door and out onto the natural stone veranda, Zo's garden to our far left at the waterfallc watching the path until we see shapes clambering up the mountain path.
"Um..." Alva says meekly, confused, "What is... Oh!" She tenses, seeing Zo, and waves, "Zo! Hiii!" She grins.
Zo waves, but turns to beckon someone else up the trail...
I hear Aloy's breath catch as we see a group of people I've only seen from Aloy's travel record- Blameless Marad. Sun-King Avad. Vanasha... Uthid... and...
No way.
"Marshall Fashav," Hekarro bellows, standing up straighter as Fashav stops and salutes, wincing a bit from the movement, a grin across his half-painted face.
"Chief! I have returned, with a delegation ready to offer peace and aid. We passed Talanah Khane Padish in Barren Light, and Lawan was more than willing to tell us what happens. I'm happy to be abel ti be of service again." Fashav grins.
Aloy stammers, "But you..."
"The arrows and spears left wounds. They thought me dead, and I didn't awaken until we were halfway to Meridian," Fashav explains, "Luckily an herbalist had accompanied the caravan that was carrying me," he smiles, walking over and placing a hand on Aloy's shoulder, "I see you listened- and you've grown quite the network. I hear tales of ancient folk, a city under sand, and even friends from beyond the distant shore... Zo was telling us many stories of the adventures since the Embassy," he turns and nods his head to me, "You must be Y/n? Ah, Drakka... Commander now, I hear." He grins, "I hear there's also quite the effort to find a sustainable water source fir the tribe, and I see much of the blight in the lands is retreating, if not gone entirely... We would have come sooner, but, as is the way of things... I had to heal. Still stiff and sore in many places, but I'm able to fight. I may met see the laurels of peace..."
"Aloy," Avad says gently, bowing his head to her as Vanasha walks up and scoops her up, hugging her tightly and twirling her.
"There you are, little huntress! Hahaaa, look at you! All trussed up in that armor, where'd you get it?" Vanasha gasps and pulls back, examining the armor.
"Ah- Y/n made it," Aloy says, grinning, "But-"
"When Fashav spoke of the mission you mentioned to him, we knew it'd be a matter of time, especially if it effects the whole world," Marad explains. Looking between all of us.
Got the eye to read people... oh great, he's looking at me...
"Ah, I see," he chuckles, and walks over to us, "All of you wear the same artifact as Aloy... I assume them to be of importance?" He asks.
"Here, come inside, out of the cold, there's still much to discuss," Zo explains.
Uthid follows, stepping sharply, making he have to elbow Drakka's ribs when he mimics the stuff walk the old soldier had.
"Ow!"
"He's probably been a soldier longer than you've been alive, stop that," I sigh as Drakka just pouts and drapes an arm over my shoulders.
Fashav raises a brow, but chuckles and follows us inside.
Varl grins as we walk in, seeing the entire group together as Fashav sits at one if the tables with Chief Hekkaro, and Avad, and I grab the case of Focuses, handing them out and demonstrating how to wear them.
"Oh? Ah!!" Avad tenses as his activates upon being worn, "The second sight?"
"Yes and no," I say, setting a Focus in Fashav's outstretched hand as he puts it on his unmarked side, looking around.
"Alright, who gives the low-down?" Erend leans forward, elbows on his knees.
"Switch off with information that is pertinent," I say, leaning against the edge of a counter, "Because most- no, all of it is going to be so, so hard to believe."
"Start at the beginning, I guess. Y/n, take it away," Aloy looks at me.
Right, here we go. Explaining who and how I am to royalty, a spymaster, soldiers...
Ted Faro, Elisabet, GAIA, Far Zenith, history, the goal, the means...
I take a breath, stopping sfter nearly an hour, realizing I'e been pacing. And hadn't shut up, at all.
"By the Ten, Y/n, even what you showed us ti catch us up was just holo clips that seemed to be cut together from many recordings..." Dekka says from next to a doorway.
"Yeah... Well... Filling people in takes a lot. I did so many takes and it took so long to cobble even that together..." I point out, "And it was in modules fir a reason. I don't have that luxury because of the situation."
"So then Aloy, and her sister, are perfect copies of this woman...?" Marad asks, looking at a holopic of Liz.
"Yes. And Gaia is right upstairs. There's a holodome with more space ti show pictures, actually..." I stop, "Let's go up there. Gaia, can you pin up a timeline so that we can better show this?"
"Certainly. The doors are open- Beta and I were just having a discussion about how best to handle recapturing HEPHAESTUS."
I lead the way, seeing the others gawk a bit st the dome, until we were all in and spread out, Beta staying close to Aloy and I as Gaia shows the timeline.
"They did all that work in just a few months... to make you?" Fashav asks, stepping forward and addressing her personally.
"Yes. And with the recent re-addition of APOLLO to my database, I am better able to answer questions, and will be able to recover data from GAIA Prime's defunct processor, should I ever be able to reach the area again- I will be able to fill in the history of when and how the biosphere was re-wilded." Gaia nods to him as everyone explores the dome and fines the drone data spot.
"Oh, try this one-" I walk over and activate one in the mountains, seeing eyes widen as we're surrounded by the snow and fog.
"Amazing..." Avad looks around.
"It would have been a way for the graduates of Cradle 9 to keep an eye on the biosphere form a controlled environment. We've been hard at work re-acquiring their data links." I say, leaning against a rail.
Fashav smiles, turning to us, "It'll be nice to be able to reach everyone at a moment's notice, as opposed ti waiting three weeks to receive word that andeal is not worthwhile..."
Avad nods and bows his head ti Hekarro, "I thank you for sparing my cousin and looking after him. I understand him to be an important figure among the Tenakth?" He asks.
"Indeed!" Hekkaro guffaws, "Fought for his life and won the reward. He has helped keep the peace between the clans for years. It is good to know he is alright after all, and not dead."
Marad chuckles, and continues looking around, "All of this... hm..."
"You can record sound- audio- to have evidence of things people say that can be used against them-" I point out to Marad, seeing him raise an eyebrow.
"Oh?" He asks, flicking through menus, "Ah, I see."
A quick study.
"Amazing... Ah, and you are... Beta?" Avad asks, walking over and bowing gently to Beta as she tenses and nods.
Aloy chuckles, "She was raised in a closed room, so..."
"I heard... I know it is of little comfort, but the gates of Meridian are always open to any companion of Aloy's." Avad nods.
A far cry from the puppy crush he had on Aloy a few months ago. Glad we omitted that from available data.
Alva is running around the dome geeking out, eagerly greeting Gaia, Beta, anyone who'll listen fir even a few seconds.
Beta relaxed and conversed with everyone, talking a bit about her experiences learning fro
APOLLO, and her desire to help everyone, Stanley and Morlund arriving to stop off some more viable parts they found under the sand, including functional Focuses that had been stashed in a factory that had been found buried.
"How many?" I perk up.
"Two hundred and seventy... three." Stanley says, smiling, "Burro and his regiment have been hard at work finding and storing them. Its amazing to work side by side with them."
Zo smiles at hearing that, Marad and the other Carja curious.
"Burro?" Uthid raises an eyebrow.
"Y/n names machine she overrides. Piglet the Bristleback. Burro the Burrower. Avalanche the Glinthawk. Nessie the Tideripper. Crockie the Snapmaw, she named Drakka's Charger mount Racer..." Aloy counts on her fingers.
Zo laughs, sitting on the railing.
"We did also extend an invitation to the Nora to come with us before setting out, but the Nora regiment felt behind at Chainscrape. I believe Sona, Teb and Nakoa were a part of it?" Marad says, "You might take this more gently with them..."
"Gently? I hardly find that fair, considering what I went through to end up in Meridian." A voice says from the doorway, and we look over to see a small girl with a long, fat braid.
"Nakoa!" Aloy runs over and I see several other Nora.
"So much metal... I see some homely touches have been added, but it does not ease the aura of wrongness. Varl, Aloy," a near-snarling woman's voice said.
"M-Mother..." Varl frowns.
"War Chief Sona," Aloy smiles, then we all see her eyes light on Gaia.
"The goddess? Varl expressed seeing a vision of her during his mission to retrieve Aloy..."
"Not quite a goddess, but the reason we exist nonetheless..." Var explains, "Even you may want to sit down for this, mother." Varl retrieves one of the seats, "Completely stable and comfortable, I assure you."
"Gaia- would you be willing to use the dome for this?" i ask, looking at her.
"Absolutely- it may even be prudent to do so from now on." Gaia nods, and greets Teb, Nakoa, Sona, and several other Nora individually- including one of the Matriarchs, a woman named Teersa, "Ypu won't know me, but Aloy's Focus- the device on her temple, recorded her adventures and that includes her interactions with all of you. I understand your beliefs that all technology is cursed and that machines are evil... Will you allow me to shlw you the truth?"
"All-Mother..." Teersa starts to bow.
"Please, no such act is necessary. Y/n has expressed a wish for all tribes to be equal in the cause..." Gaia bows her head, before waving an arm, playing the videos I had recorded, ine by one, accompanied- quite smartly- with records of Liz, my brother, the other Alphas, Ted, the Zeniths... It all looked and sounded much better in the dome.
"All of this... Aloy, you are a reincarnation?" Teersa looks at her.
"Not... not quite." Aloy says, motioning with her hands, "I'm my own person with my own soul, as is Beta. We're both copies of the same woman and had our own lives- even as... relegated... as Beta's was. The original Gaia made me to make sure that someday, this version if Gaia would be able to take the system over again."
"Ah. You fought a war against the demonic machines until you found a way to banish their souls, and then you began creating the world anew," Teersa says, standing and pacing.
Teb is staring around with wide eyes. "All this..."
"All Mother Mountain, where you and the other High Matriarchs stay, and the door that leads inside the mountain? All of the humans from the six tribes in the region- both east and here in the west- are descended from them. I'm quite sure that there are other such facilities and humans all over the world who also fractured into sects, and then tribes, much like your ancestors did," I explain, "Because of Ted Faro's selfish nature, he didn't want anyone to know of his sins or mistakes. He erased every copy of the APOLLO database- a collection of knowledge and culture- that existed on Earth. The copy we have was politely burgled from the Zeniths for us by Stanley," I explain.
"Oh- oh I see, child. With that knowledge, our Ancestors would not have fractured. We would have grown with the first Gaia, and this would be much different, yes?" Teersa asks, turning to me.
"Exactly, Ma'am." I nod, feeling Drakka pull me to his side with his arm over my shoulder again.
Teersa paces, "The ruins of the metal world are not cursed... not stained in sin- but simply still exist as a testament to the architecture skills that the old people had. And a single baby girl, found on a cave floor, born ti fix it all when a wicked force from beyond the stars sundered the very heart of our world..."
Sona looks at us, and seems to relax somewhat, "... The attack on the Proving..." she whispers.
"... HADES realized who I was, seeing me through Olin's focus," Aloy explains, "... Vala and Bast paid the price... I..." she frowns.
Olin all but shrinks, Enasha gripping his arm to keep him upright.
"You are not to blame, little man. Aloy long told me how you were manipulated and your family threatened," Sona looks at him coldly, "I am happy to know, though, that every culprit is now dead."
"We don't need HADES anyway- this biosphere is never going to need a reset."
"Well, we have much to learn..." Terrsa perks up, looking around, "And with wuite the extensive cast of outlanders."
Drakka chuckles, Fashav nodding.
"Best get to learning, then. The Nora people will be difficult to sway. We've thought the rest of the world tainted and forbidden for so long... These old bones won't get to exploring much," Teersa groans as Aloy hands her a Focus, "But I see we'll be able to see much more with these- ahh, no wonder you were such a splendid hunter." Teersa chuckles.
I relax, leaning against Drakka as he sets his chin on my head, both of us seeing Sona eying Varl and Zo. Showtime.
"And I see you've found a mate?" Sona wuirks an eyebrow as Varl tenses.
"Guh... uhhh... ThisisZo."
Zo chuckles and pats his shoulder, bowing her head to Sona, "My name is Zo, ma'am. I'm if the Utaru- the tribe that occupies the fields and the big dishes. We have much to talk about, and I look forward to telling you all about my people."
"Hm." Sona nods, Varl looking like he was about to pass out.
Drakka snorts, and I feel his jaw clench as he actually puts in the effort not to laugh.
Varl isn't going to live his reaction down for quite some time...