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"The lesson will be taught in due time, Aloy. Until then, we wait." This article contains heavy spoilers for Horizon Zero Dawn. Read ahead with caution.
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The Battle of the Alight refers to the fight between Aloy and her allies on one side and HADES and his army of corrupted machines and ancient war machines on the Alight of Meridian. It was during this battle that Aloy stopped HADES's attempt at global extinction.
The Build-Up[]
After failing to take control of the terraforming system upon its transformation into an independent AI,[1] the rogue subordinate function HADES was forced to find alternative methods of eliminating the biosphere. The solution it devised was to hijack the Spire, a Zero Dawn transmission array originally used by MINERVA to deactivate the Faro Plague. To that end, it obtained the help of the wandering maverick Sylens (who had been seduced by HADES' promise of knowledge), and created a cult of Shadow Carja called the Eclipse. Using the Eclipse, it unearthed and "revived" a small yet significant battalion of buried Faro robots,[2] including Corruptors that hijacked GAIA's terraforming machines to follow its command. With an army of both man and machine, HADES would carve a path to the Alight, the mesa where the Spire rested, and transmit a signal that would reactivate the Faro Plague across the world, leading to the destruction of the biosphere.
However, this plot would not go unopposed. Sylens, who had been betrayed by HADES upon outliving his usefulness,[3] would come to work with Aloy, the clone of Elisabet Sobeck created by GAIA to restore her. As the two unraveled the mysteries of Project Zero Dawn and HADES, Sylens deduced HADES' objective. Once Aloy received GAIA's Master Override, Sylens relayed his conclusion to Aloy, and provided her with a lance she could use to apply the Master Override to HADES.[4]
After attaching the Master Override to the lance, Aloy traveled to Meridian and warned Sun-King Avad of the upcoming attack. While Avad struggled to understand the details of the situation, he nevertheless moved quickly to prepare defenses. Word was dispatched to every corner of the Sundom. Aloy's allies from among the Carja, Nora, Oseram, and Banuk[note 1] all arrived at Meridian to bolster the city's defenses.[5]
The Battle[]
The Carja saw the first signs of movement in the early morning. The Eclipse used explosives to trigger a massive landslide on the escarpment west of Meridian, carving a path for their army of machines to pour through. As the Vanguard scrambled to prepare the cannons, a group of Eclipse headed by Helis burst through the walls beneath the Temple of the Sun. Aloy descended to confront Helis[6] and slew him after a fierce battle. Racing to the guard at Meridian Village's gate, she and a group of Vanguard fought against wave and wave of machines, both corrupted and Chariot.[6]
Breakthrough[]
The onslaught proved too much to repel, and a Deathbringer eventually blasted down the gate, knocking Aloy unconscious. The machine army advanced forward, carving a path. As a Deathbringer dragged the processing orb containing HADES to the Spire, Meridian Village and the Royal Maizelands were consumed in flames. By the time Aloy recovered and reached the base of the Spire, HADES's forces had broken through the Nora and Vanguard defenses atop the Alight. Now connected to the Spire, HADES began taking over the Spire, beginning the reawakening of Faro machines.[6]
Confrontation[]
Aloy eventually reached the Alight, where three of her allies, including the Vanguard captain Erend Vanguardsman, Nora Brave Varl, and Nora War-Chief Sona[note 2]/Sunhawk Talanah Khane Padish[note 3] were preparing to ascend. Together with them, Aloy fought against HADES' machines, including a Deathbringer. Every couple of minutes, the signal pulses, summoning more corrupted machines to the Alight.
Once the machines were vanquished, Aloy used the Master Override to neutralize HADES, ending its transmission and reversing the reactivation of the Faro Plague.[6] Unknowingly to Aloy, the lance transmitted HADES from the processing orb to a containment device Sylens had in No Man's Land, ready to interrogate HADES.[7]
Aftermath[]
While the damage to Meridian, the Alight, and the surrounding villages was substantial, including the collapse of the Meridian elevators, it was trivial compared to what would have happened had HADES succeeded. The night after the battle, the entire city celebrated.[8] The Council for the Restoration of Meridian was commissioned by Sun-King Avad to help rebuild the city. Six months after the battle, Meridian Village and the Royal Maizelands had largely recovered, with the reconstruction of the Meridian elevators still underway.[9]
Aloy's triumph earned her the epithet "Savior of Meridian" among the Carja and Oseram, with tales of her victory reaching the Tenakth in the Clan Lands.[10] Her reputation among the Carja became nigh-legendary, and a statue of her likeness was made in her honor atop the Alight.[11]
The Battle of the Alight also marked the end of the Carja Civil War.[12][13] Many of the Shadow Carja's leaders and kestrels were killed in the battle,[6] and an offer of amnesty from Sun-King Avad inspired the oppressed peasants in Sunfall to revolt. However, a portion of the Eclipse managed to escape to the Forbidden West, although they were forced to go into hiding.[14] Other Shadow Carja who didn't wish to reintegrate with the Sun Carja fled in order to find a new place for themselves in the world.[15]
References[]
- ↑ GAIA's Dying Plea
- ↑ As mentioned by Sylens during The Mountain That Fell.
- ↑ Intercepted Transmission
- ↑ The Mountain That Fell
- ↑ The Looming Shadow
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 The Face of Extinction
- ↑ Post-credits scene in Horizon Zero Dawn.
- ↑ As mentioned by Varl during Reach For The Stars.
- ↑ As seen from the Alight during The Point of the Lance.
- ↑ As mentioned by Fashav during The Embassy.
- ↑ The Point of the Lance
- ↑ As mentioned by Uthid during The Point of the Lance.
- ↑ As mentioned by Vanasha during The Point of the Lance.
- ↑ Shadow in the West
- ↑ The Twilight Path
Notes[]
- ↑ Only if A Moment's Peace or The Forge of Winter has been completed.
- ↑ Only if Redmaw hasn't been completed.
- ↑ Only if Redmaw has been completed.
[]
| Battles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Old World | Hot Zone Crisis - Operation: Enduring Victory | |
| Clan Wars | Tenakth invasion of the Sundom | |
| Carja Civil War | Battle of the Alight | |
| Red Raids | Battle of the Burning Blooms - Battle of the Frozen Ghosts - Liberation of Meridian - The Massacre - The Rout/Battle of the Daunt | |
| Others | Battle of Three Chains - Embassy Massacre - Proving Massacre | |