Rost, the only known Death-Seeker.
- "One who dies to go seeking, and in seeking, brings death to others."
- ―Teersa about Death-Seekers
The rank of Death-Seeker is a special title among the Nora tribe.
History[]
Becoming a Death-Seeker is considered the most terrible and secret rite of the Nora tribe: in the case of Rost, the only known Death-Seeker, the Matriarchs who gave him the rank swore to keep their act a secret among them.[1]
After losing his mate and daughter, as well as several other fellow Nora to twelve outlanders that invaded the Sacred Lands and escaped, Rost begged the Matriarchs to be made a Death-Seeker to avenge them. This request was accepted, and Rost left the Sacred Lands a Death-Seeker.[1]
One year later, Rost was found just outside the border of the Sacred Lands, delirious and in agony by a hunting party. One of the Braves, who had lost a mate and two sons to the same outlanders Rost did, broke taboo and dragged Rost back into the Sacred Lands and nursed him back to health. While Nora law dictated that Rost, as a Death-Seeker, should've been driven back out, the Matriarchs couldn't bring themselves to do that, so they instead allowed Rost to live in the Embrace as an outcast so long as he never spoke of the exception, which Rost was overjoyed to accept.[1]
Role[]
Death-Seeker face paint in Horizon Zero Dawn.
The Death-Seeker face paint in Horizon Forbidden West.
As described by High Matriarch Teersa, a Death-Seeker is one who dies to go seeking and kill others, the heart beats and the mind thinks, but the spirit as moved on. A ritual is performed to drag the spirit from one's body, releasing it to All-Mother's care, keeping it within the Sacred Lands.[1]
Before leaving, Death-Seekers are gifted a bow known as the Death-Seeker's Shadow to help them perform their role.[2] The Death-Seeker then leaves the Sacred Lands, but will not be permitted to return as Death-Seekers have no place among the tribe.[1]
Attainment[]
Death-Seekers are chosen by Matriarchs to enact vengeance on outlanders for heinous crimes against the Nora, such as kidnap, murder and cruelly mocking the Nora by leaving their dead just outside the Sacred Lands, where Nora law prevents them from retrieving them.[1]
It appears that the rank of Death-Seeker is a permanent position and cannot be removed, as the Nora see the Death-Seeker's spirit as having moved on and thus, the person no longer has any place among the tribe. Despite this, Rost was given special exceptions.[1]