The Sacred Lands, also known as Nora Territory or the Savage East, is the territory belonging to the people of the Nora tribe. The easternmost region of the known world, the Sacred Lands are considered sacred because its territory is protected by mountains, which the Nora tribe worships as their Goddess, All-Mother.
Nora law normally forbids members from leaving the Sacred Lands - those who do become exiles (the only exception to this rule being Seekers). The territory outside of the Sacred Lands is called the Tainted Lands, as it is beyond the sight of All-Mother.[1]
The Sacred Lands are home to several towns and villages, including Mother's Heart and Mother's Crown. The Embrace is an area of the Sacred Land that is protected by a ring of mountains and a series of gates. The majority of the Nora reside within it, as it is isolated from the more dangerous machines.
History[]
The Sacred Lands was the region closest to the ELEUTHIA-9 facility, and therefore became home to the first new humans once they left the Cradle. After an unknown period of time, this proto-tribe would split in two following the discovery of ancient texts inside ruins of the Old Ones by Araman; while some saw the potential that the texts held, others hated and feared them. As a result, Araman and his followers were exiled from the land. The exiled ones would eventually settle in the west and become the Carja tribe, whereas the ones who stayed behind would become the Nora.
As the spirituality of the Nora progressed, they came to believe the Mountain they came from, which they referred to as "All-Mother," was the origin of all life, and that the surrounding land was blessed. The region closest to All-Mother became the Embrace, the central region of the tribe. Due to their highly spiritual beliefs, the Nora left the wilderness relatively untamed, taking only what they felt they deserved and needed.
First Carja Invasion[]
Remembering how they had been expelled from their origin land, and prejudiced against the matriarchal nature of Nora culture, the Carja tribe would refer to Nora lands as the "Savage East." In an effort to "spread civilization," Sun-King Khuvadin attempted to colonize the Sacred Lands.[2] However, the Nora fought off the attempts, leading Khuvadin to abandon his efforts, opting instead to create the settlement of Daytower to monitor the Nora.
Red Raids[]
Like most of the nearby tribes, the Sacred Lands were attacked during the Red Raids on the orders of the Mad Sun-King. While the Nora were able to keep the Carja from reaching the Embrace, the village of Mother's Vigil was destroyed, and many Nora were either butchered or taken to the Sun-Ring for sacrifice.
Following the end of the Red Raids, the Nora chose not to return to Valleymeet, which was lost during the war. Instead, they decided to let it serve as a buffer between the Sundom and the Sacred Lands, neither fully Carja nor Nora. Fittingly, the valley became open to outlanders and Nora, allowing peaceful inter-tribal interactions.
Territorial Boundaries[]
The current northern boundary of the Sacred Lands is Mother's Crown, according to Marea. The Nora do not guard anything past Mother's Crown, but they do allow tribespeople to go to Hunter's Gathering and Valleymeet Hunting Grounds.[3][4][5][6]
It seems the Nora and the Carja are in agreement that Daytower is the eastern edge of Carja territory and that Valleymeet will be treated as Nora territory by the Carja, even if the Nora do not inhabit it.[7] The river that flows from Devil's Grief could be the current border of the Sacred Lands.
The exact boundaries are more difficult to tell for the Sacred Lands than for other tribal territories, because there are no Nora patrols since the War Party massacre.[8]
Notable Locations[]
- Mother's Cradle
- Mother's Crown
- Mother's Heart (capital)
- Mother's Rise
- Mother's Tears (abandoned)
- Mother's Watch
- Mother's Vigil (abandoned)
Collectables[]
Text Datapoints - World[]
- #19 Inebri8 available!
- #20 RPGreet!
- #21 Get Tactile!
- #55 SPECIAL ORDERS
Trivia[]
- The real life location of the Sacred Lands is indicated to be near Colorado Springs, Colorado, due to Mother's Crown's positioning at the base of a notable rock formation in Garden of the Gods, as well as a Vantage Point that reveals Devil's Thirst to actually be the ruins of downtown Colorado Springs.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑
- Aloy: "Why are the lands beyond Nora territory called "tainted"?"
Teersa: "Is it not obvious? Our land is sacred. We live in sight of the one Goddess, All-Mother - source of all that lives. Beyond her sight lies a vast fallen land, spiritually tainted. That is why it is against tribal law to leave. But the Seeker blessing will protect you." - ―A Seeker at the Gates
- Aloy: "Why are the lands beyond Nora territory called "tainted"?"
- ↑ The Sun-Kings
- ↑
- Aloy: "Mother's Crown guards the edge of the Sacred Land, right? So do you see a lot of foreigners here?"
Marea: "Yes. Not here in the village itself, of course, but in the valley beyond. Since the war ended, foreigners have been allowed in the valley, and Nora can trade with them, if they choose. It's a kind of in-between place, neither foreign nor Sacred Land." - ―A Seeker at the Gates
- Aloy: "Mother's Crown guards the edge of the Sacred Land, right? So do you see a lot of foreigners here?"
- ↑
- "Aloy: You went to a Hunting Grounds in Valleymeet? Is that even in the Sacred Land?
Lut: Depends on who you ask. It used to be ours, but since the Red Raids ended, the border is a bit... unclear. Most Nora don't go there, but the Matriarchs won't cast anyone out for heading that way." - ―in Mother's Crown
- "Aloy: You went to a Hunting Grounds in Valleymeet? Is that even in the Sacred Land?
- ↑
- "Look, I didn't choose this assignment. They told me it was an honor, then stuck me right near your Sacred Lands."
- ―Valleymeet Keeper at Valleymeet Hunting Grounds
- ↑
- Ohtur: "When the Carja took up swords and hacked away at the edge of Banuk land, they left the Cut behind."
Aloy: "So a battleground from the war... Like the valley outside the Sacred Land." - ―At Daytower
- Ohtur: "When the Carja took up swords and hacked away at the edge of Banuk land, they left the Cut behind."
- ↑
- "I have traveled beyond Daytower into the snow-dusted hinterlands of the Savage East, and on to the very edge of Nora territory, now the site of a hardscrabble trading camp known as Hunter's Gathering."
- ―The Nora
- ↑
- "Ever since the War Party massacre, our lands go unpatrolled, and our borders unguarded."
- ―Varl