Sun and Shadow

Sun and Shadow
Elida, the daughter of a Carja noble, has gone missing. Her father fears suicide, but still hopes she may be found.
Level	20
Type	Side Quest
Given by	Lahavis
Location	Brightmarket The Daybrink Kestrel's Perch
Enemies	Shadow Carja Snapmaw
Reward	5,000

"He'll always be with me. Sun and Shadow still meet for a moment, every dawn and dusk."

―Elida

Sun and Shadow is a side quest in Horizon Zero Dawn

Synopsis

In Brightmarket, Aloy encounters a nobleman leaning over a bridge and searching the river. The man, Lahavis, explains that his young daughter, Elida, has gone missing after last being seen in the family's garden. He fears Elida, depressed over the ongoing Carja civil war, may have committed suicide.

Aloy agrees to look for the girl and starts her search by using her Focus to scan for clues in the garden where Elida was last seen. She discovers three items of interest - a bottle, a spyglass, and a shovel - before locating a trail of flower petals that leads to a small dock on the edge of the town. Aloy notices that a boat has been taken from the dock and decides to swim out to a nearby island to continue searching.

On the island, Aloy discovers Elida trapped on a high rock by a Snapmaw that has invaded her makeshift camp. After dispatching the Snapmaw, Aloy speaks to Elida and becomes suspicious when the girl seems hesitant to return to Brightmarket. Looking around the camp, Aloy notices that there are two sets of bedding and confronts Elida who admits that she is in love with a childhood friend, Atral, who has joined the Shadow Carja. Forbidden to meet, let alone elope due to the civil war, Elida reveals that she and Atral have been secretly meeting on this island whenever Atral lights a signal fire on the other side of the Daybrink. The fire has been lit but Atral is nowhere to be found and Elida begs Aloy to investigate.

At the site of the signal fire across the lake, Aloy finds signs of a struggle and follows a trail of drag marks up the mountainside to the Shadow Carja gate Kestrel's Perch. As she approaches, she can hear the sounds of interrogation taking place inside the outpost. Shadow Carja soldiers who have caught Atral lighting the signal fire erroneously believe he was communicating with enemy troops, and are torturing him to extract a confession. After fighting her way through the outpost, Aloy reaches the mortally wounded Atral just in time to hear his last message for Elida.

Aloy returns to Elida at her family's home and informs her of Atral's fate. She is distraught, but Aloy manages to talk her out of ending her own life and share her feelings with her worried father.

Objectives

1. Investigate the Garden for a lead about Elida's whereabouts.
2. Examine the Bottle
3. Examine the Spyglass
4. Examine the Shovel
5. Follow the Tracks
6. Investigate the Boathouse
7. Investigate the Island
8. Kill the Snapmaw
9. Talk to Elida
10. Go to Atral's Signal Fire
11. Follow the Tracks
12. Find Atral
13. Talk to Atral
14. Return to Elida
15. Talk to Lahavis

Walkthrough

Sun and Shadow - Very Hard - No Damage - Video Guide

Trivia

• If this quest has been completed before The Looming Shadow, Elida will join Aloy as an ally at the ridge in Meridian.
• The quest shares many similarities to the tale of Romeo and Juliet.

Gallery

Elida and Atral's camp