The Daunt

The Daunt
Area	Sundom
Type	Region
Faction	Carja
Sections	Barren Light Chainscrape
Quests	A Bigger Boom A Dash of Courage Deep Trouble Hunting Grounds: The Daunt Relic Ruins: The Daunt Shadow from the Past Signals of the Sun The Bristlebacks The Twilight Path To The Brink

The Daunt is a region in Horizon Forbidden West. It is a set of great canyons on the frontier of the Carja Sundom. The Daunt marks the western edge of the Sundom: beyond it lies an unexplored and feared region known as the Forbidden West.

Geography

Originally mentioned during Horizon Zero Dawn, the Daunt marks the westernmost region of the Carja Sundom. It is roughly two weeks away from Meridian on foot, and one to two days away on a machine mount. Entry from the east is controlled by a single hand-operated cable car, while the western edge ends at the border fort of Barren Light.

It is a relatively narrow valley framed by towering cliffs, with a river snaking through it.

History

Early History

At one point, the Sun-King Iriv attempted to explore the lands beyond the Daunt, but failed thrice. While he and his group finally broke through on their fourth attempt, they were never seen again. For this reason, Iriv's successor Basadid declared the lands beyond as "the Forbidden West", marking the end of the Daunt as the western edge of the Sundom. It would seem that the Daunt remained largely unoccupied by the Carja during the following few generations.

Red Raids

During the Mad Sun-King's infamous Red Raids, the Daunt served as the point of entry into the Forbidden West. While the exact time of construction is unclear, it is known that six Signal Towers, along with the border fort Barren Light, were constructed before, if not during, the Raids.

In the latter years of the war, the Daunt became the site of the Carja's greatest defeat. In a devastating assault, the Tenakth forced the Carja out of the Daunt, occupying the valley for themselves and demolishing both Barren Light and the signal towers. While the Tenakth chief Hekarro stopped his forces from advancing further into the Sundom, the Tenakth nonetheless occupied the Daunt for the remainder of the war.

Post-Liberation

Following the Liberation, the Daunt was peacefully reoccupied by the Carja. At an unspecified point, an Oseram settlement named Chainscrape was established near the edge of the Daunt.

To improve relations with the Tenakth, the Carja agreed to demolish the Daunt's signal towers.

Locations

Settlements

• Barren Light
• Chainscrape
• Last Log
• Redhew Quarry
• Twilight's Landing

Mines

• Crimson Narrows
• Split Crag

Ruins

• Straggler's Shade

Collectables

Datapoints

Text Datapoints - Side Quests

• #1 Shipping Manifest (in Split Crag)
• #3 Darkened Sun (in Straggler's Shade)

Text Datapoints - World

• #37 Rama5: 30 Years On

Scanned Glyphs

• #1 Commander's Mandate
• #2 Sunlicker Politics
• #5 On Greenshine (in Redhew Quarry)
• #7 Reforging The Claim
• #21 Urgent! Supplies Needed!

Ornaments

• Let's Get This Started! (in Relic Ruins: The Daunt)

Vista Points

• The Daunt

Signal Lenses

• Lens of Dawn
• Lens of Morning
• Lens of Midday
• Lens of Afternoon
• Lens of Twilight
• Lens of Evening

Trivia

• The Daunt is what the Old Ones called Zion National Park in Utah.

Mentions in Horizon Zero Dawn

"Foolhardy blazons and madcaps all, they were brought to me near death, poisoned, mortally-wounded, or driven witless by what they had experienced in the lands beyond the Daunt."

―The Forbidden West

"Bold IRIV, who saw the Sun's passing into the West as a challenge, and forged after it with a great army, to be pushed back three times at the great canyons that would be known as the Daunt; until on the fourth time his cohort broke through, and were vanished in the lands beyond;"

―The Sun-Kings

Guard: "Isn't that him, from the battle of the Daunt?"
Guard: "Can't be. Cinnabar Sands was before that, and there were no survivors."

―Carja guards discussing Nil prior to the final battle in The Looming Shadow

Gallery