After the initial blur the world turned into upon riding a Charger at full speed, Kotallo found the motion to be quite enjoyable. He only had one arm to hang onto with which he did so tightly as to fall would be unimaginably embarrassing. Aloy looked comfortable and at ease on the back of her Charger. He mimicked her posture, settling into the ride which turned a full day’s hike into a half day’s ride. The hooves of the Chargers ate up the land, the jagged foothills where the entrance to the base was perched, the sand dunes, the giant red rocks that they can to skirt around before reaching a sparsely forested area that quickly gave way to the altitude and the northern climate. Soon, it was snowing and becoming dark.

“There’s a shelter not far from the base of the climb to the lab,” Aloy explained as they slowed and rode side by side, “we’ll camp there tonight.”

“You do not wish to go directly up?”

“I know Sky Clan soldiers are great at scaling walls,” Aloy teased lightly, “but I do not want to climb it in the dark, with or without a FOCUS. Besides,” she shifted uncomfortably, “my backside is killing me.”

Kotallo let out a relieved sigh. “I thought it was just me.”

“Nope. These things are great at getting places fast…but they’re not all that comfortable.”

It was hard not to walk as though he’d been kicked in the groin when he dismounted. Aloy offered to hunt meat to go with the bread Zo had packed them and Kotallo stoked the fire by the shelter. Aloy returned with a couple of rabbits, skinned and gutted.

“I’m not much of a cook…” She admitted.

“Allow me.”

“Oh really? Hidden talents?”

“Hardly,” Kotallo chuckled, “but as an orphan, part of a child’s responsibility is to sample all trades.”

“So you did some cooking?”

“Cooking, dyeing, stitching, weapon making, inking…whatever the clan needed.” Kotallo had his travel pack with him which included the metal rods to make a spit. He skewered the rabbits and threw some herbs over them. “If I turn the rabbits, could you toast the bread?”

“I can definitely do that.” Aloy said.

When the food was cooked they enjoyed a simple but hot meal. The night was dark and the chill was setting in. Kotallo shivered.

“To think I missed this,” he muttered, getting his heavy travelling cloak out of his pack and wrapping it around himself, “when I was encamped at Cinnabar Sands.”

“During the Red Raids?” He nodded. Aloy leaned forward. “What were they like?”

“You…don’t know about them?” Kotallo was stunned. He thought everyone had known of the Red Raids and the Mad Sun-King’s delusions.

“I didn’t have much to do with the tribe, or anything at all beyond the Embrace. That’s the valley where I grew up, a place so deep in Nora territory and so well guarded that the Carja during the Red Raids never breached its walls.”

“I see,” Kotallo looked up at the sky, watching cinders rise, snapping and popping as they did so, “well…the Red Raids were…a time of great triumph but also tremendous loss. The Tenakth had just started to learn what it meant to live in peace with each other, to not kill each other on sight when word came of Carja raiders. When Regalla came to the Bulwark and called for volunteers from the Sky Clan’s ranks, I volunteered.”

“Just you or were you part of a squad?”

“I volunteered for myself but my squad backed me up.”

“And you led them to victory?” Aloy put another chunk of wood on the fire and then came back to the shelter, doing the same as Kotallo, pulling a fur around her shoulders.

“Atikka led us. He was the leader of Orphan Squad.”

Aloy stared at him. “Orphan Squad?”

Kotallo nodded. “We were all from the orphan lodge, raised by chaplains and ridiculed because we did not have parents to teach us the ways of the Sky Clan…so we banded together and took what we were mocked with and made it our banner.”

An irrepressible smile curled up on her lips. “That sounds very Tenakth of you.” She stared at the flames and Kotallo admired the way the light danced across her features. “Atikka was your leader?”

“Together with his twin sister, Alaika. Then there was myself and my best friend, Jayko.” Their names pained him. Not as much as they once had but Kotallo still found the memory of their loss a burden to bear.

“You’ve never mentioned them before…I guess…they didn’t survive the Red Raids.” Her words were quiet and sombre. She continued to look at the flames for which Kotallo was grateful. He gazed ahead as well.

“Atikka was cut down by Walking Fire, Carja raiders with Ravager cannons. He distracted them long enough that we could escape and warn the Tenakth,” Kotallo’s lips curled down, “in retribution I went to where they camped…and killed them all, some silently and others with the very cannons they were going to use on us…then carried the body of my fallen leader to where his sister could say goodbye.” He could see she was grieved by his story and continued, knowing there was no stopping now. “When word of our success as a squad grew, soldiers who had no squad or had lost their comrades, flocked to us. In the end we all led our own squad yet never lost our core group…until Alaika died trying to rescue one of her scouts who’d been dragged to Barren Light,” he breathed out, “I didn’t realise it at the time…but a part of Jayko died with her.”

“He loved her?”

“Deeply,” Kotallo swallowed, “on the climb to infiltrate Barren Light, at night and in complete silence…Jayko took out a Carja guard…and fell to his death with him.”

“Kotallo…” She breathed.

“Through his sacrifice, I was able to open the gates of Barren Light,” Kotallo recalled the inking he could not see on his back, “and I was marked with both victory and loss.”

They were quiet for a while. The Chargers nuzzled the ground nearby, their machine light a bright spark of blue, contrasting with the warm tones of the fire.

“Given how much you lost to the Carja, I’m surprised you didn’t side with Regalla against Hekarro when he called for peace.”

Kotallo stared at the flames, watching them dance.

“Hekarro said that Tenakth had been killing each other for differences in the way they interpreted the visions of the Ten and whichever clan held the Grove was considered the greatest of clans until they were defeated and another took their place. It has been going on for dozens of years. The Carja’s raids didn’t come close in comparison. If we could live in peace with the other clans of the Tenakth, we could do the same with the Carja, especially with a new king advocating peace.”

“I’m not sure the Carja during the Red Raids were as honourable in battle at the Tenakth.” Aloy sighed.

“The Tenakth profess to be honourable in combat…but that was not always the case.” Kotallo explained. “My own parents…they did not live in the Bulwark or any of the Sky Clan settlements. They had their own home in the valley.”

“They lived by themselves?”

“Before the derangement of the machines, it was relatively safe.” Kotallo glanced at her. “My parents did not approve of Tenakth killing other Tenakth.”

“They were pacifists?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “For all the good it did them…a Desert Clan squad took advantage of their vulnerable state. The last image I have of my mother is her hiding me in a secret cellar beneath our home…just before the squad attacked.”

“Kotallo…I’m…”

“Overdue.”

“Huh?”

He turned to her directly. “I have shared a large portion of my childhood. You are overdue to share some of yours.”

“Oh…it’s not that…” Aloy held the blanket tighter. “I’m sure Varl filled you in on the essential details…”

Kotallo’s gaze turned flinty. “You are not getting away with that.”

She rolled her eyes. “Fine. So…the Nora revere the mountain in the valley of the Embrace. They call it All-Mother Mountain. There’s the entrance to a Cradle Facility inside although they could never get through the door. The Nora belief system says that’s where All-Mother slew the metal devil.” She talked dismissively of it yet Kotallo could see it pained her. “That’s where I was found. When Gaia had to self destruct to keep Hades from using her to wipe the earth clean, she caused the facility to make another Elisabet so that she, I, when grown, could use my genetic…my exact resemblance, to open the door and start to rebuild Gaia.” She shrugged. “Only problem was the Matriarchs couldn’t agree on whether I was a blessing from All-Mother or a curse from the metal devil.”

“How could a child ever be considered a curse?” Kotallo whispered, immediately thinking of how he dreamed of being a father once and how that dream was smoke now.

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“You got me.” Aloy admitted. “In the end they agreed to give me to another outcast who raised me and taught me everything about machine hunting and surviving in the wild.”

Kotallo observed her. “Just…you and he?”

“Yeah.” She nodded. “Any time I went near the other Nora I was shunned or sometimes other children threw stones…” She touched her forehead where a small scar still marked her skin. “I fell into an old bunker where I discovered a FOCUS and my journey began from there. When I came of age I participated in a rite of passage, not unlike your March of the Ten. I didn’t want to be part of the tribe. I wanted the boon given to the first amongst those who completed it so that I could demand the truth of my birth from the Matriarchs who had kept it a secret, even from my…the man who cared for me.”

She seemed to be deliberately avoiding his name.

“What was his name?” Kotallo asked gently.

Aloy looked up at the night sky. “Rost…”

The way she said it…Kotallo knew…

“He’s dead, isn’t he?” She nodded. “How…”

“Saving my life.” Aloy licked her lips. “He wanted me to embrace the tribe…and he even threatened to disappear so that I couldn’t break tribal law and speak to him, risking my place amongst the Nora.” She swallowed. “I should have known he was watching me, protecting me…”

“He loved you.”

“In his own way.” Aloy nodded. “He’s buried not far from the house where we lived, looking out over the Embrace…I went back, just the once…”

“So have I,” Kotallo saw her look, “just the once. To see where my parents died…where I was hidden…”

“I can’t imagine you as a child.” Aloy said, lightening the tone of the conversation.

“I was…at the orphan lodge I was the runt.”

She laughed outright at this. “Not possible!”

“I assure you, I was the smallest, gangliest…most uncoordinated…would you stop laughing?” She seemed to find his awkward childhood hysterical. “That was a long time ago!”

“It must have been!” She wiped the tears away and Kotallo was hard pressed not to smile at her mirth. It was a relief after the seriousness of the conversation. “I…I don’t even know how old you are!”

Kotallo had to think about this. “When I completed the March of the Ten I was seventeen summers. The Carja raids had been going on for up to two years beforehand and I volunteered when I was eighteen…then there were three years, perhaps at Cinnabar Sands before Barren Light was taken…”

“From what I understand, you ended the Carja raids on the west before the east did, before Avad killed his father and ended the madness.” Aloy mused.

“It was at least two years after we took back the Daunt that a Carja representative dared to approach and peace talks began. That was over two years ago…”

“Wait,” Aloy turned to face him, “you’re only, at the most…twenty six?”

Her voice was filled with such astonishment that Kotallo faltered.

“Is that bad?”

“I just thought you were older.”

“Tenakth must grow up quickly to survive in the west.” Kotallo explained. “I had not thought to count the years of my life…and we do not all have the destruction of a mountain to know when we were born.”

“About nine months later, thank you.” Aloy laughed and yawned. “I suppose we should get some sleep.”

“Shall I take first watch?”

“The Chargers will alert us.” Aloy curled up beneath the shelter. “Get some sleep, Kotallo. We’ve got a bit of a climb tomorrow.”

“Understood.”

In the morning they were both swift to pack their belongings. Kotallo was learning how to adapt without his left arm but it was still awkward to manage at times. He heaved his swag onto his back and as he looked up he caught Aloy’s eyes flicking away.

“Ready?”

“Yeah, this way.” They walked on foot towards the cliff. “So…does it still hurt?”

It was easy to know to what she was referring.

“It comes and goes…I try not to think about it,” Kotallo admitted, “but its absence is always…present for me. It’s difficult to explain.”

“I can’t claim to understand…only empathise.”

He would have rejected the kindness of empathy in the past. It was usually given by people who were simply relieved that they had not been so maimed. However, he was coming to terms with a kinder life.

“Then you have my thanks.”

It was not far to the base of the cliff. They left the Chargers behind, to which Kotallo’s backside was unendingly grateful.

“Did Gaia mention exactly where in the lab we’d find what you need?”

“She mentioned the chamber where you found Beta and the…database that lies within. She said it will help us find the knowledge and components I require to build a new arm.”

They slung their swags behind a cluster of bushes. There was no point lugging them up the cliff.

“At least we know where to look.” Aloy glanced around. “We will have to be quick about it, in case the Zeniths are watching.”

“Understood.” Kotallo followed her to the base of the cliff.

“The lab’s up this way.” She said over her shoulder.

It was not a small climb. Nothing of course compared to the March of the Ten or the cliffs at Barren Light but then, he’d possessed both arms.

However, Kotallo would not be dissuaded. He allowed Aloy a moment to get ahead then braced himself, knowing that, should he fall, he would meet his end like Jayko had. He took a run up to the cliff and launched himself as high as he could, grasping the rock with his right hand. Every inch, every advance he made upwards had to be done by propelling himself with his feet and legs, grabbing the next ledge of rock. Sometimes he had to go sideways to find a good grasp and the progress was painstakingly slow at times. Aloy climbed with finesse and although it was not easy, she made excellent headway.

“You okay?” She called down at one point.

Kotallo’s arm was shaking but his resolve was firm. “I got this.” He grunted, heaving himself up, never pausing until he reached the top.

Aloy immediately waved him down and he was grateful for a moment to pause and catch his breath.

“Machines,” she whispered, jerking her head across the small plateau of land where the Tenakth rebels and Sons of Prometheus Oseram had killed the Zenith, “scraping the Spectres for parts.”

“Should we dispose of them?”

“Or we could sneak past them…”

“Your choice.”

Between them they were able to take out the Apex Watchers that were hovering around the carcass of the Spectre. There was a Shellwalker nearby as well but that was easily avoided as they approached a large cave in the wall. As Kotallo stepped over the lip, the cave dipping down quite severely, he was astonished to discover that it was not a cave but a tunnel, carved right out of the earth, perfectly symmetrical.

It was hard not to be impressed…or intimidated.

“The enemy did this?” Kotallo’s voice echoed.

“Hard to believe but yeah.”

They jogged to the bottom of the tunnel where it carved through the upper storey of the lab. Aloy and Kotallo went to the level beneath where it began to look similar to the base in all its slab sided greyness.

“Gaia said the Zeniths made incredible discoveries here but in the end, they only used such knowledge for selfish purposes.” Kotallo felt a twinge of apprehension, thinking of his desire to replace his arm and wondered if he was being selfish.

“At least now we can use it to do something good.” Aloy responded, chasing away his concerns.

Inside the belly of the research lab, machines had gathered, sniffing out the untouched metal and resources, hungrily gnawing into them. However, they were minor machines, no match for Aloy and Kotallo. He continued to follow her as she jogged through the base. He was relieved she was there to lead the way as all the walls and stairs, doorways and debris lying about only confused him.

“Here,” Aloy said as they entered a large chamber, a grand cavern of the old world, “it’s at the back. This is where I fought the Spectre when we rescued Beta.” She led him up a ramp to the back of the cavern where a capsule sat on railings. “That’s where she was.”

Kotallo’s spine recoiled and he felt physically ill. “I would hate to be locked up inside such a thing,” he shuddered, “there’s…barely room to breathe…”

“Well, we just need to find a way to access the database Gaia was talking about.” She tapped her FOCUS and turned around, spying a glowing console. She went up to it and studied it for a moment. “I think we found what we were looking for.”

Kotallo turned his back on the capsule chamber with difficulty. He felt sure, at any moment, that it would grab him from behind and lock him inside it forever. He had never been given to exaggerated delusions before…apart from his fantasies about Olenka. But seeing the capsule made his sturdy legs shake in a way he was unprepared for.

“Let’s hope it holds the answer we seek.”

“I’ll download the database to your FOCUS and you can search through it later.”

Kotallo felt his FOCUS hum with the influx of information. “And the components?” He asked.

Aloy was studying the console. “Should be somewhere on the second…Spectres!”

The speed at which the Spectres moved had not been exaggerated in the footage that Kotallo had studied whenever Aloy had encountered them. They were fast, agile, able to climb walls and had limbs that moved like a squids. He went into instinctual fighting before recalling his FOCUS. It was hard to pause and scan them in order to discover their weaknesses. Every pore of his body demanded he charge into the fray yet once his FOCUS had their measure, Kotallo had a way to bring them down. Aloy was already familiar with their weaknesses and was firing acid arrows at the Spectres. Kotallo waited until they were saturated with the disabling slime before slicing at their legs, grounding them. Had he attempted to do so before the acid, Silent Kill wouldn’t have been nearly as effective. But their hides simply caved to his attack and between the two of them the Spectres, though formidable, were dealt with deftly.

Kotallo looked at Aloy who was panting as she put her bow away.

“Well done.” She praised.

“The same to you.” Kotallo replied sincerely. “You were well trained.”

“Right…let’s find those components.”

Kotallo offered to keep watch in case more Spectres arrived. No doubt their absence and subsequent defeat would be made known to the Zeniths. He kept his eye on the large chamber and the passage that led into it. Though he felt he ought to be involved in the finding of the components, he was relieved he did not have to crush his large frame through the small vents as Aloy circumvented doors that would not open and walls that would not break.

As he stared at the large cavern which had hundreds of capsules like the one Beta had hidden in stored at the back, Kotallo found himself wondering if he was doing the right thing. The Spectres were conceived of the mind of the Zeniths, cruel and selfish beings who blended their flesh with metal to extend their life to immortal status.

What would it mean for him when he started down the same road?

Would he be himself?

Would he feel different?

Would he feel whole or artificial?

“…tallo?” He blinked and turned to see Aloy approaching him. “Kotallo?”

“You…found the components?” He asked softly, almost dreading her reply.

“See for yourself.”

Kotallo took the case and opened it, seeing a collection of components inside of it, including a portion of arm already constructed, perhaps as a standard model that could be adapted.

“You have my thanks, Aloy.” He tried to keep the sadness out of his voice but clearly didn’t succeed.

“Something wrong?”

“I…was just thinking about what it will be like after I build the arm…will I feel different…whole again…” As he spoke the words he heard the foolishness of them and huffed. “Idle thoughts. They can wait until we’re back at base.”

They left the lab, avoiding the Shellwalker once again. Aloy rappelled down the cliff, offering her rope to Kotallo so that he could do the same. On solid ground they recovered their swags.

“I’m going to head west now,” she slung her swag on her back, “I’m guessing you’ll go back to the base?”

“Yes. I look forward to putting what you found to good use.” Kotallo made an attempt to smile but he found it was an uncomfortable sensation. He knew he had never been a particularly social and outgoing personality but all the loss of the years had taken their toll on even the simplest act of smiling. He’d lost the habit of being amicable and friendly.

“I look forward to seeing it in action.” Aloy’s smile was natural and soft. “Well…”

“I…” Kotallo wished he hadn’t spoken, keeping her from walking away. She stopped and gazed at him. “I wish…there was a way to thank you.”

“You did thank me.”

“Only in word,” Kotallo insisted, “for a Tenakth, words without deeds are meaningless. Is there anything I can do for you? Any task I can assist you with? Can I come with you to the Isle of Spires?”

She gazed at him with her green eyes and he couldn’t tell if she was grateful or sympathetic. “Kotallo,” she said softly, “I…appreciate the offer…but there are some things I have to do on my own. It’s what I was made for.”

He wanted to argue with her, to protest and insist that he was going with her.

But Kotallo wondered if he would be more of a hinderance than a help.

And with the components to build a new arm, he ought to return to the base to construct it.

“I shall await your return at the base.” He said, bowing. “May you fly with the Ten, Aloy.”

“See you soon, Kotallo.”