Aloy

Aloy is the main protagonist of the Horizon series. She appears in Horizon Zero Dawn, it's expansion The Frozen Wilds and the upcoming sequel Horizon Forbidden West. A Nora Brave, Seeker and machine hunter of unparalleled skill, Aloy is the genetic clone of 21st century roboticist and engineer Dr. Elisabet Sobeck. She was created by GAIA, the governing artificial intelligence of Zero Dawn, a global terraforming system that Sobeck had designed and whose implementation she had spearheaded, which restored life to Earth after its eradication by the Faro Plague. GAIA created Aloy for the purpose of stopping HADES, a rogue AI bent on reactivating the Faro Plague in order to wipe out life again. Aloy succeeded, saving life on Earth and the humans of the new world that Zero Dawn created. In doing so, she unraveled the mysteries of why the world became as it is, and also learned the true nature of her origins. She is voiced by voice actress Ashly Burch and modeled after actress Hannah Hoekstra. Aloy is a white female. She is 1.68 meters (5 feet 6 inches) tall, with long red hair and freckles on her cheeks and nose. Her hair is pulled back with braids in the back and on the sides. She also has accessories in her hair such as beads. Her eyes are green and her eyebrows are narrow. A lifetime of intense physical activity has resulted in her being in exceptional physical condition. Aloy has many outfits in both games, but her default outfit in Zero Dawn is the Nora Brave outfit and, in Forbidden West, the Nora Anointed outfit. Aloy is curious, determined, and intent on uncovering the mysteries of her world. As a child, she was rather disobedient and got annoyed by her guardian Rost's borderline fanatical devotion to tribal laws, not being able to see what was so bad about the ruins of the Old Ones. Unlike many in her tribe who shun the use of technology, Aloy sees technology as a practical and unique tool to aid her in her quest, a belief that was born when she used her Focus to save a young man from certain death. She frequently uses her Focus throughout her life to aid in hunting machines and tracking individuals. Her early use of the Focus has made Aloy more aware of a bigger picture outside of the Nora tribe, spurring her to be more curious about the Old Ones. She also became more skeptical about tribal lore and beliefs, seeing the All-Mother and what the tribes believe to be her vestiges as what they really are: remnants of Project Zero Dawn. Aloy is shown frequently to be not good with people, the result of being treated as less than human for the first 18 years of her life and having little human interaction outside of Rost. She is very blunt and sarcastic, never hesitating to tell people exactly what she thinks of them even when it wouldn't be wise to do so. She is especially shown to despise those who consider themselves better than others, such as Ahsis, and is disturbed by the behaviour of people such as Nil, not being able to tell if the latter is better or worse than the bandits he kills. She is also rather impatient and has little tolerance for those who waste her time or dodge questions, one of the many things that put her at odds with the ever-elusive Sylens. Conversely, years of being shunned has made Aloy compassionate and sympathetic towards others in need, particularly towards those who are still outcasts. Her benevolence is her greatest strength, garnering the respect and trust of many who have interacted with her. However, there are limits to her empathy; when Elida asks her if she knows what it's like to only be alive when you're with someone else, Aloy admits that she doesn't, since she's never been in love before and is a loner by nature. Despite this, she does clearly understand the physical nuances and taboos of human behavior, as she is able to understand when others are attracted to her, and she turns her back on Inatut so that he can get dressed privately, though it's possible that Rost simply taught her these things, so that she could fit in to her tribe in the event that she won the Proving. Aloy had a strong relationship with Rost, seeing him as the father that she never had and being devastated when he sacrificed himself to save her from Helis, though this was quickly replaced with a burning hatred for the latter. After this tragic incident, she no longer considers the hut she grew up in her home, since Rost is no longer there, though she can come back throughout the game to visit Rost's grave and tell her how she's been doing. Eventually, she can ask to have Teersa tell her the story of why Rost was made an outcast, and is very thankful when she does so. Despite Rost's presence, living without knowing her mother was a source of emotional distress for Aloy and compounded her alienation from the rest of the tribe; it is evident that this is the primary reason Aloy was cast out of the tribe. Aloy's desire to know her origins became her life's goal and her primary motivator to complete her training for the Proving. However, Rost noted that she was only training to win the Proving for herself, as proven when she misses the point of the test when she fights and defeats her first Sawtooth. He tells her that there will come a time when she will have to fight for her new tribe and serve a purpose greater than herself. Aloy understands, but states it will have to be for a cause she believes in. Even after being appointed a Seeker, Aloy's primary motivation is to learn where she came from and who her mother is, caring little for the history of the Old Ones or the fact that the people who are hunting her massacred a large portion of her tribe. It's this single-minded attitude that results in her being considered a "spoiled child" by Sylens. After learning how she was born and why, however, Aloy finds the purpose Rost spoke of; defeat the Eclipse and prevent HADES from causing a second Faro Plague. As a former outcast, Aloy has little respect for laws, especially if they get in the way of what she believes to be right. This is especially shown in regards to the law forbidding contact with outcasts; having once been an outcast herself, she willingly talks with and assists them, with no concern for the possible consequences. She also encourages people who start questioning harsh laws; among the Banuk, she readily encourages tribesfolk when they themselves start to ask these questions. In a private conversation with Talanah, Aloy states that she does not consider herself part of the Nora tribe, believing 'Aloy despite the Nora' to be a more fitting title than 'Aloy of the Nora'. As such, she is absolutely outraged when the group start worshipping her after she learns the truth about herself, considering being treated as an idol to be no different than being an outcast, and outright rejects the title 'Anointed' they bestow upon her. Aloy has shown great physical and emotional resilience during her journey, always moving towards her goal despite the harsh obstacles she encounters. When she discovers that she is not the child but a clone of Elisabet Sobeck created by GAIA, Aloy is shattered by this revelation, feeling that she is a mere instrument "born in destruction and fire" instead of a person. However she quickly gathers herself together, realizing that she was created in order to protect the world from being destroyed by a second Faro Plague. She also becomes somewhat more optimistic as time passes; while Sylens is convinced that Ted Faro doomed the Earth and humanity to oblivion by erasing APOLLO, Aloy, due to all the things she has seen as a Seeker, believes the world they live in is still worth fighting for, even if it is a wasteland.