When it came to Valrun, she had seen him multiple times. His capabilities far exceeded some of these other warriors she saw, but with the wounds she worried it would damage them more and she didn’t want him to lose his hands. “Val,” Before she even had a chance to answer though, he quickly told her not to answer. Her hand reached out and touched his shoulder. “I know you will. All I ask is you be careful,” Aloy asked, as she looked toward him.
“I know you’ll do what is needed,” Aloy said with a smile, as she reached into her pocket and pulled out a focus. “Look, I don’t have much time to teach you with this, but if things go badly, this will help you out,” Aloy opened up her palm and held it out toward him. “Place it on your temple. There will be a slight poke, but it won’t hurt much,” Aloy said. “The focus when you press it will help you see body signatures, including the machine’s weak spots. Remember our first fight?” Aloy said, as she let it process. “That’s how I knew where to hit that Scorcher’s weak points immediately. You can also call me,” Aloy said, as she did a small rundown. “I’ll explain what more it can be used for after the kulrut. Just know that I’ll be able to keep an eye on you, and you can keep an eye on me too. That way, you can know if I need help, alright?”
She hoped that maybe that would help ease his worry. The focus would provide them both a means of protecting each other. Aloy quickly return to the battlements of the Arena, as she ignored the sounds of the Arena. She reached over toward the heavy machinery of the weapon. IT wasn’t her usual go to weapon, but it would be useful in this fight. She didn’t pick it up for now, as she watched the boundary around the arena. For the first ten minutes, it was quiet. Hekarro’s voice boomed in the distance, though very hard to tell what he was saying as she walked til suddenly, something caught her eye. The shifting of the trees, the billowing of dust that looked like smoke. Immediately, she rushed over to the machine gun they gave her and readied herself.
The moment she saw the machines, she fired. There was no need ot wait, the danger was here. The machine gun fired, blasting off against the machines. She registered multiple different machines, as she hated that they had the ability to override these machines! The fight went on, as her machine gun smoked and she dropped it. Her eyes scanned the area. “There’s no way that’s all Regalla sent, she’s smarter than that,” Aloy said, as she glanced at Dekka who agreed. Then the rumbling happened. “Shit!” A burrowing machine, something large. “We can’t stop it!” Aloy shouted, as she raced down as she watched it heading toward the Arena. “Keep guard up here,” Aloy shouted to the others as she raced toward the Arena. “Get back!” Her shouts came, as she slide into the Arena as the area raced in to try to get people back, but that’s when the Rock-breaker shot up.
Aloy’s shouts died off as it threw her backwards with the blast. She hit the wall, her vision darkening for a moment as she shook her head. Her hand reached back to touch her head, looking at her palm. No blood, good, but damn it hurt. However, she had to ignore that for now. She glanced around, seeing some of the other soldiers having been knocked out as she looked up, seeing Regalla at the top of the battlement. Where were Hekarro and Kotallo!? She ran forward, trying to drag some of the soldiers back from the giant hole.
She nudged her focus with her shoulder. “Val! Can you get down here and help?” But then the ground started to rumble again.
The Focus was a strange apparatus, and one that left brightly lit colors floating just in front of his vision. In the first instance, Valrún swiped at them with alarm. They were...like the visions in the Grove! He listened to her rundown of the basics, practiced placing a call shortly, and then walked back to the Arena.
Preferring the height as a vantage point, the boy chose a spot near where the Chief and Marshal stood high in the stands while others crowded close in anticipation. While Hekarro’s voice boomed around the Arena, the boy played with the Focus attached to his brow. As promised, if he turned to the right, he could see Aloy’s form through the stone walls to where she paced the battlements. Assured of her safety, he let his gaze drop down to where machines were let loose in the Arena. Just as she’d promised, Valrún saw the way they lit up with specific parts highlighted, their weaknesses exposed. Awed, he found himself enraptured in watching the way the parts of a Clawstrider worked together to allow it to move.
The warriors had barely descended into the Arena when Valrún noticed more signatures popping up to the right. Regalla was here, he realized. And that was a lot of machines. Sitting stiffly in his seat, his attention was split around the Arena as well as what was going on at the battlements. He tracked Aloy’s movements above all, relieved to know she was fighting with ease and taking machines down fast.
But with the Focus on, Valrún spotted the signature of something burrowing underground and heading towards the arena with haste. He was already on his feet by the time Aloy burst inside, interrupting the Kulrut. Did she know the gravity of what she’d just done? She was as much a combatant as the others!
But before he could offer any warning, the machine burrowing below shot up from the ground. Rock and sand blasted up, tossing machines and fighters alike, Aloy included. Valrún gripped his spear tight enough that his hands began to bleed underneath the bandages when he watched a machine unlike any he’d seen before rising up to destroy the area where the Chief and Marshal stood. Just in time, Kotallo knocked Hekarro away, sparing both of them the fate of being grinded into dust by vicious saws.
Out of the open maw the machine had come and gone, Regalla and her rebels rose up to overtake the Arena. Planting his feet, the boy gritted his teeth and tossed his spear, catching one of the rebels in the back as he made to climb up after his Chief. With a cry, the warrior fell to his death, and Valrún tugged his bow from his back. He was just about to start shooting at others when he heard Aloy’s voice in his ear. The boy jolted with alarm but recovered quickly as he answered. “I’m coming!”
Without hesitation, Valrún ran down the stands to answer the call of his Commander, avoiding confused clan warriors who were struggling to understand just what had happened. “Defend the Chief!” the boy demanded of them as he ran, his words triggering some to take up their arms and engage with the rebels. Unable to fight with them, he continued and dropped down into the Arena to join Aloy.
He’d only just reached her side when the ground trembled again. The boy fought to keep his footing as a Slitherfang burst forth and doused a nearby combatant in poison. Despite the seemingly insurmountable task of taking down the machine, the youth looked to Aloy and nodded. “On your order, Commander!”
