Brave

"The lesson will be taught in due time, Aloy. Until then, we wait." This article contains heavy spoilers. Read ahead with caution.

Brave
A group of male Braves
Culture	Nora
Tier Above	War-Chief
Profession	Soldier

Brave is a title conferred upon adult members of the Nora tribe who have successfully competed in the Proving and become key members of the tribe’s defense.

Description

Braves are skilled hunters who provide protection to the tribe by staving off dangerous machines and hostile outsiders from the Sacred Lands. Their duties include hunting for food, escorting parties of gatherers, and defending the Sacred Lands. Braves are mostly but not exclusively male. Notably, female Braves including Marea provide much of the fierce defense at Mother's Crown.

There are small lodges scattered throughout the Sacred Lands that can be used by Braves on the hunt who need a place to rest, consistent with the communal spaces seen in Nora villages. Additionally, Brave Trails have been erected throughout the world to help navigate the mountainous terrain. Such trails consist of handholds, zip lines, and other climbing mechanisms and can be identified by the brightly colored yellow ropes used to create them. These trails provide an elevated position that is advantageous in a fight and commonly house small caches of supplies that are free to use.

History

Origins

When ELEUTHIA-9 ran out of food, the automaton caretakers were forced to release the human inhabitants, who would eventually become the ancestors of the Nora tribe. Having spent their entire lives in the facility, some expressed reluctance to leave. However, the automatons ensured them that they would be "brave".

Fight against the Eclipse

In 3040, after the Proving Massacre, a war party lead by War-Chief Sona pursued the attackers; an ambush by corrupted machines led to over half of the Braves in the war party being slaughtered and most of the others being wounded. The remaining Braves regrouped and successfully attacked several cultist camps at Devil's Grief, including the main base inside the Ring of Metal, with the aid of the Seeker Aloy.

Despite eliminating the cultists from the Sacred Land, the Eclipse returned later with the intent to exterminate the Nora and raze their territory with extremely dangerous machines. Because of the previous attacks, very few Braves were capable of fighting. They were forced to take refuge in All-Mother Mountain, barely defending themselves until Aloy returned. Together, the Braves and Aloy destroyed the attacking machines and cultists. War-Chief Sona led the last of the Braves to Meridian, part of a multi-tribal alliance assembled by Aloy, and were successful in defeating HADES and the Eclipse.

After the final battle, most of the tribe's Braves were dead or severely wounded.

Six months later, in 3041, Varl, one of the Braves and Seekers, was killed inside Cauldron GEMINI by the Far Zenith member known as Erik Visser.

Known Braves

• Aloy (later promoted to Seeker)
• Den
• Dran
• Ferl
• Jarm
• Marea (deceased)
• Muns
• Resh (acting War-Chief, formerly)
• Sona (War-Chief)
• Varl (deceased)

Trivia

• Historically, the term Brave commonly referred to indigenous American warriors, although the word is European in origin. The term does not exclusively apply to indigenous American warriors either, and is not explicitly a slur. Nevertheless, some still insist it has a degrading connotation because of its historical usage.
• The use of the word "Brave" was criticized by some due to its common reference to indigenous American warriors. Narrative designer John Gonzales responded to the criticism, saying that his team took into consideration the historical use of "Brave" and debated whether to use the word; ultimately, they decided that "Brave" was not a slur.