The Proving
Horizon Zero Dawn: Story & Ending Explained (Spoilers Summary)
The Proving is Aloy’s chance to become a part of Nora tribe after being an outcast since birth. Even though she’s not really into it, Rost pushes her to do it, as nobody should grow up outside of their home forever. The Proving is a tough challenge that requires you to show that you can hunt and traverse the land with ease. While everyone that completes the deadly challenge is automatically allowed to become a brave (a true member of the tribe), winning brings more prestige, something Aloy hopes to obtain in order to gain acceptance.
After entering the Proving Grounds she is greeted by Teersa and introduced to several other key characters in Horizon Zero Dawn’s story. The two most important ones are Erend and Olin. Erend is an Oseram warrior while Olin is a scrounger who searches ancient ruins for artifacts. While watching the ceremony that kicks off The Proving, Aloy senses a signal which turns out to be a Focus that Olin is wearing. It’s clear that he’s special as this kind of technology isn’t common, and is frowned upon by the Nora, so he’s one to keep an eye out for. Aloy speaks to him, but he seems… off. It’s not clear why, but he seems to actively avoid you. After speaking to him, it’s time to get some rest and focus on winning The Proving.
She does end up winning, but the joy of victory is not a long one as The Proving is also one of the major turning points in Horizon Zero Dawn’s story. Once Aloy wins, the village falls under attack. All of the other contestants, including the kids she used to watch from afar, are brutally murdered by a mysterious group of killers. Aloy holds her own very well during the battle as she realizes that they too have Focuses. She finds it odd that she’d never seen another one before, but in the last couple of days, she saw Olin and now all these murderers with the same device she has. She continues to fight and it seems as if she’s going to push back the enemy until she comes across a large brute of a man who snatches her by her neck and moves to kill her. When he starts to cut into her neck with his dagger, she’s saved by Rost who gives up his own life to save hers.
As Rost lies dying, the mysterious tribe places a bomb on the mountain where the battle just took place, and before it explodes, Rost crawls over and pushes Aloy off the cliff so she wouldn’t be killed by the blast. She falls unconscious only to awaken in a place she doesn’t recognize.
