Varl

Varl is a major character in the Horizon video game series. He serves as one of the two tritagonists (alongside Erend Vanguardsman) of the 2017 video game Horizon Zero Dawn and one of the four deuteragonists (alongside Erend, Zo and Kotallo) of its 2022 sequel Horizon Forbidden West.
Varl forged a relationship with Aloy as they chased the person responsible for the Proving Massacre, in which Varl lost his sister Vala to the Shadow Carja cult known as the Eclipse. He would subsequently join her into the Forbidden West, months after the Battle of the Alight.
He is voiced by John MacMillan and modeled after Amron Adams.
==Background==
===Past===
Varl was always battling with his younger sister Vala for her attention as the son of famed Nora War-Chief Sona. Varl competed in the Proving when he reached the age of majority and became a Brave.
When it was Vala's turn to compete, the Eclipse attacked the Proving, murdering Vala and the majority of the Brave candidates. In their rush to exact retribution, the Nora assembled a battle group, but many of them were slaughtered in an ambush. Sona recovered fast and assembled a second team to spearhead a counter-offensive. Sona instructed Varl to accompany the injured to the Embrace and protect the Embrace Gates when he sought to join them.
===Vengeance Against the Eclipse===
Varl was approached by Aloy about the Meridian way some time later. After learning of Aloy's Seeker status, Varl directed her to Marea in Mother's Crown, who was originally perplexed as to why she would seek banishment. Varl urged her to assist in the search for Sona, who had vanished after unleashing her attack.
Varl stayed at the Embrace Gates until Dran came back with news of Sona's whereabouts. Varl left the gates in the hands of his fellow Braves before proceeding to Devil's Thirst, eager for vengeance. Varl tracked down the battle party and Aloy, joining them just after a group of Eclipse cultists were destroyed. Varl was chastised by Sona for breaching orders upon arrival, causing Aloy to have a look around the base.
The Seeker would track down the last of the killers: the Ring of Metal in Devil's Grief, which was forbidden to the Nora. Varl persuaded Sona to breach the taboo after agreeing with Aloy that there wasn't time to request the Matriarchs for an exemption. Varl and the rest of the war party met Aloy in Red Echoes, where they tried to deactivate the murderers' three checkpoints.
Varl agreed to help Aloy in infiltrating the ruin to exploit the base's weakness after Aloy dealt with the three Eclipse camps around the Ring of Metal. They worked together to clear the Eclipse from their way, ultimately arriving at the main area. Varl returned to the War Party on Aloy's orders, guiding them to the side of the Ring where she would make an opening. The Nora was able to charge through a hole in the Ring when Aloy torched the murderers' entire cache of Blaze. A heated combat occurred, with Nora emerging victorious. Aloy and Varl parted ways for the time being, since her adventure was far from done.
===Attack of the Sacred Lands===
After that, the Eclipse launched a catastrophic attack on the Sacred Lands. Varl and Sona were among the few Braves who survived the assault, and they escaped into the Sacred Mountain with the rest of the Nora. The Braves were unable to do anything except watch as the Eclipse released a Corrupted Thunderjaw on the entryway, attempting to bring the mountain down.
Aloy, on the other hand, ultimately came and began fighting the Eclipse. The Braves raced to Aloy's side, reenergized, with Varl yelling "For Aloy!" The tide swiftly changed with her assistance, and the killers were wiped out. Before travelling into the mountain to talk with the High Matriarchs, Aloy and Varl chatted briefly about the attack.
Varl and the rest of the tribe stood in wonder as Aloy entered the mountain's interior chamber to "talk with the goddess." When Aloy first appeared, she told the tribe a watered-down account of her origins and purpose, which caused everyone to fall to their knees and thank her. Aloy immediately turned down the gesture, refusing to accept the title of "the Anointed," and warned them that the entire planet was in jeopardy.
Varl inquired about how they might assist, and Aloy instructed Varl to meet her in Meridian. Varl, his mother, and a group of Braves were given the title of Seeker so that they may go beyond the Sacred Lands.
===Battle of the Alight===
The Braves set up camp aboard the Alight after landing in the Sundom to await the invasion. Varl ran across Aloy when she was touring the fortifications, telling his teammates that Aloy despises being bowed to. Varl admitted his uneasiness in the Tainted Lands and his difficulties in combining his adoration for Aloy with respect for her wants during their brief conversation.
When the Eclipse launched their final assault on the Spire, the Braves teamed up with the Vanguard to defend it. HADES and its Deathbringer, on the other hand, managed to get past the defences and send out the signal that would once again put an end to life on Earth. When Aloy came from the village, Varl and Erend were among the few still capable of fighting (along with Sona or Talanah, depending on whether Aloy had joined the Lodge or not), and they were ready to battle HADES.
Varl demanded that the three of them follow Aloy to the Alight right now. Varl and the others focused their attention on the Corrupted Machines encircling them as Aloy battled the Deathbringer defending HADES, letting Aloy to focus on the Deathbringer.
Eventually, after a fierce battle, the machines fell and Aloy purged HADES with the Master Override. As she walked to the edge of the Alight, she was joined by Erend and Varl, who began cheering with the rest of Meridian in their victory. That evening, as the city celebrated, Varl shared drinks with Erend. Although Varl expressed doubts that he was welcome in Carja lands, Erend assured him that Sun-King Avad welcomed the Nora's presence, and encouraged him to stay.
===The Forbidden West===
Varl opted to pursue Aloy while the rest of the Nora retreated to the Sacred Lands when she disappeared without notice during the festivities. Six months later, he eventually found her, having surmised what she was looking for and refusing to let her do it alone. Aloy finally caved in and handed him a Focus, affording him her "second sight," and gradually revealing the contents of her mission to him. Varl persuaded Aloy to contact Marad in order to find Sylens when her final lead on locating a GAIA backup failed, and followed her to Meridian.
Varl heard from Aloy soon after they arrived that the voyage would take them to the Forbidden West. The two of them stayed in Meridian to relax at Aloy's request. Varl awoke the next morning to find Aloy had already left. As Aloy prepared to enter the Forbidden West, he made it to the border at Barren Light barely in time.
===Death by Erik Visser===
Varl would keep an eye out for any dangers as Aloy and Beta attempted to remove HEPHAESTUS' harmful code from Cauldron GEMINI in order to merge with GAIA. Tilda van der Meer, Erik Visser, and Gerard Bieri, members of the Far Zenith, appeared unexpectedly, prompting him to protect Beta. Varl was no match for Erik's superior armament, and was murdered single-handedly with a golden-colored sword that emerged from Erik's palm, despite his brave efforts to defend Beta.
===Legacy===
Varl's death was felt deeply by his comrades, notably Aloy, Erend, and Zo. Zo never got the chance to inform Varl that he would become a parent after reclaiming HEPHAESTUS. Varl's death at Erik's hands would be avenged by Aloy and Zo, who would team together to kill the Zenith.
Varl was buried on the eastern side of the Base, with his back facing Plainsong and his face to the Sacred Lands. Finally, Zo followed the Utaru practise of sowing new seeds after a human's death in order for new life to grow from death.
==Personality==
Varl's greatest strength was his emotional awareness, which he had despite being firm and morally upright. He kept his personal problems to himself for the most part, while finding constructive ways to deal with them.
He was patient and empathetic with his friends, allowing them to work through their problems at their own time while offering advice when he could. This didn't stop him from expressing his displeasure with dry wit or putting his foot down when he felt it was necessary.
Varl had mostly followed the Nora faith before meeting Aloy. He never looked down on outlanders because of their ancestry, and he was prepared to deviate from tradition if the occasion demanded it. He exhibited some unease at being outside of the Sacred Lands while waiting for the Eclipse's attack against the Spire, but he was not overtly dismissive of the Sundom.
Despite the fact that he considered Aloy as "the Anointed," he treated her as a friend out of respect for her sentiments, only using the title to mock her if she irritated him. He embraced the truth about the Old World rather quickly once he learned it, knowing that technology might be utilised for good. Even in light of Far Zenith, he seemed to have a keen interest in space.
Varl had a rocky connection with his mother because of her high standards and the stress of trying to live up to her reputation, despite his admiration for Sona. Zo became concerned by his unwillingness to discuss Sona with her and inquired of Aloy about it.
==Trivia==
*If the player rides a Strider through the Embrace Gate during the quest A Seeker at the Gates, an amazed Varl will comment on it.
== Navigation ==
Category:Male
Category:Video Game Heroes
Category:Science Fiction Heroes
Category:Warriors
Category:Protectors
Category:Deceased
Category:Honorable
Category:Parents
Category:In Love
Category:Tragic
Category:Brutes
Category:Strong-Willed
Category:War Heroes
Category:Insecure
Category:Vengeful
Category:Provokers
Category:Adventurers
Category:Bond Protectors
Category:Protectors of Innocence
Category:Fighters
Category:Siblings
Category:Officials
Category:Military
Category:Lawful Good
Category:Localized Protection
Category:Global Protection
Category:Bond Creators