Erend Vanguardsman, also known as Erend, is a Vanguard of the Oseram tribe and the younger brother of Ersa in Horizon Zero Dawn.
History
Background
Erend, along with his sister Ersa and an Oseram named Dervahl, fought against the Carja during the Red Raids. Erend admitted that he hated the Carja for the Red Raids, although his attitude changed after Ersa was rescued by Avad, a Carja prince who became appalled by his father's atrocities. Ersa was approached by Avad sometime later, asking for help in taking down the Mad Sun-King.
It was around this time that Ersa and Erend ended their alliance with Dervahl, realizing that he wanted the destruction of all Carja, not just the bad ones. Erend joined his sister and Avad in the Liberation of Meridian, and became a member of the Vanguard after Avad took the throne.
Visiting the Nora
Two years after the Liberation, Erend joined a Carja delegation to the Nora in order to establish peace between the Sundom and the Sacred Lands. Their visit was initially met with protest, as the Nora remained distrustful of the Carja and remembered their role in the Red Raids. When the Nora began pelting the Sun-Priest Irid with tomatoes, Erend quickly came to his defense and calmly talked the Nora down by telling them of Avad's role in the overthrow of the Mad Sun-King, as well as altruism. Afterwards, Erend met a Brave candidate named Aloy, and began flirting with her. While his advances were either ignored or rejected, Erend offered to help her if she ever decided to come to Meridian.
Erend, along with the rest of the delegation, was in Mother's Heart during the Proving massacre. He would later recall that the Nora tribe's wail of grief was unlike anything he had ever heard.
Ersa's Murder
Sometime after the delegation returned to Meridian, Ersa was found dead in Red Ridge Pass, her face too mutilated to recognize. Erend was made Captain in her place, a position he was neither ready nor willing to take.
When Aloy arrived in Meridian, Erend was ecstatic to learn that she had survived the Proving, although Aloy herself was off-put by the drunk Erend. At Aloy's request, Erend spoke with her alone (not before ordering the Carja guards to let her enter and leave Meridian as she pleased). To his surprise, Aloy demanded to see Olin, who she insisted had worked with the killers at the Proving. While confused and skeptical of Aloy's accusation, Erend agreed to bring her to Olin's home in Meridian. While en route, Erend noticed a man attracting a small crowd talking about Ersa's murder. This infuriated Erend, who then threatened the man before dispersing the crowd. Upon investigating Olin's home, Erend realized that Aloy was correct about Olin's involvement with the killers. Learning about Aloy's tracking skills with her Focus, he begged Aloy to help him find the soldiers who killed Ersa. Aloy accepted his request and they traveled to the scene of Ersa's murder.
At the scene, the two followed cart tracks up the path, where they were suddenly attacked by Oseram. Upon defeating their attackers, Aloy shared her theory with Erend: Ersa had been attacked by the Oseram, who placed her armor on another corpse before dumping the bodies further down the pass, making it seem like Ersa had been murdered by the Shadow Carja. Realizing that Ersa could still be alive, Erend raced to Meridian to check the body. On closer inspection, Erend realized that the corpse was not his sister, as it was missing a scar that he had given Ersa as a child.
Plot Against the Sun-King
Erend was later present at a meeting with Avad, Blameless Marad, and Aloy to discuss the implications of Ersa's disappearance. Marad voiced his suspicion that Dervahl was behind this, as no other Oseram had the motive and ingenuity to lure Ersa into a trap, to which Erend voiced denial, believing him to be dead since every clan in the Claim had been hunting Dervahl since the Liberation. Regardless, he agreed to meet with Aloy and Marad's agent in Pitchcliff.
While the agent was killed by Dervahl's men, he was able to leave a map (drawn in his own blood) for Aloy and Erend to follow. With Aloy's help, Erend and a group of Vanguardsmen ransacked Dervahl's camp. Inside the camp, Erend found Ersa, who told him Dervahl's endgame: to make Avad watch as he burned Meridian to the ground. Sadly, Ersa had been mortally wounded, and she died in Erend's arms. Despite his grief, Erend pulled himself together and returned to Meridian to warn Avad of the plot.
Based on a Blaze order left in the camp, Erend and Aloy located Dervahl's warehouse in Meridian, where they found a bomb big enough to destroy Meridian. The two of them pushed one of the components out a window, dramatically reducing the blast radius (although they barely escaped the resulting explosion). Erend believed the threat to have passed, but Aloy reminded him the other part of Ersa's warning: Dervahl would make Avad watch. While doubtful that Dervahl could infiltrate the Palace, Erend ran back on Aloy's advice.
Aloy's suspicions were correct: Dervahl had found another way into the Palace, and used his sonic weapon to neutralize everyone present, including Erend.
Battle for the Spire
Erend and the rest of the Vanguard joined the forces to protect the Spire from the Eclipse's next onslaught. While the Eclipse were able to break through the defenses, Erend survived, and was one of three soldiers who fought alongside Aloy, helping her break through HADES' defenses and prevent life from being wiped out again.
Personality
In many ways, Erend is a typical Oseram: bold, crass, impulsive, and a heavy drinker. Erend has low self-esteem, describing himself as a "useless drunk" at one point. This attitude stems from acknowledging his faults, as well as the high standard set by his sister Ersa.
However, Erend is capable and competent when the situation demands it. His personality matured significantly following the death of Ersa: he apprehended Dervahl rather than kill him in vengeance, and stepped up to the role of Captain during the Eclipse's final assault. He became more down-to-Earth, focused, and calm in the face of danger. Erend is also notoriously loyal to his friends and allies, willingly following Aloy into battle against HADES without hesitation of any kind.
Skills and Abilities
- Public Speaking: Erend has some skill in public speaking; he was able to calm a crowd of Nora and prevent them from attacking the Carja escort.
- Skilled Fighter: As a member of the Vanguard, Erend is a talented fighter.
| Oseram tribe | |
|---|---|
| Merchants | Abadund - Danur - Hakund - Handa - Larend - Milduf - Mystery Boxes Merchant - Raynah - Runda - Thurlis |
| Tribe members | Arnuf - Asera - Bajund - Beladga - Belna - Brageld - Boomer - Burgrend - Corend - Delah - Dervahl - Dorgeld - Dorund - Elkend - Fernund - Garnund - Gera - Gildun - Gilvarn - Hakurt - Jelda - Jorgriz - Jorund - Kaeluf - Karhn - Kendert - Keruf - Korduf - Korl - Korvend - Lokuf - Lora - Lorund - Lunda - Luf - Marsa - Menuf - Minda - Morlund - Odund - Odurg - Ohlgrud - Ohtur - Olin - Petra - Porguf - Radel - Ragurt - Ralert - Rasgrund - Salma - Silga - Stemmur - Thorden - Tolland - Ulvund - Varga - Vilgund - Volma |
| Vanguard | Aldur - Erend - Ersa - Fendur - Joruf - Telga |