Guerilla Games' Horizon Zero Dawn had a lot of work to do in order to establish its game world in 2017. It was an expansive new IP with interesting characters and a vast world for players to explore, and the developers needed to craft a fun gaming experience, while introducing players effectively to its setting and lore. The tragic tale of humanity's greed and caprice was slowly unraveled as Nora hunter Aloy got to the bottom of her own origins and traveled across a post-apocalyptic United States. Its sequel, Horizon Forbidden West, brought some of the previous game's characters and areas back, but also opened up the world in a lot of ways.

Horizon Forbidden West adds new layers to the fractured society from the first game and provides further glimpses into what life was like before the Faro Plague changed life as humanity knew it. The vast open-world contains a lot of lore, and players may feel a little overwhelmed at first. For any gamers wanting to know more about the secretive and isolationist Tenakth tribe and their practices, as well as their part in the conflicts that rage across the troubled region, there are a few keys things they should know.

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Introducing The Tenakth

Aloy speaking to a tenakth soldier in blue and yellow, feathered armor with blue and white face paint

The Tenakth are one of the many tribes that Aloy encounters throughout her wide-ranging explorations and first foray into the Forbidden West. Like each of the groups of humans struggling to survive in the hostile environments overrun by machines, the Tenakth have their own rules, beliefs, and motivations. However, the Tenakth themselves are as divided as the wider society, and they are spread out in different smaller clans across the in-game area. The three clans of the Tenakth are the Sky Clan, the Lowland Clan, and the Desert Clan, and they have a historically turbulent relationship with other tribes across Horizon Forbidden West's map.

In addition to outside threats, the Tenakth also have a rebel faction led by former Tenakth Marshal Regalla, who doesn't agree with the wider tribe's pursuit of peace with their former enemies. Thanks to Sylens and the Sons of Prometheus, Regalla and her rebels learned the ability to override machines and control them — an advantage that made them formidable enemies. Aloy becomes embroiled in this fractured clan's fate, and helps to put a stop to Regalla's rebellion throughout the course of Horizon Forbidden West. However, there's so much more to this tribe than turbulent infighting.

The Region's Civil Unrest

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In a world as challenging and resource-scarce as Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West, conflict is inevitable. Without a proper understanding of the machines that roam the land, or the fate of the Old Ones, the humans that now inhabit the region are forced to make their own conclusions, sometimes with disastrous consequences.

When the machines started to become more hostile in a phenomenon known as the Derangement, the leader of the Sun Carja (called King Jiran) resorted to performing human sacrifices. This had no impact on the behavior of the machines, but his brutal regime doubled down on these violent practices, kidnapping members from other tribes like the Tenakth, and even killing his own subjects.

A group of Sun Carja tribespeople rebelled, and Jiran was eventually overthrown by Prince Avad when the Sun-King's brutal reign came to an end. This had far-reaching consequences, as tribes like the Tenakth remembered the attacks and kidnappings they were subjected to by Meridian's larger militaristic tribe. Not only did this form deep divisions within the Sun Carja and result in the formation of the Carja in Shadow (or Shadow Carja) by Avan's brother, but it also caused dissent and conflict in other tribes around the region.

The events of this Civil War bled into Horizon Zero Dawn, as even though there was supposedly a ceasefire between the Sun and Shadow Carja tribes, characters like Sylens and the cult of Eclipse agitated relations and caused conflicts. Eventually, Sun-King Avad offered an end to hostilities, and the Shadow Carja eventually ceded control of Sunfall back to the Sundom, marking an official end to the Civil War. However, that didn't mean it was the end of the conflicts. Sun Carja's actions and the tensions among its splintered groups spilled out into the wider world and caused other tribes to fracture as well, like the Tenakth.

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The Significance Of The Arena

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The Tenakth were largely an isolationist group that didn't want much to do with tribes in the surrounding areas. This stance was only increased by the brutality that they suffered during King Jiran's reign, and helped to form the prejudices and mindset of The Tenakth people. The Tenakth have centered a lot of their society around the remnants of an aircraft facility from the Old World, which is seen as sacred by the tribe. They revere the Ten, or "Joint Task Force Ten," which were a military squad from centuries before whose exploits inspire them and inform their battle tactics.

The Arena is located in their capital city called The Memorial Grove, and is also another key part of Tenakth​​​​​​​ culture. The scattered pieces of The Ten's story that the tribe is able to uncover add to the Arena's significance, as it is located in the crater where the squad met their violent fate. Much like the trials that hunters must undergo to become a Nora Brave, members of the Tenakth tribe must prove themselves in the Arena and emulate some of the military tactics of the lauded Ten as they take on antagonistic machines.

As well as a place for warriors to test their mettle, the Arena is also the setting for the Kulrut. This event pits Tenakth fighters against the machines, and is also a mission in Horizon Forbidden West for Aloy to gain the trust of the tribe and get access to AETHER. For other Tenakth tribe members who survive this challenging ordeal, they can earn the title of Marshal, which means they can serve as guards to the chief of the tribe. Regalla underwent such a test, but after Chief Hekarro agreed to peace with the Sun Carja after their violent Red Raids, Regalla gave up this position of honor and started her rebellion instead.

Horizon Forbidden West is available now on PS4 and PS5.

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