The Carja are one of the most prominent tribes in the world of Horizon Zero Dawn. For one, they have the largest city in the game’s map, filled with bustling trade centers and vast farmlands. Additionally, the Carja tribe’s presence is felt across the explorable world, wherein other tribes are aware of their practices and beliefs.
The Carja and their supporters also play an important role in Horizon Zero Dawn. They offer plenty of support for Aloy in her quest to save the world from destruction. However, the Carja tribe wasn’t always a benevolent force.
The Origins of the Carja in Horizon Zero Dawn
Long before tribe names were established, there existed a settlement near the ELEUTHIA-9 facility, which is a Cradle where the settlers had been birthed. One day, a man named Araman would venture out from the settlement and find a book from the old world detailing how to observe the sun. Upon bringing the book back to share what he learned, the other settlers would shun Araman, believing that old-world knowledge was dangerous.
The settlement by ELEUTHIA-9 would eventually become the Nora tribe. Meanwhile, Araman and his followers left their former tribesfolk and traveled west. They were persecuted as they fled, and many in Araman’s camp did not survive the journey. However, when they spied a tower in the distance, they took it as a sign from the sun and persevered. When they finally arrived at the tower, Araman named the place Meridian, thus marking the humble beginnings of the City of the Sun.
The Sun-King and the Expansion of the Sundom
As the founder of the Carja tribe, Araman became its first leader. From him stems the tribe’s beliefs about the sun as well as their sun-worship practices. He was then succeeded by his son, then his son’s son, and so on — effectively establishing the Carja’s monarchical style of leadership. All the while, the tribe would be refining its religion.
At one point, the Carja tribe would create the Seven Articles of the Sun Faith, a text detailing their reverence of the sun. In particular, the text highlights the Carja’s reliance on the sun’s heir, who must be a descendant of Araman. They call this chosen heir the Sun-King, and they believe him to speak for the sun and its desires for the Carja tribe. Thus, they treat the Sun-King’s decrees as laws.
The early Sun-Kings would expand the tribe’s territory and influence, creating the Royal Maizelands, Brightmarket, and Sunfall — all of which are areas Aloy can visit in-game. These expansions ensured that the Carja people were well-fed, allowed for trade between tribes, and ultimately increased the Sundom’s reach.
Meanwhile, other Sun-Kings were more known for their military decisions. For example, under the 9th Sun-King, Ranan the Firebird, the Sundom suffered from an attack by the Tenakth tribe. In response, Ranan led Carja troops to seek revenge against the attackers and won. Later, the 12th Sun-King, Hivas, became known for strengthening the Carja tribe’s then dwindling military forces. This was in stark contrast to his predecessor — also Hivas’ brother — who opted to focus on Carja art and culture. Little did he know that the tribe’s revitalized military would then undertake some of the bloodiest raids in recent history.
The Red Raids and the Eventual Liberation
After Hivas’ rein, the 13th Sun-King, Jiran, was crowned the new leader of the Carja. During his early years in power, Jiran was known as a strong leader, able to protect the Sundom from hostile tribes. However, it was during his time as the Sun-King that the Derangement of machines took place. Backed by a strong military, the Carja easily fought off the now hostile machines, but this was not enough for the Sun-King.
Jiran then ordered Carja troops to invade other settlements to take in slaves — a bloody campaign that would later be referred to as the Red Raids. The captured slaves would then be sacrificed as the Sun-King believed it was the only way to appease the sun and stop the machines from attacking. The Carja tribe’s troops would invade Nora, Oseram, and Utaru territory to capture human sacrifices. Though Jiran also had no problem sacrificing people within the tribe who spoke out against him.
Many Carja were against the Red Raids, and some of the most notable dissenters came from the tribe’s Hunters Lodge — a guild dedicated to the practice of hunting machines. When Jiran learned that the hunters of the organization were against his bloody campaigns, he had them sacrificed too. If that wasn’t enough, Jiran also had naysayers within his own family. His eldest son, Kadaman, believed the Red Raids to be pointless. Thus, he went to his father to express his opinions, thinking that Jiran would listen since they were family. Unfortunately, Kadaman was mistaken, and his own father sentenced him to death as well.
After Kadaman’s death, Avad, his younger brother, fled Meridian with his loyal soldiers. This branded them as traitors in Jiran’s eyes, but they managed to cross the border to Oseram territory. There, Avad negotiated with the Oseram tribe, asking that they help him overthrow his own father. He sought out Ersa, an Oseram tribeswoman who he’d helped escape from the Sundom from the time she was a slave. And with her help, Avad found allies to join his cause.
With a powerful group of soldiers and warlords behind him, Avad crossed the border back into Carja territory and made for Meridian. Carja troops retreated to the walls of the city, while others even lay down their arms and joined Avad. In the end, Avad and his group bested Jiran’s troops. Though the young prince gave his father a chance to atone for his wrongs, Jiran rejected this and was ultimately killed. With his death, Avad became the 14th Sun-King, effectively ending the Red Raids.
Avad’s strong leadership and benevolence may be genuine, but it’s overshadowed by a long history of bloodshed and violence. As such, many of the other tribes are still wary of the Carja. However, after the events of Horizon Zero Dawn, the Carja seems to have taken solid steps to reestablishing their influence, showing that they have nothing but good intentions for intertribal relations. This will likely be showcased even more in Horizon Forbidden West.
Horizon Zero Dawn is available now for PC, PS4, and PS5.
