- "Meridian is the center of the world. Everyone comes here eventually."
- ―Carja noble
Meridian, also referred to as the City of the Sun, is the capital of the Carja tribe.
Founded by the first Sun-King Araman in the shadow of the Spire atop which perched Glinthawks they had followed from the 'Savage East', Meridian grew into a large city at the heart of the Carja Sundom.[1]
History
Formation
Meridian was founded by the first Sun-King, Araman, after the people that became the Carja were driven out of their homeland. They wandered west, following the Sun and the Glinthawks. Along the way, many Carja died, Araman's own family among them. In spite of persecution and outright violence from other tribes, the Carja continued until Araman experienced a vision of what came to be known as the Spire. The Carja came to settle on the mesa surrounding the great tower, building the capital city of Meridian - named from a passage in the Leaves of the Old Ones - from the abundant local resources.[1] As the city grew, the Carja prospered, and traders arrived from foreign lands.
The Red Raids
The reign of the thirteenth Sun-King Jiran was a time of great turmoil for Meridian. In response to the phenomenon known as the Derangement, Jiran began ordering human sacrifices in the Sun-King in an attempt to appease the machines. When sacrificing slaves failed, Jiran escalated to invading foreign territories in what became known as the Red Raids. The Red Raids culminated in Jiran's twenty-first year. Upon the execution of his older brother Kadaman for questioning his father's demands for sacrifices, Prince Avad fled the city along with those soldiers loyal to him. He and his men crossed into Oseram territory, and thanks to his personal friendship with Ersa, were able to negotiate an alliance with the tribe.[2]
The Liberation
Months later, and with an army of Oseram warriors and mercenaries, Avad marched on the capital. He hoped that his status as rightful heir to the throne would spark an uprising among the Carja and thus avoid large-scale death and destruction. His plan worked, as many Carja warriors retreated, surrendered, or even defected. However, the defenders of Meridian stood firm, and Avad was forced to order the use of Oseram cannons to decimate the outer walls.[2]
This began followed by a three-pronged assault; one group attacked the main gate, one scaled the walls nearest the temple, and another infiltrated the city through the irrigation tunnels. As Jiran's slave pits were opened, Itamen, Nasadi, Helis, Bahavas, and many of his loyal followers used the chaos to flee the city with whatever they could carry; they would go on to become the Shadow Carja. Avad and Ersa personally confronted Jiran, with Avad hoping to convince him to surrender and avoid further loss of life. However, Jiran refused to answer for his crimes,[2] and Ersa slew him.
Avad's Reforms
After the fall of Jiran, Avad succeeded him as Sun-King. He quickly ended the Red Raids and brought about sweeping reforms, including the end of slave labor. Balahn would note that Meridian had become far more alive than it had been during the reign of Jiran. Due to their assistance in the Liberation, the Oseram were allowed into the city, and quickly became a common sight (and, thanks to their tendency to argue, a common sound). The Oseram that aided Avad during the Liberation were given the title of "Avad's champions" and were named the Vanguard. With almost all of Jiran's loyalists defected, the power vacuum was quickly filled by those loyal to Avad, ensuring a relatively peaceful transition. The Sun-Ring was repurposed into a memorial for the victims of the Red Raids.
About two years after the Liberation, the infamous Oseram Dervahl began a plot to destroy Meridian and kill Avad. After faking the death of Captain Ersa, Dervahl placed a bomb within a warehouse at the edge of the mesa. Finding a way into the Palace of the Sun, Dervahl planned to force Avad to watch as he burned Meridian to the ground. However, Dervahl's plot was foiled by the Nora Aloy, and he was taken into custody.[3]
The Battle of the Alight
The final battle brought great destruction to the city and was the worst battle that Meridian ever faced. The Eclipse and their Corruptors, Deathbringers and corrupted machines arrived from the west and were initially held off by the Oseram Cannons placed at the gate, but the machines managed to break through the gates to Meridian Village, dragging HADES in with them. They destroyed much of the Royal Maizelands and Meridian Village as they passed through to get to the Spire, which was HADES' ultimate goal. Two of Meridian's elevators collapsed during the fighting from Deathbringer fire.[4]
The corrupted machines set the whole lower city on fire and the destruction was immense. Aloy made her way up to the Spire and found that HADES was already transmitting a signal to reawaken the Faro Plague. She destroyed the Deathbringer protecting HADES and defeated it using the Master Override she obtained during her exploring of the GAIA Prime facility. Meridian erupted into cheers of victory as Aloy, Erend and Varl stepped out from the battle.[4]
Restoration
Following the Battle of the Alight, Sun-King Avad ordered repairs to the damage caused by the battle, with repairs still well underway six months after the battle.[5]
Notable Locations Within Meridian
Collectables
Scanned Glyphs
- #1 The Sun-Kings
- #2 Record of Redmaw 2
- #4 Bylaws of the Lodge
- #6 Founding Of Meridian
- #7 The Liberation
- #8 The Mad Sun-King
- #9 The Sun Faith
- #10 Legendary Hunts
- #11 Record of Redmaw 1
- #12 Olin's Journal
Trivia
- A "meridian" refers to a line of longitude (north to south) from the Latin word for noon, meridianum, literally middle day.
- Meridian is the only city in Horizon Zero Dawn that hosts unique merchants.
- Meridian is located on a mesa in what the Old Ones called Eagle Canyon, Utah.[6]
- Meridian was heavily inspired by Angkor Wat, the capital of the old Khmer Empire in Cambodia (based on visual comparison).[citation needed]
Gallery
Concept Art
Screenshots
