Horizon Zero Dawn opens up with our protagonist, Aloy, exploring her surroundings with much curiosity. She stumbles upon a berry farm where some children are helping and learning the basics of food harvesting. A little boy sees her and they exchange looks. It isn't very long before a woman notices her an ushers the children to stay away from the outcast that is Aloy.
In her anger, little Aloy runs squishes the berries that she was going to give the young boy and runs off. She falls into a cave and discovers an underground world called the "Metal World".
Inside the cave is a series of objectives that helps you learn the basics of the game such as running, walking and jumping. As you progress into the cave, Aloy discovers a small device that looks like an ear piece. She places it in her ear and discovers that it can provide her with information about the world around her. This is the first tool you gain in the game and probably on of the most important tools in the game.
After finding the ear-piece that will later be known to us as The Focus, your objective immediately changes and now you must solve a simple puzzle using your new found device. Along the way you will learn that the device can be used to scan objects for story related information and can even be used to see machines that may be of importance to you and to completing your objective.
Once you're done running around scanning objects and unlocking doors, you will find the exit and there you will find Rost waiting for you.
When you exit the cave, Rost will be there waiting for you and will lecture you about wandering off alone. Rost appears to be your guardian, if not your father but at this point in the game it is unconfirmed what the relationship between Rost and Aloy is since Aloy never refers to him as papa or dad.
Rost sees the device Aloy is wearing and demands that she give it to him but stubborn as all children are, Aloy refuses to give it to him. In the end, Rost decides to teach her how to defend herself instead as he sees there is no point in trying to keep her from wandering about on her own.
