Glinthawk

The Glinthawk is a category of machine in Horizon Zero Dawn. A medium-sized flying Acquisition Class machine, the Glinthawk is the aerial version of the Scrapper, scavenging and recycling parts and resources from destroyed machines. However, the AI HEPHAESTUS weaponized Glinthawks for combat.

History
Glinthawks were designed by Zero Dawn’s governing artificial intelligence (AI) GAIA as part of the terraforming system’s restoration of Earth’s biosphere after it was obliterated by the Faro Plague in the mid-21st century, destroying all life. As such, they were one of the first machines encountered by humans as they explored and settled in their tribal lands. Glinthawks perform the same function on destroyed machines that vultures perform on carrion; they process parts from the chassis of destroyed machines for recycling.

Initially, Glinthawks and all other Zero Dawn terraformers were docile, shying away from the sight of humans. However humans began hunting the Zero Dawn terraformers for parts and resources. This resulted in the AI HEPHAESTUS reprogramming the behaviour of Glinthawks from docility to increasing hostility, becoming so aggressive that they attack humans on sight. HEPHAESTUS also weaponized Glinthawks to stop human predation. This phenomenon is referred to by the tribes as the Derangement, in which Glinthawks and all other Zero Dawn terraforming machines began exhibiting increasing hostility to humans, culminating in attacks against humans on sight.

Appearance
A Glinthawk has a distinctly avian appearance, resembling a vulture. Its wings, tail, legs and feet armor plating that resembles feathers and avian wings, tail, legs, and feet. The general appearance of the chassis resembles that of a vulture. The beak is composed of an upper mandible equipped longitudinally with an array of rotary cutting tools, a lower mandible equipped with a longitudinal saw-like cutting tool, and a pair of lateral mandibles, each equipped with a rotary cutting tool. This complex mechanism is highly efficient at cutting, grinding and processing parts and resources from the chassis of destroyed machines. A pair of optical sensor arrays is located in the same position as a vulture’s eyes. An unarmoured Freeze sac containing Chillwater, is positioned on its breast, presumably as part of a cooling system that prevents excessive heat buildup in the beak’s cutting tools during scavenging.

Behaviour
Glinhawks congregate in flocks of 3 or 4, perched on or circling above high areas such as cliffs, mountains, and mesas. Flocks are found in every known tribe’s territory. Being aerial, they can easily see destroyed machine chassis, in which case they will alight on it and scavenge it, or humans, in which case they will attack. Upon spying a perceived threat or hearing a loud unusual noise, they fly in and hover over the area to investigate.

Abilities
Glinthawks employ ranged freeze attacks in which they fire or drop Freeze projectiles from their Freeze sacs at a perceived threat while hovering. The volatile liquid pools, causing pain and damage to any human it touches, as well as significantly restricting the human’s ability to move. Hovering at close range, they resort to a melee attack in which they swoop down, slashing with the claws on their feet.