The Old Ways (Stories from the Outlands)

“	In a village that has rejected the hubris of machines, a child is sent into the wilds in a lethal rite of passage. But they soon realize they are more hunted than hunter. Learn the truth of the Old Ways and see a scared youth become the fearsome Bloodhound.

The Old Ways
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Release date	Apr 02, 2020
Production	Platige Image
Length	10:33
Promotes	The Old Ways
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This article is about the animated short. For the event, see The Old Ways.

The Old Ways is a Stories from the Outlands animated short released on April 02, 2020, during Season 4.

Synopsis

In the past, an accident at the New Dawn coolant plant flash-freezes the volcanic landscape of Talos. A young Bloodhound watches in horror as their father Johann is enveloped by the ice.

In the present, Bloodhound has been adopted by their uncle Artur and raised in a village that scorns technology and lives a traditional viking lifestyle. Artur sends Bloodhound to hunt a Prowler as a rite of passage, but Bloodhound finds that another creature has killed it first. They stumble upon an abandoned maintenance tunnel; inside, the corpse of a worker with a Charge Rifle, which Bloodhound picks up. As they play with the rifle, the Goliath charges through the tunnel, but Bloodhound barely manages to shoot it through the head.

Bloodhound returns to town with the goliath's horn in a sling, and buries the Charge Rifle in the forest nearby. They present the horn as an offering to the Allfather, but Artur smells the sulfur on the horn and knows that Bloodhound didn't hunt the beast with traditional methods. Artur declared that Bloodhound has chosen exile, and they storm off into the woods, only to see that the Goliath was still alive and tracking down its horn. Bloodhound screams Artur's name, drawing the attention of the beast, and retrieves the Charge Rifle, only for the goliath to knock them away and shatter the rifle. Artur and several other villagers arrive to fight the beast, and Artur is fatally wounded in the fight. Bloodhound throws a piece of the Charge Rifle into the goliath's mouth, which detonates and causes it to flee. In his last moments, Artur tells Bloodhound that their choice of weapon doesn't matter, and that they can finish off the beast.

Bloodhound returns to the maintenance tunnel, and lures the beast into a spot where they collapse the ceiling and bury it under rubble, though this only slows it momentarily. Backed into a corner, Bloodhound cracks open a coolant pipe with Artur's axe, freezing the goliath. They barely manage to reach a stray gas mask left behind by the workers, preventing further lung damage, and finally decapitates the beast.

Artur and several other warriors are then given a proper Norse funeral. In their uncle's honor, Bloodhound dons the bone helmet they were meant to receive in the prior ceremony.

Details and easter eggs

• This short takes place in 2710, 23 years before the story of Apex Legends begins.
• Some of the other warriors wear a helmet similar to the one used in Bloodhound's Royal Guard skin. Since this skin is based on Japanese suits of armor, it is possible this village's traditional way of life is not exclusively Norse.