1 00:00:01,920 --> 00:00:06,900 Despite this channel running for over 5  years now and having over 3 whole videos 2 00:00:06,900 --> 00:00:11,580 dedicated to Hollow Knight lore, there are  still quite a few big mysteries left lurking 3 00:00:11,580 --> 00:00:16,500 in the ruins of Hallownest. This video will  serve as a rundown of all the weird aspects 4 00:00:16,500 --> 00:00:20,580 of Hollow Knight lore we have yet to fully  piece together. We’re going to be hitting 5 00:00:20,580 --> 00:00:24,420 on a few topics I’ve already covered in  previous videos, but there are also a 6 00:00:24,420 --> 00:00:28,260 few mysteries that I haven’t really touched on  before as well. Also, some of these mysteries 7 00:00:28,260 --> 00:00:32,820 do have pretty reasonable explanations, that  maybe aren’t as well known in the community. 8 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:38,820 And before we get started proper, I did want to  mention the Lore Archives, which is a document 9 00:00:38,820 --> 00:00:42,840 full of interesting lore write ups written by  various members of the Hollow Knight community. 10 00:00:42,840 --> 00:00:47,100 So if you want to check out theories from the  community on a variety of different topics, 11 00:00:47,100 --> 00:00:51,780 try checking this page out. I put a link  down in the description. I also put a link 12 00:00:51,780 --> 00:00:55,860 to the entire script of the Bee movie as  well. So be sure to check that out too. 13 00:00:59,460 --> 00:01:05,520 The first big question I think we all asked at one  point or another is… what’s outside Hallownest? 14 00:01:05,520 --> 00:01:10,200 There are two instances where the game tempts  us with glimpses of the outside world, but we 15 00:01:10,200 --> 00:01:14,340 are stopped by powerful forces of nature.  Through interacting with the Godseeker, 16 00:01:14,340 --> 00:01:19,560 we also get very small windows into lands outside  of Hallownest. We see the Godseekers in the middle 17 00:01:19,560 --> 00:01:24,540 of their journey through the wasteland as they  make their pilgrimage to Hallownest. We also see 18 00:01:24,540 --> 00:01:29,520 the Land of Storms, the location from which the  Godseekers fled after they were abandoned by the 19 00:01:29,520 --> 00:01:34,440 Gods of Thunder and the Gods of Rain. We also  see parts of the lands beyond in the Quirrel 20 00:01:34,440 --> 00:01:39,120 prequel comic and in the opening cutscene of  Hollow Knight: Silksong. All of these scenes 21 00:01:39,120 --> 00:01:45,180 portray the Lands Beyond as a desolate wasteland  filled with nothing but sand, rock and deadly 22 00:01:45,180 --> 00:01:50,160 creatures. Even the tablet in the Howling Cliffs  tells us there is no world beyond Hallownest. 23 00:01:50,160 --> 00:01:55,200 But are the Lands Beyond truly such a  desolate wasteland? After all, there 24 00:01:55,200 --> 00:02:01,080 are several travelers who arrive in Hallownest  such as Zote, Cloth and Tiso. And of course, 25 00:02:01,080 --> 00:02:05,160 there’s also Pharloom, a completely different  kingdom that exists somewhere else out there. 26 00:02:05,820 --> 00:02:11,160 So, even if the Lands Beyond are mostly wasteland,  there still appear to be pockets of civilization, 27 00:02:11,160 --> 00:02:16,800 although maybe not to the scale of Hallownest in  most cases. But this does raise another question. 28 00:02:16,800 --> 00:02:22,200 Why does the lore tablet at the entrance to  Hallownest call it the last and only civilization? 29 00:02:22,860 --> 00:02:27,660 I think this is because the Pale King expected  Hallownest to last eternally. And if that were 30 00:02:27,660 --> 00:02:32,040 the case, then to travelers arriving in the  far future, it really would be the last and 31 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:36,540 only civilization. And there might actually be  good reason to believe that there really aren’t 32 00:02:36,540 --> 00:02:42,180 many kingdoms left in the world of Hollow Knight. Long before the events of the game, the Pale King 33 00:02:42,180 --> 00:02:46,800 existed in the world as a Wyrm, burrowing  through mountains and across wastelands, 34 00:02:46,800 --> 00:02:52,740 and only came to Hallownest to die. From there,  he shed his Wyrm form, taking on a meager shell, 35 00:02:52,740 --> 00:02:58,620 founded Hallownest and created a beacon to draw  in subjects to his new kingdom. According to 36 00:02:58,620 --> 00:03:03,600 Dream Nail dialogue from Mister Mushroom, this  is how Wyrms typically operate: “Wyrms pull 37 00:03:03,600 --> 00:03:09,240 bugs into their thrall”. Wyrms might be one of  the primary forces that build civilizations in 38 00:03:09,240 --> 00:03:15,240 this world. But there’s one line from Bardoon that  illuminates the problem here. When discussing the 39 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:22,260 Wyrm’s Cast-off Shell, Bardoon says “With its like  gone, the world is smaller.” This line might imply 40 00:03:22,260 --> 00:03:27,300 that the Wyrms of this world have all died out. This could explain why the land is so desolate. 41 00:03:27,300 --> 00:03:32,280 The creatures mainly responsible for creating  and advancing civilization are just all gone now, 42 00:03:32,280 --> 00:03:37,860 so most of the kingdoms have collapsed into sand.  It’s interesting to think of a world where Wyrms 43 00:03:37,860 --> 00:03:43,080 were more prevalent and there were tons of nearby  kingdoms engaging in trade and warfare. Of course, 44 00:03:43,080 --> 00:03:47,760 while this might explain the current state of  the world, it raises another question. Why did 45 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:52,260 all the Wyrms die out in the first place? Did  they destroy the natural ecosystem of the world 46 00:03:52,260 --> 00:03:57,540 by their actions, leading their population to  drop? And why did the Pale King die specifically 47 00:03:57,540 --> 00:04:02,160 in Hallownest? Is there something unique about  this patch of earth that draws the likes of the 48 00:04:02,160 --> 00:04:07,500 Pale King and other civilizations to try to claim  all of it? These are some pretty broad questions 49 00:04:07,500 --> 00:04:12,900 that I’m not sure we’ll ever get answers to. And  the Pale King isn’t the only Wyrm we know about. 50 00:04:15,420 --> 00:04:19,440 The Blackwyrm is mentioned in the Hunter’s  Journal entry for the Dung Defender, where 51 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:25,560 he mentions that he participated in the “Battle  of the Blackwyrm”. And that’s all we have on the 52 00:04:25,560 --> 00:04:31,260 Blackwyrm. This pitiful amount of information has  led to a wide variety of theories, and I think it 53 00:04:31,260 --> 00:04:35,700 might be worth discussing a few of them here. One of the most popular theories out there is 54 00:04:35,700 --> 00:04:40,380 that the Blackwyrm is the corpse that  houses the Colosseum of Fools. In my 55 00:04:40,380 --> 00:04:44,580 dedicated Colosseum of Fools video, I  dismissed this idea pretty strongly, 56 00:04:44,580 --> 00:04:49,980 but since anything related to the Blackwyrm  is speculation, let’s lay out the evidence. 57 00:04:50,940 --> 00:04:56,340 First of all, this ancient bug corpse is very  unique from every other ancient corpse we see 58 00:04:56,340 --> 00:05:01,020 in Hallownest. It appears to have chains  going into it as if someone was trying to 59 00:05:01,020 --> 00:05:05,760 immobilize it, perhaps because this creature  was encroaching into Hallownest during the 60 00:05:05,760 --> 00:05:12,720 Pale King’s reign. This could signify a battle. Second, the Lord Fool might be like the Pale 61 00:05:12,720 --> 00:05:18,600 King in that it was born from the carcass of  the larger Colosseum bug. The name Lord Fool 62 00:05:18,600 --> 00:05:22,740 might have even been part of his punishment  for trying to invade the Pale King’s kingdom, 63 00:05:22,740 --> 00:05:27,360 and he’s been relegated to stay inside his  Cast-off Shell on the edge of the Kingdom. 64 00:05:28,020 --> 00:05:32,100 Third, the worship of the Lord Fool  we see of bugs like the Little Fool 65 00:05:32,100 --> 00:05:37,320 might be part of the “wyrms pull bugs into  their thrall” line from Mister Mushroom we 66 00:05:37,320 --> 00:05:42,540 discussed earlier. This might also explain  why the Colosseum houses infected bugs that 67 00:05:42,540 --> 00:05:46,500 seemingly still retain their ability  to act non-hostile towards the Knight. 68 00:05:47,040 --> 00:05:52,980 The hurdles this theory has is the fact that this  corpse looks nothing like the Cast-off Shell. It 69 00:05:52,980 --> 00:05:59,820 has limbs, it isn’t molting, the interiors look  different. There’s also Ellina who identifies the 70 00:05:59,820 --> 00:06:05,700 Cast-off Shell as a Wyrm, but not the Colosseum  of Fools corpse. In order for this theory to work, 71 00:06:05,700 --> 00:06:10,260 you have to argue that the Pale Wyrm  isn’t representative of all wyrm types, 72 00:06:10,260 --> 00:06:15,660 which I think does have merit, but I think  the Colosseum Wyrm idea strays a bit too far. 73 00:06:16,440 --> 00:06:21,540 The other argument I’ve been seeing pop up is  that the Blackwyrm isn’t a Wyrm at all. This 74 00:06:21,540 --> 00:06:27,360 stems from the lack of consistency between its  name and every other instance of “Wyrm” we see 75 00:06:27,360 --> 00:06:33,840 in the game. Any time the word “wyrm” is used  outside of “Blackwyrm”, the word is by itself. 76 00:06:34,560 --> 00:06:39,540 Most instances of the word just say  “Wyrm” by itself with a capital “W”, 77 00:06:39,540 --> 00:06:45,600 with a few instances where it’s just in lower  case. There’s also the one time Grimm uses the 78 00:06:45,600 --> 00:06:52,800 word “worm” with an “O” seemingly to mock the Pale  King. The only other time, aside from “Blackwyrm” 79 00:06:52,800 --> 00:06:58,740 where we get an adjective in front of the word,  is when it’s written as “Pale Wyrm”. Two words, 80 00:06:58,740 --> 00:07:04,680 both capitalized. As opposed to just one word. Personally, I don’t find this line of thought 81 00:07:04,680 --> 00:07:09,360 to be very compelling either.  Mainly because, if it’s not a Wyrm, 82 00:07:09,360 --> 00:07:14,580 what is it? Generally the theory follows  that the Blackwyrm was some kind of location, 83 00:07:14,580 --> 00:07:19,800 perhaps a place with a structure that looks like  a wyrm or something to that effect. Or maybe it’s 84 00:07:19,800 --> 00:07:25,560 named after a battle tactic. Like the Battle  of the Bulge. While this might alleviate the 85 00:07:25,560 --> 00:07:31,980 discrepancy between “Pale Wyrm” and “Blackwyrm”,  I don’t think it’s a very sound idea on the whole. 86 00:07:32,640 --> 00:07:37,560 The only other idea I can think of is that  the Blackwyrm is a different Wyrm with its 87 00:07:37,560 --> 00:07:42,000 own kingdom that possibly fought against the  Pale King at some point in the past. It seems 88 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:46,680 like if any higher being could form a militia  to do something like that, it would be a Wyrm. 89 00:07:47,280 --> 00:07:50,520 So yeah, that’s my take on  those four words of lore. 90 00:07:51,540 --> 00:07:58,980 Void is a very complex subject in Hollow Knight,  so much so that there is a 70 page lore document 91 00:07:58,980 --> 00:08:04,800 written by Sumwan and ToxicBrain detailing all  the different aspects of Void and its impact on 92 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:09,960 the lore. But in this section I’m going to discuss  something only briefly mentioned in this document 93 00:08:09,960 --> 00:08:15,060 and never mentioned on this channel before. While Soul and Essence have clear sources from 94 00:08:15,060 --> 00:08:20,940 which they are created, we have no clue how Void  is formed. Void is always described as a darkness 95 00:08:20,940 --> 00:08:26,880 or an emptiness, which aren’t really things that  can be created, but instead are an absence of 96 00:08:26,880 --> 00:08:32,520 something else. However, there is one comparison  that could explain where Void comes from: regrets. 97 00:08:33,300 --> 00:08:38,220 When dying and losing its shade in Hollow Knight,  the Knight can recover it by giving a rancid egg 98 00:08:38,220 --> 00:08:44,040 to Confessor Jiji in Dirtmouth. Jiji describes  the missing shade as a regret which leaves a 99 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:48,840 dark stain on the world. And after the Knight  collects the Void Heart, Jiji even describes the 100 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:55,080 Knight as “coming to terms” with its own regrets. But it’s not just the Knight’s regrets that Jiji 101 00:08:55,080 --> 00:09:00,540 speaks about. Jiji notes that the entire kingdom  of Hallownest has become thick with the stains of 102 00:09:00,540 --> 00:09:05,520 regret. It’s possible that Jiji is aware of the  other shades trapped in the Abyss, but the fact 103 00:09:05,520 --> 00:09:09,900 that she says the entire kingdom is stained might  mean that she can sense the regrets of all the 104 00:09:09,900 --> 00:09:15,420 bugs that have died since Hallownest collapsed. This idea that normal bugs can also leave stains 105 00:09:15,420 --> 00:09:20,580 of regret is reiterated by the Hunter. In the  journal entry for the Shade, the Hunter remarks: 106 00:09:20,580 --> 00:09:25,320 Each of us leaves an imprint of something  when we die. A stain on the world. I don't 107 00:09:25,320 --> 00:09:29,100 know how much longer this kingdom can  bear the weight of so many past lives... 108 00:09:29,100 --> 00:09:33,120 This regret motif appears one more  time, scribbled on the tablet located 109 00:09:33,120 --> 00:09:38,460 just outside of the Abyss. The tablet describes  the Abyss and discarded Vessels as the “refuse 110 00:09:38,460 --> 00:09:42,900 and regret” of the Hollow Knight’s creation. So there are quite a few connections between 111 00:09:42,900 --> 00:09:48,300 Void and regrets. But the problem with this theory  is that we don’t really see non-Void creatures 112 00:09:48,300 --> 00:09:53,820 actually create Void. There are occasional  bugs that have black streaks under their eyes, 113 00:09:53,820 --> 00:10:01,800 such as the Grey Mourner’s dead lover, the Lord  Fool, No Eyes, Mask Maker and Karina. But there 114 00:10:01,800 --> 00:10:07,560 really isn’t any slam dunk connections here. For  the mantis, those could be tears, for No Eyes, 115 00:10:07,560 --> 00:10:13,380 blood. For Lord Fool, it could be weathering,  like what we see on statues and paintings that 116 00:10:13,380 --> 00:10:18,480 have eyes. And as for Mask Maker and Karina,  there really isn’t any indication that either 117 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:23,160 of these two characters have any regrets. But I think there is at least one plausible 118 00:10:23,160 --> 00:10:28,140 example of a non-Void creature leaving a  dark stain on the world: the Pale King. 119 00:10:28,920 --> 00:10:33,720 The entirety of the White Palace hidden in  the dream realm still shines with that bright, 120 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:39,180 pale light, with the only two exceptions being the  White Palace workshop and the Pale King’s throne 121 00:10:39,180 --> 00:10:44,580 room. From the dialogue of his Royal Retainers as  well as Mask Maker, we know that the Pale King was 122 00:10:44,580 --> 00:10:51,420 racked with shame and deeply troubled. Ultimately,  the Pale King faded away alone on his throne, and 123 00:10:51,420 --> 00:10:56,640 the deep regrets he held inside stained the throne  room, shrouding it in a thick cloud of Void. 124 00:10:57,180 --> 00:11:01,320 While I think this makes a lot of sense  thematically, it might be too much of 125 00:11:01,320 --> 00:11:06,840 a stretch to say Void originates entirely from  regret, especially since the way Void is used in 126 00:11:06,840 --> 00:11:11,520 the rest of the game doesn’t reflect this idea.  Team Cherry might have just used this “regrets” 127 00:11:11,520 --> 00:11:16,740 concept as a way to keep the concept of Void a  mystery, since the player could potentially meet 128 00:11:16,740 --> 00:11:21,780 Jiji very early on in the game. But it’s the  best explanation I have for the Void’s origin. 129 00:11:21,780 --> 00:11:27,600 The only other idea I can think of is that Void  is supposed to be like some kind of oil deposit, 130 00:11:27,600 --> 00:11:32,580 perhaps from the dead bodies of creatures  past. But the lack of the United States 131 00:11:32,580 --> 00:11:36,720 military anywhere in Hallownest  kinda makes this theory unlikely. 132 00:11:39,180 --> 00:11:44,460 Mask Maker is such a fun little character.  They seem so oddly separated from the rest 133 00:11:44,460 --> 00:11:49,380 of Hollow Knight lore, and yet they have intimate  knowledge about the events of Hallownest and even 134 00:11:49,380 --> 00:11:54,720 civilizations from long before the Pale King. Some  of the Mask Maker’s dialogue can be interpreted in 135 00:11:54,720 --> 00:11:59,040 regards to the Knight. They talk about the  contrast between the Knight’s outer shell, 136 00:11:59,040 --> 00:12:04,140 and its inner shade, almost as if the Knight  itself is a face hidden behind a mask. 137 00:12:04,140 --> 00:12:08,880 But this doesn’t really answer the question  of why the Mask Maker is making masks in the 138 00:12:08,880 --> 00:12:14,340 first place. Who are the “Kingdom’s faceless”  the Mask Maker is referring to? Why do they 139 00:12:14,340 --> 00:12:19,980 seemingly equate having a face with the ability  to “define, focus and exist”? And why do they 140 00:12:19,980 --> 00:12:24,540 consider masks a “gift to a world deserving”? The problem with answering this question 141 00:12:24,540 --> 00:12:28,740 is that we see very few characters in  Hollow Knight that actually wear masks, 142 00:12:28,740 --> 00:12:34,200 and sometimes those masks seem to serve  different functions. There’s the three Dreamers, 143 00:12:34,200 --> 00:12:41,700 Quirrel, the Fools in the Colosseum, the Grimm  Troupe, the Godseekers and possibly Midwife. 144 00:12:42,240 --> 00:12:46,080 But outside of that, we’ve got very  little to work with. So it’s hard to 145 00:12:46,080 --> 00:12:50,760 define who the kingdom’s faceless are  and how masks affect their wearers. 146 00:12:50,760 --> 00:12:56,280 I have my own idea about what all this means.  It does involve a lot of assumptions and it 147 00:12:56,280 --> 00:13:00,300 has its fair share of issues, but I’m not really  sure if there’s a theory out there I like more. 148 00:13:00,900 --> 00:13:05,040 I mentioned before that the Mask Maker draws  a contrast between the Knight’s outer shell 149 00:13:05,040 --> 00:13:10,740 and inner shade. I think there is a parallel  theme here in the actual bugs of Hallownest. 150 00:13:10,740 --> 00:13:15,000 I think some bugs are naturally  more beastly in nature, and aren’t 151 00:13:15,000 --> 00:13:20,100 capable of higher thought. These would be the  “faceless” that Mask Maker refers to. However, 152 00:13:20,100 --> 00:13:26,520 these bugs can still conceal their true nature  using masks. And somehow, masks are able to grant 153 00:13:26,520 --> 00:13:31,740 these bugs identity and allow them to exist as  more than just weak-minded beasts. In effect, 154 00:13:31,740 --> 00:13:37,380 this is the same as the Pale King’s beacon.  However, while in Hallownest, these bugs no longer 155 00:13:37,380 --> 00:13:42,600 need to hide their true forms, as explained in one  of the lore tablets located in the King’s Pass. 156 00:13:42,600 --> 00:13:48,180 In a time before the Pale King’s beacon, masks  were potentially a much more useful object, 157 00:13:48,180 --> 00:13:53,460 which could explain why we see ancient masks  lying around the kingdom. Perhaps the Mask 158 00:13:53,460 --> 00:13:58,140 Maker was making masks long before the Pale  King arrived, and chose to continue making 159 00:13:58,140 --> 00:14:02,640 masks because that’s all they know how to  do. Their swirling eyes might imply that 160 00:14:02,640 --> 00:14:07,440 they are a little insane, driven to feverishly  make masks for the people of a dead kingdom. 161 00:14:07,980 --> 00:14:15,420 So, to simplify things, the Pale King’s beacon  “redeems” the beastly “base instincts” of bugs. 162 00:14:15,420 --> 00:14:20,760 However, bugs could also wear masks that  conceal their beastly nature and, in turn, 163 00:14:20,760 --> 00:14:26,340 grant them an identity. Both are methods that  turn the “faceless” into sentient beings. 164 00:14:26,340 --> 00:14:32,880 How likely is this theory correct… ehh, I’m not  sure. It’s still really weird that Mask Maker 165 00:14:32,880 --> 00:14:38,340 is making masks for Hallownest when Hallownest  strictly doesn’t need them. It’s also possible 166 00:14:38,340 --> 00:14:43,020 that I’m misinterpreting the King’s Pass tablet  completely, or drawing a connection between that 167 00:14:43,020 --> 00:14:48,960 and Mask Maker that wasn’t intended. And again,  we don’t really see how masks grant identity 168 00:14:48,960 --> 00:14:53,460 like all this applies. Like I said, this  theory is still my preferred interpretation, 169 00:14:53,460 --> 00:14:57,840 but I’m not going to act like it’s an airtight  explanation of the Mask Maker’s dialogue. 170 00:14:57,840 --> 00:15:03,360 I really do think we just lack information to  pin down exactly what this maniac is on about. 171 00:15:05,160 --> 00:15:11,220 Charms are ubiquitous in Hallownest, popping  up in all sorts of random locations. And charms 172 00:15:11,220 --> 00:15:15,900 can be created from a variety of different  circumstances. Charms can be crafted by bugs 173 00:15:15,900 --> 00:15:20,580 like the Soul Catcher and Mark of Pride, born  out of strong emotions like the Grubberfly’s 174 00:15:20,580 --> 00:15:26,040 Elegy and the Spell Twister, or even created  naturally like the Spore Shroom and Deep Focus. 175 00:15:26,040 --> 00:15:32,160 But charms can also form in another more morbid  way. Salubra tells us that charms can be created 176 00:15:32,160 --> 00:15:37,740 from the last wish of dying bugs. Charms that  likely fit into this category include Dashmaster, 177 00:15:37,740 --> 00:15:43,740 Fury of the Fallen and the Glowing Womb charm. But the biggest actual mystery surrounding charms 178 00:15:43,740 --> 00:15:50,640 is how they work. They are created through various  random and tragic events, yet they all can slot 179 00:15:50,640 --> 00:15:56,280 into these vague, weird, generic notches. The best canonical explanation of anything 180 00:15:56,280 --> 00:16:01,200 related to how charms are equipped comes from the  Wanderer’s Journal which mentions that equipping 181 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:08,340 and unequipping charms can be tricky, so you have  to be sitting down to do it. Thanks to officially 182 00:16:08,340 --> 00:16:13,440 licensed Hollow Knight vinyl records released by  Fangamer, we can actually see that charms have 183 00:16:13,440 --> 00:16:19,320 these interfaces on their backside that allow them  to slot into charm notches. But even though these 184 00:16:19,320 --> 00:16:25,860 slots are discrete, with each charm connecting  to just one slot, a charm like Kingsoul still 185 00:16:25,860 --> 00:16:32,220 requires 5 charm notches to actually equip. It  doesn’t really make sense and even Team Cherry has 186 00:16:32,220 --> 00:16:37,320 thrown up their hands on this one. In an interview  with Edge Magazine, Ari Gibson explains that 187 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:42,720 charms, quote “had this vague sense of socketing  into the Knight’s shell in some sort of creepy 188 00:16:42,720 --> 00:16:48,540 way”. He makes it sound like this is some sort  of cyberpunk body augmentation. Now I haven’t 189 00:16:48,540 --> 00:16:54,360 played Cyberpunk 2077. Although I have watched  its anime adaptation, Cyberpunk Edgerunners. 190 00:16:57,900 --> 00:17:01,800 Everyone in the Hollow Knight community  generally agrees that grubs are hideous 191 00:17:01,800 --> 00:17:06,780 creatures that deserve to be mashed up  into a fine, viscous paste. But one thing 192 00:17:06,780 --> 00:17:11,820 the community isn’t quite as sure on is most  of the lore surrounding the Grubs and reason 193 00:17:11,820 --> 00:17:17,160 behind the capture. “Why are all these  grubs trapped in jars?” I hear you moan. 194 00:17:17,700 --> 00:17:22,980 High up in the Watcher’s Spire, just below where  the Dreamer Lurien the Watcher sleeps eternal, 195 00:17:22,980 --> 00:17:28,200 we can find a couple of unassuming lore  tablets. However, upon further inspection 196 00:17:28,200 --> 00:17:32,940 we can see that these tablets actually  contain images of jars, similar to the 197 00:17:32,940 --> 00:17:38,340 ones found scattered throughout Hallownest. The  same jars containing dozens of helpless grubs. 198 00:17:38,340 --> 00:17:43,920 We can find a stockpile of these jars east  of Lurien’s tower in a location called the 199 00:17:43,920 --> 00:17:48,660 Tower of Love. The original resident of  the Tower of Love can seemingly be found 200 00:17:48,660 --> 00:17:54,480 in the Queen’s Garden, clutching the key to  unlock the tower’s door. When Dream Nailed, 201 00:17:54,480 --> 00:18:01,380 this Husk Dandy says “Too long… spent together…  We become as one”. In addition to this, 202 00:18:01,380 --> 00:18:07,560 we can also see Void seeping out of their corpse. The source of this Void becomes clear when the 203 00:18:07,560 --> 00:18:12,900 Knight unlocks the door to the Tower of Love.  Inside the Knight finds a maniacal Void being 204 00:18:12,900 --> 00:18:18,360 known as the Collector, who is likely the  one responsible for capturing Grubs in jars. 205 00:18:18,360 --> 00:18:23,340 From its Dream Nail dialogue, we can tell that  the Collector is obsessed with protection and 206 00:18:23,340 --> 00:18:29,820 providing a safe space for its captives, so much  so that the Hall of Gods describes it as a god 207 00:18:29,820 --> 00:18:36,480 of Protection. Finally, hidden in a secret room of  the Tower of Love, is a strange diagram of a grub, 208 00:18:36,480 --> 00:18:41,820 drawn in the style of the Vitruvian Man. Now that we’ve laid out all the facts of 209 00:18:41,820 --> 00:18:47,880 the matter, let’s dive into heavy speculation.  It seems Lurien tasked the Husk Dandy found in 210 00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:53,160 the Queen’s Gardens with preserving the various  wildlife of Hallownest. This might have been 211 00:18:53,160 --> 00:18:58,260 in an effort to preserve these animals from the  Radiance’s infection, sort of like Noah’s Ark from 212 00:18:58,260 --> 00:19:03,300 the Bible. Or maybe Lurien just wanted there to  be a collection of these bugs somewhere within the 213 00:19:03,300 --> 00:19:09,900 city, sort of like a zoo, like the one depicted  in the 2011 hit comedy film We Bought a Zoo. 214 00:19:10,440 --> 00:19:15,720 Somehow the Collector came into the possession of  the Husk Dandy. The Collector itself appears to 215 00:19:15,720 --> 00:19:20,580 be created from a mould found in the White Palace  Workshop, the same mould used to create the Pale 216 00:19:20,580 --> 00:19:25,860 King’s Kingsmould guards. This implies that the  Collector is some kind of defective Kingsmould, 217 00:19:25,860 --> 00:19:31,140 leading to speculation that the Collector somehow  escaped from the White Palace and was later found 218 00:19:31,140 --> 00:19:36,720 by the Husk Dandy. While it’s not impossible,  I have a slightly different explanation. 219 00:19:36,720 --> 00:19:42,180 We know that Kingsmoulds likely roamed  areas outside of the White Palace, given 220 00:19:42,180 --> 00:19:47,280 that the Nailsmith can be seen making a little  Kingsmould doll. Perhaps it wasn’t uncommon to 221 00:19:47,280 --> 00:19:52,620 see Kingsmoulds walking around the streets of the  city. So, it’s possible that the Husk Dandy was 222 00:19:52,620 --> 00:19:57,960 able to secure a Kingsmould of their own, either  through Lurien as part of the preservation effort, 223 00:19:57,960 --> 00:20:01,860 or just through connections they  had with Hallownest’s high society. 224 00:20:01,860 --> 00:20:08,340 But I think there was one problem with this whole  setup, that being that this little Husk Dandy was 225 00:20:08,340 --> 00:20:13,560 a total freak. I think this Husk Dandy was the  one who originally drew the Vitruvian Grub, 226 00:20:13,560 --> 00:20:19,500 due to some sort of strange obsession with the  grub’s body and physiology. But I think this 227 00:20:19,500 --> 00:20:25,560 fascination also extended to other creatures as  well. Perhaps the Husk Dandy was also curious to 228 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:30,240 see what their Kingsmould servant looked like  underneath all its heavy armor. Maybe they 229 00:20:30,240 --> 00:20:35,580 decided to completely strip it down so they could  observe this strange creature in its natural form. 230 00:20:35,580 --> 00:20:41,460 Regardless of how the Husk Dandy ended up living  with a naked Kingsmould, this set the stage for 231 00:20:41,460 --> 00:20:47,760 the two to “become as one”, with Void seeping  into the Husk Dandy’s body, and the Husk Dandy’s 232 00:20:47,760 --> 00:20:53,160 fascination and obsession with preserving bugs,  and especially Grubs, seeping into the Collector. 233 00:20:53,760 --> 00:20:58,740 These strange thoughts warped within the  Collector’s mind, transforming it into the 234 00:20:58,740 --> 00:21:04,560 least insane Tumblr user you’ve ever seen. In  the end, the dying Husk Dandy decided to lock 235 00:21:04,560 --> 00:21:09,600 the Collector inside the Tower of Love, fleeing to  their final resting place in the Queen’s Gardens. 236 00:21:10,860 --> 00:21:15,840 Connecting all this back to grubs, it’s hard  to tell if this obsession with grubs was really 237 00:21:15,840 --> 00:21:22,140 warranted at all. Is there really anything greater  to them? While it isn’t much, we do have a little 238 00:21:22,140 --> 00:21:27,960 bit to go on here. Note that the symbol placed on  the chest of the Vitruvian Grub lines up pretty 239 00:21:27,960 --> 00:21:33,060 closely with this gem on the Grubberfly’s Elegy  charm. The Grubberfly’s Elegy shows us what the 240 00:21:33,060 --> 00:21:38,340 next stage of life looks like for a grub, and the  charm itself can imbue the Knight’s nail with a 241 00:21:38,340 --> 00:21:44,700 “holy” strength. So perhaps the original bug was  obsessed with some sort of hidden holy strength 242 00:21:44,700 --> 00:21:47,260 contained within grubs. This 243 00:21:49,500 --> 00:21:53,400 mystery is pretty important to the core  story of Hollow Knight, and it can actually 244 00:21:53,400 --> 00:21:58,500 be pretty confusing for new players. How  exactly did the Knight and other vessels 245 00:21:58,500 --> 00:22:04,020 escape the Abyss? Team Cherry was even asked  about this question to which William relied: 246 00:22:04,020 --> 00:22:08,580 We're not sure - we know that some of his  siblings managed to make it out of the Abyss, 247 00:22:08,580 --> 00:22:12,480 but most of them did not. Whether those  who made it out were somehow different, 248 00:22:12,480 --> 00:22:16,620 or whether some of them were just lucky...  that might be something we examine later! 249 00:22:17,400 --> 00:22:22,740 But is William actually telling the truth here?  Surely they have an answer to this question. 250 00:22:23,640 --> 00:22:28,920 Hollow Knight lore kind of completely breaks if  they don’t. Since Team Cherry is not going to 251 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:33,960 answer the question, I will share one theory that  has been floating around for a while. Basically 252 00:22:33,960 --> 00:22:38,040 there’s a portion of Deepnest that does seem  to be affected by the influence of the Void, 253 00:22:38,040 --> 00:22:43,860 and not far from there is Nosk’s lair. And this  is the one location of the game outside of the 254 00:22:43,860 --> 00:22:48,840 Abyss where we see the most Vessel bodies.  This seems to imply that there might have 255 00:22:48,840 --> 00:22:53,880 been a path out of the Abyss through Deepnest. Another question that might arise from this is 256 00:22:53,880 --> 00:22:58,920 why the Knight left Hallownest in the first  place. We’re given no explanation for this 257 00:22:58,920 --> 00:23:04,320 and it may be as simple as Vessels just kinda  wander around like that. And although we don’t 258 00:23:04,320 --> 00:23:09,360 know why the Knight left Hallownest, we do know  that the Knight was called back to Hallownest by 259 00:23:09,360 --> 00:23:14,100 something. It’s not confirmed what this was,  but it seems to be related to when the Hollow 260 00:23:14,100 --> 00:23:18,960 Knight’s shell cracked in the cutscene shown at  the beginning of the game. We also know that the 261 00:23:18,960 --> 00:23:24,000 Knight is just one of multiple Vessels wandering  around during this time, as Hornet is actively 262 00:23:24,000 --> 00:23:28,080 hunting Vessels down and destroying them to  keep them from trying to free the Hollow Knight. 263 00:23:28,080 --> 00:23:33,180 So I wouldn’t be surprised to learn if other  Vessels also happened to have left Hallownest. 264 00:23:33,180 --> 00:23:39,900 Lifeblood is a topic I have barely talked about  on this channel, and that’s because Lifeblood 265 00:23:39,900 --> 00:23:44,460 barely has any influence over the overall  lore of Hollow Knight. But we should take a 266 00:23:44,460 --> 00:23:49,680 little bit of time to talk about Lifeblood because  Lifeblood is pretty weird. Throughout Hallownest, 267 00:23:49,680 --> 00:23:55,140 the Knight can find eight separate Lifeblood  cocoons. Destroying these cocoons releases these 268 00:23:55,140 --> 00:24:01,140 small creatures called Lifeseeds, which are filled  with Lifeblood. Not far off from these cocoon are 269 00:24:01,140 --> 00:24:06,300 butterfly shaped flowers. And there are also  three Lifeblood related charms the Knight can 270 00:24:06,300 --> 00:24:13,560 find. The Lifeblood Core and the Lifeblood Heart  are both objects that can seep or bleed Lifeblood, 271 00:24:13,560 --> 00:24:20,640 while Joni’s Blessing actually transfigures  the vital fluids of its wearer with Lifeblood. 272 00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:25,380 Lifeblood is described as making the user  feel much healthier. But despite this, 273 00:24:25,380 --> 00:24:30,420 Salubra tells us that drinking Lifeblood  is a taboo, and the Blue Child Joni, 274 00:24:30,420 --> 00:24:35,400 the character in possession of Joni’s  Blessing, is described as being a “heretic”. 275 00:24:35,400 --> 00:24:41,160 We don’t know for sure why Lifeblood is considered  such a taboo, but we can figure a few things. In 276 00:24:41,160 --> 00:24:46,440 Joni’s Repose where we find Joni’s corpse, we  can see an explosion of Lifeblood butterflies 277 00:24:46,440 --> 00:24:52,260 and vines covering the cavern, all seeming to  radiate from Joni’s corpse. Given her charm, 278 00:24:52,260 --> 00:24:57,240 it seems like Joni’s “vital fluids” had  been completely replaced with Lifeblood, 279 00:24:57,240 --> 00:25:02,940 and upon her death, this Lifeblood spouted  out from her. From there, these butterflies 280 00:25:02,940 --> 00:25:08,280 and vines can then travel out and create more  Lifeblood cocoons for more bugs to drink from. 281 00:25:08,940 --> 00:25:12,900 It seems Lifeblood’s powerful healing  properties are meant to entice a host to 282 00:25:12,900 --> 00:25:18,300 consume it. According to the Wanderer’s Journal,  Lifeblood vines are capable of producing fruit, 283 00:25:18,300 --> 00:25:24,600 which in real life lore, have evolved to be  eaten by animals as a way to spread their 284 00:25:24,600 --> 00:25:30,840 seed. And upon that host’s death, this Lifeblood  can then spread itself out even further. In fact, 285 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:35,520 there might already be a vast network of  Lifeblood vegetation spreading all across 286 00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:40,620 Hallownest. And I should also note that Joni  isn’t the only Lifeblood infused creature we see. 287 00:25:40,620 --> 00:25:46,200 Deep under Hallownest, hidden away In the Abyss,  is a door that can only be unlocked by having 288 00:25:46,200 --> 00:25:51,720 enough Lifeblood masks. Behind this door is  a strange region that seems to exist both in 289 00:25:51,720 --> 00:25:56,400 the real world and the dream realm, where  we can see a giant creature with glowing, 290 00:25:56,400 --> 00:26:01,800 blue eyes lurking in the background. This creature  can also be seen hiding in the Lifeblood room in 291 00:26:01,800 --> 00:26:06,600 Godhome. This being is referred to as the  Abyss Creature in the game files, and it 292 00:26:06,600 --> 00:26:11,340 clearly has some kind of connection to Lifeblood. I think it’s pretty safe to assume that the Abyss 293 00:26:11,340 --> 00:26:15,960 Creature facilitates the appearance of Lifeblood  in Godhome, but I’m not entirely convinced that 294 00:26:15,960 --> 00:26:20,640 this is the true source of all Lifeblood. It  might be possible that this creature is similar 295 00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:26,160 to Joni in that it just ingested Lifeblood to the  point where its “vital fluids” were completely 296 00:26:26,160 --> 00:26:30,780 replaced and it can now spread Lifeblood  around through the Dream Realm. But with 297 00:26:30,780 --> 00:26:35,100 how little info we are given on Lifeblood,  we can’t say anything too conclusive here. 298 00:26:37,140 --> 00:26:43,200 Out of all the Pale King’s Five Great Knights,  Isma is easily the most mysterious. We probably 299 00:26:43,200 --> 00:26:48,960 still know more about her than we do Dryya, but  nobody cares about Dryya and all my homies hate 300 00:26:48,960 --> 00:26:55,200 Dryya. Getting back to Isma, we know that she was  a kind person and that her and Dung Defender had 301 00:26:55,200 --> 00:27:00,120 a very close relationship. You can even hear  Dung Defender say Isma’s name in his sleep. 302 00:27:04,740 --> 00:27:08,880 But we only catch small glimpses of what  she looked like during Hallownest’s prime, 303 00:27:08,880 --> 00:27:13,740 and her corpse in the Royal Waterways seems to  have somehow fused with the plant life around 304 00:27:13,740 --> 00:27:19,380 her. We know that this location, known as Isma’s  Grove, is being protected by the Dung Defender, 305 00:27:19,380 --> 00:27:23,040 and if we look at the Dung Defender’s  dialogue after consuming Isma’s Tear, 306 00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:29,340 he seems to think that Isma is still alive. And this might be true, in a sense. Looking 307 00:27:29,340 --> 00:27:33,240 at her corpse, it seems as though Isma is  the source of all the plant life around her, 308 00:27:33,240 --> 00:27:38,100 almost like her body is a seed that has  taken up root in the ground. This might 309 00:27:38,100 --> 00:27:43,200 indicate that Isma didn’t die, but instead has  transitioned into the next stage of her life. 310 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:47,760 And it’s likely that the Dung Defender is  aware of this. The sign he makes outside 311 00:27:47,760 --> 00:27:52,500 her grove specifically mentions that  it is a grove. If Isma is the source 312 00:27:52,500 --> 00:27:56,100 of all the plant life around her, then Dung  Defender must have seen her in this state. 313 00:27:57,000 --> 00:28:01,500 Strangely, Dung Defender mentions that Isma  willfully gave the Knight her blessing, 314 00:28:01,500 --> 00:28:06,660 which is a little odd considering the blessing  in question was “Isma’s Tear” and it doesn’t seem 315 00:28:06,660 --> 00:28:12,060 like Isma created it specifically for the Knight.  The Knight kinda just walked up and “consumed” 316 00:28:12,060 --> 00:28:17,040 it. It seems like the tear was just a fruit  growing out from her body, perhaps representing 317 00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:22,140 her immense sadness in losing her time with Dung  Defender. Did Isma really grow this just for us? 318 00:28:22,140 --> 00:28:27,540 It’s possible, but maybe Dung Defender is  just in denial about Isma’s true state. Or 319 00:28:27,540 --> 00:28:32,040 maybe deep down, Dung Defender knows that she  is gone, which could explain why he ponders if 320 00:28:32,040 --> 00:28:36,900 the line of Hallownest’s Great Knights is going  to end with him. Regardless, it does seem like 321 00:28:36,900 --> 00:28:41,640 Isma could still be alive, even if it’s not  in quite the same way you or I are alive. 322 00:28:42,720 --> 00:28:49,980 Here’s an interesting question that doesn’t get  asked a lot. Why is Hornet named Hornet? It’s a 323 00:28:49,980 --> 00:28:55,620 little bit odd considering Hornet is a spider and  spiders and hornets are not the same animal last 324 00:28:55,620 --> 00:29:01,860 time I checked. Hornet has had her name since her  reveal back in December 2014. It’s a cool name, 325 00:29:01,860 --> 00:29:07,320 but in game, there really isn’t any explanation  for it. There is never any interaction between 326 00:29:07,320 --> 00:29:12,480 Hornet and the Hive, and no one from Deepnest  ever speaks to the origin of Hornet’s name. 327 00:29:12,480 --> 00:29:18,240 If we look outside the game, Ari Gibson did  give us an explanation in a Reddit AMA held 328 00:29:18,240 --> 00:29:24,900 on r/gaming in August of 2017. During this  AMA a user asked the following question: 329 00:29:24,900 --> 00:29:30,900 “Was naming the bee queen "Vespa",  as in "hornet", intentional, and does 330 00:29:30,900 --> 00:29:34,560 that have to do with Hive lore?” In response to this, Ari said: 331 00:29:34,560 --> 00:29:40,320 Vespa to Hornet was intentional. There was an  old concept here that may still apply: Hornet 332 00:29:40,320 --> 00:29:46,920 was the 'Child of Three Queens,' one birthed,  one raised, one trained. It is from the third 333 00:29:46,920 --> 00:29:51,960 queen that Hornet took her name. Whether that  notion still applies however, I can't confirm, 334 00:29:51,960 --> 00:29:56,940 though it was definitely the basis for the names. So, the original concept for Hornet was that she 335 00:29:56,940 --> 00:30:02,040 trained with Vespa when she was young, but even  Ari can’t confirm if this is still the case. 336 00:30:02,880 --> 00:30:09,360 Or can he? In an interview with the magazine A  Profound Waste of Time held back in July 2020, 337 00:30:09,360 --> 00:30:14,580 the question of Hornet’s name came up again. Neither [Pellen] nor Gibson will divulge the 338 00:30:14,580 --> 00:30:19,620 meaning behind Hornet’s name, though Gibson  states it does indeed have significance. ‘And 339 00:30:19,620 --> 00:30:24,840 whether that ever is revealed, I’m not sure.’ In this interview, it seems like Gibson states 340 00:30:24,840 --> 00:30:30,000 that Hornet’s name does have significance although  now he doesn’t want to give any details. Does this 341 00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:34,500 mean that the backstory is accurate? Or did  Ari mean that name had significance outside 342 00:30:34,500 --> 00:30:39,900 of the game? Unfortunately, none of this really  matters for canonically proving Hornet’s origins, 343 00:30:39,900 --> 00:30:44,100 as Team Cherry themselves have stated that  their own statements relating to Hollow 344 00:30:44,100 --> 00:30:49,740 Knight lore should not be considered canon. William: We try not to … it’s a bit boring 345 00:30:49,740 --> 00:30:54,000 sometimes but we try not to give  out too much information sometimes 346 00:30:54,660 --> 00:31:00,540 that is not in the game. Because a lot of people  spend, it’s really cool, coming up with theories 347 00:31:01,920 --> 00:31:05,040 based on the info in the game. And if  we start giving out info that is not 348 00:31:05,040 --> 00:31:10,075 explicitly in the game, then you might start  contradicting people’s theories and stuff…. 349 00:31:10,075 --> 00:31:13,560 Ari: Yeah it colors all that stuff, you know. William: …which is no fun. It’s not a 350 00:31:13,560 --> 00:31:19,080 nice thing to do for a creator to  come in after the fact and start… 351 00:31:20,640 --> 00:31:26,460 Ari: Stomping around and denying people’s ideas. William: Yeah, yeah. What’s in the game is what’s 352 00:31:26,460 --> 00:31:32,340 in the game. And anything that we say  outside that is actually not canon. 353 00:31:32,340 --> 00:31:37,980 Ari: Although obviously any additional Hollow  Knight content is canon. So anything through 354 00:31:37,980 --> 00:31:42,480 Godmaster or Grimm Troupe or Hornet… William: Or the comic and stuff. 355 00:31:42,480 --> 00:31:44,940 Ari: Yeah. Of course, 356 00:31:44,940 --> 00:31:50,880 we’ll sometimes use Reddit AMA answers as if  they are canon, but only in a few instances like 357 00:31:50,880 --> 00:31:55,680 confirming how the Hive was infected. But those  are way more minor than the Daughter of Three 358 00:31:55,680 --> 00:32:01,740 Queens stuff. I occasionally see people treat this  origin story for Hornet as if it’s true, but keep 359 00:32:01,740 --> 00:32:06,060 in mind that it isn’t officially confirmed  by any means, and the only in-game evidence 360 00:32:06,060 --> 00:32:11,880 we have for it is that Hornet’s name is Hornet. I should also mention that according to Ellina, 361 00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:16,320 the Hive sealed itself off completely  from Hallownest, which seems to imply 362 00:32:16,320 --> 00:32:21,360 they likely never even met Hornet, despite  the King’s Brand she guards being so close by. 363 00:32:25,080 --> 00:32:30,720 Who the fuck is Dashmaster? There’s literally  only one statue commemorating the guy, 364 00:32:30,720 --> 00:32:36,300 and it’s about 5 feet from a giant sewage  pipe. We’re told that this Dashmaster was 365 00:32:36,300 --> 00:32:41,220 an eccentric bug but not much else. Also, people got really mad at me in 366 00:32:41,220 --> 00:32:45,240 my last video for saying this guy wasn’t  a reference to the character Sans from 367 00:32:45,240 --> 00:32:50,460 Undertale. I’ll be completely honest with you.  This is a little embarrassing, but I’ve never 368 00:32:50,460 --> 00:32:56,520 played Undertale. Although I have watched its  anime adaptation Cyberpunk Edgerunners. But I 369 00:32:56,520 --> 00:33:02,580 guess they cut Sans from that for some reason. We’re given quite a good amount of detail 370 00:33:02,580 --> 00:33:07,200 surrounding the nature of the Pale King and the  Radiance. And yet for being such an important 371 00:33:07,200 --> 00:33:12,900 aspect of the story, the White Lady is a bit of  an enigma. We know that part of her nature is a 372 00:33:12,900 --> 00:33:18,540 desire to spread her seed and propagate across the  land. But she decided to put bindings on herself 373 00:33:18,540 --> 00:33:23,880 and trap herself in a cocoon-like chamber to  suppress this nature and hide herself from others. 374 00:33:23,880 --> 00:33:27,660 We can actually see glimpses of what the  White Lady used to looked like before the 375 00:33:27,660 --> 00:33:32,220 events of the game. From the silhouette left  on the chair in the White Palace nursery room, 376 00:33:32,220 --> 00:33:37,380 we can see that she was once quite a bit smaller.  We can also see other images of her in concept 377 00:33:37,380 --> 00:33:42,960 art and early images, which might represent how  she looked during Hallownest’s reign. But now, 378 00:33:42,960 --> 00:33:47,580 her roots have grown out uncontrollably,  and she must do all she can to contain them. 379 00:33:47,580 --> 00:33:53,520 I honestly don’t really have much else to say…  It’s just like, where did she come from? It 380 00:33:53,520 --> 00:33:58,440 makes sense that a Wyrm could have slithered into  Hallownest, but where exactly did this big tree 381 00:33:58,440 --> 00:34:02,100 momma come from? Pale Ore 382 00:34:02,100 --> 00:34:08,100 Let’s talk about Pale Ore. Pale Ore is icy cold  to the touch, and it has been confirmed by Team 383 00:34:08,100 --> 00:34:13,080 Cherry that it is connected to the Pale Beings,  which either refers to creatures like the Pale 384 00:34:13,080 --> 00:34:20,280 King and White Lady, or Redditors. But what  exactly is Pale Ore and what does it do? Let’s 385 00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:26,640 compare how Pale Ore changes the Knight’s Old Nail  into its final form, Pure Nail. The Pure Nail has 386 00:34:26,640 --> 00:34:31,860 patterns running across it similar to those seen  on the Ancient Mask, Soul Vessels, as well as the 387 00:34:31,860 --> 00:34:36,360 Hollow Knight’s nail as shown in the Embrace  the Void endings and the various nail attacks 388 00:34:36,360 --> 00:34:40,380 used by the Pure Vessel. What’s interesting  here is that the Pure Vessel can literally 389 00:34:40,380 --> 00:34:45,900 create these solid nails that have the same  pattern as the Pure Nail using nothing but Soul. 390 00:34:45,900 --> 00:34:52,200 So perhaps Pale Ore itself contains some form of  Soul, itself a substance with strong connection to 391 00:34:52,200 --> 00:34:57,420 Pale Beings. I should point out that the Pure  Nail isn’t just a regular nail forged to be 392 00:34:57,420 --> 00:35:03,600 stronger. More specifically, the addition of Pale  Ore somehow causes the nail to reveal its true, 393 00:35:03,600 --> 00:35:09,900 ancient form. So, even if Pale Ore isn’t strictly  some kind of solidified concentration of soul, 394 00:35:09,900 --> 00:35:14,880 it certainly has some kind of magical  effect on the Nail itself. However, 395 00:35:14,880 --> 00:35:19,740 the actual location of Pale Ore throughout the  game makes this Soul connection a bit strained. 396 00:35:19,740 --> 00:35:25,980 Of the Pale Ore that aren’t rewarded by random  NPCs, they just kinda show up in random rocks 397 00:35:25,980 --> 00:35:32,460 or eggs or whatever they are and in the Radiance’s  statue. The Radiance statue maybe makes some sense 398 00:35:32,460 --> 00:35:37,500 as some kind of offering or ritual, but  these random deposits are a bit more odd. 399 00:35:37,500 --> 00:35:41,640 Perhaps these are the remnants of ancient  Pale Beings from a time before Hallowenst. 400 00:35:43,500 --> 00:35:49,140 This mystery isn’t particularly big or  important, but it’s somewhat cryptic 401 00:35:49,140 --> 00:35:54,000 in the game itself. Throughout Hallownest  are three Nailmaster brothers named Sheo, 402 00:35:54,000 --> 00:36:00,660 Oro and Mato. Despite clearly the best among  the three, Sheo eventually put down his nail to 403 00:36:00,660 --> 00:36:05,640 become an artist, leaving Oro and Mato to carry  on the craft taught to them by Nailsage Sly. 404 00:36:05,640 --> 00:36:11,460 However, at some point, Oro and Mato had a  falling out, and now live on opposite sides 405 00:36:11,460 --> 00:36:16,740 of the kingdom. Mato is awaiting something  that Oro owes him, while Oro will not be 406 00:36:16,740 --> 00:36:21,960 delivering on this anytime soon. We are also  told by Sheo that Oro is haunted by something. 407 00:36:22,620 --> 00:36:28,440 “What could this be?” I hear you quiver. First off, Oro is likely the worst Nailmaster of 408 00:36:28,440 --> 00:36:34,800 the trio. We have one brief line from Sly where he  says that Oro holds his nail like a club. Later, 409 00:36:34,800 --> 00:36:39,660 upon learning that the Knight received  Nailmaster’s Glory, Oro even mentions that 410 00:36:39,660 --> 00:36:44,160 he doesn’t begrudge that the Knight won Sly’s  approval and even feels that he is redeemed 411 00:36:44,160 --> 00:36:49,380 in helping the Knight along in its journey. To  me, this further indicates that Sly was never 412 00:36:49,380 --> 00:36:55,260 impressed with Oro’s skill as a Nailmaster. During the fight in Godhome, Oro has Dream 413 00:36:55,260 --> 00:37:00,960 Nail dialogue indicating that he wants to prove  himself. Oro is also the only brother to have 414 00:37:00,960 --> 00:37:06,120 a training dummy outside his hut, perhaps  indicating that he feels he lacks training. 415 00:37:06,120 --> 00:37:13,440 This is reflected by the Dream Nail dialogue of  the dummy, which reads “Stronger… Brothers…” I 416 00:37:13,440 --> 00:37:18,720 think this shows that Oro views his brothers as  being stronger than him, and maybe even dresses 417 00:37:18,720 --> 00:37:24,060 the dummy as his brothers to remind him of this. Another contrast we can see between the brothers 418 00:37:24,060 --> 00:37:29,400 is how their huts are furnished. Mato has  his hut covered in the skulls of beasts 419 00:37:29,400 --> 00:37:33,480 he has likely fallen, whereas Oro’s  hut is full of random objects from 420 00:37:33,480 --> 00:37:39,240 the city and fancy drapes. Oro is also the only  Nailmaster who charges Geo to train the Knight, 421 00:37:39,240 --> 00:37:45,900 and he even scoffs at the idea that Mato fights  for loyalty and honor. In contrast, Mato gets 422 00:37:45,900 --> 00:37:51,900 overly attached to the Knight, as according to  Sheo, Mato’s greatest desire is to be a teacher. 423 00:37:51,900 --> 00:37:56,340 This all leads to a strained  relationship between Oro and Mato. 424 00:37:56,340 --> 00:38:01,020 Mato clearly takes pride in being trained in  the nail and wants to share that with others, 425 00:38:01,020 --> 00:38:06,960 while Oro lacks confidence in his abilities. He  instead trains alone because he wants to prove 426 00:38:06,960 --> 00:38:12,120 himself. He likely charges money as a way to keep  distance from others, and avoid building strong 427 00:38:12,120 --> 00:38:17,940 connections. We know that Oro hides his true  feelings often due to how he reacts to the Knight 428 00:38:17,940 --> 00:38:23,700 giving him a flower. He acts all pissed off, but  ultimately ends up placing this flower in a vase. 429 00:38:24,420 --> 00:38:31,200 But what does Oro owe Mato exactly? I think the  most logical answers are that Mato either wants 430 00:38:31,200 --> 00:38:38,100 to duel Oro in a friendly competition, Mato wants  to train Oro, or Mato wants Oro to fight alongside 431 00:38:38,100 --> 00:38:44,220 him. Whatever it is, Mato wants companionship.  This would explain Mato’s Dream Nail dialogue 432 00:38:44,220 --> 00:38:50,160 in the Godmaster fight, stating “Brothers always  fight together!” and “Don’t leave me behind!”. 433 00:38:50,760 --> 00:38:55,500 This is the only thing Mato is portrayed  as wanting, and Oro is the only brother 434 00:38:55,500 --> 00:39:01,320 who still wields a nail. I don’t think anything  else would really matter to Mato. But due to his 435 00:39:01,320 --> 00:39:06,660 lack of confidence in his own skills, or his  desire to prove himself, Oro refuses to give 436 00:39:06,660 --> 00:39:11,580 Mato that companionship. However, deep  down, Oro also seeks that companionship, 437 00:39:11,580 --> 00:39:17,100 he just fails to openly show it. Although  Oro and Mato never make up in Hallownest, 438 00:39:17,100 --> 00:39:21,480 it’s nice to think that they were able to share  the battlefield at least once as brothers. 439 00:39:24,720 --> 00:39:29,580 Everyone in the Hollow Knight community generally  agrees that Sly is a geo-pilled chad of a 440 00:39:29,580 --> 00:39:35,280 character that deserves to be remembered alongside  the greatest characters in all of fiction. But one 441 00:39:35,280 --> 00:39:40,800 thing the community isn’t so sure about is the  identity of Esmy, a mysterious character that is 442 00:39:40,800 --> 00:39:47,160 only mentioned once, and never seen in-game. The  only dialogue we get is from our first encounter 443 00:39:47,160 --> 00:39:52,500 with Sly while he’s fighting off the infection  where he says “ ...Esmy... how much deeper do 444 00:39:52,500 --> 00:39:58,080 we have to go…”. William Pellen was asked about  Esmy in a Reddit AMA and he responded that she is 445 00:39:58,080 --> 00:40:05,220 someone that still lingers in Sly’s dreams. So,  not a lot to go on here. From Sly’s dialogue, 446 00:40:05,220 --> 00:40:10,380 it seems Esmy was pushing Sly to travel into  some sort of dangerous area. The only possible 447 00:40:10,380 --> 00:40:16,020 clue we have is the Shopkeeper’s Key, located in  the Crystal Peak, not far away from Dirtmouth. 448 00:40:16,020 --> 00:40:22,080 Perhaps Sly and Esmy were exploring this area  when they were separated somehow. When we give 449 00:40:22,080 --> 00:40:27,300 Sly the Shopkeeper’s Key, he even guesses that  the key was in the mines, so it’s likely that 450 00:40:27,300 --> 00:40:31,380 Sly was in that region at some point. It’s worth pointing out that a lot of 451 00:40:31,380 --> 00:40:36,480 characters in Hollow Knight have mysterious dead  lovers. Cloth mentions a character named Nola 452 00:40:36,480 --> 00:40:41,820 that also died at some point. In fact, it’s  even implied that Cloth wanted to be killed 453 00:40:41,820 --> 00:40:47,760 in Hallownest so that she could be reunited with  Nola in death. Which… is a very overlooked aspect 454 00:40:47,760 --> 00:40:52,920 of this character and probably one of the saddest  storylines in the game outside of the main quest. 455 00:40:52,920 --> 00:40:59,280 Elderbug also has vague dialogue about a lost  lover, whose grave he visits on occasion. 456 00:40:59,280 --> 00:41:03,900 This would also be incredibly sad if  Elderbug was actually a good character. 457 00:41:05,880 --> 00:41:11,100 One of the biggest mysteries left in Hallownest  has to be this strange trilobite statue in 458 00:41:11,100 --> 00:41:16,080 Deepnest. In the game files, the art in  this area is referred to as a shrine. It 459 00:41:16,080 --> 00:41:21,240 is protected by a seal of binding and connected  to several pipes that hold it up off the ground, 460 00:41:21,240 --> 00:41:27,060 with a mouth located at the bottom. Finally, we  have concept art of the shrine from Ari Gibson’s 461 00:41:27,060 --> 00:41:31,860 sketchbook. The design is basically the same,  except we can see some kind of substance coming 462 00:41:31,860 --> 00:41:36,960 out of the mouth of the shrine. This appears  to be some type of fluid or possibly even silk. 463 00:41:36,960 --> 00:41:41,280 Between the pipes and the mouth, I do believe  that this shrine is a container for something, 464 00:41:41,280 --> 00:41:46,500 perhaps even some kind of creature. Just above  the face of the shrine we can see what appears 465 00:41:46,500 --> 00:41:51,420 to be some type of crown, which could imply  that this shrine houses Deepnest’s King. 466 00:41:51,420 --> 00:41:57,720 The King of Deepnest is mentioned only once in the  entire game in a lore tablet located in the Fungal 467 00:41:57,720 --> 00:42:04,980 Wastes. He is described as Deepnest’s “dead sire”  and that he was of “honored caste”. They contrast 468 00:42:04,980 --> 00:42:10,560 this to Deepnest’s Queen, Herrah, who they  describe as a “broke ass bitch”. From this, 469 00:42:10,560 --> 00:42:15,240 we can assume that Deepnest’s king was some  kind of powerful or important creature. 470 00:42:15,240 --> 00:42:20,760 But according to this tablet, the king is  dead. Now, that doesn’t mean the King can't 471 00:42:20,760 --> 00:42:26,880 still be inside this shrine. Perhaps the king  passed away while in this device, or maybe he’s 472 00:42:26,880 --> 00:42:31,920 still alive in some sense, but the mushroom  people just aren’t aware of this. Regardless, 473 00:42:31,920 --> 00:42:36,780 if the king was placed in this thingamabob, I  think it must have happened while he was still 474 00:42:36,780 --> 00:42:41,400 alive, given the pipes and mouth. While this is a very big mystery, 475 00:42:41,400 --> 00:42:45,480 this is one that I am very confident  will be expanded upon in Hollow Knight: 476 00:42:45,480 --> 00:42:51,240 Silksong. When asked explicitly about Deepnest’s  King in a Reddit AMA, Ari Gibson replied: 477 00:42:51,240 --> 00:42:55,080 …further elements of Deepnest's  past will be illuminated in future, 478 00:42:55,080 --> 00:43:00,120 but we can't say anything specific for now. So, this means that an answer to this question 479 00:43:00,120 --> 00:43:08,460 should be waiting just around the corner… right? Long before the Pale King’s rule, an ancient 480 00:43:08,460 --> 00:43:13,260 civilization existed in the land of Hallownest.  There are several remnants of this civilization 481 00:43:13,260 --> 00:43:18,420 that can be found in-game. Large corpses in  various locations throughout Hallownest might 482 00:43:18,420 --> 00:43:23,640 be former members of this ancient caste, although  it’s tough to find any direct confirmation of any 483 00:43:23,640 --> 00:43:29,040 of this. But they aren’t the only thing we  have to work with. Arcane Eggs, Soul Totems, 484 00:43:29,040 --> 00:43:34,320 and potentially Ancient Masks and Soul Vessels  are all evidence of this civilization’s existence. 485 00:43:34,320 --> 00:43:38,460 These objects seemed to be of no use to  the bugs of the Pale King’s Hallownest. 486 00:43:38,460 --> 00:43:42,900 The majority of Hallownest’s bugs likely  didn’t partake in the manipulation of Soul, 487 00:43:42,900 --> 00:43:47,820 so there was no use for objects such as  Soul Vessels and Soul Totems. These bugs 488 00:43:47,820 --> 00:43:54,180 also used stone tablets and parchment to store  information instead of Arcane Eggs. Despite this, 489 00:43:54,180 --> 00:43:58,500 it’s interesting to note that the Pale King did  craft some Soul Totems within his White Palace. 490 00:43:58,500 --> 00:44:03,480 And these egg shaped tablets we see throughout  the kingdom might be the Pale King’s own version 491 00:44:03,480 --> 00:44:09,600 of Arcane Eggs, as Lemm explains that eggs are  a great way to store information. Obviously. 492 00:44:10,200 --> 00:44:14,940 Although these are pretty massive eggs for  just a few sentences. That’s like storing 493 00:44:14,940 --> 00:44:20,700 a “read me” txt file in one of these. There’s also some weird patterns within 494 00:44:20,700 --> 00:44:25,440 the Ancient Civilization. Lemm mentions that  other scholars have speculated that Arcane 495 00:44:25,440 --> 00:44:30,000 Eggs contain some sort of will within them.  Elderbug talks about how the rocks that form 496 00:44:30,000 --> 00:44:34,080 the roads and structures in the Ancient  Basin seemed to have a will of their own. 497 00:44:34,620 --> 00:44:39,300 And then there’s the Quick Slash charm, which  was formed by the fusion of a bunch of discarded, 498 00:44:39,300 --> 00:44:45,060 imperfect nails created by the Ancient Nailsmith.  As the charm explicitly states, these nails 499 00:44:45,060 --> 00:44:51,360 long to be wielded. So, it seems like inanimate  objects from this time period are more likely to 500 00:44:51,360 --> 00:44:56,460 possess living traits such as wills and desires. But the most interesting relic from the Ancient 501 00:44:56,460 --> 00:45:03,780 Civilization is the Void Idol. As Lemm explains: Inspired or mad, those ancient bugs. They devoted 502 00:45:03,780 --> 00:45:09,180 their worship to no lord, or power, or  strength, but to the very darkness itself. 503 00:45:09,180 --> 00:45:13,500 Lemm doesn’t give us a good explanation  for why these bugs worshiped the Void, 504 00:45:13,500 --> 00:45:18,180 but if we look in the Abyss, we might be able  to see direct evidence of these strange bugs 505 00:45:18,180 --> 00:45:23,460 interacting with the Void. In this room east of  the Abyss Lighthouse, we see some sort of desk. 506 00:45:23,460 --> 00:45:30,000 Next to it is a strange relief in the wall, which  is described as “an imprint of Abyss given form.” 507 00:45:30,660 --> 00:45:34,260 This may be a stretch, but I think this  was a place where these Void worshippers 508 00:45:34,260 --> 00:45:40,260 would “give form” to the Void, creating the  Void tendrils we find in the Abyss lake. So, 509 00:45:40,260 --> 00:45:45,180 basically a more crude form of the molds we see  in the White Palace workshop. Alternatively, 510 00:45:45,180 --> 00:45:49,920 the Void Tendrils might have existed before the  Ancient Civilization, and this room is where 511 00:45:49,920 --> 00:45:55,380 they studied the Tendrils. Aside from that room,  there is also the Shade Beast, who holds a bowl 512 00:45:55,380 --> 00:46:00,540 that pours out a never ending stream of Void,  which was perhaps used in some sort of ritual. 513 00:46:00,540 --> 00:46:06,300 We can infer from the Mask Maker that this Ancient  Civilization fell to ruin as a result of trying 514 00:46:06,300 --> 00:46:11,640 to lay claim to all of Hallownest. So perhaps  this worship of the Void stemmed from a desire 515 00:46:11,640 --> 00:46:17,040 to expand their lands. This obviously didn’t work  out for them. Perhaps, they even ran into our old 516 00:46:17,040 --> 00:46:23,160 pal Radiance, which would explain why she calls  the Void her “Ancient Enemy”. The last strange 517 00:46:23,160 --> 00:46:28,020 structure we find in the Abyss shows a bunch  of soyjak faces screaming out above an altar, 518 00:46:28,020 --> 00:46:34,320 with the Dream Nail dialogue. “...Our voices…  will cry out… again…” Perhaps this was the last 519 00:46:34,320 --> 00:46:39,480 desperate cry of the Ancient Civilization as their  kingdom collapsed and disappeared into obscurity. 520 00:46:41,280 --> 00:46:46,560 Although maybe this cry is actually true. Allow me 521 00:47:03,180 --> 00:47:09,060 to speculate. In the Godmaster endings to the  game, we are introduced to this strange Void 522 00:47:09,060 --> 00:47:14,580 creature, who doesn’t have a formal name but is  sometimes referred to as the Void Given Focus, 523 00:47:14,580 --> 00:47:18,360 or the Void Entity. We don’t  really know what this thing is, 524 00:47:18,360 --> 00:47:22,800 but there is debate that it might be a more  evolved or powerful version of the Knight, 525 00:47:22,800 --> 00:47:28,620 given how the Godseeker speaks to the Knight  in Godseeker Mode and the fact that it replaces 526 00:47:28,620 --> 00:47:33,120 the Knight statue in the Hall of Gods. But I think this being might actually be 527 00:47:33,120 --> 00:47:38,160 more directly tied to the Ancient Civilization. In  the first cutscene introducing this new character, 528 00:47:38,160 --> 00:47:42,960 we can see that it acts distinctly from the  Knight, the Hollow Knight and the rest of 529 00:47:42,960 --> 00:47:47,700 Vessels. While I think the Knight does become  part of the Void Entity at the end of the game, 530 00:47:47,700 --> 00:47:53,100 I think this creature existed before the Vessels  were even created, and has been lying dormant 531 00:47:53,100 --> 00:47:58,440 somewhere in the Abyss, only called back now by  the Focus given to it by the Godseekers’ ritual. 532 00:47:58,440 --> 00:48:03,120 And it seems like the game really wants us to  connect what the Godseekers did in Godhome with 533 00:48:03,120 --> 00:48:08,280 what that Ancient Civilization did with Void  in the past. Hence why we unlock Void Idol 534 00:48:08,280 --> 00:48:12,960 descriptions from looking at the Void Entity  statue. But if the Ancient Civilization really 535 00:48:12,960 --> 00:48:17,700 worshiped a creature like this, what exactly  was it that caused their kingdom to collapse? 536 00:48:18,660 --> 00:48:25,920 It’s established that one power Wyrms like the  Pale King possess is “foresight”. This ability 537 00:48:25,920 --> 00:48:30,960 is mentioned once by Bardoon, and twice by  the mushrooms of the Fungal Wastes. But as 538 00:48:30,960 --> 00:48:36,360 we all know, despite this prescience, the Pale  King’s kingdom still collapsed into ruin. “But 539 00:48:36,360 --> 00:48:41,040 how prescient is the Pale King really?”  I hear you ask in a normal tone of voice. 540 00:48:41,040 --> 00:48:46,320 The way I like to think about this problem  is in regards to time. The Pale King was 541 00:48:46,320 --> 00:48:51,120 specifically trying to create a kingdom that  would last forever: an eternal kingdom. The 542 00:48:51,120 --> 00:48:56,280 Radiance is described in a lot of dialogue  as being nature, or something unavoidable. 543 00:48:56,280 --> 00:49:00,540 This is what the dead mushroom points out  in its Dream Nail dialogue. Nature will 544 00:49:00,540 --> 00:49:05,220 come to destroy the Pale King’s civilization  eventually as kingdoms can’t last forever. 545 00:49:05,220 --> 00:49:10,620 The Pale King’s only solution to this is to  just stop Time, as explained in the White 546 00:49:10,620 --> 00:49:16,800 Palace workshop lore tablet. So yes, the Pale  King was able to foresee an unavoidable demise, 547 00:49:16,800 --> 00:49:22,500 but his solution was to delay it inevitably. This idea of fighting your inescapable fate 548 00:49:22,500 --> 00:49:27,600 is a storytelling trope seen all throughout  literature. The most prominent and well known 549 00:49:27,600 --> 00:49:32,640 example is from the television series The Amazing  World of Gumball. In the episode The Oracle, 550 00:49:32,640 --> 00:49:38,580 Gumball finds paintings produced by Banana Barbara  that appear to predict future events, with one of 551 00:49:38,580 --> 00:49:43,500 them depicting Gumball completely naked surrounded  by a huge crowd at the mall. In response to this, 552 00:49:43,500 --> 00:49:48,840 Gumball tries everything within his power to stop  this from happening, but through his actions, he 553 00:49:48,840 --> 00:49:52,980 inadvertently causes himself to end up completely  naked surrounded by a huge crowd at the mall. 554 00:49:54,420 --> 00:49:56,640 The same thing pretty much  happened to the Pale King. 555 00:49:58,380 --> 00:50:02,580 Mister Mushroom is a wandering  mushroom man who somehow winds up 556 00:50:02,580 --> 00:50:06,660 in Hallownest. You can only understand him  if you’re wearing the Spore Shroom charm, 557 00:50:06,660 --> 00:50:10,620 but even then his dialogue implies that  he is talking to someone you can’t see. 558 00:50:11,340 --> 00:50:16,500 Out of all his dialogues like this, the only  ones we are confident on are his first and third, 559 00:50:16,500 --> 00:50:20,640 where he seems to be talking to the main  characters from two of Team Cherry's other 560 00:50:20,640 --> 00:50:25,020 games: Hungry Knight and Tomb Cat. But outside of what I talked about 561 00:50:25,020 --> 00:50:29,400 in my Mister Mushroom lore video, there really  hasn’t been anything conclusive to say about the 562 00:50:29,400 --> 00:50:33,780 majority of Mister Mushroom’s wacky dialogue.  My guess is that Mister Mushroom is talking to 563 00:50:33,780 --> 00:50:38,700 characters from future Team Cherry projects,  or even just ideas they have for games that 564 00:50:38,700 --> 00:50:43,320 they’re never actually going to make. You can tell  from interviews that William and Ari have tons 565 00:50:43,320 --> 00:50:47,160 of ideas for games that they want to make and  it’s something that they think about a lot. 566 00:50:47,160 --> 00:50:51,780 Game development is long, right? Especially games  like this, big games. You spend two years on it. 567 00:50:51,780 --> 00:50:57,180 We’ve thought up ten years of games that we would  love to make in one year of game development. 568 00:50:57,180 --> 00:51:03,240 But as to specific explanations for what any of  Mister Mushroom’s dialogue is referring to… He 569 00:51:03,240 --> 00:51:08,880 does use the word determination at one point.  Now if you’re a fan of the channel, you know I 570 00:51:08,880 --> 00:51:15,360 absolutely love Undertale. It’s an amazing game,  filled with all sorts of wonderful characters. In 571 00:51:15,360 --> 00:51:22,440 fact, I’m so good at the game, I almost beat Sans.  Anyway, determination is actually a very important 572 00:51:22,440 --> 00:51:27,900 aspect of Undertale’s main story, as it shows up  a couple times. So I think I speak for everyone 573 00:51:27,900 --> 00:51:32,880 when I say this can’t be a coincidence. And of course, because Mister Mushroom 574 00:51:32,880 --> 00:51:37,440 is connected to all of these other Team Cherry  properties in the Team Cherry Cinematic Universe, 575 00:51:37,440 --> 00:51:41,220 they have to give him a post credits  scene to tease his next adventure. 576 00:51:44,340 --> 00:51:48,600 The Masters are yet another group that  will hopefully be expanded up in Silksong, 577 00:51:48,600 --> 00:51:54,240 but as of right now, very little is known about  them. They are a group of beings mentioned only 578 00:51:54,240 --> 00:52:00,120 by Confessor Jiji and Steel Soul Jinn. When the  Knight receives the Void Heart, Jiji mentions that 579 00:52:00,120 --> 00:52:04,560 her Masters would be impressed with how the Knight  seems to have come to terms with its regrets. 580 00:52:04,560 --> 00:52:10,080 Once the Knight is marked with the King’s Brand,  Steel Soul Jinn mentions that she cannot bow to 581 00:52:10,080 --> 00:52:15,960 the Knight, as her masters’ minds are other, and  do not seek order. And once the Knight receives 582 00:52:15,960 --> 00:52:21,240 the Void Heart, Jinn also comments that the  Knight has become complete like her Masters. 583 00:52:21,240 --> 00:52:25,800 From what little we know about Silksong, it  seems there are more Steel Soul creatures 584 00:52:25,800 --> 00:52:30,540 who are looking to assassinate Hornet.  Whoever these Masters are, it seems as 585 00:52:30,540 --> 00:52:34,740 though they are interested in Void creatures  like the Knight, which might explain why Jiji 586 00:52:34,740 --> 00:52:40,020 and Jinn were assigned to offer services,  while others were ordered to kill Hornet. 587 00:52:40,020 --> 00:52:44,340 From the dialogue we get from Jiji and Jinn,  it might turn out that the Masters themselves 588 00:52:44,340 --> 00:52:49,800 are Void creatures. But instead of just crazy  unhinged maniacs like the Collector, or brainless 589 00:52:49,800 --> 00:52:55,200 golems like the Kingsmoulds, these Masters are  actually intelligent and capable of scheming, 590 00:52:55,200 --> 00:53:01,680 with their end goal in mind appearing to be not  order, but something else entirely: Like disorder. 591 00:53:05,400 --> 00:53:10,560 The Delicate Flower comes from a far off,  “serene” land, carried by the Grey Mourner, 592 00:53:10,560 --> 00:53:16,380 a character who herself looks like some sort of  wilted flower. Once the flower starts growing 593 00:53:16,380 --> 00:53:21,480 in the Queen’s Garden, it is described in the  menu as glowing with a pale light. The White 594 00:53:21,480 --> 00:53:27,180 Lady recognizes it as distinct from herself and  Hallownest. She mentions that a rare power exists 595 00:53:27,180 --> 00:53:32,340 inside these fragile petals, and refuses to accept  it, telling the Knight that only someone with no 596 00:53:32,340 --> 00:53:38,100 knowledge of its power would hold it so close. This flower can be given to the Godseeker, who 597 00:53:38,100 --> 00:53:43,740 ponders that it might be a “splinter, cast-off or  refuse from something greater” before ultimately 598 00:53:43,740 --> 00:53:49,200 saying that she can’t sense any godliness within  it. However, if the Godseeker is holding the 599 00:53:49,200 --> 00:53:55,020 flower during the Embrace the Void ending, we see  that the flower does something to the Void and the 600 00:53:55,020 --> 00:53:59,760 Godseeker, seemingly leaving nothing but a small  black blotch on the corner of one of the petals. 601 00:53:59,760 --> 00:54:05,220 There isn’t any solid theory on what happens here. It might be that the Void and the Godseeker were 602 00:54:05,220 --> 00:54:10,980 banished to some part of the dream realm, similar  to how the White Palace was teleported away. Or 603 00:54:10,980 --> 00:54:16,260 maybe they were teleported back to where the  flower came from, or maybe they’re just gone. 604 00:54:16,260 --> 00:54:21,780 So despite being described as producing a pale  light, both White Lady denies a connection to 605 00:54:21,780 --> 00:54:27,480 this flower, and the Godseeker can’t detect any  Godliness within it. If that flower shares some 606 00:54:27,480 --> 00:54:32,460 kind of pale property with the White Lady, Pale  King and Pale Ore, this seems to inform us that 607 00:54:32,460 --> 00:54:38,100 just because something is “Pale” doesn’t mean it’s  godly. Is this “pale” property related to Soul, 608 00:54:38,100 --> 00:54:45,840 or some other force? As of right now, I’m honestly  not sure. But one thing I do know, if this flower 609 00:54:45,840 --> 00:54:51,180 really can just pop creatures completely out  of existence, I’m glad I gave one to Elderbug. 610 00:54:52,800 --> 00:54:58,740 The Godmaster update added two additional endings  to Hollow Knight back in 2018. And unlike the base 611 00:54:58,740 --> 00:55:05,100 ending which all were fairly conclusive, these two  endings left the story on a major cliffhanger. The 612 00:55:05,100 --> 00:55:09,180 Knight and the rest of the siblings have  seemingly been consumed into this new, 613 00:55:09,180 --> 00:55:14,760 strange Void Entity. The Radiance’s infection has  been erased from Hallownest. And the Hollow Knight 614 00:55:14,760 --> 00:55:19,500 is now free from its prison inside the Black  Egg Temple. And that’s where the game leaves us. 615 00:55:19,500 --> 00:55:24,600 On top of that we have no idea how or even  if Team Cherry is going to follow up on these 616 00:55:24,600 --> 00:55:29,160 endings. We still don’t know for sure how the  events of Hollow Knight and Silksong line up 617 00:55:29,160 --> 00:55:34,740 on any sort of timeline. If Silksong takes place  after, is the game gonna give us a flashback to 618 00:55:34,740 --> 00:55:39,420 this event? If it takes place before, are they  going to do a time skip? Or are they going to do 619 00:55:39,420 --> 00:55:44,400 something completely different and just explain  it in one off comic or another anime adaptation? 620 00:55:45,120 --> 00:55:48,900 In a Reddit AMA, Ari Gibson did  say the following in regards to 621 00:55:48,900 --> 00:55:53,760 Hollow Knight’s multiple base endings. All endings are equally canon. We're not 622 00:55:53,760 --> 00:55:58,380 into 'True Endings.' You choose the path  yourself. We'll do our best in all future 623 00:55:58,380 --> 00:56:03,960 Hollow Knight content to account for all of them. Now keep in mind this post was made 5 years ago, 624 00:56:03,960 --> 00:56:08,940 before the new endings were released, so it’s  possible that Team Cherry changed their mind 625 00:56:08,940 --> 00:56:14,460 on this. That said, I don’t think they have.  This seems like something Team Cherry wouldn’t 626 00:56:14,460 --> 00:56:18,660 change their minds on. And if they really  do have a way to keep all this stuff canon 627 00:56:18,660 --> 00:56:24,420 and pay off everything, I am very excited  to eventually one day have to explain it. 628 00:56:26,280 --> 00:56:30,840 And finally, I think it’s time we talk  about the single biggest mystery that 629 00:56:30,840 --> 00:56:36,780 has loomed over the Hollow Knight community  since February 24th, 2017. It’s a question 630 00:56:36,780 --> 00:56:42,180 that has eluded some of the greatest minds  of our generation. The smartest men, women 631 00:56:42,180 --> 00:56:47,880 and children have tried for years to solve this  mystery, and they have all died in the process. 632 00:56:48,960 --> 00:56:50,640 Who the fuck is Sprintmaster!?