0:00:08.189,0:00:11.370
The Snail Shamans are one of the biggest mysteries[br]in all of Hallownest.

0:00:11.370,0:00:17.460
I know I’ve said that before, about the[br]Ancient Civilization, about Mask Maker, about

0:00:17.460,0:00:23.529
the nature of Higher Beings, about Mister[br]Mushroom, and about Zote’s political ideology.

0:00:23.529,0:00:25.689
But I really do mean it this time.

0:00:25.689,0:00:30.329
The Snail Shamans are a pretty easy group[br]of characters to overlook in Hollow Knight.

0:00:30.329,0:00:34.489
They’re definitely important, but they don’t[br]seem too related to anything that actually

0:00:34.489,0:00:38.289
happens in the main story the character unravels[br]throughout the game.

0:00:38.289,0:00:43.420
The Shamans also don’t really tell us much[br]about who they are or where they came from.

0:00:43.420,0:00:47.649
This is in part due to the fact that the vast[br]majority of them are dead.

0:00:47.649,0:00:52.199
And for the one Shaman who is alive, his dialogue[br]only gives us small glimpses into the Snail

0:00:52.199,0:00:54.210
Shaman culture and practices.

0:00:54.210,0:00:58.530
One important thing to understand about the[br]Snail Shamans is how they are related to Soul,

0:00:58.530,0:01:01.729
one of the main spell systems found in Hollow[br]Knight.

0:01:01.729,0:01:05.620
Hollow Knight’s spell system is introduced[br]very early in the game, and while it’s easy

0:01:05.620,0:01:10.520
to understand mechanically, the lore surrounding[br]it isn’t quite as straightforward.

0:01:10.520,0:01:15.250
Hitting enemies will give you “Soul” which[br]you can “Focus” to either heal or use

0:01:15.250,0:01:16.250
attacks.

0:01:16.250,0:01:17.820
But what is Soul?

0:01:17.820,0:01:19.720
Is it like mana?

0:01:19.720,0:01:23.210
Why is Soul always displayed as a white liquidy[br]goop?

0:01:23.210,0:01:25.910
Is it some kind of “spiritual milk”?

0:01:25.910,0:01:29.860
It’s possible that Soul even have some kind[br]of taste.

0:01:29.860,0:01:33.790
The Hunter shares his thoughts in the Soul[br]Twister hunter’s journal entry, saying:

0:01:33.790,0:01:38.450
I have heard others talk about 'soul' but[br]I do not understand what it actually is.

0:01:38.450,0:01:43.620
I do know that freshly killed meat tastes[br]best - is that because the 'soul' still clings

0:01:43.620,0:01:44.680
to it?

0:01:44.680,0:01:49.470
Of course this seems more like idle speculation[br]on the Hunter’s part, and unfortunately,

0:01:49.470,0:01:54.350
he doesn’t actually tell us what Soul might[br]taste like, so we can only make educated guesses

0:01:54.350,0:01:55.390
on that front.

0:01:55.390,0:02:00.180
Hollow Knight’s Soul system draws more from[br]the concept of shamanism than the traditional

0:02:00.180,0:02:05.230
fantasy magic systems you’d find in stuff[br]like Lord of the Rings or Arthur.

0:02:05.230,0:02:10.950
Basically, every living bug contains Soul,[br]and this Soul is used to animate their bodies,

0:02:10.950,0:02:14.159
so Soul seems to act like a lifeforce primarily.

0:02:14.159,0:02:15.790
But Soul can be found elsewhere.

0:02:15.790,0:02:20.840
In fact, Soul is so prevalent throughout the[br]world that it permeates the air itself, and

0:02:20.840,0:02:24.870
Soul is so valuable that several groups in[br]Hallownest have taken efforts to store or

0:02:24.870,0:02:27.590
manipulate Soul in some way.

0:02:27.590,0:02:31.420
The Ancient Civilization built totems used[br]to store Soul.

0:02:31.420,0:02:36.270
The Soul Sanctum scholars appeared to have[br]studied these totems and ended up using glass

0:02:36.270,0:02:39.450
jars to store the Soul of bugs they captured.

0:02:39.450,0:02:41.480
And then there’s the Snail Shamans.

0:02:41.480,0:02:46.060
Their goals and habits are probably even more[br]vague than the Ancient Civilizatio At least

0:02:46.060,0:02:48.560
we know that they were worshipping the Void.

0:02:48.560,0:02:52.810
As for the Shamans, they just sort of hang[br]out inside their own little mounds.

0:02:52.810,0:02:55.120
And we don’t know exactly why.

0:02:55.120,0:02:59.090
We also have no idea where they came from[br]or how they fit in with the other groups in

0:02:59.090,0:03:00.660
Hallownest.

0:03:00.660,0:03:04.990
But it’s clear that they have a strong connection[br]to Soul, and that connection ties deeply into

0:03:04.990,0:03:07.069
how they live their lives.

0:03:07.069,0:03:12.540
The majority of the Shamans the Knight finds[br]are located in these areas called mounds.

0:03:12.540,0:03:16.620
These mounds are described by the Wanderer’s[br]Journal as ancient temples constructed from

0:03:16.620,0:03:20.220
the bones and shells of innumerable dead creatures.

0:03:20.220,0:03:24.640
These mounds also appear to have some actual[br]structure to them, with several beams of wood

0:03:24.640,0:03:26.240
arranged in various ways.

0:03:26.240,0:03:29.860
And I use the term “structure” loosely.

0:03:29.860,0:03:35.580
And just to clarify, this stuff isn’t technically[br]wood, but instead “shellwood”.

0:03:35.580,0:03:40.100
The Hunter mentions that Zote’s Life Ender[br]is made from this shellwood substance, and

0:03:40.100,0:03:42.910
there’s also a developer’s note about[br]it as well.

0:03:42.910,0:03:45.050
But what is shellwood actually?

0:03:45.050,0:03:48.140
How would one carve a shell into wood?

0:03:48.140,0:03:52.100
Well, my theory is that I have no fucking[br]idea.

0:03:52.100,0:03:56.020
Getting back to the mounds, I’m guessing[br]they are supposed to be similar to burial

0:03:56.020,0:03:57.020
mounds.

0:03:57.020,0:04:00.580
There’s literally a bench made out of bones[br]here, so I don’t think that’s much of

0:04:00.580,0:04:01.910
a stretch.

0:04:01.910,0:04:06.370
The Shaman even says that the spirits of his[br]ancestors will watch over the Knight when

0:04:06.370,0:04:08.599
he forces it to kill the Elder Balder.

0:04:08.599,0:04:12.440
There’s no denying that Soul is connected[br]to dead bugs.

0:04:12.440,0:04:16.261
Whenever you cast a spell, you can hear whispering[br]coming from the Soul.

0:04:16.966,0:04:20.411
*spooky whispering

0:04:20.777,0:04:26.150
Which makes sense because the Knight is literally[br]conjuring an angry spirit and firing it off

0:04:26.150,0:04:30.710
to attack its foes, hence the name “Vengeful[br]Spirit”.

0:04:30.710,0:04:34.457
The Soul Sanctum bugs also fire attacks that[br]make this whispering sound.

0:04:34.905,0:04:37.390
*ᵖᵉᵉ ᶦˢ ˢᵗᵒʳᵉᵈ ᶦⁿ ᵗʰᵉ ᵇᵃˡˡˢ

0:04:37.634,0:04:42.061
We can even hear the nightmarish cries of[br]distressed Souls in the second phase of the

0:04:42.061,0:04:42.561
Soul Master fight.

0:04:42.561,0:04:45.251
*demonic voices WHAT THE HELL

0:04:45.612,0:04:48.290
This is kinda weird.

0:04:48.290,0:04:53.140
There are already ghosts in Hollow Knight,[br]but these creatures are completely different.

0:04:53.140,0:04:57.840
Ghosts are made up of Essence, a substance[br]which can take the form of bygone memories.

0:04:57.840,0:05:02.570
So Essence can hold part of a bug’s personality[br]or identity in a sense.

0:05:02.570,0:05:05.430
But Soul can kinda do the same thing.

0:05:05.430,0:05:10.130
The whispering of Souls implies it holds some[br]semblance of the bugs it occupies.

0:05:10.130,0:05:12.480
And Soul can take the form of Spirits which…

0:05:12.480,0:05:15.030
I think are the same things as ghosts?

0:05:15.030,0:05:19.530
So there are two different forces in the world[br]of Hollow Knight that can create apparitions.

0:05:19.530,0:05:23.850
This is a pretty big deviation from how actual[br]ghosts work in the real world.

0:05:23.850,0:05:27.750
But we all know how that stuff works, so I[br]don’t want to bore you with the details.

0:05:27.750,0:05:31.850
The Ancestral Mound also gives us a bit more[br]information about the Snail Shamans via the

0:05:31.850,0:05:33.780
Whispering Root found there.

0:05:33.780,0:05:36.250
The dialogue produced by this root reads:

0:05:36.250,0:05:37.710
...Soul attuned...

0:05:37.710,0:05:39.170
...Spiral focus...

0:05:39.170,0:05:40.630
...Shunned Power...

0:05:40.630,0:05:42.550
The first line is a little vague.

0:05:42.550,0:05:47.080
It just seems to be confirming that the Snail[br]Shaman is attuned to Soul in some way.

0:05:47.080,0:05:50.850
We don’t really know how difficult it is[br]to be Soul attuned, but it seems like the

0:05:50.850,0:05:54.680
Snail Shamans had a much better grasp on how[br]to use Soul when compared against the bugs

0:05:54.680,0:05:58.330
of Hallownest, even including the ones in[br]the Soul Sanctum.

0:05:58.330,0:06:00.830
We only see the Snail Shaman use Soul once.

0:06:00.830,0:06:05.389
He actually uses his cute little staff to[br]conjure up the Vengeful Spirit out of thin

0:06:05.389,0:06:06.389
air.

0:06:06.389,0:06:09.949
He demonstrates a clear capacity to manipulate[br]Soul when he does this.

0:06:09.949,0:06:14.500
The Snail Shaman also has the Soul Catcher[br]charm, which is used by Shamans to collect

0:06:14.500,0:06:16.910
Soul from the world around them.

0:06:16.910,0:06:21.800
Another Shaman relic found in the game, the[br]Shaman Stone, informs us that the Snail Shamans

0:06:21.800,0:06:27.310
have spent generations growing their knowledge[br]of Soul manipulation to create powerful spells.

0:06:27.310,0:06:32.280
One final Shaman charm even gives us a peek[br]into how Shamans once lived.

0:06:32.280,0:06:37.810
The Soul Eater charm is a forgotten Shaman[br]artifact that was used to draw Soul from still-living

0:06:37.810,0:06:38.810
creatures.

0:06:38.810,0:06:43.210
So it seems like Shamans of the past were[br]more intent on taking Soul from others, instead

0:06:43.210,0:06:47.230
of passively collecting Souls in temples riddled[br]with remains.

0:06:47.230,0:06:51.050
As for why this practice was forgotten, it[br]may have to do with the arrival of the Pale

0:06:51.050,0:06:52.729
King in Hallownest.

0:06:52.729,0:06:57.290
We know that the King did not approve of this[br]sort of repurposing of other bugs’ Soul.

0:06:57.290,0:07:01.449
He explicitly objected to the action taken[br]by the bugs of the Soul Sanctum.

0:07:01.449,0:07:05.650
These bugs harvested the Souls of others,[br]literally consuming Soul to the point where

0:07:05.650,0:07:08.330
their bodies became bloated and deformed.

0:07:08.330,0:07:11.370
My favorite example of this has to be the[br]Soul Master.

0:07:11.370,0:07:15.600
When staggered, we can literally see Soul[br]escaping out of his body as he shrivels up

0:07:15.600,0:07:16.960
like a raisin.

0:07:16.960,0:07:21.650
And when he dies, the Desolate Dive ability[br]seeps out of his mouth like a deflating balloon.

0:07:21.650,0:07:25.410
The second line given by the Whispering Root[br]might give us another little insight into

0:07:25.410,0:07:28.460
how the Snail Shamans are able to manipulate[br]Soul.

0:07:28.460,0:07:33.400
The “spiral focus” line might be referring[br]to the spiral shell the Shaman wears on his

0:07:33.400,0:07:34.400
head.

0:07:34.400,0:07:38.880
This spiral pattern also shows up on the inside[br]of all three Snail Shaman charms, a small

0:07:38.880,0:07:41.789
detail that might highlight its importance.

0:07:41.789,0:07:46.240
There seems to be some sort of connection[br]between the use of Soul, focusing and the

0:07:46.240,0:07:47.240
head.

0:07:47.240,0:07:52.100
The Godseeker focuses using a crest located[br]on the mask she wears on her head.

0:07:52.100,0:07:55.960
Although in this case, she isn’t focusing[br]Soul, but thoughts.

0:07:55.960,0:07:59.930
The Godseeker is sort of an outlier here,[br]but she still shows a connection between the

0:07:59.930,0:08:02.600
head of a creature, and the act of focusing.

0:08:02.600,0:08:05.750
There’s also the Kingsoul and Void Heart[br]charms.

0:08:05.750,0:08:10.509
Another Hollow Knight lore YouTuber, Ccmaci,[br]pointed out to me that these charms have a

0:08:10.509,0:08:16.090
similar looking crest or insignia on their[br]foreheads, like what we see with the Godseeker’s

0:08:16.090,0:08:17.090
mask.

0:08:17.090,0:08:20.840
This might entirely be a coincidence, but[br]I wouldn’t be surprised if it was intentional,

0:08:20.840,0:08:25.980
as it could imply the Knight having a greater[br]mastery over Soul and Void respectively.

0:08:25.980,0:08:30.070
The Soul Sanctum bugs claim that they are[br]trying to obtain a pure “Focus” which

0:08:30.070,0:08:33.690
somehow involves consuming large amounts of[br]Soul.

0:08:33.690,0:08:37.470
One of the end results of this is how their[br]minds swell and ache.

0:08:37.470,0:08:42.470
On top of that, all of the scholars wear these[br]strange jewels on their heads, which are occasionally

0:08:42.470,0:08:45.300
used to fire off Soul attacks.

0:08:45.300,0:08:49.310
These appear to be the same objects that we[br]see on the Spell Twister charm.

0:08:49.310,0:08:53.080
Perhaps they act like the crest on Godseekers[br]head, helping them focus.

0:08:53.080,0:08:56.670
Unfortunately, there isn’t much else to[br]go on here.

0:08:56.670,0:08:59.600
Another vague connection we can make is to[br]the Mask Maker.

0:08:59.600,0:09:04.380
The Mask Maker tells us that one requires[br]a face to “define, focus and exist”, which

0:09:04.380,0:09:08.260
is pretty open to interpretation but it’s[br]definitely important.

0:09:08.260,0:09:12.770
So maybe this head-Soul connection is an extension[br]of that in some way.

0:09:12.770,0:09:17.360
That being said, Soul is such a vague force[br]in this game that you can connect it to a

0:09:17.360,0:09:21.399
lot of things, and it’s hard to tell what[br]connections were actually intended by Team

0:09:21.399,0:09:22.550
Cherry.

0:09:22.550,0:09:27.370
In my King’s Pass video, I talked a lot[br]about focusing and Soul and how regular bugs

0:09:27.370,0:09:30.790
might be able to focus their own Souls in[br]some way.

0:09:30.790,0:09:35.000
In my Silksong speculation videos, I talk[br]about how Hornet might be able to make silk

0:09:35.000,0:09:37.130
that is composed of Soul.

0:09:37.130,0:09:41.779
In my video discussing the post war politics[br]of Australia after the Emu War, I mentioned

0:09:41.779,0:09:44.089
that Soul might taste like vegemite.

0:09:44.089,0:09:47.960
And with so many different ways Soul can be[br]interpreted, it’s kinda hard to say there

0:09:47.960,0:09:52.240
is a definite connection between the concept[br]of the face or the head and Soul.

0:09:52.240,0:09:55.870
But I do think there are some strands there.

0:09:55.870,0:09:59.610
The last line of the Whispering Root is fairly[br]easy to understand.

0:09:59.610,0:10:04.140
The Shaman’s power to use Soul was probably[br]shunned by the Pale King.

0:10:04.140,0:10:08.630
Like I said earlier, he didn’t seem to approve[br]of the Soul Sanctum’s experiments at all.

0:10:08.630,0:10:12.390
Or it might just be that the other bugs of[br]Hallownest find freaky snail people with bone

0:10:12.390,0:10:15.190
furniture both scary and disgusting.

0:10:15.190,0:10:19.940
We know other strange powers like Lifeblood[br]were considered taboo in Hallownest too.

0:10:19.940,0:10:24.500
So something as strange as Soul manipulation[br]was probably treated the same way.

0:10:24.500,0:10:28.550
This line could also explain another phenomenon[br]we see with the Shamans.

0:10:28.550,0:10:32.360
We know from the Snail Shaman’s dialogue[br]that he is bound to the Ancestral Mound in

0:10:32.360,0:10:33.360
some way.

0:10:33.360,0:10:37.480
There’s also a developer’s note about[br]this line of dialogue, which reads:

0:10:37.480,0:10:40.040
At some point hints that he can not leave[br]the mound.

0:10:40.040,0:10:45.000
"Can not" could mean he stays out of duty,[br]or literally can not leave

0:10:45.000,0:10:50.080
We find Snail Shamans in the Ancestral Mound,[br]Overgrown Mound and Crystallized Mound.

0:10:50.080,0:10:54.970
If we find any of them outside of a mound,[br]they are either buried, or being brutally

0:10:54.970,0:10:55.970
tortured.

0:10:55.970,0:11:00.480
There’s one in the Soul Sanctum, who appears[br]to have been subjected to experiments.

0:11:00.480,0:11:03.990
And there’s one sealed in a sarcophagus[br]in the Resting Grounds.

0:11:03.990,0:11:07.720
Perhaps Snail Shamans were forced to remain[br]near their mounds due to how the rest of Hallownest

0:11:07.720,0:11:09.530
perceived their power.

0:11:09.530,0:11:13.870
But that doesn’t seem too likely considering[br]everyone is pretty much dead at this point.

0:11:13.870,0:11:18.250
So it’s probably either that the Shaman[br]has a sense of duty to the mound, or his strength

0:11:18.250,0:11:20.370
is somehow tied to it.

0:11:20.370,0:11:24.320
Maybe the Shaman’s spells don’t work as[br]well outside the mound, so he is vastly underpowered

0:11:24.320,0:11:26.000
to leave his home.

0:11:26.000,0:11:31.020
After all, he doesn’t even seem capable[br]of clearing out his own den of dangerous creatures.

0:11:31.020,0:11:33.149
But it’s anyone’s guess, honestly.

0:11:33.149,0:11:36.810
Team Cherry very much left this part of the[br]lore ambiguous.

0:11:36.810,0:11:40.850
Of course, there’s one question looming[br]over the nature of the Snail Shamans.

0:11:40.850,0:11:45.090
A question that gets thrown around a lot whenever[br]discussion about them arises.

0:11:45.090,0:11:47.860
Are the Snail Shamans Void?

0:11:47.860,0:11:52.360
In my video on the Ancient Civilization, I[br]confidently said there was no question that

0:11:52.360,0:11:54.670
these things were Void creatures.

0:11:54.670,0:11:55.670
But…

0:11:55.670,0:11:58.530
I think I jumped the gun a little bit.

0:11:58.530,0:12:02.950
So now it’s time to lace up those clown[br]shoes, put on that clown makeup, and pull

0:12:02.950,0:12:07.550
out your clown keyboards, because we are about[br]to have a serious discussion about whether

0:12:07.550,0:12:10.269
or not Snail Shamans are Void.

0:12:10.269,0:12:15.100
So what was 2019 mossbag’s reasoning behind[br]calling the Shamans Void?

0:12:15.100,0:12:19.850
Well, it mainly comes down to a few simple[br]observations.

0:12:19.850,0:12:24.390
When the Knight examines the Snail Shaman[br]in the Soul Sanctum, it explodes into black

0:12:24.390,0:12:26.839
particles that the Knight absorbs.

0:12:26.839,0:12:31.200
The Snail Shaman in the Crystalized Mound[br]also explodes in the same way.

0:12:31.200,0:12:35.490
The Knight collects the Shade Soul and Descending[br]Dark from these Shamans respectively.

0:12:35.490,0:12:40.080
What’s interesting here is that while the[br]prompts for these moves still mention spirits,

0:12:40.080,0:12:43.130
their descriptions in the menu describe them[br]as shadows.

0:12:43.130,0:12:48.089
For the Abyss Shriek move, we can even see[br]the attack uses a combination of Soul and

0:12:48.089,0:12:49.089
shadow.

0:12:49.089,0:12:53.640
And there’s even unused art of a Vengeful[br]Spirit-like move with this same motif.

0:12:53.640,0:13:00.130
Regardless, these upgrades all mix the original[br]Soul-based attacks to also use Void.

0:13:00.130,0:13:04.250
One noteworthy distinction between the Soul[br]upgrades and the Void upgrades is that the

0:13:04.250,0:13:07.279
Soul upgrades appear as these little spirit[br]sprites.

0:13:07.279,0:13:09.589
The Void spells don’t have this at all.

0:13:09.589,0:13:13.820
In all three instances, it’s black balls[br]flying into the Knight.

0:13:13.820,0:13:18.320
And in the third instance that takes place[br]in the Abyss, we can be fairly sure that the

0:13:18.320,0:13:20.770
Knight is consuming Void.

0:13:20.770,0:13:22.769
This invites a very simple conclusion.

0:13:22.769,0:13:28.150
These Shamans explode into Void which the[br]Knight then sucks up to inherit their spells.

0:13:28.150,0:13:29.320
And that makes sense.

0:13:29.320,0:13:31.010
Bada bing bada boom, right?

0:13:31.010,0:13:34.270
Well, let’s talk about the elephant in the[br]room.

0:13:34.270,0:13:39.060
Characters exploding into stuff happens on[br]a number of occasions in Hollow Knight, and

0:13:39.060,0:13:41.540
it doesn’t always make sense.

0:13:41.540,0:13:47.519
For example, when the Seer disappears after[br]collecting 2400 Essence, she appears to transform

0:13:47.519,0:13:48.519
into a Lumafly.

0:13:48.519,0:13:53.600
It’s a really small detail that might have[br]lore implications, but there is absolutely

0:13:53.600,0:13:58.649
nothing else in the game to follow up on this,[br]and it opens such a huge can of worms that

0:13:58.649,0:14:00.529
I’m afraid to even talk about it.

0:14:00.529,0:14:05.639
There’s also the Grey Mourner and the Brooding[br]Mawlek who explode into Mask Shards.

0:14:05.639,0:14:08.310
This makes absolutely no sense.

0:14:08.310,0:14:13.500
If people can just die and turn into masks,[br]then why the hell do we need Mask Maker?

0:14:13.500,0:14:16.810
Are masks somehow connected to the Souls of[br]bugs?

0:14:16.810,0:14:20.130
Was the Brooding Mawlek hiding this Mask Shard[br]up its asshole?

0:14:20.130,0:14:21.260
That sounds painful!

0:14:21.260,0:14:27.279
A more agreeable and straightforward explanation[br]is that this is just a gameplay quirk.

0:14:27.279,0:14:30.930
Another example we can compare this to is[br]Grey Prince Zote.

0:14:30.930,0:14:35.200
Several of his animations use the black ball[br]effect similar to what we see with the Snail

0:14:35.200,0:14:36.550
Shamans and the Abyss.

0:14:36.550,0:14:40.480
Since this entire fight takes place inside[br]a Dream concocted by Bretta’s obsessive

0:14:40.480,0:14:44.300
mind, this probably isn’t supposed to imply[br]that Zote is Void.

0:14:44.300,0:14:49.120
In fact, it seems highly unlikely that Bretta[br]would even know what Void is.

0:14:49.120,0:14:53.839
So black stuff that appears in her dream is[br]probably just an ingame effect used to portray

0:14:53.839,0:14:56.830
the conjuring of a character made up mostly[br]of the color black.

0:14:56.830,0:14:59.790
We’re in a similar boat with these Shamans.

0:14:59.790,0:15:04.070
These effects might purely be an aesthetic[br]choice by Team Cherry, and not proof that

0:15:04.070,0:15:06.360
the Shamans are actually Void.

0:15:06.360,0:15:10.320
If we talk to the Snail Shaman after getting[br]the Shade Soul, he implies that it was the

0:15:10.320,0:15:14.800
Knight’s essence that melded with the spell,[br]using a powerful source to do so.

0:15:14.800,0:15:18.170
The wording here is annoying in how obscure[br]it is.

0:15:18.170,0:15:23.000
So stuff goes into the Knight, giving it enough[br]power to transform the spell inside it with

0:15:23.000,0:15:27.980
its own essence, and by essence, I don’t[br]mean actual Essence, but Void.

0:15:27.980,0:15:32.310
There’s enough vagueness there to perhaps[br]argue that the Knight is absorbing the power

0:15:32.310,0:15:38.360
of the Shamans in a general sense, and not[br]somehow absorbing their Void bodies, but it

0:15:38.360,0:15:41.130
would honestly make more sense to me if they[br]were just Void.

0:15:41.130,0:15:45.130
I mean that seems to be the case when we get[br]the Abyss Shriek.

0:15:45.130,0:15:49.850
Another possible hint at Shamans being Void[br]is how the Shaman in the Overgrown Mound appears

0:15:49.850,0:15:54.590
to be melting, kind of like what we see with[br]Void in other locations, particularly the

0:15:54.590,0:15:55.779
Collector.

0:15:55.779,0:16:00.380
But it could be just dark colored leaves,[br]to help sell the “overgrown” aspect of

0:16:00.380,0:16:01.600
the mound.

0:16:01.600,0:16:06.810
As a side note, if the Shamans are Void, it’s[br]kinda weird they put one in a sarcophagus.

0:16:06.810,0:16:11.250
It’s certainly possible, but I think it[br]would be the only instance of a Void creature

0:16:11.250,0:16:13.990
having a “proper” burial.

0:16:13.990,0:16:18.750
Another small detail to consider is how the[br]Snail Shaman calls the Knight a shadow and

0:16:18.750,0:16:21.350
mentions its “empty face”.

0:16:21.350,0:16:25.310
This could imply that the Snail Shamans are[br]at least aware of what Void is.

0:16:25.310,0:16:29.959
The only characters who call the Knight a[br]shadow directly are Hornet and the Dreamers,

0:16:29.959,0:16:34.850
and arguably Divine, all characters who are[br]more likely to know what Void is.

0:16:34.850,0:16:39.760
It’s obvious that the Snail Shaman is pretty[br]aware of things, considering he can tell when

0:16:39.760,0:16:41.010
he is Dream Nailed.

0:16:41.010,0:16:46.110
Also, the fact that he says our essence melded[br]with the Vengeful Spirit after getting the

0:16:46.110,0:16:49.680
Shade Soul kinda implies that he knows the[br]Knight is unique.

0:16:49.680,0:16:55.200
How exactly would a non-Void creature's essence[br]meld with a Void spell?

0:16:55.200,0:16:58.019
So that’s all of the evidence for why the[br]Shamans are Void.

0:16:58.019,0:16:59.900
Our main argument is balls.

0:16:59.900,0:17:05.010
And yes, balls are pretty convincing in most[br]instances of Hollow Knight lore discussion.

0:17:05.010,0:17:09.900
But once we get into non-ball related topics,[br]there are a lot of other issues that pop up

0:17:09.900,0:17:11.439
with this theory.

0:17:11.439,0:17:15.619
First of all, if the Shamans are Void, where[br]did they come from?

0:17:15.619,0:17:18.869
For a lot of Void beings, we have explanations.

0:17:18.869,0:17:22.600
The Kingsmoulds and Wingmounds were created[br]to serve the Pale King.

0:17:22.600,0:17:27.149
The Collector probably also came from that[br]mold, and probably is sort of working with

0:17:27.149,0:17:31.080
the Pale King, it’s a whole thing, we’re[br]not getting into it right now.

0:17:31.080,0:17:35.190
The Vessels were also created by the Pale[br]King, when he placed eggs containing his children

0:17:35.190,0:17:36.529
in the Abyss.

0:17:36.529,0:17:41.519
The ferocious Void Tendrils and Shade Lord[br]appear to be more intricately tied to the

0:17:41.519,0:17:46.580
Abyss and Void itself, although the specifics[br]are muddy on that front.

0:17:46.580,0:17:51.179
The Shamans, on the other hand, don’t have[br]any leads for their possible Void origins.

0:17:51.179,0:17:55.210
In fact, we are fairly certain they didn’t[br]come from the Abyss at all.

0:17:55.210,0:17:58.600
After obtaining the Abyss Shriek, the Snail[br]Shaman tells the Knight that the spell must

0:17:58.600,0:18:02.350
have come from a place the Snail Shamans never[br]thought to look.

0:18:02.350,0:18:06.650
This implies that the Shamans aren’t connected[br]to the Abyss at all, unless the Snail Shaman

0:18:06.650,0:18:09.590
somehow forgot where his people came from.

0:18:09.590,0:18:13.460
That seems unlikely, but we do know that the[br]Snail Shamans have forgotten at least one

0:18:13.460,0:18:18.230
part of their history, considering the Soul[br]Eater charm is described as a forgotten Shaman

0:18:18.230,0:18:19.429
relic.

0:18:19.429,0:18:23.840
As for their true origins, we do see a similar[br]character to the Snail Shamans in the upcoming

0:18:23.840,0:18:25.450
Silksong sequel.

0:18:25.450,0:18:30.559
The Churchkeeper appears to be a similar character[br]archetype as the Shamans, except instead of

0:18:30.559,0:18:34.340
teaching Hornet how to shoot ghosts out of[br]her face, she’s teaching Hornet how to play

0:18:34.340,0:18:36.249
songs on her needle.

0:18:36.249,0:18:39.280
But should this character even be considered[br]a Snail Shaman?

0:18:39.280,0:18:41.279
Are Snail Shamans even a species?

0:18:41.279,0:18:44.919
Or do you just need to wear one of those snail[br]hats to become one?

0:18:44.919,0:18:49.690
Regardless, she is visually similar to them,[br]which might imply Snail Shaman-like creatures

0:18:49.690,0:18:51.200
aren’t unique to Hallownest.

0:18:51.200,0:18:56.230
You could argue that this strengthens the[br]argument against Shamans being Void, but I

0:18:56.230,0:19:00.690
will say we know so little about what Void[br]is and where it comes from.

0:19:00.690,0:19:04.250
Who's to say there aren’t other Abyss-like[br]areas beyond Hallownest where Void can be

0:19:04.250,0:19:05.549
found?

0:19:05.549,0:19:09.999
So maybe the Shamans found in Hallownest and[br]Pharloom are Void beings who originated from

0:19:09.999,0:19:11.429
a different place.

0:19:11.429,0:19:14.110
But, we’re speculating an awful lot here.

0:19:14.110,0:19:19.309
And this isn’t the only issue that arises[br]with the “Shamans are Void” statement.

0:19:19.309,0:19:23.409
Another monkey wrench in this idea is how[br]the Snail Shaman refers to the other Shamans

0:19:23.409,0:19:25.100
as his relatives.

0:19:25.100,0:19:28.850
Once you get the Desolate Dive, he mentions[br]his third uncle has the same ability.

0:19:28.850,0:19:33.639
He also mentions his fourth aunt, who resides[br]in the Crystallized Mound.

0:19:33.639,0:19:37.470
And he mentions his larger cousin located[br]in the Overgrown Mound.

0:19:37.470,0:19:40.649
How exactly would Void beings have relatives?

0:19:40.649,0:19:45.490
Can Void beings get married, do the nasty[br]and give birth to children?

0:19:45.490,0:19:50.239
Technically, shades are siblings, which shows[br]that creatures connected to the Void can have

0:19:50.239,0:19:52.330
relations to one another.

0:19:52.330,0:19:57.119
But cousins and uncles imply a multigenerational[br]community of Void beings.

0:19:57.119,0:20:00.750
And... that just sounds kinda silly.

0:20:00.750,0:20:03.039
But this does beg the question.

0:20:03.039,0:20:05.710
What exactly is a “fourth aunt”?

0:20:05.710,0:20:09.890
In order to answer this question, I decided[br]to consult some of the brightest minds on

0:20:09.890,0:20:11.200
the entire internet.

0:20:11.200,0:20:15.659
So naturally, I took to twitter dot com and[br]asked my followers for their thoughts on the

0:20:15.659,0:20:16.659
matter.

0:20:16.659,0:20:21.129
Thanks to a very knowledgeable and patient[br]person known as Sage, I was able to uncover

0:20:21.129,0:20:22.129
the truth.

0:20:22.129,0:20:25.470
“Fourth aunt” isn’t really a thing.

0:20:25.470,0:20:29.149
Perhaps a fourth aunt is just your mother[br]or father’s fourth sister.

0:20:29.149,0:20:30.669
That would be the easiest explanation.

0:20:30.669,0:20:35.849
Or a fourth aunt could be a fourth cousin,[br]once removed, which would be someone who shares

0:20:35.849,0:20:40.039
great great great grandparents with your parents.

0:20:40.039,0:20:45.159
This would imply that, given none of the Snail[br]Shamans participated in inbreeding, a huge

0:20:45.159,0:20:51.039
family tree of at least 133 other Snail Shamans[br]must have existed to facilitate the relation

0:20:51.039,0:20:55.610
between these two characters, let alone the[br]third uncle and larger cousin and whoever

0:20:55.610,0:20:58.909
the hell these people who are and their relation[br]to the Snail Shaman.

0:20:58.909,0:21:02.940
And that’s not even considering the sexual[br]reproductive habits of actual snails.

0:21:02.940,0:21:08.380
And if the Shamans are anything like that,[br]well, things become much more complicated.

0:21:08.380,0:21:12.240
Youcould argue that these relations are more[br]sentimental than genealogical.

0:21:12.240,0:21:14.799
Sorta like dog moms.

0:21:14.799,0:21:18.109
While that excuse might work for the relatives,[br]we still have to counter with the fact that

0:21:18.109,0:21:21.159
these Shamans are deeply tied to their ancestors.

0:21:21.159,0:21:25.059
The spirits of the Snail Shaman’s ancestors[br]are apparently watching over the Ancestral

0:21:25.059,0:21:26.080
Mound.

0:21:26.080,0:21:30.649
This not only reinforces the idea of the Shamans[br]being biological creatures that aren’t just

0:21:30.649,0:21:34.190
created, but it also raises another complicated[br]question.

0:21:34.190,0:21:36.679
Can Void beings even have spirits?

0:21:36.679,0:21:40.990
Void creatures aren’t technically alive,[br]hence the White Lady saying that the Knight

0:21:40.990,0:21:42.820
died in the Abyss.

0:21:42.820,0:21:48.191
Obviously Void creatures like the Collector[br]and James Corden have no Soul, but creatures

0:21:48.191,0:21:52.460
like the Hollow Knight do give off Soul, so[br]maybe they would count?

0:21:52.460,0:21:57.210
But being a living creature animated by Soul[br]is very different from being a Void creature

0:21:57.210,0:22:00.190
that can contain or hold Soul within its shell.

0:22:00.190,0:22:04.599
I don’t think you could say the Hollow Knight[br]really has its own “spirit” in the same

0:22:04.599,0:22:07.570
sense that a regular creature would have a[br]spirit.

0:22:07.570,0:22:11.950
Or maybe I’m reading way too far into the[br]concept of spirits and Team Cherry just wanted

0:22:11.950,0:22:16.090
an excuse to put cute little faces on the[br]Hollow Knight’s attacks.

0:22:16.090,0:22:20.710
Either way you slice it, there are some weird[br]questions that pop up around the Snail Shamans.

0:22:20.710,0:22:25.119
If they truly are Void creatures, why are[br]they unaware of the Abyss?

0:22:25.119,0:22:26.609
How were they created?

0:22:26.609,0:22:29.070
Why do they refer to each other as relatives?

0:22:29.070,0:22:33.609
If they aren’t Void, why do they explode[br]into black balls that the Knight sucks up

0:22:33.609,0:22:35.840
and then gains Void spells from them?

0:22:35.840,0:22:40.019
Why do they still seem to be aware of Void[br]and its shadow-like nature?

0:22:40.019,0:22:43.440
In the end, the Snail Shamans don’t have[br]a clear answer.

0:22:43.440,0:22:47.639
Looking strictly at what’s in the game,[br]it seems more likely that they aren’t Void,

0:22:47.639,0:22:52.570
since the Void ball phenomenon is easier to[br]handwave than the dialogue we actually get

0:22:52.570,0:22:54.789
from the Snail Shaman.

0:22:54.789,0:22:59.580
And even if we ignore the Void stuff, there’s[br]still the big question of what the older generations

0:22:59.580,0:23:01.509
of Snail Shamans were doing.

0:23:01.509,0:23:05.669
The fact that they had a charm like the Soul[br]Eater implies that they were a much more dangerous

0:23:05.669,0:23:06.669
force in the past.

0:23:06.669,0:23:10.460
What were these ancient snail people doing[br]exactly?

0:23:10.460,0:23:12.739
How powerful were these overcooked hotdogs?

0:23:12.739,0:23:17.880
I’m gonna hold out hope that Silksong somehow[br]illuminates the Snail Shamans for us.

0:23:17.880,0:23:22.950
Just gonna go and add it to the Silksong Bingo[br]card right next to more Macebug lore and Funky

0:23:22.950,0:23:23.950
Mode.

0:23:23.950,0:23:29.791
I mean William did say we might get some Snail[br]Shaman lore in a Reddit AMA post from 3 years ago

0:23:29.791,0:23:32.302
So it’s basically confirmed.