King's Pass Lore Tablets Examined

It’s been a while.

I hope you all are doing well.

As I’m sure you all know, I’ve been on
a journey of self discovery these last couple

of months.

I read Edward Snowden’s new autobiography.

And honestly, it changed my life.

I also saw the new Joker movie.

And honestly, it changed my life.

And then, I tried vegemite.

And honestly, it changed my life.

But you’re probably not here to listen to
me talk about that, considering none of that

is in the title of the video.

So instead, we’re going to take a deep,
hard, throbbing look at the lore tablets located

at the very beginning of Hollow Knight.

For being the first lore tablets we see, it’s
surprising how little I’ve discussed them.

I briefly went over them in that one MatPat
response video I made, but that video was

bonkers enough without me going on an insane
tangent explaining abstract concepts like

“souls”, and “true forms”, and “words”.

But now, I think it’s time to finally get
to the bottom of this mystery.

These lore tablets are located in an area
called the King’s Pass.

This is basically the tutorial level where
the player is taught tricky maneuvers like

walking, jumping and focusing soul.

This last ability is specifically taught to
the player by reading this first lore tablet.

But even if the tablet’s main goal is to
teach the player a move, there still must

be some lore explanation for why the tablet
is there.

Considering this area is called the King’s
Pass, it seems likely that these tablets were

written, or scribbled, by the Pale King.

One thing that separates these tablets from
most of the other lore tablets found in the

game is how they all start with the same phrase:
Higher beings, these words are for you alone.

So these tablets were left specifically for
a group of people known as “Higher beings”.

But who exactly are these higher beings supposed
to be?

Some have argued that the tablets were left
for the vessels.

After all, the first lore tablet teaches the
Knight how to focus, a very specific ability

seemingly only vessels are shown performing.

And the vessels are the children of two gods,
so it would be reasonable to call them Higher

beings.

Another interpretation is that these tablets
are speaking directly to you, the player.

So I guess Higher beings in this case would
be humans.

Not sure how I feel about that.

I’m not a huge fan of either of these interpretations.

Instead, I’d like to argue that these tablets
were specially written for bugs that traveled

to Hallownest from the lands beyond.

I like this theory because it ties these tablets
into other parts of the lore, such as the

Mask Maker and the Pale King’s beacon.

But be warned, this theory is a little bit…
out there.

You might even call this theory a little “speculative”
or in other words “nonsense”.

So please keep an open mind while watching,
and don’t just assume that I’m right.

It’s entirely possible that we simply don’t
have enough information to truly answers some

of these questions, and that’s okay.

Let’s start with the very first hurdle we
have with this theory: “Higher beings”.

The game uses this phrase a total of six times:
three in the King’s Pass, one in the Howling

Cliffs, and one in the Ancient Basin, near
the entrance to the Abyss.

The last time it is used is to refer to the
Pale King and the White Lady’s union which

resulted in the creation of the worst charm
in the game, the Kingsoul.

Now the game never gives us a formal definition
of what Higher beings are, but we do have

a few external sources that mention it.

In a Reddit AMA, William Pellen explained
that Higher beings are creatures that exist

above all others, such as the Radiance, the
Pale King and the White Lady.

There is also a developer’s note found in
Hollow Knight’s code that states that Higher

beings are God-like creatures.

So by that logic, my theory makes no sense,
since the bugs regularly traveling to Hallownest

were probably not as powerful as the Pale
King.

But at the same time, it seems highly unlikely
that the Pale King would have written these

tablets for creatures of immense power like
himself.

He didn’t exactly roll out the welcome wagon
for the Radiance, after all.

So why exactly would the Pale King call regular
bugs Higher beings?

It all ties into the promise of Hallownest.

The second King’s Pass lore tablet, located
next to the Fury of the Fallen charm reads:

Let all bask in your majesty, for only this
kingdom could produce ones such as you.

From this tablet, we can tell that the “Higher
beings” the Pale King is referring to are

creatures with abilities produced by Hallownest.

The lore tablet in the Pale King’s throne
room tells us that the Pale King’s beacon

expanded the minds of bugs, and the lore tablet
in the Howling Cliff also mentions that the

kingdom grants bugs minds.

This is further backed up by Dream Nail dialogue
from both the Whispering Root, and this chonky

bug corpse.

So the King’s Pass tablet says that Higher
beings are produced by Hallownest, and several

sources claim that Hallownest itself expands
the minds of bugs, so this must be what the

Pale King means when he refers to Higher beings.

The reason the kingdom is called Hallownest
is because that is literally what it is.

An area of land hallowed, or made holy, by
the Pale King, granting those within it higher

thought.

So why exactly does William’s definition
of Higher beings conflict with these tablets?

Is William on bath salts again?

Well maybe, but another explanation could
be that the Pale King is likening his subjects

to gods as a way to make his gift sound even
greater.

It’s a bit of a lie on his part, and it
seems like his main motivation was to earn

the devotion of these bugs, but he is still
elevating their powers nonetheless.

Alright, that’s eight words down.

Let’s look at the other twenty-one words:
Your great strength marks you amongst us.

Focus your soul and you shall achieve feats
of which others can only dream.

This first sentence appears to parallel a
line from the Quirrel comic.

Quirrel explains that the path to Hallownest
is difficult to achieve, stating that Hallownest

accepts only the strong.

Of course, this raises the issue of how complete
weakling like Zote and Cloth were able to

make it to Hallownest in the first place.

But then again, Zote is just too cryptic of
a character in general.

I’ve been trying to pin down his political
ideology for months now.

I mean, is he an authoritarian, an anarchist
or a liberatarin?

This next sentence about focusing soul is
where things get a bit complicated.

Now in the mechanics of Hollow Knight, focusing
is when the Knight consumes souls in order

to repair its shell.

But what does it mean for regular bugs to
focus soul?

This ability seems to be reserved specifically
for Vessels.

And it seems very unlikely that the Pale King
wanted his subjects to mess with soul in that

way, considering he condemned the actions
of the Soul Master and his followers.

To answer why the Pale King would want his
subjects to “focus [their] soul”, I think

we’ll need to look at this from a different
angle.

Let’s talk about what the word “focus”
actually means.

If we look at how the word is used throughout
parts of the game, it appears to link up often

with both the use of soul and the use of mind.

This might not be true in every case, but
I think it’s a good framework to work from

when discussing this part of the game’s
lore.

Let’s start with the scholars of the Soul
Sanctum.

These bugs were hoarding soul in some strange
attempt to avoid the Radiance’s plague as

well as achieve immortality.

In one of their lore tablets, the scholars
mention a desire to “attain a pure focus”.

Now your guess is as good as mine as to what
that actually means, but it seems safe to

assume that it requires an impressive mastery
of soul.

And we can see that this act took quite a
heavy toll on the minds of the scholars, with

the Soul Twisters mentioning how their minds
swell and ache.

The possibility of a connection between focusing
and the mind becomes explicit when we look

at the Godseekers.

The Godseeker straight up tells the Knight
that they are using a Godly focus to attune

to the Gods of Hallownest and ascend their
own mind.

The Weathered Mask description also states
that it allows its wearer to focus their thoughts.

So in this instance.

focusing doesn’t seem to be related to soul
at all, but it still involves the mind.

We also have the Void Statue in the Hall of
Gods which reads “Void Given Focus”, which

in the initial release of Godmaster read “Void
Given Mind”.

This cut text might give us a hint of what
is going on here.

I have heard some argue that Team Cherry removed
the word “Mind” because void in it’s

base form already has a mind.

I, however, think that “Focus” and “Mind”
are somewhat interchangeable terms, which

is why Team Cherry used one instead of the
other.

It’s hard to say for sure, but I think we’re
supposed to understand that the Shade Lord

is some kind of conscious void being unlike
anything we’ve really seen before.

Now there are more examples we could look
at, but hopefully you can see what I’m getting

at.

Focusing for many characters in Hollow Knight
means the use of one’s mind in some capacity.

The scholars of the Soul Sanctum strained
their minds to try and attain a pure focus,

and the Godseekers used their focus in a way
to ascend their minds.

Let’s use that framework when interpreting
this final line from the most cryptic bastard

in this whole game: Mask Maker:
A wonderful thing to have, a face.

Not a thing with which we all are blessed.

For this kingdom's faceless, I shall provide.

A mask!

A face!

Does it need one?

Does it not?

To define.

To focus.

To exist.

The Mask Maker is basically equating being
able to focus with having a face.

To have a face means to exist.

So if we say that focusing means having a
mind, then the Mask Maker is saying that a

face is required in order to have a mind.

I know that sounds stupid and dumb, but if
you think about it philisophically, it makes

sense.

Having senitience or consciousness is paramount
to having a sense of self.

And what represents the concept of the self
better than the face?

There’s a parallel between this line from
Mask Maker and the lore tablet in the King’s

Pass.

Both establish the idea that not everyone
is capable of focusing, or in other words,

not everyone has a face.

Focusing allows you to achieve feats others
can only dream of, while having a face (which

lets you focus) is not something with which
all are blessed.

So in other words, this lore tablet might
be saying that Hallownest grants bugs “faces”

which allow them to think.

I know that might sound strange, but it actually
ties nicely into the second King’s Pass

lore tablet:
Within our lands do not hide your true form.

Let all bask in your majesty, for only this
kingdom could produce ones such as you.

What does true form mean?

Well the phrase “true form” is only used
in two other places in the game.

It is used in the Pure Nail description, as
well as the Ancient Mask description.

The Ancient Mask description reads:
A complete mask.

When whole, a mask protects its wearer, shielding
the true form beneath.

So this second tablet could be implying that
the reader might be wearing some kind of mask

in order to hide their true form.

They might be wearing this mask as a way to
be able to define, focus and exist, as Mask

Maker explains.

But this tablet is telling the reader that
their mask is no longer needed, implying that

this “face” is now provided by Hallownest
itself.

Now I know what you’re thinking.

What the hell is mossbag talking about?

Is he on bath salts again?

How does wearing a mask or having a face help
you focus?

And how does entering Hallownest affect any
of that.

Let’s look at the first lore tablet again;
the one that tells the reader to “focus

your soul”.

Now, the use of the word soul here might connect
to the Elegy for Hallownest.

At one point the poem states that Hallownest
tamed the “savage souls” of its subjects.

Perhaps this focusing of the soul is how this
taming occurs.

In other words, Hallownest grants bugs the
ability to focus their own souls, turning

them from savages to civilized bugs.

This resulted in the expansion of their minds,
as stated in the throne room tablet.

This line of thinking implies that bugs outside
of Hallownest can’t focus their souls as

well, which could be what we see in the Quirrel
comic.

The bugs in the wilderness must forgo higher
thought in order to adapt to the harsh conditions

of the land.

The Elegy of Hallownest also states that bugs’
“base instincts were redeemed”.

In other words, these bugs have unfavorable
instincts, but the Pale King’s beacon makes

up for these flaws, allowing the bugs to show
their true forms without shame.

However, it seems like some of these bugs
that wandered the wilderness wore masks, since

the second King’s Pass tablet mentions how
these bugs would hide their true forms.

We do see travelers wearing mask ingame, particularly
the Grimm Troupe and the Godseekers.

But I don’t know how representative these
characters are of the bugs that routinely

traveled to Hallownest.

Okay, so you just witnessed a bunch of mental
gymnastics there.

These last several minutes were dedicated
solely to trying to explain the “focus your

soul” line.

And to be perfectly honest, part of me wonders
if Team Cherry even intended half of these

connections I just made.

The fact that they changed that line of dialogue
about the Void being given focus may indicate

that a lot of this stuff might be pretty vague,
even to them.

But if we take a step back, I think this concept
still makes sense in a broader view.

Basically you need a “face” in order to
achieve higher thought, or to have an identity.

But not everyone is blessed with this naturally,
as some numbskulls are only capable of relying

on instinct to survive.

However, some would wear masks as a way to
supplement their savage nature.

But then the Pale King came along and promised
a world where masks weren’t needed.

He granted a “face” to bugs outright,
giving them the ability to control their savage

nature and achieve higher thought.

And now we come to the final lore tablet,
located right outside the sealed up door to

Hallownest:
Beyond this point you enter the land of King

and Creator.

Step across this threshold and obey our laws.

Bear witness to the last and only civilisation,
the eternal Kingdom.

Hallownest
Now this tablet specifically makes it clear

to me that these lore tablets are directed
at newcomers to the kingdom and not the vessels

or the player directly.

These tablets were likely erected during Hallownest’s
prime, whereas the vessels would have probably

appeared much, much later after the kingdom
fell.

And why would the Pale King be telling us
to obey Hallownest’s laws?

What, is he expecting me to pay taxes or something?

But of course, there is another problem with
this tablet that we need to discuss.

The Pale King calls Hallownest the “last
and only civiliszation”.

But we know that was a fucking lie because
there’s Pharloom, as well as wherever it

is Ze’mer is from.

So is the Pale King just unaware of these
other kingdoms, or is he purposefully lying

to the bugs entering Hallownest?

I wouldn’t be surprised if the Pale King
were being a bit dishonest here.

After all, his whole motivation appears to
be based on accruing worshippers to devote

themselves to him.

His servants even thought that he created
the world and everything in it, which obviously

isn’t true.

And that pretty much wraps up these tablets.

I should take a moment to address a few counter
arguments to my theory.

In the Wanderer’s Journal, the character
Ellina remarks the following when standing

next to the locked door in the Ancient Basin:
If only I could decipher the message on the

tablet next to the door, perhaps I could figure
out how to open it.

This dialogue might imply that Ellina is completely
incapable of reading the lore tablet, which,

just like the King’s Pass tablets, begins
with the phrase about Higher beings.

Is it because my assumption about what “Higher
beings” means in this context is wrong?

Is it because the text is written in a language
that Ellina can’t read?

My interpretation is that Ellina can read
this tablet, however, she can’t decipher

what the Pale King’s message means.

Perhaps she thinks that she could open the
door if she understood what regrets were hidden

in the Abyss.

Another explanation might be that bugs with
higher intelligence already, like Ellina,

can’t read these tablets because they only
appear to bugs whose minds were actually elevated

by Hallownest.

Regardless, I don’t think this sentence
from Ellina has to debunk the whole theory.

Another issue is how bugs like Zote, Cornifer,
Iselda, and Tiso are perfectly capable of

traversing the lands beyond Hallownest without
seemingly needing to wear masks.

My theory doesn’t really do anything to
address this problem, but it might be due

to what species of bugs these characters are.

Mask Maker mentions that only some bugs are
blessed with a face.

Maybe these characters are born with higher
thought and don’t need any help to show

intelligence.

I mean, Cornifer is obviously smart, the dude
wears glasses after all.

Or maybe I am completely misunderstanding
what masks actually do.

After all, none of what I’ve talked about
answers why the Mask Maker has those anime

swirly void eye things.

Like seriously what the fuck are those?

And does that play any roll into why he is
wearing a mask?

And that leaves a few questions about other
bugs in Hallownest as well.

Did the Vengeflies become Higher beings, or
are they still dumb as rocks even with the

Pale King’s beacon?

What about the bugs of Deepnest?

It’s unclear if they are in the beacon,
since Deepnest technically isn’t part of

Hallownest.

Are these bugs just naturally intelligent?

Midwife seems to think so, but she might be
a bit biased.

This would also imply that Mantises, Mushrooms
and some of the bees already had the intelligence

to focus their soul before the Pale King arrived.

Which makes it odd that this is never really
mentioned anywhere in the game.

We just kinda have to assume that they could
do this.

And that’s it for this video.

In general, I think it’s a compelling argument,
but remember, just because something is compelling,

that doesn’t mean it’s right.

That’s how you get cults like Scientology
and the NSA, the United States Bowling Congress.