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Myth makes Echo the subject of longing and desire. Physics makes Echo the subject of distance and design. Where emotion and reason are concerned both claims are accurate. And where there is no Echo there is no description of space or love. There is only silence.

Hollow Knight / House of Leaves, Mark Z. Danielewski

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9lana - propose

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a game i hold close to my heart, i love to doodle it from time to time

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balatrogundala?

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Sly's Past in the Crossroads

I coulda sworn I put this on my blog but perhaps I mix it up with all those times I've told people on Discord so XD here we are. Theory post time.

Sly used to live in the Crossroads, in that little village where you first find him. I think this for a few reasons.

First, I must speak of Sly's age.

The stasis seems to have some odd effects on bugs, some of which seem to have lived a long time. I'm just assuming that aspect of stasis for this post. Sly trained the Nailmasters, and is almost certainly older than them. Some of Sheo's dialog has him speak of the Great Knights (and sculpt them). He seems quite familiar, at least for someone with an interest in the kingdom's warriors. But according to Lemm, "Both [the Great Knight's] names and appearance seem to have been expunged from history." So it seems Sheo, and by extension Sly, are old enough to have been around during Hallownest's heyday, perhaps centuries ago.

This raises an interesting contradiction. The game manual calls Elderbug "the oldest resident of Dirtmouth". Dirtmouth, it seems, has been living on the edge of the Kingdom, free of the stasis. Elderbug looks and acts old, but he's just....normal old, not supernaturally old like Sly. He doesn't know what Hallownest was like long ago except in stories. When you open the stag station in Dirtmouth, he says "That building lay silent since before even my time."

So, what to do with this discrepancy? Surely Team Cherry could never make a mistake, could they?? If Sly was originally from somewhere else, perhaps that could explain the wording that Elderbug is Dirtmouth's oldest.

(I've heard some say there are some mistakes in the game manual as compared to the game XD it could be for this but that's not all I have here for my theory)

We find Sly in that little village, the same one where we find Gruz Mother and Salubra, in a house that's falling apart. He's partially infected, though Ghost is able to break him out of his haze. Bugs become infected through their dreams. Bardoon says:

I resist the light's allure. Union it may offer, but also a mind bereft of thought… To instinct alone a bug is reduced…

We see reference to the instinctual state of bugs as well in a few entries of the Hunter's Journal, such as guards continuing to act as guards. Sly is not as far gone, but I had to wonder. Why does dream lead him there? To a village that's mostly dead? He thinks of Oro, his past pupil, and whoever Esmy is (I think another prior (and probably dead) pupil, but that's for another post). When Ghost breaks him out of his early state of infection, he says:

…I see. This old village. What a strange dream, to have led me down here! If you hadn't found me, I don't think I would've ever woken.

He seems to recognize it instantly, even from the inside of a broken house. I think he used to live there, in that same house. A place he knew well, ingrained in him deeper than his current house (and life) in Dirtmouth. Where even if half asleep his feet could carry him there on instinct.

...Lastly. I think. I think Sly and Salubra used to be dating XDDDDDD sorry I am subjecting you all to this. But I have reason to believe it. Or at least that they were flirty in the past.

I think Salubra talks to Ghost somewhat like she used to talk to Sly. She calls Ghost a "gadfly" a couple of times. And this word has a few meanings. One is literally a kind of fly, and Sly is a fly as well. Another is "social butterfly", which could be what Salubra is thinking of (especially with calling Ghost "stylish" and "dapper" alongside the word). BUT THE THIRD DEFINITION--

WHO'S MORE OF A BLOODSUCKER THAN SLY LOLLLLLLL

I rest my case, Salubra used to call Sly her dapper gadfly, Slylubra canon

.

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(ahem, my primary evidence is mostly the dream instinct aspect as far as Sly's former home, but shhhh Sly/Salubra is clearly the most important outcome of the lore XD)

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Resting Grounds

Disclaimer: I am not an expert on architecture I am simply pointing out what I can see for the purpose of speculating or art references. Also, some talks about graveyards and methods of burial, so read with caution if the topic is sensitive at the moment. I send my best wishes.

Let's continue with a small yet important area: The Resting Grounds. This area is known for being the place of rest for deceased bugs of Hallownest, and home of the moths. Here we will see what elements stand out to this area and what we can infer from them.

First of all I wanted to show images of the entrance from the tram, the City of Tears and the Stag Station, which are some of the more... traditional ways to reach this areas for those who don't want to find out if they have fall damage.

Here we can see the average elements we expect we associate with Hallownest's architecture, followed by a big gate under a curved arc with a spike on top. The gate was left semi open.

The stag station shares a lot on common with others, except for two elements: those hanging pieces that seem to end on a bell, and the walls with masks carved. Those two elements are present all throughout this area and are unique to it.

This is the sign shown from the bottom entrance, connected to the City of Tears. The sign shows.... those "A" shaped icons (*sigh*), below the essence symbol. Surrounding the area are a few short pillars with a spiral segmentation.

Here we can get a glimpse into the vertical room that serves as a hub. The locked door at the top shows a round shape, reminiscent of the essence particles (which are in turn based on dreamcatchers, an object made by the Ojibwe culture). One can see this imagery present on the room where you pick up Dreamshield, whispering roots and the sign shown above.

(Ironically, dreamcatchers are associated with arthropods, except not moths, but spiders. I fully recommend reading more on their origin from Ojibwe or other Native American sources though, to be mindful of how we use symbols.)

Moving back: The other elements that stand out from this image are that the fences here are not shaped after the Pale King, but the Radiance. The biggest giveaways are the three pointed "crown" at the top, the curves that could represent her wings and the bottom vertical lines, resembling her lower body. Besides this, ledges are not decorated with Hallownest's usual symbols, but with masks.

I'm inclined to believe this is the main cavern designated for tombs, where most bugs would expect to leave their remains. If you look closer, you can see I've pointed to 5 different designs for tombstones. Most of them are quite simple, likely just displaying the name of the bug/family buried in a place. Maybe some could afford some other kind of sculpture above their graves, or it is given to members of a guild (which is the case in real life, actually). Below Xero's arena we can see what could be niches. They are a method of above-ground entombment which as far as I know, tend to be used for less time than underground burials.

This screenshot is very interesting because it shows the monument to the Dreamers, but behind it we see a pair of... horn-like structure, which we see when we enter the Dream Realm in the context of destroying the Dreamers or fighting the Radiance. This room also has bigger structure seen in the far background, but I would not be able to discern whether they are meant to be homes for any inhabitants nearby, or mausoleums.

This is a photo of the crypts, which remain overall neglected, housing belflies, some sources of geo and priced objects. Entombed husks also roam the area, which prove two things: a) bugs' bodies were wrapped to be preserved, and b) yes the infection can make long dead bugs active again. Now, I would... speculate a few possible reasons for the crypts being what they are. First one is that it is simply an older part of the Resting Grounds and is reflective of past traditions, and the second is that this is a common burial zone, which would be where the remains of long dead bugs would end up on. As far as I know... this is a practice some places have to be able to clear space for other families, often done close to a century after death. Any possibility is fine.

I also discussed with a mutual about the possibility of preserving the bodies being related to their tie to dreams because of their spirits, which could be supported by Markoth or Galien emerging from their bodies, but that's as much as we could say.

Finally: this is an area hidden in the Spirit's Glade, showing the only monuments that directly portray moths in the entire map. This area is hidden behind a calm waterfall that provides water for the Resting Grounds. As you can see, each statue differs in size but have the same shape overall. The item collected here is a King's Idol.

I hope this was helpful! If you have anything else to add feel free to do so

Other posts that you may be interested in:

Forgotten Cossroads

The Snail Shaman's Mounds

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I'm so glad to see Lost Kin and Greenpath! I don't see little Greenpath as much as Kin!

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i don't do much art anymore, but today I got a sudden motivation to try wood burning for the first time

the lines are messy, and I inhaled a lot of smoke, but I think overall it's kinda cute

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loooove all those fanarts of the hollow knight having fun. picking up its little siblings? aw! placing its chin between hornets horns? cute! wearing a dress? stunning! and then i remember

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my favourite area :]

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You know this audio that goes like

"Truth or dare?" "Truth" "When was the last time you slept?" "...dare" "GO TO SLEEP" "I don't like this game"

Hornet and Hollow

I could NOT get this image out of my head shchcjffj

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Give Hollow head pats too! Poor thing wouldn't know how to react to someone giving it love.

Strange Human Greeting. 💕

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dreamers discuss their shared fate

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Here's an edit I made to show off Lurien's height on the ground. He's actually taller than the average bug, which would be impressive...

If the ladies didn't exist. And for further demonstration...

An edit I made for Herrah on the ground and Monomon sitting instead of floating.

And a Pale King for good measure.

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I just watched Hallownest Ode by F-N-Chabry on YouTube. Holy shit. If anyone here is interested in Hollow Knight content, especially ones that focus on the Vessels, their story, and the theme of overcoming trauma, please watch it. It’s the WHOLE story of Hollow Knight smoothly animated to music, with a focus on Ghost themself.