User:Pauolo/sandbox

= Hallownest Groups = The lands of Hallownest are filled by several groups of strange creatures. They occupy various territories around the vast kingdom and developed their own societies and cultures aside from the Pale King's rule.

The Moth Tribe
The moths are an ancient tribe of bugs learned in the manipulation of Essence and the mystic realms of Dreams. They possess the Dream Nail, an artefact which can peer into the mind of others, extract Soul from living creatures and allow its wielder's consciousness to enter their dreams. With this knowledge, the moths also crafted Charms such as the Dream Wielder to reinforce the Dream Nail' abilities, and the Dreamshield to protect its bearer. Like the Snail Shamans, they can sense when their thoughts are intruded upon.

The moths were birthed from the light of the Radiance, a Higher Being of Essence living outside the physical realm. Despite their worship of the Radiance, they rallied the Pale King's will. Through their newfound devotion, they eventually forgot the Radiance, which sealed her away. This crime led to the wrath of this powerful being, who would force the Kingdom's bugs to remember her and be the cause of the Infection.

Under the king's rule, the Moth tribe were caretakers of the Resting Grounds, tending to graves in this place of remembrance for the Kingdom's departed ones. They eventually closed off the Spirits' Glade, where essence took the shape and memories of departed bugs and forbade its entry. There, the Moths would also record otherworldly words inside the Shrine of Believers, a lingering dream watched over by a lone moth spirit. An abandoned place of worship to the Radiance still exists in Hallownest's Crown at the top of the Crystal Peak, far above the Resting Grounds.

The moths are usually a passive species, with two exceptions. Thistlewind wielded a weapon to explore the caverns of Hallownest. The warrior Markoth did the same but died alone far in the Kingdom's Edge, never to be found before the Knight's journey. Of the tribe, however, only the Seer remains. She keeps the traditions and duties of her brethren in the Resting Grounds, awaiting the Wielder once dreamed of by the moths.

The Seer rescues the Knight when their consciousness is dragged into a forgotten dream by the Dreamers. Believing them to be the Wielder, she guides them to use the Dream Nail to collect Essence and awake Hallownest's memories, in penitence of the tribe's crimes. When the Knight hones the Dream Nail to its limit, the Seer finally confesses to them the Moths' abandon of the Radiance. With this last memory finally shared, she remembers the Radiance and disappears into Essence, bringing an end to the Moth tribe.

The Snail Shamans
The Snail Shamans are a mysterious tribe of snail creatures with a natural affinity to cast SOUL spells. Their knowledge of SOUL allows them to craft charms to draw Soul from still-living creatures or increase the power of spells. Because of these abilities, one of them was captured by the scholars of the Soul Sanctum and experimented on. They can also sense when their dreams are read with a Dream Nail, and dissipate their own remains to leave behind their spells.

The shamans are reclusive, and meditate in mounds hidden away in the Forgotten Crossroads, the Fog Canyon and the Crystal Peak. They also have a crypt in the catacombs below the Resting Grounds. They however never ventured down the Abyss, despite its connection to the civilization who left Soul Totems scattered throughout Hallownest.

Only one of them can be found alive by the time of the Knight's journey. While he is eager to help those seeking him out, he ignores the fate of his brethren and family, being bound to his mound.

The Mosskin Tribe
The Mosskins are a tribe of bugs covering themselves in moss and leaves, living in Greenpath. They let the Pale King build roads throughout their lush caves, but warned that anything straying from them would be subject to their laws. They also chose to stay away from the Queen's Gardens, once an extension of their territory, claimed by the White Lady. Unlike the Moth tribe, however, they kept their faith.

According to the Mosskins' faith, the vegetation in Greenpath and the Queen's Gardens, as well as themselves, appeared from a dream of Unn, a higher being. They revere each plant in these caverns as the will of the mysterious creature and believe their prosperity is tied to the vegetation's state. They also believe that Unn will one day call them back to their dream.

Despite their primitive appearance, the Mosskins are evolved enough to carve and leave tablets scattered across their territory. They built a temple to their faith on the shores of the Lake of Unn, where the Higher Being used to appear. The path to the lake is protected by Moss Knights, Mosskins trained in wielding Nail and Shell.

The Infection is driving them mad, aggravated by the disappearance of Unn. They believe the vegetation in Greenpath is dying and must be protected from intruders until Unn calls them. A group of Mossy Vagabonds forsook their faith and duties in favour of the Radiance and her light. Led by the Moss Prophet, they congregate in the Moss Chapel below the Queen's Gardens and will defend him with their lives. These strayed Mosskins eventually all die of the Infection as the Knight progresses through their journey.

The Fungal Tribe
The Fungals are a species of sentient mushroom-like beings, neither bugs nor plants. They took residence in the Fungal Wastes bordering both the City of Tears and the Deepnest, where they can hide among the scenery. These territorial creatures possess a hive mind and developed their own language. Both their language and the Lore Tablets they leave can be translated by wearing the Spore Shroom charm.

Fungals can evolve, from the young and inoffensive Shrumelings to the more dangerous Shrumal Warriors and Ogres. A giant unconscious Fungal creature can also be found at the heart of the Fungal Core. While they accepted the rule of the Kingdom of Hallownest for the prescience of the Pale King, they opposed incursions of Deepnest's beasts on their territory. Like most of the Kingdom, they were affected by the Infection and will attack any intruder to protect their young ones.

While they share a mushroom-like appearance and the same language, Mister Mushroom is not one of them. He has a mind of his own and his own agenda throughout Hallownest. Though the Lore Tablet in Kingdom's Edge suggests some sort of worship by the mushrooms with Mister Mushroom as the deity.

The Mantis Village
The Mantises in Hallownest form a tribe of proud and ferocious bugs. These naturally-born fighters built the Mantis Village deep within the Fungal Wastes. Led by the Mantis Lords, they defend their territories from intruders with their lives. Their flying youths are compelled to prove their strength before becoming warriors. However, they all come to respect any who would defeat their leaders in honourable combat, and give them the freedom to enter their territory.

Despite being opposed to the Kingdom of Hallownest, the Mantises concluded a truce with them. They also agreed to keep the beasts of Deepnest at bay, of which their village is at the border of. At some point, Elder Hu believed the Infection spread to their village and tried to purify it. He was killed by the Mantises after attacking them, not realizing his own madness driven by the Infection.

The Mantis Traitors
Unlike most other species in Hallownest, the Mantises are able to resist the Infection. Their defiance towards it, however, forces them to outcast any who would be affected by it. the Traitor Lord chose to embrace the Infection and opposed his three sisters. He was forced to exile along with other youth and warrior followers.

The traitors set tents in the lower part of the Queen's Gardens, but the Infection which gave them new strength also drove them mad. They placed marks throughout the abandoned gardens while claiming them as their territory. They tried to drive out the White Lady of her sanctuary but failed to do so because of the great knight Dryya protecting her. Nonetheless, they continue surviving in the overgrown gardens, fiercely attacking any intruders on their path. Some of them also became fighters at the Colosseum of Fools.

The Soul Sanctum's Scholars
The bugs of the Soul Sanctum are highly intelligent scholars who served the Kingdom of Hallownest. They researched ways to expand the mind and attain pure focus, secluded in their spire in the kingdom's capital. When the kingdom's minds became plagued by the Infection, the Soul Master, head of the sanctum, sought its cure in the soul, the energy animating bugs and beasts alike. He refused to listen to the Pale King opposing his work, failing to realize that his own infected mind was influencing him.

In their madness, the scholars consumed souls, convinced it would lead them to immortality. These experiments had their share of failures, deforming some of them into formless Mistakes and Follies. More successful ones retained their physical integrity, becoming supernaturally skilled Soul Twisters and Warriors. All but the Soul Master suffered, however, the progressive loss of their self, lost among the countless souls they consumed.

The infected scholars kept hoarding souls as the Kingdom fell. They gathered Soul Totems and many bugs from which to harvest the vital energy. They eventually used the furthest rooms of the Sanctum to unceremoniously discard the ancient structures as well as the husks of their victims. They even captured a Snail Shaman to forcefully steal its soul abilities.

Unlike the kingdom's bugs, the scholars survived the fall of Hallownest. Some of them remained in the Soul Sanctum and attack any intruder, with the Soul Master still clinging to the Infection's false promise of immortality. Others, although also infected, joined the Colosseum of Fools as fighters. The Volt Twisters, in particular, adapted the teachings of the sanctum to evolve their abilities and continue fighting or meditating in seclusion.

The Flukes
The Flukes are a species of worm-like parasitic creatures who took over the Royal Waterways. They stay in the City's sewers for their calm and dampness, and don't venture past it. Most of the Flukes encountered are affected by the Infection. Like other infected creatures, they display violent behaviour towards intruders on their territory.

Flukes are primitive, not completely mindless, but neither do they have the full ability to think. With the exception of the uninfected Fluke Hermit, they don't seem to have any other purpose other than to reproduce and grow. They also understand the concept of family. Their mother, Flukemarm, cannot move from her cave below the waterways and keeps breeding more and more Flukes. The Infection also made her noticeably angrier, enough to scare away the Fluke Hermit.

Flukes usually wander the waterways looking for anything to eat. The Fluke Hermit, however, lives aside with some younger Flukes in the Junk Pit. She is also the only Fluke encountered by the Knight with whom they can communicate with.

The Nest
The beasts of Deepnest are arachnids in appearance and used to be one of the most intelligent species in the land of Hallownest. Unlike the Pale King's Kingdom, the Nest was led by a king of honoured caste, but a queen of common descent, Herrah the Beast. She outlived her consort but her followers, Little Weavers, Stalking Devouts and Weavers, continued serving both their queen and the Nest with devotion.

The creatures of the Nest lived in the Distant Village, houses of silk suspended in a deep cavern at the far end of Deepnest. Their brood was however tended to by creatures such as the Midwife, one of which survived the Infection and hides deep below the village. The Weavers, talented silk crafters, were not natives of Hallownest and resided in their own den, hidden at the heart of Deepnest.

The Nest kept their territory bound at the edge of Deepnest and defended it with hostility against the Fungal Tribe. They also rejected the rule of Hallownest, such as violently forcing the Kingdom to cease the construction of a tram line throughout the upper part of their territory. The Mantis Tribe kept the Nest's beasts away from pushing further, following a truce with the Kingdom.

Eventually, the Pale King was able to bargain with Herrah the Beast for her help in containing the Infection plaguing Hallownest. The Distant Village was also linked to the kingdom's Stagways, although its station was never visited by the Last Stag before the Knight's journey. With her consort dead, Herrah had a daughter with the Pale King, Hornet, to perpetuate the Nest's rule. In exchange, the queen became a Dreamer to seal the Hollow Knight, the Vessel containing the Infection. Yet, this sacrifice proved unsuccessful and the Nest found itself infected nonetheless.

Hornet left the Nest, but would eventually return, seeking answers throughout the doomed land of Hallownest. The Weavers also left Deepnest to return to their old home outside Hallownest. Herrah's surviving followers continue to protect her by hunting intruders, their mind clouded by the Infection. The Distant Village itself grew silent, with the exception of the Beast's Den serving as a deadly trap for unfortunate wanderers.

The Fools
The fools are a group of warrior beasts and bugs, lured by the promise of glory at the Colosseum of Fools. Despite being affected by the Infection, they keep their resolve and viciously fight to death in the Trials, much to the amusement the observing crowd. However, they remain passive outside the arena, unlike other infected creatures.

The Fools are mainly divided into four classes: Shielded Fools, Sturdy Fools, Winged Fools and Heavy Fools. They fight among creatures raised and trained in the Colosseum. The God Tamer, the Colosseum's champion, is the only one to ride a beast. They are also joined by fighters from other parts of Hallownest, such as scholars from the Soul Sanctum and traitors from the Mantis Tribe.

Zote, Tiso and the Pale Lurker are the only fighters of the Colosseum to not be infected. The latter, a forgotten Fool champion, lost her sanity and hides among the Colosseum's kennels.

The Bees
The residents of the Hive, below the Kingdom's Edge, are a species of sentient bees. These airborne warriors possess a hive mind which dictates their behaviour among the Hive. Hivelings carry out simple tasks, and can colonize husks to serve the Hive's purpose. Soldiers and Guardians defend the Hive against intruders. Lastly, the flightless but fierce Hive Knight acts as the last rampart before their monarch, the Hive Queen Vespa, who grew so huge she couldn't leave the Hive.

The Hive attacks any intruder who doesn't wield their blood. They also rejected the Pale King's philosophy of evolution and, deemed a threat to the Kingdom of Hallownest, were walled off it. Despite their isolation, Vespa's death weakened the Hive, allowing the Infection to spread through. The infected residents never realized the death of their queen. Their corrupted hive mind dictated to defend her tirelessly, much to the sadness of their queen's spirit.

The Grimm Troupe
The Grimm Troupe are a joyous group of travelling performer bugs of various species. Their colour theme is red, and they all wear white masks with vertical splits crossing their eyes. The known members are the Troupe Master, the charming Grimm himself, the accordion player Brumm and Divine, as well as a couple of Grimmsteeds.

In truth, the Troupe are slaves to the Nightmare's Heart, a being born from Nightmares, and tied to a perpetual Ritual to sustain it. They travel through dreams wherever an acolyte has set and lit a Nightmare Lantern, but will be banished from it if it is destroyed. There, Grimmkin Novices, Grimmkin Masters and Grimmkin Nightmares travel to harvest flames of Nightmares and feed them to a Grimmchild. Once the child reaches maturation, the Nightmare King, Grimm's Nightmare alter ego, must be killed to sustain the Nightmare Heart, and then be reborn anew.

The Grimm Troupe enters Hallownest once the Knight has lit the abandoned Nightmare Lantern in the Howling Cliffs, placed by a dead acolyte. They set their tents in Dirtmouth, under the anxious looks of the local inhabitants. There, Grimm offers the Knight to take part in the Ritual, and entrust them with the Grimmchild. The Knight must guide it through Hallownest and take the Nightmare flames from the Grimmkins. Grimm also indulges them in a fiery fight for an audience of Grimmkins and rewards them for their performance.

As the Ritual reaches its end, Brumm offers the Knight a choice. Either they complete the Ritual by killing the Nightmare King, or they banish the Troupe and so cease the profanation of Hallownest's memories. Whichever path the Knight takes, the Grimm Troupe vanishes from Dirtmouth. Nymm, an amnesic bug bearing resemblance to Brumm, will linger in Dirtmouth if they were banished.

The Godseekers
The Godseekers are a travelling group of masked bugs looking for gods, powerful beings they rever for their strength and powers. They can focus their mind to attune with other living creatures, but also make them ascend to a higher state. This tribe share a collective mind and only exist as Essence beings, with the exception of one. They live inside her mind, in the dream realm of Godhome.

The Godseekers originate from a distant place, the Land of Storms, turned void of life but themselves. Their gods either died or abandoned them, which prompted them to travel and seek new ones. At some point, they merged within the mind of a single Godseeker, who bears Godhome with her thoughts. This feat is possible through a special kind of mask, passed along other Godseekers. They also built a temporary tuning device in order to find the resonance of other powerful beings in distant lands, and where to steer their journey.

The current Godseeker harbouring the tribe ended up in Hallownest, following the remnants of the Pale King's power. With the King's vanishing and the other Higher Beings of the Kingdom gone silent, she hopes to attune instead to the Radiance. For this, she uses the Godtuner to attune the mind or essence of Hallownest's most powerful creatures to Godhome, where they can become gods. There, the Godseekers observe their fights within the pantheons. With each fight, they aim to ascend to and commune with even higher, out-of-reach creatures, until reaching the Radiance, the "God of Gods".

During her quest, the Godseeker was forced to go into hibernation for unknown reasons, which prompted her physical metamorphosis. She ended up in a chained sarcophagus-like cocoon and washed away down the Royal Waterways. The Knight finds her in the Junk Pit and can take part in the tribe's ritual of ascension. By defeating the Pure Vessel, they allow the Radiance to be attuned to Godhome and ascend to a higher state. If the Knight succeeds in taking down the Absolute Radiance, they ascend by merging with the Void, giving it focus. This dark entity then consumes both the tribe and the Godseeker.