Forgotten Crossroads

"Still winding your way through these beautiful highways? Just imagine how they must have looked during the kingdom's height, thick with traffic and bustling with life!"

- Cornifer

The Forgotten Crossroads is an area below Dirtmouth. Its highways and caverns connect to many others areas in Hallownest.

Description

Located right below the surface, the Forgotten Crossroads consists of many caverns and roads. Fossilised remains of bugs cover the surfaces of the caverns, with pale ferns growing through cracks in the ground. The Temple of the Black Egg is located near the entrance to the well in Dirtmouth in the northeast of the area. Two bosses can be fought within, the Hollow Knight and the Radiance. Quirrel can also be encountered here. In the northwest of the area is Grubhome, home to Grubfather.

South of this room is an area hidden by a breakable wall where Brooding Mawlek can be fought. The east of the area has two connections to Crystal Peak. Myla is mining the crystals at the upper connection. This part of the Crossroads also has a Tram connection to the Resting Grounds.

The boss False Knight can be found in the centre of the Forgotten Crossroads, with Ancestral Mound located west of that. In the south of the Crossroads is a Hot Spring, and east of that is the boss Gruz Mother, who is sleeping in a church. The Charm merchant Salubra is located in the southeast of the area. In the abandoned village near her, Sly can be rescued in one of the houses.

Lore The highways and crossroads of the Forgotten Crossroads used to be bustling with life. Many travellers and traders passed through the area as it had many connections to the rest of Hallownest. The Pilgrim's Way, a road leading to the City of Tears, started in the west of the Crossroads. Due to the Infection and the passage of time, all travel through the Crossroads ceased. It is now an empty place overrun with wild beasts and reanimated Hallownest citizens.

How to access

The Forgotten Crossroads can be accessed by going down the well in Dirtmouth.

Sub-area: Ancestral Mound
An ancient temple constructed from bones and shells, Ancestral Mound is a snail shaman mound inhabited by the Snail Shaman. He grants the Vengeful Spirit spell. After obtaining the spell, the Knight will fall unconscious and awaken behind a locked gate. Killing the Elder Baldur in this area will open this gate. After this, Greenpath can be accessed by killing the Elder Baldur guarding its entrance.

Sub-Area: Temple Of The Black Egg
The Temple of the Black Egg is a temple located near the entrance to Dirtmouth. The outside of the temple was made from the shell of an ancient bug. In the centre of the temple lies a black, stone egg, adorned with the three masks of the Dreamers.

To stop the Infection, the Hollow Knight was sealed in this egg after sealing away the Radiance. In the past, some bugs went to the temple to pray, but they stopped going there after some time.

Initially, access to the Black Egg is blocked by a seal on the entrance. After killing all three Dreamers, this seal is broken and the entrance is opened. This area grants access to the Hollow Knight and the Radiance boss fights. The ability World Sense can be acquired from the lore tablet next to the Bench.

Infected Crossroads
After either acquiring Monarch Wings or killing one of the Dreamers, the Infection will have spread through the Crossroads and remains so for the rest of the story, with orange pustules of goo appearing in the environment. Navigation becomes more difficult due to the Infection closing off certain paths (Two passages will have been completely sealed off by the Infection making them inaccessible as labelled on the map). In addition, most of the standard enemies are replaced by new, stronger variants.

When the Crossroads become infected, the door to the west of Ancestral Mound will automatically be opened, even if the lever to open it has not been hit.

Aspid Nest
This room can be accessed above the path to False Knight's area.

The Aspid's nest appears heavily infected even before triggering Infected Crossroads. It contains Aspid Hunters and Aspid Mothers. When first entering the Knight will be locked in the room and will have to fight small waves of Aspids.

After the challenge being accomplished, blobs of infections will burst giving access to a giant Aspid Mother's corpse on which the Glowing Womb charm can be acquired.

Deserted Village
This room can be easily accessed after defeating the Gruz Mother.

This deserted village, like most of the Forgotten Crossroads, is heavily infected after obtaining the Monarch Wings or defeating one of the Dreamers. This small area has three accessible dwellings: A small deserted hut, where a small semi-infected Sly can be found, Menderbug's house, and Salubra's shop, which boasts a large array of charms and notches.

One of the more permanent residents of this small village, Salubra, when first met will remark to the Knight on how the village is "lovely" and "full of life", insinuating that Salubra is unaware of the infection and the kingdom's fall.

Trivia

 * In the beta for Hollow Knight, the Ancestral Mound was originally called the Shrine of Souls.
 * In the beta for Hollow Knight, the Black Egg was leaking Infection, which only happens in the Infected Crossroads in the release version.
 * The beta also shows an early map of the Forgotten Crossroads. This map is shown in the Ferocious Foes trailer too.

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