Protagonists | Hallownest (Groups, Assorted NPCs, Historic Characters, Bosses) | Pharloom | Expanded Universe
Pharloom
They see your beauty, so frail and fine,
They see your peace, woven of faith and toil,
They forget your heart, bound in slumber and servitude,
When you wake they shall see your truth,
A beast's nature bare to all.
They see your peace, woven of faith and toil,
They forget your heart, bound in slumber and servitude,
When you wake they shall see your truth,
A beast's nature bare to all.
— "Pharloom's Folly", The Conductor Romino
The kingdom Hornet traverses in Hollow Knight: Silksong. Haunted "by silk and song", Pharloom is dedicated to faith and pilgrimage.
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Pharloom Inhabitants
The many creatures who have made their home in the mysterious land of Pharloom. Shakra
Shakra
A warrior who has mastered the Craft-Skill of cartography.
- Distaff Counterpart: To Cornifer from the first game, taking his role as the map maker.
- I Will Find You: She is searching for her missing master, who vanished under strange circumstances.
The Forge-Daughter
The Forge-Daughter
"If you have the materials, we can make whatever you desire. Until then, you must leave us to our work."
The Forge-Daughter, when spoken to
A large bug working in the Deep Docks. For the right price, she can craft tools and traps for Hornet.
- Apathetic Citizens: Seems to find relatively little concern that most of the dock workers seem to have lost their minds somehow, noting they're continuing to get their work done despite being 'all riled up'.
- Bad Boss: She'll laugh if Hornet attacks her assistant, Ballow. It's uncertain how pleasant or unpleasant their relationship is, as when encountered, they seem to be having an (unsubtitled) pleasant conversation.
- Everybody Calls Him "Barkeep": "Forge-Daughter" may be a title rather than a name considering how she gives it.
- Royal "We": She uses the "royal we" to refer to herself, though it's unclear if she's really royalty.
- The Blacksmith: Seems to be the weapon merchant for the game, and claims to come from a long line of them, though she insists that she is not "hardly so crude" as a mere smith.
- Verbal Tic: She uses the Royal "We" to refer to herself.
Ballow
Ballow
"Talk to the boss!"
Ballow, when spoken to
The Forge-Daughter's assistant, a friendly variant of an enemy found in the Deep Docks.
- Mook–Face Turn: He may look like one of the enemies found in the Deep Docks, but Ballow isn't antagonistic at all.
- The Stoic: Though seemingly less so to his boss, the only thing he tells Hornet is to talk to Forge-Daughter.
- Video Game Cruelty Potential: Hornet can hit him if she pleases, though she won't deal damage to him. Doing so will make the Forge-Daughter laugh, though.
Garmond and Zaza
Garmond and Zaza
A travelling old bug and his stead, who are travelling Pharloom in search of a new home. Hornet will join forces with him on certain occasions.
- Cool Old Guy: Garmond is stated to be on the older side, and what we hear from his voice in trailers implies he's rather vivacious for his age.
- Guest-Star Party Member: The duo will help Hornet in certain areas, including a boss fight.
- Sapient Steed: Implied with Zaza, is stated to likely be the brains of the duo in an update post.
Grindle
Grindle
A small thieving bug found locked away in a prison cell. He will provide information to Hornet in exchange for rosaries.
- Distressed Dude: He's trapped in a cell when first encountered, and requires Hornet's assistance to break down the cell bars and escape.
- Knowledge Broker: He has a plethora of information that he is willing to share with Hornet for some rosaries, though it is stated to be of "questionable value".
The Caravan
The Caravan
A traveling group of fleas seeking enlightenment. They request Hornet's assistance to track down the many fleas throughout Pharloom to recruit them to their cause.
- Gotta Catch 'Em All: They task Hornet with bringing the fleas of Pharloom to their Caravan in exchange for a multitude of rewards.
- Non-Mammalian Hair: The leader of the Caravan has a mustache, despite being an insect.
- Supreme Chef: They are noted to bear a "bounty of flavourful food".
Bosses of Pharloom
Like Hallownest, Pharloom is full of many powerful foes that Hornet must face, some stronger than others. Lace
Lace
"How sad. A little spider has fallen from its cage. So lost, so weak. Poor little morsel. I can save you little spider. All the trouble you’d face above. All the suffering. It’s so simple. I’ll just skewer you here and now, pluck that flickering life right out of you."
Lace, when first encountered
Lace is a female bug living in Pharloom. A skilled but malevolent fencer using a pin, she is purported to become a recurring enemy for Hornet as she travels up.
- Battle Theme Music: Has a unique theme for her fight, titled simply "Lace"
- Contrasting Sequel Antagonist: She contrasts with Hornet herself in their Recurring Boss roles. Both are acrobatic female fighters with similar movesets. However, Hornet only fought the Knight to test its resolve and eventually becomes an ally nudging the player down the path to save Hallownest, while Lace is overtly malicious toward Hornet from the start. Also, Hornet has a white head with a dull red cloak and a black body, while Lace has a black head but is covered in white clothes.
- Counter-Attack: Lace can adopt a defensive position and wait for Hornet to strike her to enact a counterattack in which she rapidly stabs forward several times.
- Dance Battler: Lace fights gracefully, adding dramatic, dancer-like poses to her fencing strikes.
- Enigmatic Minion: When encountered in Deep Docks, she is shown conducting for a group of small, glowing white insects. A similar insect broke the seal on Hornet's cage, suggesting Lace may have been responsible for Hornet's original escape. In the same encounter, though, she tries to kill Hornet and is not particularly reluctant or apologetic about it, to say the least. Her character bio describes her as 'cloaked in mystery'.
- Evil Laugh: She sports a Noblewoman's Laugh, most distinctly if she's able to kill Hornet during the boss fight.
- Flash Step: She can quickly disappear and reappear from another position to take Hornet by surprise.
- Flower Motifs: Lace's motif appears to be white roses; one of her boss arenas is filled with them.
- In a Single Bound: Capable of some very impressive leaps, both in her attack pattern, and uses one to escape the boss arena after her defeat in Deep Docks.
- Light Is Not Good: Is clad in white clothes, but wants to kill Hornet as soon as she sees her, delighting in the pain she will inflict. Some of her attacks are also forewarned by a white spark, and trailers show another encounter with her in a field of white roses.
- Musical Assassin: Of a somewhat unusual sort- her pin sword also doubles as a conductor's baton in her first appearance.
- Suspiciously Similar Substitute: Seems to be one for Hornet herself, effectively taking the role she had — A skilled, elegant female warrior who serves as a recurring adversary for the protagonist — in the original Hollow Knight. Her moveset the first time Hornet encounters her is even very similar to the moveset Hornet had in her first battle with the Knight.
Steel Assassin Sharpe
Steel Assassin Sharpe
Backer: Jaspal Broodam
A skilled hunter from a distant land, who, alongside his two highly trained companions, has been tasked to eliminate Hornet.
- Natural Weapon: His nose, which he uses as both a blade and a whip.
- Sinister Schnoz: He's one of Hornet's rivals and has a nose that's both long and deadly.
Seth
Seth
Backer: Seth Goldman
A mighty warrior who follows a mysterious force known as "the Voice". He protects a highly sought-after secret at the base of the Citadel.
- Throwing Your Shield Always Works: One of his attacks is to throw his shield at Hornet, ricocheting it against the ground of the arena before catching it by flash stepping to its location.
- You Shall Not Pass!: Indiscriminately attacks anyone who comes to close to what he is guarding, leaving a mound of bodies surrounding him and Hornet while they fight.
Moss Mother
Moss Mother
A large bug that emerges from a cocoon to attack Hornet in the Old Church.
- Bullfight Boss: Its main attack is to charge toward Hornet, and will be briefly stunned if Hornet dodges and the wall of the boss arena is hit instead.
- King Mook: A larger, sturdier version of the flying enemies found throughout the Moss Grotto.
- Monster Is a Mommy: Its name indicates that it is one of the queens of its species, and most likely the cause of the various moss bugs crawling about the Moss Grotto.
- Recurring Element: It takes a similar role to the Gruz Mother of the first game. Both are King Mook versions of a basic early game enemy fought in a church as one of the first boss battles.
- Warm-Up Boss: The first boss of the game, encountered early in the first area, has low health and simple attacks to accommodate a player who is still adjusting to the moveset of Hornet.
