The White Lady Conspiracy | Hollow Knight Lore

[@Ccmaci]

You! Yes you! I need YOUR help to make my next lore video. Its on magic seals in Hollow Knight (like the Seal of Binding), and some of them are REALLY confusing. So what better way to figure out their functions and symbolisms, than by pooling together the entire Hollow Knight community of course! So for the chance to have your findings in my next lore video, join my Discord server, and get to talking! discord.com/invite/Mynt4TupqQ Also, unrelated, but if you want to help me continue posting high quality uploads, you now can by buying a channel membership! Every bit counts; whether through donations or a single like, your support is deeply appreciated. www.youtube.com/@Ccmaci/join

[@Ligginnn]

Yes sir 🫡

[@random-idkwhat]

Aye aye 🫡

[@whatthewhatthe9117]

We solving the vitruvian grub with this one 🗣️🔥🔥🔥

[@JacobTMolter]

Magic seals are my favorite animal let’s go! Much better than normal seals

[@joelbouma1640]

The queen could not have been the singular reason as of to why the knight escaped because that would be to important for the lore for team cherry to say they didn't know... unless of course they were trying to mislead us

[@joelbouma1640]

Its also interesting how the queen originally recognizes the knight as "it" and then graduates into calling the knight "you"

[@PurpleCraft-the2nd]

Dammm hearted and 367 likes without replies? Make that one.

[@menardbaptiste473]

Make it 383 and two !

[@jellycore1316]

587 and three now! And heck, yeah, I know what you mean ^^

[@errorcode-mc8fq]

829 and 4 comments now.

[@isabellabassham2591]

I think that's when the white lady stops thinking of the knight as just a random vessel who will die, but an intelligent bug who acts on their own free will.

[@johnchatzialexiou4168]

Monomon could be in on the conspiracy to she is the only dreamer that wants the seals to be broken she even sent quarrel with her mask away and then called him back back when a vessel appeared from the wastes

[@Riverperson_4]

quarrel

[@matyasehl9311]

it was so sad when quarrel died, I hope somebody played despacito

[@Bork-but-weird-letters]

Not to mention Quirrel also lost his memory, meaning Monomon has some ability to memory wipe a person, which could explain how the Knight lost its

[@VoxiconVoxicola]

​@@matyasehl9311 broomstick

[@PurpleCraft-the2nd]

​@@Bork-but-weird-lettersactually when he left hollownest he lost his memory but i wont explain here cuz im lazy

[@ncuriousmediator9434]

Here's my thoughts on the charm designs: the Kingsoul symbolizes a union between higher beings, what else can symbolyze this particular union? Creatures which were birthed from it, eg. Vessels. The Kingsoul symbolizes a vessel, or more accurately, a vessel's outer form, and transforms into Voidheart the same way a vessel upon death splits open to reveal the shade inside. Plus the similarities to a Vessel's parents you listed. The Voidheart symbolyzes a Vessel's Shade and looks like a colourless (as they're described in the Wanderer's Journal) egg being swallowed by the Void.

[@johnchatzialexiou4168]

When you think about it? The white ladies supposed “plan” seems like an inverse of the pale Kings failed one ? Instead of imposing her own will on the vessel like the pale king did with the hollow knight she guided it to a path that their own will would be needed instead of wanting it to obey her she hoped it would do its own will

[@100lovenana]

Wow, that actually gives a bit of depth to a character that previously I felt completely indifferent about. She used to be compliant of the Pale King's plan, she WILLINGLY led her own children to die horribly (or be abandoned to a unknown world without any guidance) just like the Pale King did, so I originally put them both in the same level of scummy Hollow Knight characters. But now that this theory has come up, it gives her a bit more ground to be a three dimensional character. Her dialogue always implied she regretted her actions, yes, but at the beginning I was like "Uh, I don't see you trying to fix it. In fact, you seem to be hiding from your mistakes by trapping yourself in that cocoon. Doesn't look mature on your part". But now that it's implied she is going against the Pale King's own way of doing things so she can help the vessels makes it a little bit more forgiving. Not fully, but I can definetly respect her decision to go against the mindset that let everything to ruin in the first place

[@autocorrectisdone]

Just a suggestion, maybe the reason Hornet didn't want the Knight to face the Hollow Knight was because she was worried he'd fail and the Hollow Knight would be let out, it's the source of the Infection, look what just undoing one of it's seals did to the Crossroads, imagine if that thing were to be let loose on Hallownest

[@llliwwille]

That’s the exact reason she’s testing in the first place

[@autocorrectisdone]

@@llliwwille Exactly

[@mr.rimota1939]

i played recently, i tried not waking any dreamer, and still the Crossroads become infected. My Head Canon that the black egg is just a ticking time bomb, waking the dreamers just reduced the timer

[@Lemony123]

​@@mr.rimota1939To be fair, besides beating the dreamer. Crossroad could also be infected if you defeat the lost kin.

[@mr.rimota1939]

@@Lemony123 oh i didnt know that,.. does it makes sense lore wise tho?

[@frogchamp.]

12:46 a pretty big hole in your theory opens up here. i think its much more likely Hornet is testing the vessels in combat to see who is worthy to bare the King's brand, and the White Lady was probably made aware of this. after all, lets not forget Hornet's achievements are literally called "test of resolve" and "proof of resolve", indicating shes clearly picking out the vessels who aren't worthy of bearing the king's brand

[@Hexacosichoron12]

Exactly. Hell even a "there's so many of them, at least one could probably beat her" breaks the theory

[@jamisonizikadkins8178]

Yup my exact comment

[@archdruidbookwalter951]

The video addresses that in the segment after 38:30. Hornet might not have been 'in' on the conspiracy, and was just trying to kill all of the vessels to protect the seal. She might not have even realized it was possible for a vessel to be worthy of the Kingsbrand until one appeared that was strong enough to defeat her.

[@paddy6976]

@@archdruidbookwalter951 this makes most sense to me i think

[@talesofarcadia-xadia6898]

@@paddy6976 Yeah

[@Saxophonin]

OMG it actually released!! I was worried CC was gonna pull a a silksong for a second /lh

[@Pacmain4518]

PLEASE, we gotta make this a new term

[@thewanderingartists]

Don't let this term become silksong !!​@@Pacmain4518

[@Spicy_Coconut]

What is that tone indicator

[@Stephanie-69]

​@@Spicy_Coconut"/lh" means "lighthearted"! :3

[@AXAXAXAYt]

Tone indicator moment

[@Influence417]

CC, you do know that the Hollow Knight community is so lore-deprived and Silksong-starved and on the verge of becoming feral like the creatures of Deepnest, that the lot of us will take any of your words (or Mossbag's) as holy scripture and wisdom.

[@Clock1-work7]

Tomorrow for Shaw!

[@veryangryduckpl2122]

If they start demanding worship or sacrifice we will have no choice but to accept. We got the Hollow Cult before Silksong.

[@shadowwarrior1003]

Or matpats

[@veryangryduckpl2122]

@@shadowwarrior1003 Didnt he say the Hollow Knight is the Pale King?

[@ashtonisvibing]

@@shadowwarrior1003 yeah, i wouldn't trust any hk theory from matpat about as far as i could throw him after his "the knight is the pale king" theory (which is to say, not at all)

[@brewewew]

CCMACI IM GOING INSANE THE VOIDHEART CHAPTER IS SO GENIUS

[@traumatizedcritic8679]

22:48 I love this interpretation of the dream no more ending because it reads as a classic moral or life lesson; that being people will expect certain things out of you, and you may be seen as lesser by some because of it, but don’t let your nature define who you are or what your capable of. You are so much more than what others say you are.

[@thiscat4426]

I always assumed a bunch of vessels wandered out into the wastes, and only the knight both survived the experience and managed to return

[@Windette]

Here are the bits of the video I loved with timestamps! The animations are amazing, the little icons like the kingsbrand and the sound that accompanies it Chefs kiss 1:32 how tf did you do this shot? multiplayer? The quite technical compositional requirements of this because of the scrolling background hurts my head. 8:16 You bothered to animate the "Late Queen" text to shift to the side, it's so clean and subtle but makes such a big difference. 10:02 YOU BOTHERED TO MAKE THE SONAR ACCURATE!!! 11:40 The animated fights between hornet and the vessel looks SO GOOD! Just reached 13:00 this musical interlude goes f*cking hard 17:42 The background being pieced together during the void heart introduction is so neat (especially the shade at the end) 20:44 The fact you paused just before leaving the bone pile was such a nice touch, 20/10 cinematography. 24:07 Wheeeeere the fuck did that pedestal come from?! that is 100% something I do not recognize from the game. 25:16 You even animated the charm rattling around inside the lantern casing, you madman. 26:11 pffftt the flood of vessels scene is hilarious, oh my lord that must have taken so long wow. 26:51 why did the pale king just fuggin die after saving the PNGs from their liminal existences. 29:05 IT'S FINALLY HERE! A GAME WE HOLD DEAR! WITH ONE SIMPLE CHANGE! (also the mossy running in place is still hilarious don't think i wouldn't notice) 31:48 (you're gonna hate me cause the last bit of text teleports down by 1 pixel at the end i'm so sorry xD) 34:23 the H A N D S! 36:05 the fact that you tracked her onto the egg for this shot. B R E H 36:58 Forshadowed footage finally gets resolution letsgo! 37:15 the cement scraping xD ffs 38:02 I want you to help explain to me how you did that shot! wtf?! 43:25 I like this shot... it's just good 45:14 dude the MENU on the left looking just like within the shops is SO CLEAN. All in all this was f*cking awesome and I'm left very impressed

[@dampseeker]

i dont think without cc's storytelling i would have ever believed anything even remotely close to this but yk what, im convinced now

[@Ccmaci]

To answer a few of these: - I hired a programmer for the vessel flooding shot (really just had him reskin/tinker one of his existing mods) - After Effects was goated for the camera shake tracking shots (and the glow lines) - I made the Knight disappear when the dream explosion happened with debug mod (particles made with AE too), and edited in a new Knight to fall then walk away. Getting the lighting right on the new sprite was the trickiest part tbh. Very glad you loved the video! I'm scared I won't be able to 1-up this one for a while, but your passion and kindness for each of my uploads is incredibly uplifting. Thanks for being you Windette, you're an amazing guy and content creator!

[@munjatkumo1929]

I think it depends whether Hornet would be called king or queen. A royals status is always legitimized by the people, especially in the absence of a constitution, like in post-apocalyptic Hallownest. Mantis lords are women (aside from the traitor), despite lord being understood as a masculine title in the real world. So the mantis tribe might call Hornet king, because maybe to them royal titles are gender neutral. Maybe in their eyes she would've been appointed king, and therefore IS the king, no matter her gender. The Hive on the other hand is ruled by a queen, so it's likely they'd refer to her as queen. But individual bugs and other bug communities might have differing opinions. And since Hallownest in the post-apocalypse no longer has a unified culture, there can't be a consensus either. Maybe there are even some characters that would not recognize either Hornet OR Ghost as the ruler. The pale court no longer holds any power in the land. And what sort of a ruler are you if you're not able to rule over anything?

[@whatthewhatthe9117]

What about the mushrooms? They have a hive mind and mushrooms are known for having hundreds of sexes. Assuming the gender neutral argument applies, would the mushrooms call hornet king?

[@munjatkumo1929]

@@whatthewhatthe9117 Hmm, good question. We have to take some things in to account. 1. Far as I know, there's not much in the game to imply how the mushrooms think of gender and sex, or whether there's any similarities with real world mushroom when it comes to sex. Team Cherry takes inspiration for most characters from the real world, but they play it really loose. So we can't know how many sexes the mushrooms have in the game. 2. Sex and gender aren't the same. Sex is biological, gender is psychological. Even if mushrooms might have hundreds of sexes in the game (which isn't stated in the game to be the case), that doesn't necessarily mean they'd subscribe to hundreds of genders, or even two. Gender is cultural, after all. With these notions in mind, let’s think about this. I quickly checked the Fextralife HK-wiki to see if there’s any mention of any of the the muschroom-characters sex or how they identify genderwise. Most of the Hunters Journal-entries use pronouns it and they/them, but I assume this isn’t reliable evidence of anything, since I doubt the hunter asked any of the shrooms about their iddentity before voraciously slaughtering them. Doesn’t seem in character. And since the only mushroom to have dialogue is Mister Mushroom (unless you count ”waaah” and ”uuuUUuum” and other sounds shroom enemies make), we can’t know how most shrooms identify, or in fact, what they think about anything. Mister Mushrooms dialogue gives us no clues either, but at least their name implies they think of themselves as a man. Right? Well, as stated earlier three of the four mantis lords assumedly identify as women. (Their alternate boss-form is called Sisters of Battle after all.) Yet they are The Mantis Lords. So can we know for sure that Mr. Mushroom identifies as a man? Maybe ”mister” is a gender neutral moniker in their eyes. Or even just Mister Mushrooms. (Maybe it’s a jokey nicname even? You know, like how people sometimes call anything ”a little guy”, even when it’s a car or something.) Maybe that’s the case with mushrooms in general? (In fact, maybe the mantis-tribe thinks of ”sister” as a gender neutral moniker? Who knows, nothing in the game about it far as I know.) But also, since mushrooms give off nomadic vibes, would they even recognize anyone as a royal? Especially after the fall of Hallownest? Of course, maybe even in this case some or even alot of shrooms would recognize a royals status, if only out of tradition. All in all I myself can’t profess to having an opinion about this at all. But I don’t have an encyclopediac knowledge about the games lore either, so maybe I’ve missed something. Anyway whatever ones answer, it’s probably headcanon.

[@Jyoryaxx]

Seeing as it would be the exact same thing, and is purely a linguistic difference I assume that should they know her title, then they would all use which ever one she has taken. Because king and queen are just titles, and in this role they would both mean the same thing, therefor that depends on what term would be adopted by her people directly. And since it wouldn't have any difference besides title if she is named queen then everyone else would call her queen (or the same for king) the same way we refer to the mantis rulers as lords simply because that's what they are called to the mantis. The title would probably be the same for everyone based on what she calls herself.

[@maplered5042]

Mantis Lords called like that because there is no female equivalent of word "Lord". There is no lordess or something like that. And mantis Lords can't be queens since they not a land rulers, they tribe rulers

[@munjatkumo1929]

@@maplered5042 I had to check whether you're right that I screwed up and found out lords female equivalent is lady. Nowadays lady is no longer dependent on ones class status. In Europe in the middle ages and renaissance though, it specifically referred to a high class woman. Whether a woman was a baroness, countess, queen whatever, she was a lady. Note that this doesn't necessarily mean that ladies held significant political power. They had more than a single peasant, of course, but in 99 % of the cases, any lord had far more political power than any lady. There are exceptions, like lady Margaret Beaufort, who was a countess and had the right to sue and own property separately from her husband. (My source for this stuff is mainly Wikipedia and my own memory. :D I'f I'm wrong about any of this someone correct me please. I'm no expert on any of this stuff and Google gives mostly junk as answer to any question.) Why aren't Mantis Lords called Mantis ladies then? Dunno, maybe Team Cherry wanted to emphatize how gender non-comforming figures they are. As characters, they're clearly supposed to stand out as powerful women in an otherwise patriarchal society (pre-apocalypse Hallownest, maybe even post-apocalypse Mantis Tribe itself.). As "warrior queens". Sure, Team Cherry COULD have called them Mantis Lords, but that wouldn't have served their character as well.

[@abrammill9365]

Just to find the White Lady, you have to go off the beaten path. The player isn't just seeking the hollowKnight already, which shows a will of it's own.

[@Nymm_]

Fantastic video, your editing skills are ridiculously good

[@Gopal_eats_rocks]

Netflix level documentaries on hollow knight 😭😭 this is a great vid cc!! Been watching the channel for a second, love the stuff 🍞🍞🍞🍞

[@Romalac]

If we're gonna assume the White Lady was being less than truthful and using misdirection to subtly direct the Knight, we may as well go whole-hog and assume the conspiracy goes even higher. The Pale King is a Wyrm with literal power of foresight- it's entirely possible he made these plans with the White Lady and arranged for her to give these cryptic not-directions. Indeed, this would explain why he held on to the other half of the Kingsoul, despite its critical importance- he knew it would be necessary for someone with an Awoken Dream Nail to confront the Hollow Knight to go inside it and destroy the Radiance, so he locked the White Palace in the corpse of a Kingsmould with a Dream barrier around it, leaving the other half and the White Lady's cryptic message to tempt a Vessel to awaken a Dream Nail and go inside to get the other half. Indeed, this might recontextualize why the Dreamers sealed the Knight in the Dream World the second time they encounter it- _they_ think they're doing it to remove the threat the Knight poses, but in doing so put the Knight in contact with Seer and give it the Dream Nail... putting it on the path to eventually awaken the Void Heart. Essentially, the Pale King was playing an even longer game than it seems on the surface, and he knew it would work because, at least to a point, he could see it happening.

[@TimothyMark7]

this is like emperor from wh40k except the horus heresy was caused by a moth

[@liinnder]

While I do enjoy this idea wouldn't this make the path of pain cutscene less impactful? Writing wise it shows the Pale King's biggest mistake of getting attached to the Hollow Knight, with him showing love to his own child being what caused such a downfall of his plan as the Hollow Knigh'st will being corrupted into pleasing his father where the other escaped vessels were just trying to follow his words from the Abyss cutscene(This comes from the cut dream dialogue of the the hollow knight so I'm not too sure but it still fits within lore and makes sense but I'm not gonna act like it's 100% confirmed canon) But this now makes it seem like what was a touching but sad moment is now just "all part of the plan" so I don't think it would make sense writing wise. And void being linked to the idea of regrets and his possible death related to void it would make sense in regret of what he has done he hid himself and the white palace with in somewhere so hard to get into. And we aren't too sure of how his foresight works. Maybe after the "stasis" the Hollow Knight put upon Hallownest could be more literal with it "stopping time" he couldn't see past from the point at which time stopped. Now this is just vague speculation I'm just trying to think of ideas of why he didn't foresee his plan failing leading to his death so I wouldn't take this part too seriously. But hey maybe I'm wrong about all this and I just don't get a few things and I'm willing to admit that.

[@Jayden89117]

Bro wrote a full essay

[@siegmeyerofcatarina4176]

nah this doesn't make sense. If this was all planned, it means that the pale king is shit at making plans, because it involves his death and the downfall of his entire kingdom, which is exactly the thing he was trying to stop.

[@genio2509]

​@@liinnderMaybe, the love blindness was double sided. PV failed because of love, the emotion instilled by the Pale King for treating them like his child. Maybe the Pale King missed foreseeing the failure of the plan because of the love that he felt towards PV

[@Awenova]

I think the White Lady simply wants to guide the Knight. She knows the vessels have an instinct to seal the infection and have been instructed to do so since birth. She knows the Knight has amnesia. Her "awaited" quote probably is describing how the Pale King and Hallownest was awaiting a vessel strong enough to seal the infection, not necessarily defeat the Radiance. I think she was trying to help explain to the Knight that the vessels have that purpose to help aide the Knight with its amnesia. And so, I think her request to replace the Hollow Knight is genuine. She thinks the vessel, especially one capable of reaching her, is strong enough to replace the Hollow Knight. The Knight may as well be the only vessel that will ever step foot in her hiding place, so I don't think she has any idea of needing to save her half of the Kingsoul for other vessels. I think she gives it up, because that opportunity won't happen again. I also think her words about the charm are meant to be interpreted at face value. Having infinite soul would help the Knight on its quest to replace the Hollow Knight. It's not her fault the Highest Beings, Team Cherry, decided the charm needed to be sub-bar in gameplay. Lastly, I think she changes her mind the same way Hornet does. Hornet kills vessels to prevent them from replacing the Hollow Knight and taking the King's Brand. At some point in the game, Hornet believes the Knight can replace the Hollow Knight but is not capable of defeating the Radiance. Hornet doesn't actively try to hunt down the Knight, but she will test it once it gets close to the King's Brand. I think the White Lady's mindset is the same. The Knight's journey to complete the Kingsoul changes her mind about the Knight, like how the Knight ascending the Abyss changes Hornet's mind. I'm sure it's not just the charm's completion that the White Lady is able to notice about the Knight. She senses all of the Knight's accomplishments in the game. I think completing the charm is just the hair on the camel's back that convinces her that this indeed is a vessel capable of more than its predetermined purpose. This is a vessel strong enough to not only seal the infection, but destroy it. At this point, she encourages the Knight to gain the power of the Void Heart which requires going back to the Abyss. She offers the Knight the ability to choose the fate of Hallownest just like Hornet, because they both respect the autonomy of the Knight. Although I disagree, I think you made a cool theory and a cool video.

[@qwertydavid8070]

That comment about her just giving her half up because she simply won't have another opportunity to do so honestly makes so much sense. It may seem like a contradiction at first for her to give her half of the charm if she expects the Knight to just become a new vessel for the infection, but honestly, she might never get an opportunity to talk to another vessel again, so why not just risk it. It's not a crazy convoluted conspiracy, we were just the right vessel at the right time.

[@thatonefuyu]

Bagmoss and ClosedCaptionsMaci just forcing team cherry to rewrite silksong’s lore every time a video comes out

[@chetacheese2789]

*ChristianContentMaci

[@OddyOddity-ob2uv]

I like to think that the Voidheart was the void's approval in response to The Knight's decision to kill The Radiance. Ancient enemy, and all that.

[@Chunky_Chimp]

You know how the new Minecraft update adds the “Pale Garden”. Well the White Lady could be described as “Pale” and she lives in a “Garden”. MINECRAFT IS COLLABORATING WITH HOLLOW KNIGHT!!!

[@idioticed4379]

the creaking also has yellowish orangeish eyes, radiance confirmed???

[@Chunky_Chimp]

Minecraft also has spiders? SPIDERS ARE A SILKSONG REFERENCE!!!

[@Nerdy1729]

That means that the next drop will be the "silksong drop" next year. silksong release window confirmed??

[@remember_the_light]

In minecraft there's a armor trim called *silence* JUST LIKE THE SILENCE THAT TEAM CHERRY DOES!!!!! HOLY SHIT

[@Chunky_Chimp]

Minecraft has moss LIKE THE MOSS AREA IN SILKSONG!!!

[@PerpetualNoob]

This was such a a fun ride cc! I really enjoyed these speculations. And given the White Lady's enigmatic behavior, it all seems plausible. I also got the impression that she wasn't too happy with her late husband and his schemes so maybe she was being circumspect with the Knight because she wasn't quite sure where their loyalties lay (if any loyalties were there at all). Heck, she could even be lying about the whole "I was fine with him sleeping with Herrah." 😂 Anyway, very cool video cc. 😃

[@whatthewhatthe9117]

She was watching in the trilobite statue during their “dalliance”

[@ja-melvinson7994]

This video is now my favorite and I am so obsessed. The editing is just…what could I possibly say that isn’t just “breathtaking” and “stunning”. The lore interpretations are also really good but, like, THE EDITING

[@ArgyrhsPap]

Im so happy that you keep adding high quality vids about hollow knight , coming back at it after a while and seeing vids such as this one , reminds me why i love this game so much. Keep up this work you are doing amazing.

[@Foxyrobo]

26:12 the mod used to flood the screen with those vessels looks familiar, I wonder why...

[@awakener-s3l]

I'm a minute in and the visuals are already going HARD, excited to see what this conspiracy's about

[@GoldenEyed112]

ive beaten hollow knight 3 times and im trying to beat it a 4th time this year, been playing the game since i was 11 and im 15 now. Im really glad im part of a community that never forgets how good of a game hollow knight really is, ive learned to love the game so much that i really do not care if silksong releases or not, theres always something new for me to find in this game, whether or not it'd be little or something fairly big, even the large amounts of lore that this game has really inspired me to make stories of my own, and i so cant wait to show others that they can do the same, I love hollow knight so much Edit: just finished path of pain and beat p1 with mask bindings, now trying to beat nkg ascended, wish me luck

[@TheBluePhoenix008]

Damn you were 8 when hk came out? 2009 children can talk?? Shit I'm old

[@anotherwea6692]

glad even the young can enjoy this masterpiece!!

[@randomfellow27]

Im twelve and I've beaten it a few years ago 👀​@@TheBluePhoenix008

[@brangwynthedarkestdeity1210]

Also, her flower quest, it's optional and she asks you to do it, and if you fail or give it to someone else, she's alright and happy with it, and Will give you another flower, like rewarding them for not following her orders, but if they do, she's still contempt because the knight decided to do it.

[@aleaf1494]

This video is so well made. The white lady is one of my favourite characters, so I love hearing this analysis of her

[@stuffstuff3455]

I have a headcanon that the Pale King foresaw the dream no more ending and decided to trigger the events that would lead up to it. It adds more depth to his actions, rather than trying delay the inevitable, he tried to permanently end the infection. Now, I like to combine that theory with this theory.

[@TimothyMark7]

hol up that's an actually incredible theory

[@sin-jay733]

That would actually add even more weight to his "No cost to great" line if he meant the destruction of the entire kingdom to defeat the Radience rather than just the creation of the vessels/selection of the Hollow Knight plus all the other horrible things he did.

[@sin-jay733]

Or if we’re led to believe the theory that the void tendrils connected to the Kingsmold Imply that the void/Siblings invaded the white palace to kill him in the dream than his dream nail dialogue seems strange. Think about it, “No cost too great” Is implied to be the last thing that he ever thought before he died. By the time he had sealed himself away in the white palace, he would’ve known that his Original plan with the dreamers and all that had failed. Why would he be thinking no cost to great for a failed plan? Maybe instead he foresaw the dream no more ending. And was thinking that despite everyone, including himself dying that it was all worth it for the defeat of the radiance.

[@younesisalivethankfully]

I thought if that once too, I was thinking 'if pk foresaw the infection, then why didn't he foresee the hollow Knight's failure?' so that's why hornet killed all the weak vessels, because unlike quirrel they already entered hallownest infact they were born in it, not intruders, and the knight didn't see hornet until all the way to green after getting vengeful spirit, which could be how they survived, unlike the greenpath vessel who had the dash, more of movement upgrade than offensive

[@stuffstuff3455]

@@younesisalivethankfully Qurriel was born in Hallownest...

[@tkienjoyer]

Here's a theory: The vessel was pure when it had amnesia from the desolate wastes, but upon remembering its birth, that would now make impure due to the idea instilled.

[@kingmaple9252]

When my son very obviously ate the entire cookie jar then sees me enter the room. 35:20

[@TheBluePhoenix008]

I love the Kingsoul being a template of sorts. It'll take form of whoever wields it.

[@Mr.Smooch]

I believe the kings soul changing into the void heart is key to the knight revelation on its origin and acceptance of power. The kings soul was intended for the full power of soul, or in hollow knight holy magic. But the knight discovers its power is not originated from this soul, but from the heart of the void. The kings soul was always intended to bring out an abundance of power, but it was not the power the knight was meant to wield at its core.

[@leilaclarridge5807]

A suggestion for the conspiracy theory: In the Abyss is a hidden room where the Lifeblood Core room is found, along with a huge multi-eyed creature in the background in what seems to be a large tunnel that extends into the distance. Since avoid leaks freely from the abyss and can even be found as far as Deepnest in the Sharp Shadow area, it’s possible that the abyss has a lot holes and cracks where Void leaks. While most of these gaps may be too small for even baby Vessels to fit through or are too high up the walls and roof to reach, there is one place where they can easily get out, and that’s through the Lifeblood Core room. It’s possible that the White Lady had the Abyss Creature, as the many eyed thing is known as in the game’s files, help at least our Vessel escape through its tunnel, with it then sealing itself off to keep the Pale King from noticing what happened. The tunnel likely empties out into the wasteland beyond the Howling Cliffs, which seems to have a memory erasing effect on intelligent bugs, hence why The Knight doesn’t remember its past, allowing it to be able to act of its own volition. On a side note, “I implore you” seems less like a command and more like the White Lady begging The Knight to replace the Hollow Lnight. It seems too desperate and earnest of wording to just be an order to me.

[@ItstoadXD]

Simple answer for hornet not killing the player, they may of just missed us. its one hornet, many vessels, huge hallownest.

[@Kal-v3t]

24:37 you can actually see a metal ball inside the void heart, so I theorized that the ball was used to focus soul from perceivable nowhere

[@justsomejerseydevilwithint4606]

15:14 and how could she? That option is a use of the Void, something that I don't think anyone understands entirely, even void itself.

[@belle5234]

Wow I’m early! Feels great XD killed it as usual CC keep it up! (Love it when you make lore videos into a cinematic universe)

[@johnchatzialexiou4168]

So in short……. The Knight is the GOAT

[@lulnara5128]

Common error, it's actually not bug, nor beast, nor god

[@DarthTrooper2021]

I was waiting for some new hollow knight, thank you ccmaci

[@JUSTVOIDSOUL]

“The plan proceeded to go horribly” Insert car crash

[@Robster-insertabunchofnumbers-]

"Now I know EVERYTHING about Hallownest's lore." I say to myself, knowing fully well that the next Ccmaci theory video is going to blow my mind about Hollow Knight lore again.

[@budyngamer5243]

i was shocked when i saw that this video was posted only month ago. And that animations through entire video were amazing. I'm very happy seeing still new lore videos like this! Thank you

[@waterman7082]

LET'S GOO HES BACK1!!1!!! on a more serious note tho its really nice to still see videos about hk.

[@Hecrocks]

October is just the new September this video is pretty much early (the editing looks great though, worth the time)

[@Hecrocks]

Also an awesome thumbnail

[@zaidlacksalastname4905]

Because we've finished the lore, we can finally start making up crazy conspiracy theories 🙏. Mine is that white lady = gloam eyed queen

[@westwarden5979]

This is really incredible I mean it, Beyond just your analysis of the lore : your narration, voice acting, the editing, it's so good!

[@dima_keller]

This video goes straight to my favorites. The editing is absolutely amazing! Especially the vessel lore recap . It even managed to send me some chills I think you're totally correct on your conclusions and one of the things supporting it for me is that the Queen keeps calling you "it" and never addresses you directly, until you get the VoidHeart Only thing I disagree with is that Hornet DID want to save Hallownest, but allowing a weak Vessel to enter the temple would not only doom the kingdom, but also render her mother's sacrifice pointless, hence why she couldn't allow weak vessels to roam. One of the things I think support me here is that Hornet could attack us much sooner, but instead preferred to observe for some time, before testing us herself

[@dissonantharmonic]

I remember when you first started this channel, yet to reach a thousand subscribers. Its crazy how far youve grew in size and quality

[@joffrerey]

29:02 love the analysis of these! The deep dive on the charms is fantastic and I love the interpretation of the kingsoul as an “egg” of unlimited potential we’re mostly just siphoning energy off of it but given enough concentrated Will we can harness the boundless potential within to craft a charm of our own solidified desire by “hatching” the kingsoul

[@mrhalfsaid1389]

I think the two answers could both be true. It could be that the queen didn't believe it possible to happen, because she knew of how the vessels work, her connection to them growing weaker over time. Maybe when you meet her she can only sense the strongest signals present after a century of degradation, thus why she only knows the knight's presence after coming close. I believe the motives are complex, as with most things concerning the fate of a place graced with a royalty wrought by curse.

[@luckyluke31813]

Wow, I‘m really excited to watch this one. You always deliver absolute bangers, Cc

[@rockdrake344]

Absolutely adore the video, keep up the amazing work CC! :)

[@melovech6675]

Hey man, wanted to say very cool lore video and production. I loved it. While watching it I thought "man, I do not remember the voice acting in this game it's really good" then I remembered there was none lol. Very awesome, kudos!

[@kjmario]

Incredibly entertaining, I didn't even realize how long this video was until it was over, truly excellent pacing and editing. Even despite the video length I want more! ❤️‍🔥🙏🏾‼️

[@drdca8263]

I feel like a number of these points are well explained by Doyleist reasons? Other characters present things as choices for the player character to make, as a means for the game developers to present these choices as choices for the player to make. That’s not to suggest any fourth-wall shenanigans; I don’t mean that the player is a character of the game. But, in reality, not the story of the game, the player is given choices, and the developers want the players to be aware of these choices.

[@Sevorion]

Super impressive video Cc! Your editing is always so crazy to me. The whole start of the video went over things I already knew but the storytelling had me locked in haha

[@Blandy8521]

With Hornet, it could be that she doesn't believe in vessels considering that Hollow already failed so I'd say it's fair to assume Hornet doesn't believe they can stop the infection

[@brewewew]

hornet's "You could do it, if you had the will," right after hornet 2 hits different now

[@pikminkin]

cc, I don’t know how to put this into words but this is the best birthday gift ever. thank you for all the effort you put into your videos, it absolutely shows!

[@GippyHappy]

I don't know maybe I'm simple minded but I honestly don't think it's all that deep. Whether or not the Kingsoul charm is actually good gameplay wise, or how exactly it works, she felt like it could help the vessel on it's quest. She certainly isn't using it, so why not give it away? She can't do anything to change the situation so she leaves it in the player's hands. Kill the Hollow Knight or fight the Radiance, or get the Voidheart- do literally anything but let Hollownest remain in purgatory any longer. That seems to be her reasoning.

[@eyadikramy7674]

The writing and editing and visuals are like nothing I’ve seen before I would legit watch this in a theater 10/10

[@justsomenerd284]

jesus you have an amazing voice for narration and like video essays/deepdives please keep making these

[@rachata8342]

Then there are embrace the void ending where the knight just go ultra plus and literly beat everyone at their strongest form and beat peak radiance to assert Dominance

[@Saffron-mb8mp]

This video is incredible! I adore its editing style, there was clearly so much passion put into it! I'm (selfishly) glad that my personal theory isn't contrary, that the White Lady is the manifestation of Hallownest's land, existing long before the king arrived. Your theory is very enticing, and it's certainly fun to believe, because it's not trying to replace any existing story beats, its recontextualizing what already exists, meaning it can slot neatly into someone's playthrough. (also your otter is cute)

[@jamisonizikadkins8178]

12:27 because she knows that hornet is testing the vessels, id say its something their born with is the ability to fight and its fair to guess that some of them could be kinda strong

[@luzie3317]

Especially if you factor in their possible escape from the Abyss and how they managed to survive until now. She might just have more faith in her children than their father.

[@Fox_of_Void]

This is a truly interesting theory. Loved the visuals too, helped a lot with contextualizing what's being said.

[@myweirdsecondchannelwithap9070]

finally someone else points out the voidheart description. I've been saying forever that it proves the knight has a will

[@dandyspacedandy]

honestly, this theory just makes me wonder about the way team cherry wrote the voidheart endings and everything related to reaching them. most things about the game in general are so incredibly cryptic, and the only objectives that are really spelled out to you, are to wake the dreamers, and replace the hollow knight. its almost like the nature of the voidheart route is to encourage the player to enact their own will on the world. to decline the path laid out for you by others and discover greater opportunities. if that accurately speaks to their thought process in the writing room, then it makes me wonder more about the nature of all of hollow knight's magic systems, of void, of soul, of mind, of faith and will, of dreams, and whatever else i'm forgetting. how do these things play into the nature of the knight, its duties, and its will, through the lens of speculating what team cherry's artistic intent could have been, and what experience they were trying to build with hollow knight as a game?

[@MrSirSquishy]

it's also worth taking into account the fact that in order to commune with her, we need to go out of our way to do that. That act itself may set us apart from the other vessels. Additionally considering she knows hornet guards the nest, it would be nearly impossible to get to the white lady without surviving hornet.(Also she still thinks Dryya is alive so maybe she thinks we got past her too)

[@blueiscoping]

Fantastic video CC! :D I never felt bored or wanted to click off the video once! And thats impressive for a 50 minute-ish video! Keep up the great work dude!!

[@mr.e2631]

This is REALLY well edited, neat work

[@MiningwithPudding]

I have to day, when your avatar is facing away and looking back grumpy, they look a bit... chunky. Like a cat that just got told it can't have a 3rd lunch. Adorable

[@goli8699]

Couldn't the "limitless soul within" in the Kingssoul be what turns into the voidheard the same way spells mostly turn black under the influence of void? If carrying Kingssoul allows the Knight to focus the soul within it, then replacing that soul with Void would theoretically allow it to focus the Void instead. I'm just randomly speculating here of course.

[@gerzent3102]

Great video, after all these years of speculating we still have those interesting breakthroughs. This is truly a special game.

[@BadChess56]

His intro has peak editing

[@The_Biff]

35:41 THAT TRANSITION WAS ABSOLUTELY BEAUTIFUL!!! WELL DONE THAT WAS AMAZING!

[@Stizzl]

I am seated and ready for peak

[@theothetorch8016]

Your best video yet. Love the increased amount of animations.

[@tkienjoyer]

IT AIN'T JOEVER YET WE'RE SO BAAAAACK

[@BeamTrigger]

Wow! This is really well put out lore video. Congrats on 100K!

[@zvdw]

She kinds look like scion of ethiron in that picture

[@Bear10325]

I feel like you should do another version of the entire hollow knight lore video

[@glitchingnumber]

Amazing Video! Most of this is going to be my head canon from this point on.

[@woahyogurtz]

call these types of videos the pale king cuz these are expanding my mind rapidly

[@Zello_]

This video is so well made. It was definitely worth the wait. Congrats on 100k!!!!!!!

[@matthewhalo1799]

I actually find it kinda fun from a worldbuilding perspective to have things that even you, the creator, don’t know the answer to. I think it creates a true sense of mystery in something. That team cherry doesn’t know how other vessels escaped definitively creates that mystery.

[@chickenmonger123]

7:45 She’d be the Queen, and the other Queen would no longer be Queen. Though in terms of Bugs the nature of a House is not always the normal way for Humans. Regardless, Sovereignty passing on through a House is normal. The Inheritance of the Title can pass however is the Custom. Or against it. But nonetheless, whomever inherits the Role and Title of Sovereign brings their Matrimonial Line with them. The previous gets outmoded.

[@enamis1]

All the little animations in this are absurd. Dude you straight up made a short film here, thats incredible

[@NymPSeudo]

really glad i got around to watching this. it's a fun theory to contemplate. video's well executed too. kudos :)

[@tboyjaydee]

your production design is beautiful and smooth

[@Soulmaster36]

Amazing video! The quality is incredible good!

[@KrispyKorpse]

Yo we reaching 100k with this one! (Subbed at 99.8k, but congrats slightly in advance once ya reach it)

[@thecrimsonaxe6037]

I don't think anyone has every analyzed the White Lady and Hornet's dialogue and motives like this before, great video!

[@malakifraize4792]

mostly unrelated but kingsoul is a good charm if you aren't afraid to overcharm. just take it last. minion builds are especially effective with kingsoul but spell builds also work

[@pokepoke1889]

13:03 or she couldve sensed that the hollowknight was failing its job and knew that there needed to be a new vessel to take up its mantle.

[@Ccmaci]

I bring that up at the end of the video, I don’t think she’s lying that the Knight is a viable vessel for the infection

[@n71.n3r0]

I rarely leave a comment in a video bro, but I am amazed of your editing skills, your transitions are so smooth and your pacing is really good as well. Btw the sequence of 17:00 scared the hell out of me. Really good job

[@dzuchun]

seals discussion be like: awwww, look at this cute pup! 😍