Hollow Knight: The Fallen Prince

Note: All information on this page is subject to change.

Basic Premise
The eldest son of the late Vessel-King ascended to the throne, in the beginning, life was good, but when soulless machines become the norm, he took total control. He cast out all who threatened his rule, even his younger sibling who he had previously worked closely with. You are one such sibling, the youngest in the family, you were not perceived as a large threat. But as you continued your training, he saw you as a growing threat. So he cast out you and your siblings not loyal to him. You know carry the duty and burden to save Hallownest from your tyrant brother. Explore a new Hallownest, changed by innovation, but still resting on old foundations.

The Vessel King's Sacrifice
After the actions of the Knight began to sink in, the people of Hallownest proclaimed him the king, as he bore the King’s Brand. The uninfected bugs of Hallownest gathered in ceremony for the Knight’s crowning in the surface town of Dirtmouth. For the week of the ceremony, the town was nearly full. Almost every home and inn was filled. The town was bustling with merry and cheer unseen for a century. After the festival, and safe passage to the Ancient Basin was established, the Knight, now known as the Vessel King, with the finest craftsmen Hallownest could muster, he rebuilt the White Palace. From his throne deep in the Basin, he ruled the decayed kingdom of Hallownest. Through his efforts, the infection and the beasts of the deep were forced out and into deeper and darker pits, and life returned into all habitable corners of Hallownest. Within the first half-decade of his rule, the infection was isolated to the epicenter of the Forgotten Crossroads and the Black Egg Temple. The kingdom of Hallownest was winning against the infection that had destroyed it. Civilized life was returning en masse to the kingdom. Children once again giggled and played in the soaked streets in the City of Tears, and later, they also ran on the palace grounds. During the Vessel King’s work in the field planning to retake the kingdom he awoke years earlier, he worked closely with the Sentinel-Protector of Hallownest, Hornet. Before the Knight came, she protected the decaying kingdom from ghosts of his sort, she was the first bug he ever challenged him. But now he needed her intellect to help the kingdom in its new fledgling state. Her knowledge of the caverns became integral in the Royal Army’s fight against the infected horde. They spent many days and weeks planning in the obscure caverns where the infection still lay, but after many days in this condition, the reality of their situation became more stark and clear cut. The Knight and Hornet together were Hallownest’s only chance to survive the now reawakened world. With her wit and his unmatched strength, all would be laid before them. Deep in those caverns the two formed a union, not of love, though feelings were shared, but out of a necessity. After the dust settled and the infection was contained, they both settled into the palace. They both looked over the kingdom and within the next year the two were wedded, and in the next two years, many young half-vessels wandered the palace grounds under the careful eye of their father and mother. As the years went on, their mother, now named Hornet the Sentinel-Queen, taught their daughters the way of the Sentinel, a protector of the new natural order. They learned many practices of keeping plant and animal life, in medicine, and also in Hornet’s weapon of choice, the needle and thread. The Knight, the Vessel-King taught his sons the way of the Knight, the protectors of the kingdom. Bound in service to the people of Hallownest. The people found it surprising that the Knights oath was not to the King, but to his subjects. The Vessel-King had learned that even with good intentions at heart, the King could still fall to the list of power and material, as the Pale King before him had. No longer. They would protect the people of the kingdom from their own king if the need arose. As the kingdom expanded, it grew back into all corners that it once did, the only home of the infection was the Temple of the Black Egg, so in their elder age, the Vessel-King and the Sentinel-Queen journeyed to the Forgotten Crossroads and they ordered the barrier to be removed from the Temple. They both entered and together they slew the Pale King’s beast of hate, the unholy host of the infection, the Hollow Knight. The king and queen did not return from the Temple that day, though the beast was no more, the king and queen were bound eternally to the Temple, the infection bound to their being. Together they now lay entombed, the strength of their being able to hold the infection. After their sacrifice, the people of Hallownest renamed the temple to the Temple of the Resting Royals, where they still, deep in repose. In the town of Dirtmouth, a memorial was constructed to honor their sacrifice. It depicted the Knight and Hornet standing tall in reverence. The plaque below bears a short memoriam to the pair: “From foes of yore, to king and queen as none have seen before. Intrepid they stood before the horde, in battle they earned their keep as lady and lord. In times of strife when land was infected rife, they looked beyond willing to give their life. Then the battle was won and the enemy slain, life returned to where once there was nothing but rain. Their rule went beyond the throne, they ensured the people and never left them to drone. But the Hollow Knight still lay above, the infection's last bastion. Hand in hand they swore to destroy the last of it. Through their sacrifice Hallownest lasts eternal."

A New Kingdom, Driven by Change
After the sacrifice of the Vessel-King and Sentinel-Queen, and the Infection was sealed away in the Black Egg Temple, their eldest son took the throne. Under his reign, peace was had, he continued his parents work and increased the quality of life for the common bug. Flowing water to homes, food in mass quantities, and a standing police force to keep them safe. The commoners no longer had to scrounge corpses and rot piles for a meal, no longer had to compete with wild bugs for water, and didn’t need to to watch their backs at every corner. The kingdom became more advanced and connected. The new king ordered that mining in Crystal Peak be doubled, and during that project, a vein of Pale Ore, unlike anything seen for centuries brought advanced metalwork to the forefront. Work like that of the lone Nailsmith in the old days became the common work. Advanced machinery entered all fields of life, transit, agriculture, engineering, and the like. Speedtrams replaced the vital function of the Stags, efficient machinery combined with improving techniques in farming nearly tripled yearly output of food, and the City of Tears now crept into Kingdoms Edge. The poorest of housing developments now filled the habitable part of Royal Waterways. A brave and dangerous effort was made to establish a colony beyond the beyond the sandy expanse that lay at the kingdom’s western edge. Many brave bugs perished, but the strongest survived and built a small village on the edge of the sea. Further innovation in trackless tram-like vehicles decreased the long journey to a reasonable one. Life was good, life was prosperous, and the people loved the work their new king had done for them. Another stroke of luck happened to lay in the lap of the new king. A vast network of underground rivers and reservoirs of pure flowing soul were discovered using new mining equipment made from pale ore, able to shatter the toughest of stones. So much soul was harvested that the kingdom seemed to be almost drowning in it. For a few months during the first mining efforts do build soul wells, soul filled the gutters and sewers of the kingdom, gray and clumpy from dirt and other grime. After that, the king ordered new experiments using soul to be conducted, and the results were extraordinary. The aging bones and husky carapaces of the long extinct race of stags were reanimated, and were put into service at a limited capacity. After so many years of the speedtrams being in service, the stags application was niche. The stags were thought to once again to be driven out of use, this time by the kingdom’s economy. But it was the fresh mind of the youngest prince who found use for the stags. They were bred to be smaller in size, just large enough for them to be mounted by a bug. As they started hitting public use, they became a rival to the speedtrams, and competition where there was once none greatly benefited the kingdom. Another innovation put into order by the king were autonomous beings powered by soul. Mechanical bugs that did their master’s bidding to their fullest extent without question. The people saw it as the final and most great invention. There would be both industrial and military applications, strong machines able to replace bugs in dangerous work like the mines. The military application was almost self explanatory at the time, machines unstoppable until total destruction. They would make Hallownest the greatest kingdom in the world, and that they did. Though there were no kingdoms to rival it, Hollownest projected a message of unparalleled strength, mostly received by its own people, and the few old world radicals and rebels that scurried about in the cracks of the kingdom. It was observed by his own advisors and the younger princes and princesses under him that the king’s mental state was deteriorating. He drank a procured soul elixir that was supposed to keep him strong and viable for him to have many heirs as his father did. But it had the opposite effect, his mind and body were deteriorating. He became angry, furious at anyone who questioned him. Using the new Gearbugs and Clockmoulds designed for police and military, he took total control of the kingdom, nothing happened without him or his advisors knowing. Overnight, the kingdom was locked down, curfews were put into place and dissenters were jailed and even executed. The king cast out all in the palace who served him no purpose and had them all jailed, including all the princes and princesses that were not loyal to him. This is where the game begins.

Fallen Prince/Jemynn
The Fallen Prince, also known as Jemynn, his birth name, plays much like the Knight from the original Hollow Knight. In this game, an emphasis is placed on the combination of weapons and movement abilities for the greatest reward.

Springmoth Accelerator
Replaces Mothwing Cloak, after three consecutive dashes, the Prince dashes forward to pierce enemies. Can be paired with weapons with a dash-strike ability to perform a quick yet devastating attack.

Mantis Claw
Is the same in functionality and purpose as seen in Hollow Knight. Can be paired with weapons with the wall-parry to jump off the wall at a good distance.

Tosslock
A new a tool to replace the Vengeful Spirit. The Prince throws a rope tying two stones together to stunlock smaller enemies. This can be paired with weapons the pitch ability to throw the tosslock much farther. The Prince can acquire upgrades to carry more than one tosslock.

Whistling Daggers
A new tool to replace Howling Wraiths. The Prince throws four daggers upwards to attack enemies. If the daggers hit a wall or any barrier, they stick to it for a several seconds and then fall back down to be picked up. They can also be picked up if the Prince is close enough to them during this time. The Prince can get capacity upgrades just like with the Tosslock.

Crystal Spikes
Replaces Crystal Heart and Super Dash. The Prince can send a rush of spike protruding out of the ground. The Prince can face either direction to send a rush of spikes in that direction or look up or down to send a smaller rush in both directions.

Dropbomb
Replaces Desolate Dive. Does less damage than a a desolate dive, but leaves a bomb that detonates after a couple seconds. This bomb can be thrown around by hitting it with a weapon, and extra far with a weapon that has the pitch ability.

Nail
The old reliable of Hallownest. Same in function as the original game, but different in form after years of iteration. Has the dash-slash ability, pairing it with the Springmoth Accelerator gives good forward movement and devastating damage with a well-timed attack.

Juniper
Juniper is a dynamic nonplayable character and companion to the Prince. She will follow the Prince to the bitter or not-so-bitter end, no matter how he treats her. She was a servant in the White Palace to the many Princes and Princesses of Hallownest. She always wanted to speak to Jemynn, but the other servants advised her against it, telling her that she was below him. She later got caught up in the Westwind Rebellion and was recruited as a grunt after public outcry against the descent of the King. After she heard that all the other royals were imprisoned by the King, she wanted to bust out Jemynn, hearing of his legendary nail training from his father. But she was ordered to instead find him, and kill him, and do what the King would not, she defies this order and instead frees him.

Dynamic Behavior
As described above, Juniper is a dynamic NPC that changes dramatically over time depending on the Prince's actions. The Prince can either show her acts of kindness and appreciation, or acts of spite and a general lack of appreciation in many forms. There are many opportunities to hear her out on many issues and events that happen along the plot, teach her combat strategies, and gift her thoughtful notes and flowers. She greatly appreciates all that the Prince has to give her, but she also suffers from acute Stockholm's syndrome, as defined in humans. The Prince can ignore all opportunities to show appreciation/low-level affection to her, and can deliberately belittle and step upon her and put her in her place. Because of her affliction, Juniper will endure all the Prince's misgivings, still seeking some form of affection.

The Game Begins
The opening cutscene is a bug walking down a rain filled street, they are about to turn a corner but they look around before they go down the side street. Two large bugs come into view and they draw their nails at the sight of the bug. The cutscene ends and the player comes into view.

The Prince starts in a prison cell in the City of Tears, in a secure quarter of the city. The prince is shackled to the wall of the small cell. He picks his head as he hears grunts from the guards outside and two swipes from a nail and two heavy bodies dropping. The bug begins to speak and tells the Prince that she doesn’t have the key to open the door, but slips her nail through the bars. The Prince wiggles over and grips the nail. The scene switches to the bug standing outside the cell, a couple quick slashes, and the couple more. The door falls from its hinges and the stout Prince steps out. The bug tells the Prince that others will arrive soon, and tells him he can keep the nail. The player can now control the Prince, and he finds himself on the street from earlier. The player can explore around until till more bugs arrive, they rush past the player but one stays behind to tell the Prince that the Royal guard has arrived to kill them, and you.

The two groups of bugs face off against each other, no one making the first move. But something is wrong. The bug who just saved you is on the ground with two bugs holding her down. She apparently was not supposed to save you, and now may be killed as a traitor. Both groups want to kill you, so you now must choose. Will you join the King, earn his favor and return the land to normalcy and plenty, will you fight for the Rebels and upend the system, or will you refuse to choose and kill them all, spare the bug who just saved you.

Three Paths
In HK: Fallen Prince, there are three paths that Prince can take: the King's path, where you earn the favor of the King and crush the Westwind Rebellion, the Rebel path, where you fight to upend the King's influence and fight for the common bugs of Hallownest, or the Devoid path, where you leave none alive and leave the kingdom to rot again.

Areas
Almost all areas have gone under major renovation and change, huts line the streets, new caverns and niches were cracked open, and new infrastructure was constructed.

Howling Cliffs
The Cliffs were relatively unchanged, wind still kicked up dust and sand, and Tik Tiks and Vengeflies still creep in the cracks in crevices. In this area, there is a small village called Westwind that was erected on the sheer cliffs facing the sandy void that lay beyond. The village was constructed during the colonization efforts as a restock depot and interchange between groups of workers that moved to and from the colony. The village of Westwind provides transit for the fearful people who are fleeing the King's grasp. This is also an area that starts off as contested, with fights between the military of machine bugs and rebels breaking out in streets. After the descent of the King, the council in Westwind decided to take drastic action, and with vocal support from various parts of the kingdom, they formed the Westwind Rebellion.

Pass of Kings
The Pass didn't change much before the descent of the King, it was marked as a historical site after the portion of the tunnel that opened into Hallownest was converted to the Passage of Kings. Statues of the recorded kings of Hallownest were erected in a project to bring the kingdom's history back into the eyes of the people, but the Knight, the great Vessel King, his figure was carved and sculped into the new gates that replaced the old ones. Many bugs from all over the kingdom travelled to come see the Passage and to pay homage to their kings. The only buildings in the pass were strictly for the groundskeepers to stay in to protect and maintain the Passage. After the descent of the King, machine bugs quickly swept in in an attempt to bar the Rebels from sneaking into the rest of kingdom. This blockade failed.

Dirtmouth
The humble town of Dirtmouth so the most change early on in the reign of the Vessel King, the town grew far past its borders and started to crawl up the sheer cliffs to the Pass of Kings. It was one of the many hubs for retaking the kingdom from the grip of the Infection, and this is what fueled such sudden growth. The greatest change though came after the death of the Vessel King and Sentinel Queen. The newly crowned King of Plenty and his younger siblings and advisors oversaw the construction of a memorial to their sacrifice. This memorial was built in the center of the town, behind the town's only bench. The plaque on the memorial holds a poem engraved into the stone: “From foes of yore, to king and queen as none have seen before. Intrepid they stood before the horde, in battle they earned their keep as lady and lord. In times of strife when land was infected rife, they looked beyond willing to give their life. Then the battle was won and the enemy slain, life returned to where once there was nothing but rain. Their rule went beyond the throne, they ensured the people and never left them to drone. But the Hollow Knight still lay above, the infection's last bastion. Hand in hand they swore to destroy the last of it. Through their sacrifice Hallownest lasts eternal."

Crossroads District
The Forgotten Crossroads was changed to the Crossroads district after the Infection was no longer deemed a threat and normal life could return. Many major roads and avenues were redone and rebuild to allow supply lines to travel quickly and effectively.