Zote (film)

Zote is the third film in the Hollow Knight Cinematic Universe, serving as a spin-off to Blood Wasp. It is an animated movie by ThatIsAPirate, telling of the adventures of the mighty Zote, a Knight of Great Renown.

Stories
The film is divided into various different stories, showcasing the many adventures of Zote the Mighty both in and beyond the kingdom of Hallownest. The story takes place in first person. Zote tells the story as he wants too, so not all parts are entirely true.

Wild Beginnings
The story begins with Zote inside a small bag, being tossed away from his unknown parents. Immediately after waking, he crawls out and stares quietly at the world. Afterwards, he heads into a grassy field and is immediately attacked by a Chomphop, a large, hungry beast. The defenseless Zote runs from the Chomphop, and hides behind a grass blade. He begins to mumble his first words, cursing at the monstrous beast. Knowing he is destined to defeat evil beasts like the Chomphop, he begins to come up with a plan to kill the beast. He picks up a nearby pebble and chucks it at the Chomphop. Unfortunately, the Chomphop does not flinch. It turns around, slowly staring at it’s attacker. Zote flees, and uses his grand intelligence to develop a better plan. He carves his face onto a rock, and then climbs to the top of a cliff. With his mighty strength, Zote pushes a bigger rock to the top of the cliff, and then drops the rock with his face onto the ground. The Chomphop begins to make it’s way towards the fake Zote, and soon realizes that it was tricked. By then. It’s too late: Zote knocks down the Boulder onto the beast, crushing it. Zote celebrates his victory, and learns an important lesson: always win your battles.

Crafting Life Ender
Zote knows he will grow to be the world’s savior, and protect it from the ferocious beasts like the Chomphop. He hopes to be the strongest Warrior, and eventually gain the attention of his lost parents. In order to do so, he will need a weapon. He finds a nearby Nailsmith and asks him to craft him a nail. The Nailsmith laughs at the puny being and kicks him out of the shop. Zote will not allow others to laugh at him, so instead he creates his own Nail. He steals the Nailsmith’s template and brings back shellwood, which he believes to be the strongest material. After carrying home one of the heaviest materials, Zote crafts his ultimate weapon of destruction. However, he is eventually tired and cannot test his Nail’s strength. He was not rested enough, and decides to take a quick nap. Upon awakening, his Nail has been taken by the Nailsmith. Fueled with anger, he storms into the Nailsmith’s hut while he is sleeping and takes back his Nail. After nearly being caught, Zote runs away once more, hiding inside a large cave. He needs to come up with a name for his nail, and decides on “Life Ender,” both a menacing and delightful name.

Lost Kingdom
Zote explores the cave, and stumbles upon a large cliffside. He makes it down to a small town known as “Dirtmouth,” which lays on top of a mysterious fallen kingdom. He gains a sense of familiarity with the place, but is unknown how. As he was born less than a week ago, there’s no way he would’ve known about this dump. Zote thinks about his father, and his mother, and how they had abandoned him. Clearly it was a mistake, right? He comes to the conclusion that his parents never intentionally left him, and that it had been an accident. Either way, thinking about it makes him sad. However, Zote will not be distracted by such foolery. He wipes himself of the painful memory and carries on, exploring a system of Crossroads underneath Dirtmouth. He moves his way into Greenpath, before stumbling upon a large nest. He finds a large bug known as a Vengefly King, who is eating a young girl at the top of the nest. He battles with the large beast and eventually overcomes it, saving the girl. The Vengefly King is knocked unconscious to the ground. The girl, known as Bretta, immediately falls in love with her savior, and Zote leads her up to Dirtmouth. He introduces her to his Nail which he used to slay the beast. He also writes a book as a gift to his girlfriend before returning underground, called the “Five Precepts of Zote,” which is based on the lessons he has learned from his past experiences. It will be expanded upon later. At the end of this story, the location is moved to outside the kingdom, where an angry Chomphop is seen removing the Boulder from his head, and following in the tracks of Zote.

Arena of Fools
Zote stumbles upon the Colosseum of Fools, a large arena full of fierce gladiators. Despite knowing he will win, Zote enters anyways to keep his Nail in shape. He battles against many enemies and knocks off the helmet of one of the fools, to bring home as a souvenir for Bretta. He makes it to the end of the trials, where he is met with a strong warrior known as “Tiso.” Tiso is no match for Zote, but Zote feels quite pitiful and allows Tiso to bounce him around for a bit. The crowd begins to laugh, and he eventually stops and runs away, deciding that it’s not worth his time to try to please the lame crowd. However, Tiso follows him, wanting to defeat his opponents. After a long duel, they stumble over a large cliff at the Kingdom’s Edge and the two go falling off. Zote lands in a pile of ash, and is saved from his fall. He is unaware of Tiso’s fate, but does not care, as the Knight of Great Renown has won another battle.

The Chase
Zote explored the bottom of the Kingdom’s Edge, where he accidentally walks into a nest of angry Hoppers. He quickly escapes, but is encountered by a massive Hopper, known as a Great Hopper. The Great Hopper chases after him, and eventually grabs ahold of Zote. However, with a blind swing of his Nail, Zote knocks back the Great Hopper. He hides in a large cave, where he is met with a furious Chomphop. He runs back in the opposite direction, but is met with the Great Hopper. He knocks down a stalactite, which hits the Great Hopper. He makes his way out of the cave and back into the open, where he climbs onto large platforms to make it to the top. Gaining the high ground gives him a great advantage. Unfortunately, another enemy follows him: the Vengefly King. The three beasts are on his tail, and he barely makes it to the top. He must think strategically, and comes up with a plan to get the three creatures to fight each other. He jumps on top of the Chomphop, and gets the Vengefly King to attack him. He quickly jumps off and slices the legs of the Great Hopper, who swivels around and launches himself onto Zote. Zote dives out of the way, and the cliffside starts to crack. Eventually, the land falls apart and the Chomphop and Great Hopper go pummeling below. The Chomphop uses it’s claws to hook onto the walls and survives the fall. It slowly makes it’s way up and grabs onto the leg of the Great Hopper, which leaps up onto Zote. The Chomphop bites one of the Great Hopper’s legs as Zote scrambles back, stabbing his Nail into the Chomphop’s eye. The Great Hopper is thrown backwards, smashing against a rock before falling off. Zote runs back to the Colosseum, with the Chomphop on his tail. He enters the arena and quickly leads the Chomphop into the hands of the Fools. After an intense battle, Zote escapes the massacre into the crowd and watches as the Chomphop is killed. Claiming his victory, Zote returns to Dirtmouth with his trophy and Nail, standing proud in front of his new girlfriend Bretta.