#dryya/the white lady

[mebis-art-dump]

The lady in white

[vulturereyy]

Royal Portrait

Commission for @ganondorf--apologist <3

[bonon-bobani]

Inspired by movie "The Handmaiden"(お嬢さん)

[nemcat7]

hollow knight if it was WOKE

hhey remember this video:

well I decided hollow knight needed one too

i present to you my magnum opus:

[czaneavecg]

HONEY

oh bab with fam n knights

[lubbee]

[gncbozo]

Doodle dump AGAIN

[angeliccynthious]

Refs for my PK Sacrifice AU! Did you know that I have a fic for this au? Cus I do! I feel its a perfect time to share it here,, alongside these,,, For the unaware, the basic premise of this fic in the best way I can summarize it is Dryya having to take care of the Pure Vessel after PK.. sacrifices himself in their place as the name implies, and WL does not seek to take care of them. At all. It's certainly a situation! I'll put the link below for those interested, as of posting this it has three chapters <3

[frogs-in-my-tea]

So I recently got nostalgic over my fire emblem obsession (which I had in uh 2019)

And I kinda got inspired by FE: Three Houses to do a weird combination of that story with hollow knight (so an AU basically). Idk what happens in this AU all I know is the Pale King is Serios and the Great Knights are the knights of Serios lol-

Also I love to imagine each character in a different class. Like Hornet is definitely the thief/assassin class.

The inspo for the doodles:

[tonythr]

Here's some frames from an animatic/PMV project that I'm working on. They literally have a duration of only half a second but I decided to make them into full-fledged fanarts for some reason, so I just wanted to give them a little more appreciation. I'm actually kinda proud of how Isma and everything that comes after her turned out!

[toadslug]

I!!! NEED!!!! MORE!!!!! GREAT!!!!!! KNIGHTS!!!!!! LORE!!!!!!

Version with a different background under cut (I couldn't decide on a color lol).

[mebis-art-dump]

faint familiarity

[ashcoveredtraveler]

Text is written below the comic.

Attachment, part 2

Previous/First \\ Next

Panel One Text:

"Here are the tablecloth designs. Get them as quickly as possible"

"Yes, Your Majesty. Right Away!"

"Oh, Dryya! Wasn't that a beautiful tablecloth? "

Panel Two Text:

"They are pretty, my Lady."

"They truly are."

"Dryya ... Something's Wrong... Isn't it"

Panel Three Text:

"I feel like it is in poor taste to glorify the corpse of your child to the public, my Lady."

"Oh Dryya, you are always so kind..."

"Even if you hide it behind your fierce face."

Panel Four Text:

"I have been too busy to check, but how is his majesty doing?"

"Oh, he... He is fine. Completely fine. He made peace with what we have decided to do."

Panel Five Text:

"I am having difficulties finding a replacement for myself... Other than that, the preparations for my departure have been going well."

"You are fine, my Watcher. You are the first of your kind anyway."

"Well, I am glad you still think well of me even if my purpose is almost used up... This will be the last party I will be attending, you know?"

"It's my last party too."

"Who is invited?"

"Let's see... for political reasons, we invited the Lords of the Mantis tribe and Unn. We were thinking of inviting Hive Queen Vespa, but she simply thinks we are celebrating the glorified death sentence of Herrah. We were also thinking of inviting the Moth Tribe representatives-"

"Excuse me? The Moth Tribe?"

"Wouldn't that be bad taste to the other guests as it was their god causing the infection?"

"But you're a moth too."

Panel Six Text:

"I do understand where you are coming from. But they significantly helped with the plan. It would be rude to forget about them."

"So you don't forget those you gain from, but you forget your daughter's hatch day?"

"Very well, I will continue on with my tasks. Since this is my last party- make sure it is an unforgettable one."

"I will make sure of that, my Watcher. "

Notes:

Found a new thing I don't like drawing, The White Palace. I had the need to make it it colored so it was more gray than I expected. But I couldn't stand a completely white environment.

When making this comic I realized my quality of drawing went down the more images I made per PNG. So unintentionally my mindset was quantity over quality. But I know another part of my mindset was that I had to complete one part of a project before doing anything else.

So most likely I will try to develop my drawings a bit more before starting on the next part.

[bluegekk0]

When the Great Knights were still a thing what was the recruitment process like? Were they all guards that made their way to the top, or did they do something to catch fpk or wl's eyes?

I think it varied depending on the knight, but for the most part they were guards who climbed up the ranks, and in some cases did something that made Vyrm choose them.

Dryya was the biggest exception since in my interpretation she was WL's personal guard even before Vyrm's arrival, and continued to accompany her after the two married. She was the queen's most trusted knight so it was a no-brainer that she would join the Great Knights once that became a thing.

Hegemol's association with the city also gives me the idea that he somehow proved himself through that. Perhaps he was Lurien's recommendation, since he's also very closely linked with that place (and he would be a respected acquaintance of the king even before he volunteered to be a dreamer). And so he had to stand out to be chosen to begin with, but what exactly he did to accomplish that, I haven't yet considered.

Ogrim is a very capable knight, but I quite like the idea of Vyrm showing interest in having him as his personal knight due to his very approachable and kind personality. It's no secret that Vyrm was overwhelmed by his duties, so choosing a knight he could rely on because he also brightens up his mood every time definitely sounds like something he would do.

As for Ze'mer and Isma, I think they just proved themselves to be especially capable compared to other guards, so not much of a story there. I do think Isma and Ogrim only got close after that fact, so he didn't have anything to do with her promotion.

[basilbellona]

Insert man-liker Lurien joke

I've had this in my photo gallery for a while so I'm surprised I haven't posted it until now. Not very high quality, but need a shitpost be high quality?

Happy 6th Anniversary to Hollow Knight bby the way!

[vulturereyy]

heyhey, I'm doing some worldbuilding of the Great Knights myself right now, and I'm wondering—how do you view their role in the kingdom? Were they primarily a military force, or diplomatic, or both? Did each knight have separate duties and training, or did they overlap a lot?

Thank you for the ask!! I would love to ramble about the Great Knights... I do love those guys (if you can't tell /j)

To me, the Great Knights are more direct extensions of the Pale King and White Lady themselves. To Hallownest, the Great Five are the more 'public' face to the King and Queen's will, and I also believe each one serves a distinct purpose. Military, diplomatic, emissaries, etc- they are all and more, but each of them is highly individual.

I believe the Great Knights are, in the most literal sense of the term without any emotional connotations, tools for both WL and especially PK to utilize and fill in the gaps in their own arsenals. I don't believe each of these knights were chosen for combat alone; Ogrim, bless his heart, is a mess in that department. But each one brings something to the table that makes them stand out among the ranks.

To start, let's talk about the two that I believe have the most direct connection to the two rulers of Hallownest:

Dryya is admittedly the knight I have the least personal lore around, but I think her purpose is clear: She is the Queen's Guard. I believe she is what the White Lady needed most; a protector, a defender, and a confidant. The White Lady in my hc is far more a personable higher being than the Pale King, and before she bound herself, I imagine she would have been the one to attend to the more social aspects that came with being a monarch, while her Wyrm preferred to work behind the scenes. Dryya served to ensure her safety and to command her guard; as a higher being of life, I imagine WL has very, very little interest or knowledge over things that cause such mass death such as warfare and border skirmishes. Dryya would have been the one she trusted most to lead the Queen's Guard in her stead.

Hegemol, on the flipside, was the opposite for the Pale King. He was hand-picked by the king specifically because of his connection to the people of Hallownest; how easily he wove through crowds and stopped to assist even the smallest bug with their kite stuck in a tree. Hegemol had the social standing by sheer reputation alone, and had long since become a local hero in his own right. Certainly, his strength was unmatched given his size, but the decision to raise him as the first Great Knight was entirely strategic on PK's behalf. The Pale King had no need for a defender; he may have shed his shell, but he was more than capable of holding his own. What he really needed was a face to his own people that didn't involve his own.

Hegemol, in many ways, was one of the ones who taught PK to love Hallownest without knowing it. How I write my PK is that he started as a very detached, near-emotionless creature. Hegemol was not initially selected as recognition for his own good deeds (though PK at the time had enough wherewithal in him to make it seem that way); PK knew he desperately needed someone to help him sway the new minds of these bugs. Was it manipulation? Yes, as much as a creature with next to zero moral compass at the time and just an overall desire to 'make a good kingdom' can manipulate. Over time, Hegemol took on many duties, but his most important while he was the Pale King's only knight was to be a confidant and liaison with the common bugs of Hallownest. He later also became the king's tactician, though he shared that title gladly with Ze'mer.

The other three do not have a 'direct' role to either ruler, but more to Hallownest itself.

Ze'mer is a renowned warrior from outside of Hallownest. To me, she was a field commander, trusted by her kingdom to seek out those along their borders who may eventually come to harm them. She arrived in Hallownest just this way, and gained audience with Hallownest's rulers on behalf of her queen. After a few years of diplomatic talks, Ze'mer was essentially 'stationed' in Hallownest by her queen, likely as a more cultural and diplomatic exchange as the two kingdoms developed trade. I'm still working out what happened between them (Part of me thinks her kingdom was devoured by the Blackwyrm, and when she fought alongside the others to destroy it, she pledged herself to PK as recompense for helping to avenge her people) (or something juicier that I'm still back and forth on :eyes:)

In Hallownest, Ze'mer is the most militaristic. Ze'mer is near-unmatched in her battle prowess, not just with nails in hand, but with her knowledge of wartime and experience leading troops. I said before that Hegemol was a tactician, which was true; but all of his experience came from books and heavy research on behalf of his king. Ze'mer lived through and led multiple wars in her own kingdom, and her knowledge in this aspect would prove invaluable. Hegemol learned nearly everything he knows from her in that regard, and even now will defer to Ze'mer's judgement of a battlefield over even the Pale King's.

If she has any title, Ze'mer is the King's Champion. She is the one PK would send out to investigate border skirmishes, to scout out nearby kingdoms and lands, and to put down any fighting occuring within Hallownest itself.

Isma, imo, was quite literally a gift from Unn to the Pale King, when Unn allied Greenpath and it's inhabitants with Hallownest. In my mind she's some sort of moss-aphid creature that Unn very much spat out fully-capable. She said hey, little wyrm. Here you go. And then he said um. thanks. Isma's role among the five was the most diplomatic, especially to the people of Greenpath and the Mosskin. She was known around the kingdom for her healing abilities and her ability to revive even a long-wilted houseplant. Isma was instilled by Unn to ensure that Hallownest never grew too cruel, and always remembered it's roots.

Within the Great Five, she was often the first healer they saw, especially on the battlefield. Of course, healing isn't all she can do. In more than a few political plots for the sake of the nest, Isma has also been in the position of royal poisoner with her arsenal of herbal knowledge, and she can manifest thorns as easily as she can new fronds.

While Isma and Hegemol share similar roles in how they bridge the gap between the commonfolk and the royal court, it is worthy to note that Isma was far more roving than Hegemol was. As Hallownest grew, Hegemol tended to be recalled back to the palace or the City of Tears as both's primary guard, while Isma would be spotted anywhere from Greenpath to Crystal Peak to the Fungal Wastes to negotiate with the Mantis tribe.

And lastly, Ogrim. Poor, sweet Ogrim. In my timeline, Ogrim is just barely out of his squireship by the time of Hallownest's demise. I have very little for him in where his place would be among the five because of this, but if all had gone perfectly to plan, he was intended to take Hegemol's place while Hegemol would stand as the eternal bulwark of the Watcher's Spire, to protect Lurien in his dream. Ogrim has the fondness and charm fit for getting along with many bugs, but lacks... The discipline that would certainly come with time and age. If only he got it.

Ogrim was also Isma's squire to me, and thus the two had a very close mentor-student bond. It's why he protects her in the waterways, yet also doesn't dare to stray too far.

I hope this helped to answer some of your question! My writing is a bit fried today but I hope I got everything out clearly :)