#to the god of Dreams (that later separated into the Radiance and The Nightmare Heart)

[bubba-draws]

The Nightbringer concept!

Shapeshifter god that brings the night and guides their followers through the dark

I’d appreciate your opinions on the designs pls :>

[shentheauthor]

The Nightmare’s Curtain Call

So I have a LOT of thoughts on Grimm, Grimmchild, NKG, and the Nightmare Heart, and I’m about to dump ALL of them. Under the cut, bc it’s so long

First thing’s first, I must clarify: Grimm and the Nightmare HEART are NOT the same entity. I am distinguishing between the Heart and NKG, and I’ll get into it later, but for now, that is important information

Grimm’s deal

The first Grimm was ancient. He was around before the Dream and Nightmare realms split into two

When the schism happened, Grimm was very devoted to the Nightmare Heart’s purpose (more on this later)

So when the Heart was cast into its own, much smaller realm, who heeded its call for aid? That’s right: Grimm

The Heart cannot survive without a body to contain it. However, the body it’s meant for is gone. Grimm volunteered his own body to replace it

Containing the Heart is painful. Agonizingly so. To me, Grimm was once a moth. When he accepted the Heart into his chest, his original heart burned, and his entire body warped into a completely unique bug type

His voice was permanently altered, so even future Grimmchildren would have a hard time speaking without pain

He can no longer fly with his wings, using them as a cloak

As the time of the ritual approaches, the Heart begins to burn his body apart. Grimm is, after all, not a Higher Being. Containing one inevitably causes death and destruction (see: Hollow)

It doesn’t matter how you came to contain a Higher Being— your mortal body cannot sustain it

So a new Grimm must be found

The problem is, the Heart made a deal with Grimm with the last of its strength. It will never, ever recover its full power. So rather than burn itself out trying to find a new host, it’s easier to find a loophole

Each Grimmchild is created from the Heart’s flames, and it shares Grimm’s name and face. Technically speaking, Grimm is still the host. No unnecessary energy needs to be expended by the Heart.

There have been many generations of Grimm. The Radiance is old, calling the Void an “ancient enemy.” While it may not have necessarily been her as she is in game, she still has memories from the first Dream God’s lifetime. The Heart is the same.

Each Grimm receives the memories of the Heart and the previous Grimm, as each Grimm who dies is absorbed into the flames. However, every Grimm is slightly different from the last, based on who raised them. Needless to say, many a Grimm has not been happy with their arrangement, as their autonomy was taken away generations back

The Grimm we meet is somewhere along the lines of the 20th-25th Troupe Master

The Nightmare Heart

The Heart is interesting, because it’s not a Higher Being in the traditional sense. It is, quite literally, the still-beating heart of the original Dream God. It’s sentient, yes, but it doesn’t look or act like how you’d expect a god to

It’s pretty single-minded in following its purpose: cleanse the dream realm, recycle, burn

Basically it functions as both the heart and the liver. Dreams circulate through it, both good and bad, but the nightmares are the most important part. They keep the good/light dreams moving by providing a route for them to go through.

In its duties as the liver, it takes dreams that have “stagnated” or “corrupted,” processes them, and turns them into nightmares. It’s like a detoxification. If left to fester, well, you get things like the radiance that turn bitter and angry and cruel. Nightmares are necessary to help us process the fear that we feel!

The Heart cannot survive when cut off from its body. Conversely, the body cannot survive when cut off from the Heart. The Radiance and the Heart formed when the original Dream God’s body died, expelling both of them

They were meant to work together, still. But their ideas clashed, and neither really understood the consequences of separating. So their realms were cut apart, leaving both of their other halves to rot

Yes, the Heart is dying. It doesn’t matter if you stop the ritual or not. It will eventually perish. No amount of Grimms can heal it, because it will never be given enough time with any of them to truly start working again

The Heart and the Troupe are left to pick up the pieces of rotting kingdoms, because that’s all they have the power to do anymore. If they try to resume their original duties, the Heart won’t be able to keep up. It’s like when someone drinks heavily and doesn’t give the liver time to recover. The Heart is forced to regulate itself, even though it wants to regain its old power

The Radiance was dying long before the Pale King came around. That’s why she reacted the way she did. She didn’t want to die any faster

Nightmare King Grimm

Ok! So! The Heart and Grimm are not the same being, but what about NKG?

The answer is: it’s complicated

NKG is sort of a fusion between the two. He is birthed from the Heart, so you can think of him as like… a new being? Almost?

It’s Grimm and the Heart formed into one. In order to burn the father, he must fully embrace the flames and let them destroy his mortal shell

Afterwards, Grimm becomes part of the Heart. Another nightmare to be recycled.

NKG is stronger and faster than Grimm, but he will burn out and die more quickly too. Once Grimm dies, his flames and the Nightmare Heart transfer to the Grimmchild, killing NKG in the process

The next NKG will be the next Grimm, and so on and so forth

Ending the ritual

Ending the ritual is actually pretty dang bad!

The dreams and regrets of dying kingdoms NEED to be processed, or they will fester. Like the infection. Yes the Infection is a major result of the Heart not being there to detoxify the Radiance’s stagnant dreams that she’s forcing on everyone. It wouldn’t be nearly as bad if the two had never separated

Now this is not to say that Brumm is bad. Quite the opposite actually. He is correct! The ritual is torture! It’s genuinely awful for every Grimm involved, especially because NONE of them except for the first consented!

The thing is, regardless of whether you stop the ritual or not, the Heart will die. It’ll just die faster if you stop it

Stopping the ritual is Very painful, and the Grimm will die anyway, leaving the Heart to drift until it can gather its strength enough to form another Grimmchild. Note: the previous Grimm’s memories will NOT be absorbed into the heart— so in a way, he’s free!

When you join the Troupe, you lose your name and memories, even your original body. This is by design. The Nightmare Heart recycles and destroys, it does not preserve. The flames cleanse your body, mind, and soul, leaving a blank slate.

Leaving the troupe, your body is returned, but your mind is not. Nymm has amnesia, but he clearly knows how to function as a normal bug. This is why I think that, upon leaving the troupe, all of your memories from your time with them is gone. Everything from before is gone. However, you will still remember bits and pieces— like how Nymm thinks the carefree melody charm is familiar, and it makes him think of something he forgot

When Nightmares Die

What happens when the Heart dies? I’m glad you asked

Put simply, everyone still in the Troupe will either be banished, or consumed by the flames. It depends on what they desire, and how the Heart feels when its demise comes

As for Grimm… the Heart will cannibalize him. No traces of him will be left. He was the original kindling, after all. A dying god will cling to any fuel it can get. Unfortunately, that fuel is Grimm. And sadly, it won’t do anything to help

After the Heart dies, the world will find equilibrium again… but it will be hard. After the Radiance dies, the Dream Realm is not gone! The same is true for the Heart.

It will change, for sure. It will be a lot harder to figure out. But it will still be there

Slowly, but surely, things will return to how they should be. Dreams and Nightmares will work in tandem again, their realms merging smoothly as they once were. Maybe someday, a new Dream God will be formed, to continue the cycle all over again. Maybe not. Who can say?

All that will be left of the Grimm Troupe is a few bugs without memories, and with a strange sense of nostalgia for something they never experienced

[royalsmugbird]

Back on my Hollow Knight binge! Who wants some self-indulgent head cannons about Higher Beings???

...

(I do!)

Great!

Hallownest goes through waves/eras of Higher Beings

The first wave/era of Higher Beings was the Shade Lord

Second wave/era were Radiance, Grimm, and Unn

The White Lady came sometime after them, but is still considered second wave

Pale King marks the third wave/era

Events of the game are a fourth wave/era

The Nightmare and Dream Realms may have once been the same, but Grimm and the Radiance were always separate beings

Grimm’s control/shackles of The Ritual over the Troupe is akin to what the hivemind of the Radiance was over the moths/the Infection

Grimm controls the “Heart” of the subconscious -- the bound mortals must be willing and maintain full autonomy of mind/personality, but forget their past and all previous attachments (Brumm/Nymm)

The Radiance controls the “Mind” of the subconscious -- the bound mortals can be unwilling and lose all control of autonomy, but appear to maintain past memories

The denizens of the Fungal Wastes (barring the Mantises) were once worshippers/followers of Unn

They were cut off by the arrival of the White Lady, and later exacerbated by the Pale King, but now worship her

The White Lady is a semi-parasitic/harmful Higher Being, hence the thorns in her Gardens/the White Palace

The Fungal Wastes are another byproduct of her parasitism, being a toxic/noxious place, but with creatures that are capable of philosophizing/higher thought (Mister Mushroom, Fungal Core, etc.)

The Fog Canyon is a result of her and the Pale King’s equal influence over the land, being extremely dangerous (acid/electricity everywhere) but also the epicenter of the kingdom’s knowledge and philosophy

By the time of the Pale King, the Shade Lord is completely forgotten. However, some bugs worship the Void itself, still.

Tribes that have higher thoughts without the worship of a Higher Being used to worship the Shade Lord/Void, but no longer do (Mantids/Deep Nest/Hive)

They’re desperately sought after for conversion/destruction by newer, territorial gods

Hence the Pale King’s attempts at diplomacy/conquering, and the Radiance’s infecting these tribes

Active worship is marked by Void stains on their face/body, and eventual blindness/death by Void poisoning (No Eyes, Traitor’s Child, Snail Shamans, etc.)

Hallownest tends to lean matriarchal with its High Beings and societal structures

3 of the 5 gendered deities are female (Unn, White Lady, Radiance)

Most tribes/peoples are matriarch led (Moths, Mantids, Deep Nest, the Hive, Flukes, etc.)

Even male-led peoples have maternal traits (Grubfather, Elderbug, etc.)

That the third wave/current Hallownest is patriarchal/led by the Pale Kins and is an anomaly

Some of the non-converted peoples see this as an abomination, hence refusal to worship or actively seeking destruction

The Grimm Troupe/Nightmare Heart is technically also genderless

Having tied itself to a mortal vessel, it does take on the gender of its current iteration

The Troupe Master/Grimmchild can vary in gender

*personally head cannons the current Grimmchild as female*

Do all these head cannons align with lore? Don’t really know. But I like em, and I hope y’all do too!