The Light Descends

Long ago, there was a kingdom underground. This kingdom fell to disease and decay, until one day life stirred anew in its catacombs. A young Moth seeks answers and travels to this forbidden place and finds a whole new world, and a shadowy friend to accompany him.

[ahawkinhallownest]

Somewhere high up the mountain, in an observatory that looked out over the town and the cliffs beyond, stood a lonely old bug. A bug who stood unique among the inhabitants of Hallownest as the only one of her kind. For years her dreams have shown her a life she never lived, surrounded by others like her, a life denied by circumstances far beyond her control. But just last night, her dreams showed her something else.

She saw someone standing in the darkness beneath Hallownest, a boy, or perhaps a young man? He seemed familiar, from his white tipped antennae and black and yellow marked wings, and when she stepped closer, she realized that he was another of her kind before he was pulled into the shadows.

She had been contemplating the dream since. For Moths, dreams were an integral part of their culture, as their mother goddess resided in the realm of dreams long ago. She communicated with the Moths through dreams, and it was not rare for even common individuals to be graced with visions of the future. But ever since last year, she had only ever had the same dream of her people every night, so to have a new dream of someone she had never seen before left her rattled. The last time something like that happened, she had visions of the Ghost of Hallownest, who later arrived to purge the kingdom of the Infection. What did this new dream mean? Who was that boy she saw? Was he alive, or another specter of the past?

The old Moth got her answer when she went to the observatory in Crystal Peak to enjoy her daily town watching. She hadn't been to Dirtmouth since she was a child, so it filled her heart with warmth to see how much the town had improved over just a year. She arrived just in time to witness an amusing altercation between the town's resident troublemaker, who Hornet referred to as Zote, the relic seeker Beetle she had heard about recently, and...

She recognized him and his white tipped antennae and yellow and black marked wings instantly, even with his coat on, and watched shocked as Zote assaulted him, was tossed away by the Hollow Knight, and the boy continued his conversation with the relic seeker.

He was real... He was really real! 'Could it really be?' The Seer wondered as the young Moth eventually left to go to the middle of town after the Beetle took his leave. The Hollow Knight could be seen looking up at the observatory, perhaps wondering if she was there watching. 'I can't believe it... Another one of my kind!'

[ahawkinhallownest]

Hollow watched Lumen until he safely disappeared around a corner. Sure that Zote wasn't going to jump the Moth the moment they were to look away, they looked back at Crystal Peak behind them. The mountain loomed over the crater, crystal outcroppings glowing in the gloom that blanketed the land. Jiji and Jinn's cave was illuminated, and Hollow saw someone walk in to get their fortune told for the day. The lift to the mines was up, meaning the workers had yet to come back home after a hard day's work. And in the observatory, someone looked down on them. They were probably there the entire time for the incident with Zote, and they saw it all.

It occurred to Hollow that they were rather hungry themself and they turned to walk down the street to the market. They should get something from Apara again while they were still in town. Maybe they could get something for Hornet and Ghost as well.

[ahawkinhallownest]

"Anyways," Lumen started and looked up at Hollow. "I wish I could thank you properly. How about I give this bread to you?" He said and raised the takeout bag towards the taller bug in offering.

Hollow raised their hand dismissively and shook their head.

"You don't want it?" Lumen replied to the unspoken response. "If you, uh, 'say' so." He grabbed the bag of tableware he bought at the market earlier. As much as he wanted to ask Hollow about their past, he knew that he would not be getting answers out of them any time soon. He would be better off asking Hornet or Lemm the next time he sees them. Besides, he needed to go and pick up his laundry. It should be done by now.

"Well, I'm headed back home then. See you later." He waved a bag-laden arm at Hollow goodbye, and turned to walk away, Hollow watching as he did.

[ahawkinhallownest]

Updated the character list to include Hollow

[ahawkinhallownest]

Speaking of Hollow, Lumen had to crane his head back to look up at them, even though they were leaning down close to his level. "I've also forgotten to thank you for saving me a second time," He nodded and smiled at them, even if they couldn't see his expression from behind his mask. "So thank you!"

Hollow nodded wordlessly, their expression unreadable through their mask. If Lumen had to hazard a guess though, they seemed pleased to be acknowledged.

Lemm looked concerned at what the Moth had to say. "I would ask what happened, but..."

Lumen rolled his eyes and slumped forward with a sigh. "Please don't." He groused, the cut on his chin stinging as he remembered it.

"Fair enough."

Just then, an Elephant Weevil hobbled over with the help of a walking cane and a concerned expression on her face. "Would you like for us to replace your food?" She asked lumen.

While he would rather not take too much advantage of anyone's hospitality or impose himself on anyone, the offer was too good to pass up, not with his stew all over the ground. He accepted it and the Weevil hurried as fast as she could back to the cafe, leaving him and Lemm to continue talking while Hollow played with the Tiktik. After a few minutes, a different bug came out with a bag, which when Lumen examined its contents he found that the cafe added a whole loaf of shroom bread to his order. Well, that was dinner sorted out later then.

"Anyways," Lemm would eventually say as he and Lumen ran out of things to say that couldn't be saved for another time. "Please consider visiting the museum in the capital. I would be glad just to have more visitors."

"I'll try to come and check it out." Lumen replied, making sure not to make any promises.

Perhaps sensing that Lumen was unsure about the proposition he made earlier, Lemm did not press the subject further. "Then I bid you a better day." He said as he waved Lumen and Hollow goodbye. "Hope to see you soon!"

The Beetle walked away and quickly disappeared around a street corner as Lumen waved back at him. Hollow leaned down to lower the Tiktik enough so it could safely jump out of their hand and run off to find someone else to pester for food.

[ahawkinhallownest]

I had trouble coming up with a story for Mani that was as short as I'd like, so have a general summary.

Mani and her sister, Hel, are two Wyrms that once ruled over a moon worshiping kingdom by taking on the forms of common bugs. When Hel decided that she wanted the kingdom for herself, she searched underground for the Void sea, or rather the version of it that appears in this HKxBoktai crossover world. When she found it, she absorbed it, turned back into her true form as a Wyrm, and attacked the kingdom with monsters made out of Void. Mani was able to fight her off and seal her back underground by transforming back into a Wyrm as well. However, the kingdom was destroyed, and with nobody left alive she went into hibernation in the mountains.

A long time later, Hel would awaken and attack the surface again. A town called San Miguel had been founded practically right on top of Hel's den, so it was the first to be attacked. A moth named Ringo was able to escape from the town and traveled to Mani's territory, having grown up on stories about the kingdom that used to exist in the mountains, to try and convince her into coming to San Miguel's aid. Thankfully, she had been dreaming about the town, had foreseen his arrival, and agreed to his request. She made a request of her own, he agreed to it, and they went back to go underground and defeat Hel a second time.

During the fight, Mani would seemingly die, but in true Wyrm fashion she shed her monstrous exterior, took on the form of a moth, and followed Ringo back to San Miguel where they would get married and live together.

Unfortunately, when they have eggs, Hel would awaken once again, and with help from one of her minions, she had the nursery where her sister's eggs were being kept destroyed, with Sabata's egg being stolen. Django's egg was being looked at by a doctor that day, which allowed him to live.

Mani and Ringo would raise Django diligently, but on the day he pupated, Hel would attack San Miguel once again. This time she succeeded in destroying the town, with her minions killing Ringo while she captured Mani and took her underground. In the subterranean castle Hel used as her main base of operations, Mani would meet her long lost son Sabata, recognize him as her own and tell him the story of how he came to be.

[ahawkinhallownest]

She's beauty, she's grace, she will stab you in the face and then chew it off

Mani in her moth form. the Pale King, she shed her wyrm body to take on a form that's more like that of a normal bug's, specifically that of a moth. However, she has a number of odd features, like the long tail, four arms and sharpened mandibles. The moth she's based off of is a luna moth, though her colors don't exactly match one, don't they?

[ahawkinhallownest]

Hollow bent down to pick the Tiktik up, stopping it from chewing on Lumen's cloak and nearly making Lumen jump out of his fur.

"Oh, I'm sorry Hollow, it seems we forgot about you." Lemm said when his attention was turned to the incredibly tall bug by their movement.

Lumen's mane smoothed down as he looked back and forth between the two. "Do you know them?" He asked, a question he should have asked a long time ago.

"They were a subject of my studies before." Lemm replied and gestured to Hollow. "I've already told you about their sibling before, but Hollow was a knight of great renown themself before. In fact, they were-"

Hollow let out a snort and turned their head away, their shoulders tense with discomfort. Lemm cast them an apologetic look. "Oh, I'm sorry, I forgot you don't like it when people talk about it around you."

"It"? Lumen wondered what Lemm meant. While it was obvious that Hollow was the quiet type, he couldn't even begin to wonder what their past was like.

A knight though? Now that's interesting... He should really try asking Hornet, assuming he ever sees her again, especially if their life was as interesting as what hers sounded like.

[ahawkinhallownest]

"I am in the process of building a museum of Hallownest's history and am in need of all the help I can get." Lemm said as he crossed one arm behind his back, probably to relieve back pain. "If you are interested, I could hire you since you seem so curious about the kingdom's history."

"Really!?" Lumen was practically about to jump for joy and had to ground himself by petting the Tiktik that stole his soup, which was now sniffing at his coat for more food. A job? In his dream field!? No, wait, he had to calm down and think about the offer rationally. "I mean, I'm not going to be here for long, just a month or two, and I just got here too."

Lemm gave the best dismissive wave he could with his other arm occupied with his scrolls. "That would be quite alright. I've been in need of help for a while, especially help that's actually interested in the subject." He gestured in the direction of the mountain. "If you're not sure, why don't you visit the museum and see it yourself? It's in the capital."

"That would be-" Hollow patted their leg to lure away the Tiktik, allowing Lumen to reach under the cape of his coat and feel around the pockets. "Hold on, where's my map-" He pulled it out and unfurled it. "Down and to the east, right?"

"That's right. I would suggest going there by Stag, but there's only one left and he's very busy these days."

Lumen nodded at that as he eyeballed a likely path to a large area labeled "City of Tears". "I was already told that by somebody else. That would mean going down the well..."

Lemm got closer to look at the map. "You might want to have someone help you get there. The tunnels are safer than they were during the Infection, but now they're full of wild animals and decaying infrastructure, so travel is still a little hazardous."

"I think I can handle myself down there." Lumen replied, inwardly cringing at the thought of hiring a bodyguard or guide. No way, that would definitely be too expensive. "I'm more worried about getting lost."

It was an exciting opportunity. Lumen originally limited himself to just a month in the kingdom because he assumed that there would be no people, and if there were no people then he would have had only so long to survive down there. Resources would have been limited to whatever he could have scavenged and whatever food he brought with him and could hunt. But like he said, people changed things, and someone offering him a job in the subject he loved the most changed it even more.

Maybe he could stay even longer? But then he would have to consider his family. They will eventually notice when he doesn't come back from his "little trip to Highroost".

[ahawkinhallownest]

Lumen then looked up at Hollow. Well, Hornet also said that they would know a lot about Hallownest's history, but the tall and mysterious bug had not said a single word in the past two days. Granted, he hadn't known them for long at all, but it was starting to make him wonder if they even could talk.

...Oh, he forgot about something. He looked down at where his food laid spilled on the ground. A Tiktik was happily lapping up the broth as it soaked into the dirt, the chunks of meat and vegetables having already been eaten. "Right," Lumen groused and rolled his eyes in disappointed frustration. "I barely even had any of my soup..."

"Do you have enough money to pay for it?" Lemm asked.

"Yeah, but I don't have a job and I can't waste any whenever some whackjob kicks my food to the ground." Lumen replied as Lemm nodded sympathetically. He put his hat on the table and bent down to grab his mask out of his bag to put it on.

"Everyone in my town is told that there are no people in the kingdom." He continued as he thought of his grandmothers. He remembered being a little boy when they took him to the cliff overlooking the valley the kingdom was in and told him to never go there. "So I didn't bring much money. Just enough if I met any treasure hunters." He shrugged and nodded at the relic seeker he was talking to. "You know, for souvenirs."

A Termite couple passed the conversationalists as they talked. The female, who was several times larger than the male sitting on her back, giggled at something her mate said. Lumen took a moment to watch them head towards the market. "People change things. I can't just scrounge around when they will take offense to their property being stolen. Living cheaply won't be as easy as I thought it would be..."

"Well," Lemm started as he gave Lumen a reassuring pat on his shoulder. "How about I make you a deal that might benefit us both?"

"Really?" Lumen said as he perked up in interest.

[ahawkinhallownest]

"I'll get you back for this! Zote shouted over his shoulder as he scrambled to his feet from where he fell, grabbed his nail and ran off as fast as he could while nearby onlookers pointed and laughed at him.

"More like Zote the Delusional!" Lemm shouted after him, to the agreement of a nearby Ladybug and Flea.

Lumen watched Zote with wide, confused eyes, not quite so angry now that his attacker was sent packing. "What's his problem anyways?" he asked Lemm.

Lemm shook his head and waved a dismissive hand in the direction Zote ran. "He managed to convince himself that he is the hero that saved Hallownest from the Infection."

A hero? Hornet didn't mention that to him, but then again their conversation yesterday was cut short. "If not him, then who did?" He asked as he picked his hat off the ground, thankful that no food got on it.

"They're a young bug with exceptional skill with the nail." Lemm replied and gestured up at the tall bug that saved them. "They also happen to be a sibling of Hollow here. I'd say that they know even more about Hallownest than what I do."

Exceptional skill with a nail? Sibling of Hollow? Knowledgeable about Hallownest? That sounded awfully familiar. 'I wonder if he means Hornet...' Lumen wondered as he rubbed his chin in contemplation. Was she really the hero that Lemm was talking about? Though they initially got off the wrong foot when they first met, Lumen did suppose that he could see it. She also seemed young too, about his own age, so that checked as well.

[ahawkinhallownest]

There was once a Wyrm, mighty and wise who slept among the mountains as the worn blue flag she wore upon her horn flapped in the alpine wind. Her coils wound around ancient rocky spires as she dreamed of a land unlike her own, one filled with mortal creatures of all shapes and sizes. She saw a town that sat in the protective shadow of two towers that pierced the sky, where the body of a long deceased Root took on a life of its own and became a sacred tree that purified the ground and air. Bugs of every kind walked through the streets, from Bees to Ants to Beetles, all ignorant of the Void brewing beneath their feet. As the ground cracked open and unleashed a hoard of dark creatures, the bugs fled into their houses, only for their doors to be torn down and for them to be dragged out and killed. Some ran to the tree, and while the sacred aura of the towering arbor kept the dark monsters at bay, it would only be a matter of time before the tree too would wither and die as the ground became polluted with Void.

What started as a pleasant dream about bugs had quickly turned into a nightmare of death and destruction, but there seemed to be a single glimmer of hope. A blonde-maned Moth wearing a crimson scarf his way fought through the horde with a golden Pure Nail in one hand and a magic nailgun in the other. He slaughtered as many as he could until he was able to make his way out of the village, where he was able to spread his wings and take to the sky. Where he intended on going was unknown to the Wyrm, for she woke before she could see where it was.

Something had entered her territory, stirring her from her slumber. Vibrations from feet as her uninvited guest climbing cliffs and mountains and the subtle shift in air currents as wings flapped directed her attention to near the border of the mountain range. The ground lurched as the Wyrm unwound her elongated body from the pinnacles of her mountains, with boulders tumbling down their slopes as she began slithering down, careful not to allow the flag she wore on her horn to catch on any debris. Her tremorsense afforded her an accurate map of every inch of ground in her domain, and she was able to easily locate the intruder.

A blonde-maned Moth wearing a crimson scarf stood before her, eyes wide in both terror and fascination. “I have been waiting for you, Ringo of San Miguel.” She rumbled, her voice shaking the ground below her as she loomed over the insect. “You come seeking my aid.”

“I have, but how did you know?” Ringo replied, jaw dropping at the realization that she had him completely figured out.

“Have you forgotten? I am a Wyrm, dearest golden one.” The Wyrm wormed her tail towards Ringo and placed it behind him, blocking off his ground route to escaping her if she were to attack. In spite of the obvious threat, he remained firm, afraid as he was. “I knew you were coming all along. I had dreamed about you.”

“You did?”

She nodded her huge, horned head. “I had been waiting so long for you.” She leaned in, her mandibles so massive that they could crunch through boulders with ease. “You are brave for coming all the way here to seek my help in saving your homeland.”

“Well,” Ringo started and took a defiant step forward with his hands balled up into fists. “If you know why I’m here, will you help us? My home is being attacked by monsters from underground, and we can’t fight them off by ourselves!” He reached out to her pleadingly. “Please, you have to!”

“Be calm, dearest golden one.” She raised the fan of uropods at the end of her tail to get his attention. “I will agree to join you in your crusade, for I have also dreamed that you will succeed with my help. But I ask for one thing in return.”

Ringo eyes narrowed and his brow furrowed in confusion. “You want something from me?”

“It’s only natural, is it not? No one does anything for free, even you should know that.” The Wyrm leaned down, her colossal mandibles becoming a deadly cage to prevent the Moth from escaping. Though he was afraid, he kept his eyes on her face. “I only ask that you do something very important for me...”

Mani is a wyrm in this alternate world, which is basically the Hollow Knight setting’s equivalent of a dragon. She’s big, she’s purple, and she has lunar markings, and when she turns into a mortal bug later on, she becomes a luna moth, thus continuing her lunar aesthetic. She even has the blue scarf that Sabat would eventually wear on her horn, a small detail I was happy to somehow work into this design, though I describe it as an old flag. I wonder where the flag came from?

[ahawkinhallownest]

“Put me down!” Zote shouted and struggled furiously as he was roughly yanked away by Hollow. The tall bug held him high off the ground and away from Lumen as Lemm jumped to his feet off his chair, gathered his scrolls in his right arm and rushed to check on the younger bug.

“Are you ok!?” Lemm asked as he put a steadying hand on Lumen’s shoulder to make sure he wouldn’t fall over as he stood up from the table.

The Moth rubbed at his cheek to feel for any injuries. Though it smarted where Zote swatted him, it didn’t really hurt and he didn’t feel any hemolymph. “Don’t worry,” He groused with a frustrated sigh. “This isn’t the first time I was assaulted out of nowhere...” He was frustrated that he got attacked twice in a row, but at least Zote only had a toy wooden nail, and not a real one like what Hornet wielded.

“Well, at least you aren’t hurt.” Lemm replied before rounding on Lumen’s assailant and jabbing a finger at his face. “Apologize to him, Zote!”

Hollow lowered the struggling bug to be eye level with Lumen and the two glared at each other. Lumen’s fur and antennae stood on end as Zote narrowed his eyes suspiciously. “I’ve got my eyes on you...” Zote growled before being unceremoniously dropped to the ground.

[ahawkinhallownest]

“It would seem that Moths were quite important in Hallownest society.” Lemm said and took a sip of his tea.

“Were they really?” Lumen replied with a tilt of his head. While Hornet did say that his ancestors helped the Pale King gain the loyalty of the people of the lands that would become Hallownest, he didn’t know what exactly their role was in the kingdom’s society.

The Beetle nodded sagely and gestured at the scrolls on the table. “Yes, based on the evidence. There are records of the Moths working for the Pale Ki-”

Just then, Zote, who had been glaring back and forth between the two taller bugs, jumped onto the table and send Lumen’s food and hat tumbling to the ground. “Enough of this useless prattling!” He shouted as he drew his wooden nail. “You dare try and hide your true nature from me, Moth?”

Lumen stuttered as he leaned back in surprise. “Wait, wha-”

“Well too bad!” Zote interrupted. “I have already defeated your Goddess, so I can easily drive you off.”

Lemm glared and slammed his teacup on the table, spilling tea on the wood. “Could you not stand on the table? Even better, stop lying!”

Zote completely ignored him and raised his nail towards Lumen, who raised his hands to keep them between him and the bug accosting him. “I will not allow your kind to destroy this land again, vile creature!”

Lumen stared wide-eyed and utterly confused as he tried to think of a reason for why this strange sequence of events was occurring. “Hold on a seco-”

“Begone!” Zote barked as he lunged at Lumen while swinging his nail at his face, forcing the Moth to turn his head away close his eyes to avoid them being stabbed in them while he tried to push Zote back.

Lemm shouted “Stop that, you crazy little bas-” But he was interrupted as a large hand reached down and grabbed Zote by his horn.

[ahawkinhallownest]

A pair of hands slammed onto the table to Lumen’s left and Lumen jerked right in surprise. He looked and saw that the person that had butt into his conversation with Lemm was the short bug from yesterday, Zote if he remembered correctly.

“Precept fifty nine: Cover your face.” Zote growled as he glared up at Lumen while standing as tall as he could to try and (fail to) get in his face. “Your mask is your true face, and you will eventually lose it if you do not wear it.”

Lumen blinked in confusion while Lemm sighed and rubbed at his temple tiredly. Zote noticed and turned to glare at the old Beetle. “You should also wear a mask, Lemm. Now, why are you talking about Moths?”

“Uh, I...” Lumen blinked at Zote as the little bug looked back and forth with a suspicious look in his eyes before he was able to pull himself back into the conversation at the mention of his species. He excitedly turned back to Lemm and planted his hands on the table to lean towards the Beetle. “...Am a Moth myself, actually!”

Lemm nodded with a knowing smile. “I thought so.”

Lumen knew he shouldn’t have been surprised considering how Lemm seemed to zero in on him in the first place when he first came to sit down with him. But he put the question at the back of his mind and forgot about it until just then. “Wait, really?”

“Of course. I am a relic seeker, so I have seen photos and paintings of Moths.”

[ahawkinhallownest]

“So, would you be Lemm?” Lumen asked, unable to be patient as the older Beetle sat down. He ignored the fact that the bug sitting across from him seemed to very deliberately pick him out from the empty tables he could have sat at.

The Beetle nodded as he put his scrolls and tea down on the table. “Yes, as it happens. Were you looking for me?”

“Well...” Lumen replied, remembering what Sly told him as he was buying the silverware from him. “I was told that someone named ‘Lemm’ knows a lot about Hallownest.”

“As I do. Who told you about me?”

“Someone named Sly did.”

The Beetle sighed and shook his head, his chitin beard swaying with the movement. “Figures as much...” He waved his hand dismissively and raised the other to take a sip of tea. “That Gnat’s a snoop, but he’s right, I’m a historian and a relic seeker. Why were you looking for me?”

“I’m something of an amateur historian myself.“ Lumen replied. He spotted a familiar small bug with lopsided horns standing behind Lemm, leaning halfway out of the cafe’s door and appearing to be watching the two. What was Zote doing? “Specifically, I want to learn more about the history of Moths in Hallownest.”

[kom-art]

Lurien concept