TS

Hallownest is the location where Hollow Knight takes place. Once a thriving kingdom in the middle of a wasteland, it has fallen into ruin in the wake of the Infection. On the surface, the lonely town of Dirtmouth is safely nestled in a valley between the Howling Cliffs and the Crystal Peak. Most travellers to the kingdom reached Dirtmouth via the King's Pass, before the bridge up to it crumbled away. The caverns below the town were heavily transformed into crossroads to allow transportation of bugs and goods across the land. The caverns expanding below the cliffs are overgrown with luxuriant vegetation, and each with its own ecosystem. The leafy caverns of Greenpath and the groves of the Fungal Wastes were once tamed by the construction of roads, with the Pilgrim's Way as the main path leading from the Crossroads to the kingdom's capital. The Queen's Gardens, originally part of Greenpath, were orderly built as a calm retreat for the White Lady. Without any maintenance, they were eventually smothered by overgrown vines. Similarly, Fog Canyon is infested with bulbous creatures and the Fungal Wastes with noxious mushrooms. The mountain's caves contain growing deposits of crystals, which used to be mined for the energy contained within them. Below lie the wide caves of Hallownest's Resting Grounds, filled with tombs and a subterranean lake. The kingdom's moths were responsible for managing these graves. Below the lake is the largest cavern in the lands occupied by the City of Tears, the kingdom's fallen capital. The lake's water pours down from cracks in the roof causing the city to be submerged in continuous rain. It rests upon the Royal Waterways, a network of pipes and cisterns to manage the city's waste. Bordering the kingdom underground on one side is Deepnest, a dark network of cramped tunnels and chasms. On the other side, the city is sealed from the Kingdom's Edge and the Hive by a giant wall.[12] Kingdom's Edge consists of a high chasm and wide caverns covered in perpetually falling white ash. The Hive is the artificial habitat built by a colony of bees. At the deepest point of Hallownest is the Ancient Basin, forgotten caverns where the Kingdom's monarch built his White Palace. The palace itself disappeared after the Infection returned. Further down is the Abyss at the heart of the lands' darkness, its entrance closed and sealed by the king himself.