Hornet

Phantom is a melancholic and decaying warrior created from silk by Grand Mother Silk. Phantom is a predecessor to Lace, her "younger sister," and was tasked with guarding the Citadel's Exhaust Organ. Over time, Phantom's fragile, fraying body began to deteriorate, and she has come to desire a dignified end in combat, Phantom was an early attempt by Grand Mother Silk to create a new child after her first creations, the Weavers, rebelled and imprinted her. Though Phantom was capable, her silk body began to decay, leading Grand Mother Silk to discard her, Cast aside in the Sinner's Road, Phantom was given the role of maintaining the Exhaust Organ. This device expels refuse silk from the Citadel, which is then used by Phantom to create the hostile Wraiths that patrol the surrounding Mist, To reach Phantom, Hornet must navigate the Mist, a confounding and looping labyrinth created by the exhaust silk from the Organ. Butterflies in the Mist will guide Hornet if she plays her Needolin. When Hornet confronts Phantom, the aged warrior, aware of his own decline, is exhilarated to face a final challenge. She challenges Hornet to a duel to the death, hoping for an honorable end, Phantom is a slender, humanoid bug whose body is made of gray, fraying silk. She wears a white mask to obscure her features. Quiet and lacking connections with others in Pharloom, Phantom is depicted as a brave warrior who thrives in combat. Her dialogue expresses her morbid eagerness for her final battle, Phantom and Lace's history bears a homage to The Phantom of the Opera. Phantom hides behind a mask and plays the Organ, while Lace resents her status as a replacement for her mother's "first" children, Both Phantom and Lace were artificially created from silk by Grand Mother Silk. Lace is aware of Phantom's existence and regrets that they were both made as mere novelties for their "mother", Phantom is a precursor to Lace, who was made after Phantom was deemed a failure. Their relationship is a key

After the Wish is completed, Shakra can also be met just outside the Greymoor entrance to Bellhart by ringing her post, where she challenges Hornet to a friendly duel. There is no reward/prize for winning the duel. The duel is no longer be accessible once Act 3 begins.

After Act 3 begins, Shakra takes up the role of defender of Bellhart and only stays in Bellhart occasionally,[code 6] and can sometimes be seen killing enemies at the entrances of the town, in Greymoor and Shellwood.[code 7]

Shakra is a lean, tall bug with a pointed white head, possessing a long sharp crest, as well as downturned eyes. She has two long antennae that extend from her head like dreadlocks. Shakra has golden metal armor on her abdomen, waist and tail, as well as thin black limbs. She wears bronze rings on her arms and has a red bag full of maps on her back. Shakra can be encountered in various locations in Pharloom. With the exception of Bone Bottom and Bellhart, once Shakra is encountered in a location, she moves on and does not return to that location.[code 1] She may skip appearing in a location if certain conditions are met, in such cases the shop items for those areas are automatically added to her shop and can be purchased on the next encounter.

Shakra can be first encountered in The Marrow. After the Bell Beast is defeated, she resides on a ledge east of Bone Bottom. If Shakra is away, she can be called back by hitting her ring pole. Once Widow is defeated, or if the Wish The Terrible Tyrant is completed,[code 2] Shakra leaves Bone Bottom and does not return even when being called.

Shakra assists in the arena fight in Hunter's March if Hornet has not visited Greymoor, Bellhart, or Shellwood.[code 3] If Shakra doesn't appear for the fight, she can be encountered in later section in Hunter's March, in the long tunnel leading right to Chapel of the Beast.

After Widow is defeated, Shakra resides on a ledge east of Bellhart. Similar to Bone Bottom, when Shakra is away, she can be called back by hitting her ring pole.

If the pre-requisites for the Wish Trail's End are fulfilled, Shakra disappears from all locations and won't return until the Wish is completed.[code 4] After the Wish is completed, Shakra gives Hornet the Throwing Ring tool and can be called to assist in the Forum fight in High Halls. This overrides Garmond & Zaza appearing to help if their quest has also been completed.[code 5]

The kingdom of Pharloom Ruled by silk and song: The kingdom is haunted by the "Haunting," a madness that afflicts its inhabitants through threads of silk controlled by a higher being known as Grand Mother Silk. The Citadel: Pilgrims travel to the gleaming Citadel that crowns the kingdom, believing they will find salvation there. However, many are unaware that it is the source of the Haunting. Origin of the Weavers: The story of Pharloom began when Grand Mother Silk, a higher being, created the Weavers from ordinary spiders and ruled over them. The Weavers, however, discovered they were not divine children but tools in her grand plan. They eventually staged a rebellion, trapping her in a silken cocoon. The Haunting spreads: The Weavers' initial rebellion failed to permanently contain Grand Mother Silk, and her influence began to seep back into Pharloom. The Citadel's use of silk for prolonging life made its inhabitants especially susceptible, causing madness and creating a mindless workforce under its control. Capturing descendants: To fully awaken, Grand Mother Silk commanded her followers to hunt down Weaver descendants scattered across the world to claim their power. This led to Hornet's kidnapping. Hornet's journey Captured and transported: The game begins with Hornet being captured and caged by veiled bugs and transported to Pharloom. However, she escapes her cage and embarks on a "deadly pilgrimage" to the Citadel at the peak of the kingdom. Weaver legacy: Her journey forces her to confront her long-dormant Weaver heritage. Her mother, Herrah the Beast, arranged for Hornet to be raised away from the Weaver's control. Grand Mother Silk's goal is to force Hornet to reclaim her place as a Weaver, serving her will. Multiple paths: Throughout the story, players can choose how Hornet approaches her quest, leading to multiple outcomes. These choices are tied to her willingness to help the desperate and downtrodden inhabitants of Pharloom. Mother Silk is dead

The flawed child: Lace was woven from Grand Mother Silk's silk, following the goddess's betrayal by her other creations, the Weavers. While Lace is a flawed creation with a weak, wasting existence, she is still considered "mostly complete". Her deceased sibling, Phantom, was considered a failure and was discarded. Role as a caretaker: For centuries, Lace has acted as a lonely caretaker of the Citadel, cleaning and maintaining it while other bugs try to avoid her. This perpetual service to her mother has left her with a deep-seated boredom and self-loathing. she had childish, cruel, and playful personality is a performance—a mask for her despair and lack of agency. A replacement child: Grand Mother Silk captures Hornet, who is part-Weaver, to potentially find a replacement child. This intensifies Lace's insecurities and anger, as she fears being cast aside. A desperate need for recognition: Lace believes her mother prefers Hornet and becomes desperate for recognition. She resents Hornet for stealing her mother's attention and attempts to kill her. Symbolic foils: Lace and Hornet are foils for one another. Both have divine parentage and face intense parental expectations. However, Hornet was forced into adulthood, while Lace is tragically trapped in a childlike state. Fate in Silksong Final confrontation: In one of the game's endings, Lace confronts Grand Mother Silk. During the battle, Lace severs her mother's arm and stabs her to free Hornet from the void. Descent into the void: Following her mother's defeat, both Lace and Grand Mother Silk fall into the void. Grand Mother Silk uses her remaining power to try and save Lace by empowering Hornet. Even though she is called a child on several occasions, she is technically an adult, not the age of a child, and somehow managed to protect herself. (most of the time, of course) Her mother is dead, the Mother Silk

Hornet was raised in Deepnest by the Weavers, and survived the fall and the Infection of the kingdom. She wandered around its ruins, rashly and with much unneeded hostility and hatred chasing off all travelers and strangers, automatically assuming they were trying to desecrate the place (despite most of them being harmless). She is paranoid, impetuous, ill-tempered, and self-absorbed, putting on an imperious facade to overcompensate for her lack of ability to truly protect the kingdom crumbling around her. She was very hostile and antagonistic toward the Knight, despising the Vessels, and trying to kill him as she tried to kill many other innocents, generally acting as an anti-hero, if not a villain. Hornet also supposedly protected the sealing of the Black Egg, although unneeded. She also saved the Cast-Off Shell in the Kingdom's Edge. Although she proclaims herself to be Hallownest's “protector,” no one in the Kingdom seems to know of Hornet or speak highly of her at all, and she is seemingly in delusions of her own false power, assuming that her presence is keeping the ruins of the kingdom alive. However, she only caused harm to the bugs of Hallownest due to her unnecessary violence.

After some time, she was able to sense the awakening of the Infection and started off on a journey to travel across Hallownest in search for answers. She encountered The Knight; he was a lone mysterious Vessel on a mission to find out the events that happened in the kingdom and to save what was left of it. The Knight was able to defeat The Radiance while Hornet could not. However, the story ends in Hollow Knight where The Knight seems to have sacrificed himself to save Hallownest.

Hornet is characterized by a complex personality. She is described as apathetic, cold, cruel, and self-absorbed. Born a rebel, she was raised in Deepnest by the Weavers and survived the fall and Infection of the realm. In the ruins of Hallownest, she adopted a hostile attitude toward travelers and outsiders, mistakenly assuming they were trying to desecrate the place, even though most were harmless.

Her behavior is described as paranoid, impetuous, and short-tempered. She maintains an imperious facade to compensate for her inability to truly protect the failing kingdom. She particularly displayed hostility toward the Knight (the protagonist of Hollow Knight), attempting to kill him as she would other innocent people, acting as an anti-heroine or even an antagonist.

Although she proclaims herself the "protector" of Hallownest, apparently no one in the kingdom knows her or speaks well of her. She lives in a state of self-delusion about her own importance, believing that her presence keeps the ruins of the kingdom alive, when in reality her unnecessary violence only harmed the insects of Hallownest.

Hornet has a black body with a white head that has two eye holes and two long horns. She wears a red cloak that covers her body from the neck to her legs. Her arms are rarely seen under her cloak, but they are as black as her legs are.

Hornet is an arachnid warrior who wears a curved mask shaped vaguely like a boomerang, with two dark eye-holes near the bottom. In addition, Hornet wears a red dress-like cloak and wields a needle and silk as her weapon. Hornet primarily acts as an anti-hero,

Hornet is completely apathetic, as is typical of her brutally cold, cruel, self-absorbed nature.

The Needle and Thread Hornet's main weapon is The Needle and Thread. It is a light-weight weapon that allows her to execute fast strikes and block attacks. Certain attacks will allow her to dash, pogo off enemies and surfaces, and serve as a mechanism for traversal as she uses it for grappling and reaching high surfaces.

Currently, it is unknown if she will be able to gain stronger variations of The Needle, but it is most likely that a crafting/upgrade system will be included, mirroring the Nailsmith's quest in the original game.

Tools Tools are introduced in Hollow Knight: Silksong as Hornet's special items that can be equipped in order for Hornet to gain various offensive and defensive attacks without consuming or using Silk. Tools can only be used for a number of times; they deplete a meter of usage. They are equipped on a Crest. Similar to how Charms work in Hollow Knight, Hornet can change Tools while resting at a bench. The meter of usage can be replenished by spending Shell Shards, which seems to be Silksong's new currency.

Despite being a very strong and powerful warrior, she has a notable weakness for furry or soft things, fur seems to tend to her and she likes to touch it and hug it.