#soul master

determinedcloudchaser:

slavonicrhapsody:

weafurry:

slavonicrhapsody:

listen…. the Soul Sanctum isn’t meant to be one-dimensionally evil… it’s a tragedy!!! It’s about once noble scholars who wanted to save their society, but their desperation drove them to cross moral lines… and the more lines they crossed, the more intoxicated with power they became. the scholars were never smug mustache-twirling villains, but tragic figures who gradually fell to selfishness and hubris, deeply haunted by their crimes. even the soundtrack is haunted… a minor-key corruption of the City of Tears theme, played slowly and mournfully on an organ. the Soul Sanctum has such a rich and emotionally complex story, and it really bothers me that it’s often discussed in such black-and-white terms. the whole environment is literally DRIPPING with tragedy and regret.

I haven’t done too much digging into the soul sanctum beyond the surface level stuff (honestly I never considered to look at the scholars dreamnail dialogue till now and I need to do that.) But even without much digging it’s SO interesting to have them start off with good intentions and slowly go down the wrong path. Not to mention how, depending on how you see the whole timeline provides such an interesting mirror for the pale king? Like. Let’s say this started before The Pale King sealed the white palace away in a kingsmould. For this to happen before or after the vessel plan provides SUCH an interesting concept. If it happens with The Pale King showing his distaste for what the Soul sanctum was doing before the vessels were even thought of, when the vessels are created, it provides such an interesting thing to think about. Like. This awful tradgedy happens in an effort to stop this other awful tradgedy, and you say to this misguided person, that what theyre doing is awful. Only for further along the line for you to do the practically same thing on a much MUCH larger scale? Like damn. And then if it happens after the vessels are created you have a whole other interesting thing to look at with hypocrisy and pk being forced to look in a mirror. And even if the most of it happens after hallownest falls, you have this thing with history repeating itself. The connections and similarities between The Pale King and Soul Master are sooo under talked about and something that’s extremely interesting no matter what your interpretation or view of either of the characters morally is.

And like even if you do interpret Soul master as kind of a snobby noble, that still can be soooo grey and interesting. Like having him start out as a rude, but good intentioned guy, then having it all slowly fall apart? Just. There’s sooo many ways you can look at The Soul Sanctum.

Honestly I think the most interesting way to look at pretty much everything in this game is as a bunch of constantly oscillating shades of gray. There is no villain, just one large tradgedy where nearly every if not every party did awful things, but had complex reasons and situations associated with the actions.

this is SUCH a great addition, thank you so much!!! I’m going insane thinking about all the parallels between Soul Master and the Pale King, you’re right that people don’t talk about this enough!! so many details about their backstories and in-game text are eerily similar… 

• They both experimented with a substance to attempt to cure the infection (soul and void) 
• They both sacrificed others for ‘the greater good,’ and their thoughts on this subject are practically the same. Record Cenda from the Sanctum reads, “Spare thought for those consumed. Through their grace, we are evolved. No plague of mind shall overcome us now.” while the text at the door to the Abyss reads, “Beyond lies only the refuse and regret of its [the Pure Vessel’s]creation.” Also, Record Beta (a cut piece of content from the Sanctum) reads “The path to progress is littered with mistakes.” and of course the Pale King says, “No cost too great…” 
• And lastly, they each have an enormous pit of the bodies of those they sacrificed hidden underneath them.  

My personal take on this is that, as Soul Master attempts to give himself the powers of a higher being (soul wielding and immortality), he is narratively imitating the Pale King’s mistakes as well as his powers. Which is also interesting because Soul Master hates the king! As he tries to put himself on the same level as the king, he becomes more and more like him. I find it so so interesting that we see both of these characters grappling with the cost of their actions like mirror images of each other. 

Though one thing I like to interpret is that this is a story of tragic corruption on the Soul Masters part, and shows how insidious/sneaky the Radiance works.

The Soul Master at first have the desire to stop the infection using Soul, but he possibly have an inner selfish desire to be as powerful as the God he worships. That selfish desire is more likely surpressed since it goes against everything the King stands for. But the Radiance “feeds” on the desire of weak willed bugs, using that to infect others so they indirectly worships her. Elder Hu didn’t realize he was infected the whole time until we beat his ghost. He was only shown what he wanted to see even though it is far from the truth.

The Radiance felt the Soul Master’s desire and possibly subconsciously fueled his inner demons further, influencing the Soul Master to continue this experiments by dreams of immortality. Wiping away that moral control and free-will the King constantly advocates for in exchange for primal rampage for power at all cost with no regrets. An ideology that is similar to the Radiance. Cause deep down, the Soul Master truly WANTS to be like his King.

There could be a time where the Soul Master actually resisted the dreams, but overtime the Soul Master finally gave in to his inner desire, fully becoming inflected and loosing his mind. The purpose of the experiments is no longer to save the Kingdom but to save himself regardless of the damages and by extension, serve the Radiance. And he doesn’t even realize it one bit.

Though No Eyes backstory is even more grim and tragic than the Soul Master.

weafurry:

slavonicrhapsody:

listen…. the Soul Sanctum isn’t meant to be one-dimensionally evil… it’s a tragedy!!! It’s about once noble scholars who wanted to save their society, but their desperation drove them to cross moral lines… and the more lines they crossed, the more intoxicated with power they became. the scholars were never smug mustache-twirling villains, but tragic figures who gradually fell to selfishness and hubris, deeply haunted by their crimes. even the soundtrack is haunted… a minor-key corruption of the City of Tears theme, played slowly and mournfully on an organ. the Soul Sanctum has such a rich and emotionally complex story, and it really bothers me that it’s often discussed in such black-and-white terms. the whole environment is literally DRIPPING with tragedy and regret.

I haven’t done too much digging into the soul sanctum beyond the surface level stuff (honestly I never considered to look at the scholars dreamnail dialogue till now and I need to do that.) But even without much digging it’s SO interesting to have them start off with good intentions and slowly go down the wrong path. Not to mention how, depending on how you see the whole timeline provides such an interesting mirror for the pale king? Like. Let’s say this started before The Pale King sealed the white palace away in a kingsmould. For this to happen before or after the vessel plan provides SUCH an interesting concept. If it happens with The Pale King showing his distaste for what the Soul sanctum was doing before the vessels were even thought of, when the vessels are created, it provides such an interesting thing to think about. Like. This awful tradgedy happens in an effort to stop this other awful tradgedy, and you say to this misguided person, that what theyre doing is awful. Only for further along the line for you to do the practically same thing on a much MUCH larger scale? Like damn. And then if it happens after the vessels are created you have a whole other interesting thing to look at with hypocrisy and pk being forced to look in a mirror. And even if the most of it happens after hallownest falls, you have this thing with history repeating itself. The connections and similarities between The Pale King and Soul Master are sooo under talked about and something that’s extremely interesting no matter what your interpretation or view of either of the characters morally is.

And like even if you do interpret Soul master as kind of a snobby noble, that still can be soooo grey and interesting. Like having him start out as a rude, but good intentioned guy, then having it all slowly fall apart? Just. There’s sooo many ways you can look at The Soul Sanctum.

Honestly I think the most interesting way to look at pretty much everything in this game is as a bunch of constantly oscillating shades of gray. There is no villain, just one large tradgedy where nearly every if not every party did awful things, but had complex reasons and situations associated with the actions.

this is SUCH a great addition, thank you so much!!! I’m going insane thinking about all the parallels between Soul Master and the Pale King, you’re right that people don’t talk about this enough!! so many details about their backstories and in-game text are eerily similar… 

• They both experimented with a substance to attempt to cure the infection (soul and void) 
• They both sacrificed others for ‘the greater good,’ and their thoughts on this subject are practically the same. Record Cenda from the Sanctum reads, “Spare thought for those consumed. Through their grace, we are evolved. No plague of mind shall overcome us now.” while the text at the door to the Abyss reads, “Beyond lies only the refuse and regret of its [the Pure Vessel’s]creation.” Also, Record Beta (a cut piece of content from the Sanctum) reads “The path to progress is littered with mistakes.” and of course the Pale King says, “No cost too great…” 
• And lastly, they each have an enormous pit of the bodies of those they sacrificed hidden underneath them.  

My personal take on this is that, as Soul Master attempts to give himself the powers of a higher being (soul wielding and immortality), he is narratively imitating the Pale King’s mistakes as well as his powers. Which is also interesting because Soul Master hates the king! As he tries to put himself on the same level as the king, he becomes more and more like him. I find it so so interesting that we see both of these characters grappling with the cost of their actions like mirror images of each other. 

listen…. the Soul Sanctum isn’t meant to be one-dimensionally evil… it’s a tragedy!!! It’s about once noble scholars who wanted to save their society, but their desperation drove them to cross moral lines… and the more lines they crossed, the more intoxicated with power they became. the scholars were never smug mustache-twirling villains, but tragic figures who gradually fell to selfishness and hubris, deeply haunted by their crimes. even the soundtrack is haunted… a minor-key corruption of the City of Tears theme, played slowly and mournfully on an organ. the Soul Sanctum has such a rich and emotionally complex story, and it really bothers me that it’s often discussed in such black-and-white terms. the whole environment is literally DRIPPING with tragedy and regret.

Some doodles

Happy new decade ✌

More hollow knight gijinkas! This time without a real theme lol I just drew my personal favourites.

Will do either the dreamers or higher beings next

Seeing other people talking about their thoughts and interpretations made me want to talk too.
May I talk? Ok, I will do my best to speak in English.

I think the following.

[a] Soul Master is the priest who appears in the song “bury the ~” sung by Myla.

• Soul Sanctum is like a church.
  The soul is the core of the living being.
  Resting Grounds is a place to save the dead, and Soul Sanctum is a place to save the living.
  Since it is said to be a sanctuary, it must have been a venerable place in the past.
  
  
• His death triggers Myla’s condition to deteriorate.
  His death a meaningful death.
  

[b] ([a] is a prerequisite,but )He was a vassal of the Pale King and one of those who had a close relationship with the Pale King.

• The King is the God of Hallownest.
  If he was a priest who listened to God’s Word and taught people, I think the ideas of Soul Master and the Pale King were very close.
  It’s no wonder Radiance wants to kill the priest who spreads Wyrm’s will.
  
  
• In a conversation we could hear after after defeating Soul Tyrant, he said that everything he did was denied by the King.
  He probably began his research at the request of the King to deal with the plague.
  However, the King noticed that Soul Master was infected and stopped researching soul.
  (This is related to [c].)
  

[c] His answer to the plague was immortality.

• “In my dreams I could see it. The Kingdom’s salvation, the cure for the plague… the answer was in the soul that animates our bodies.”
  “His jealousy… his madness… by standing against me he robbed me of my immortality!”
  

• From now on, my guess is
  

1. The plague spreads to the Kingdom
2. the King orders the Soul Master to start researching soul
3. Soul Master claims that giving light to the soul is a countermeasure against the plague, and that immortality is hope
4. Immortality = the plague. The King realized that his measures were counterproductive and denied his opinion
5. However, Soul Master cannot give up his dream and continues his quest for immortality
   (I will explain in [d] why he couldn’t give up on getting eternal life.)

• Soul Master gathered souls to reach immortality.
  Soul contains personal information.
  Also, each soul has its own hope (light).
  Collecting souls = Collecting light = Reaching stronger light = Approaching immortality
  (Of course, hope = light = Radiance’s light)
  (This is a bit related to [e] and [f].)
  
  
• Radiance’s light = instinct = desire, hope = hope for longevity
  Those who have hope can live longer.
  (Human also wants to live if there is hope, and die if there is no hope.)
  The plague gives hope and immortality to insects.
  Insects affected by Radiance’s light move instinctively = indicate that the original insect is phototaxis.
  
  
• Radiance’s light = Light required by phototaxis insects → Moves as an instinct
  Wyrm’s light = The light of wisdom that bestows the will of the individual → There is a reason
  When the amount of light contained in the bug is Radiance’s light> Wyrm’s light, the mental pollution is complete. 
  

[d] Soul Master’s dream was the kingdom, the bug and his own immortality.
     (This is also largely premised on [a].)

• When thinking about why he didn’t want to die, the compelling answer was, he wanted to live with the King, the bugs of the Kingdom, and his Kingdom forever.
  If Soul Master was the priest who respected the teachings of God, I think he would have loved the thoughts of the Pale King and everything he ruled.
  The King then begins an attempt to give the insects eternal life using Radiance’s light.
  I think Soul Master was delighted to hear that he could live forever with his beloved God, the King.
  In the end, the King’s attempt failed and the bugs of Hallownest were unable to obtain a convenient eternal life.
  
  
• So when Soul Master knew how to immortalize the bugs, he didn’t give up.
  He was denied when he provided the King with a way to immortalize them.
  And he was terribly resentful that he was betrayed by the god he worshiped.
  The King who once loved insects is dead.
  (In fact, the story that Radiance designed to isolate the Pale King.)
  (Radiance buries the bugs around him to bury the Pale King.)
  
  
• Soul Master was disappointed that the King did not allow the bugs to be immortal because he had a stronger desire to reach immortality than anyone else.
  And as his pollution progressed further, his research escalated and became murder.

[e] It was after his death that Soul Master realized that the eternal life he was looking for was the same as the plague.

• “Did their souls bring me closer to the light?”
  This is related to [c].
  
  
• “You promised I would live forever!”
  He is very angry when he learns that his immortal promise with someone was a lie.
  From this, it can be seen that the immortality caused by the plague is different from the immortality he was seeking.
  “You” may be the Radiance whispering him to the path of ruin, but I also thought it was a cry to the King who was once trying to give eternal life to the bugs.
  

[f] Researching void conducted by the King has a part that inherits the Researching soul.

• Researching soul performed by the Soul Master and researching void performed by the Pale King are similar.
  
  ━ Record Aba ━
  The mind still limits us so.
  How to break past its constraints?
  To attain a pure focus, is it even possible?
  
  Pure focus = focus that Ghost are doing
  Pure focus is a focus that has no disadvantages on the absorption side.
  This was essential for the perfect vessel the King was looking for.
  It is a technique that is impossible for anyone other than those with a nihilistic mind, and I thought that the result of the Soul Sanctum bugs challenging this was the current state of Soul Sanctum.
  
  
• The only difference between them is whether the research has paid off.
  The King will not blame the number of victims.
  “…No cost too great…”
  “… ”
  

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This is the manga drawn including these contents.
┗→Bury the priest who seeks light
The lines in this manga are delicate and I’m not confident in English, so I gave up the translation, but I think those who read the above interpretation can somehow understand it a little.

My thoughts and interpretations (and guesses) are like this.
VERYYYYYYYY long.
thank you for reading!

I love this stupid bug that is too straight and distorted.

fate

ursik-l:

radioactivesupersonic:

Given that Hallownest canonically wrote most of its information on stone tablets that they presumably chiseled by hand and the lugged around (Lemm mentions them having a “heft” to them) being any amount of well-read in this setting presumably called for you to have really buff arms.

No wonder Soul Master primarily fights by shoulder checking you.

IN HALLOWNEST ALL NERDS ARE BUILT AS JOCKS AND THERES NOTHING U CAN DO ABOUT IT

@radioactivesupersonic​ i’m OBSESSED with this concept