The Pale King

The Pale King is a higher being[1] who used to be the monarch of Hallownest, mate to the White Lady, and ruler of the White Palace. The Pale King became the ruler of Hallownest mainly so that he could build a kingdom which would prosper eternally where others failed to meet that goal. Despite this, there is no evidence that he forced anyone to follow him after granting some of the bugs sentience. Though being an antagonist, the Pale King is not inherently evil; he makes evil choices such as throwing hundreds of eggs into the void to create vessels and sealing the Hollow Knight in the black egg temple, but in the belief the ends justify the means. The moth tribe of the Radiance willingly turned their backs on her in favor of worshipping the Pale King. While he did oppose the Soul Master of Soul Sanctum in his attempts to use Soul in order to stop the infection, the Pale King had an unethical plan of his very own. He discarded thousands of Vessels in the Abyss, with most of these Vessels ending up dying. Whether these Vessels were killed by him or died on their own is unclear, but it is known that he felt remorse for their deaths. The Pale King had a white head with a horned crown. He was small in stature and wore a gray cloak around his body, No longer ruling Hollownest, he was in a dream where his body was mistreated over time, and now has a crack in his head. the crown is part of his body.

He is an ancient Wyrm who burrowed through mountains and across the wasteland until finally stopping in Kingdom's Edge.[2] Once there, the Wyrm shed its shell and transformed into the Pale King.[3] The pale, broken egg found within the Cast-Off Shell hints at this rebirth.[2] Consequently, the Pale King is often still referred to as "Wyrm", as this was his former body.[4][5][6] He reduced his form in order to match the bugs of Hallownest.[7]

The Kingdom of Hallownest After his transformation, the Pale King expanded the minds of several species of bugs in Hallownest, granting them sapience.[8][9] The Pale King wanted these bugs to devote themselves to him, and in return, he promised them that the kingdom of Hallownest would last eternally.[10] The Pale King was often depicted as an imposing, gleaming figure with a fiercely horned crown.[11] He was bright and radiant in visage,[12] with the Delicate Flower's pure aura being no match for his light.[13]

Although he was an elusive, reclusive figure who was rarely seen outside his Palace, the Pale King was deified by his citizens.[14] The bugs of Hallownest believed that he created their world and everything in it.[15] Worship was offered through King's Idols.[16] Even the Moth Tribe turned their backs on their creator, the Radiance, and started worshipping the Pale King instead.[17] The Pale King's ability of foresight,[18] the ability to see the future to some extent, caused the mushrooms of Fungal Wastes to accept his rule as well.[19]

He was responsible for much of the architecture found throughout Hallownest, most of it bearing a Hallownest Seal. He also built the Stagways[20] and the Trams.[21]

The Infection When the Radiance tried to be remembered again after being almost entirely forgotten, she ended up causing the Infection.[22] To combat this, the Pale King came up with the idea to use a Vessel to seal her away. These Vessels are the children of him and the White Lady, born in the Abyss with Void inside of them.[23][24][25][26]

Three bugs were asked to become Dreamers to form seals on the Temple of the Black Egg which would contain this Vessel. One of them, Herrah, only accepted his proposal if the Pale King had a dalliance[27] with her which would result in a child; this child ended up being Hornet Nevertheless, the chosen Vessel, the Hollow Knight, was unable to contain the Infection for eternity due to their purity being misjudged.[28] The Pale King raised the Hollow Knight and formed a bond with them, which may have resulted in their "tarnishing".[29][30]

At a certain point, after the Infection reappeared, the Pale King and the White Palace disappeared.[31][32][33] Since no one rules Hollownest, everything has become more...wild, so now there is the custom of devour or be devoured. The only civilized place is Dirtmouth