Finders Keepers [Hollow Knight]

ｐｒｏｌｏｇｕｅ

Hallownest, the kingdom of the tales of a big sanctuary, where life bustled to the brim, had been reduced to ghostly remains.

Many bugs who heard the stories of Hallownest would travel to see for themselves what became of such a regal place, though many turned back when the road turned dangerous. Most of those who pressed onward could survive the attacks of husks and other bugs that would attack them in numbers. The few who were able to travel to Hallownest and survive never made it back to where they came from, though.

Tiki was one of the few who were not only lucky enough to survive the lonely path to Hallownest, but also thought herself higher than she truly was.

She was an ant worker and much smaller than her kind was on average- most nails were bigger than her were they to be stuck in the ground next to her. When she was barely a few days old after hatching during a food crisis, she was nearly sacrificed for Queen Elifa's well-being.

Tiki's colony was far from any other recognised kingdom or sanctuary otherwise. From what she had overheard from the elders of the colony, it came to her surprise that Hallownest was only a few days worth of travel. Her colony was sat in the middle of barren plains that only the ants would refer to as The Hill.

There were stories the elders would also share with her and the others who were willing to listen if they weren't finding and gathering food, though most of the intricate details managed to slip her mind- not that she thought they were so important- but she remembered how her colony was once part of Hallownest itself, only to retreat for the sake of the Queen's safety.

She remembered they spoke of Queen Elifa allying herself with the Pale King and the Queen, the higher beings who ruled over Hallownest, as well as the Mantises and Queen Vespa who was occasionally heard of- but never seen. Both the mantises and the bees had kept to themselves as much as they possibly could, especially the bees who locked themselves away. She remembered how the elders would praise the old warriors of the tribe, those who would wield strong and sharp weapons against anything that would cause damage to the colony or Queen, going as far as to give up their lives to protect her.

And so they would.

It was because of the infection that had began to spread that the colony had to flee Hallownest. Many innocent bugs who may have once been at peace were forced to awaken and attack any bug who seemed healthy. The warriors would strike down many husks that would come close to the colony, until one of them fell to it as well.

The first warrior who fell to the infection wasn't noticed at first, until they started slashing at their allies. By the time Queen Elifa and the colony had barely escaped that underground kingdom, she had just under half of her colony members left. With numbers scarce, food and building a new home had become a challenge.

Since where they found safety was in the middle of nowhere without enemies nearby, warriors had become close to useless. What would the point of training be if there was nobody or nothing to fight? All of the ants were taught basic skills for hunting and fighting, but nothing too challenging.

It was because of that system that many ants had left before Tiki. Those who left were seeking action, challenges, something to test their skills and to hone them to the best of their abilities- become warriors to the Queen as her protectors. The basic skills on wielding a nail and evading or countering the attacks of an opponent were not enough for them.

Those ants wanted a fight for the thrill, to fulfil their passions; to strive to best enemies and those who doubted them. The last to leave the Hill, was perhaps a week, maybe two, ago. 'I wonder if I come across him?' Tiki thought.

Sandy winds whipped her face, almost as if they were pushing her away from Hallownest. Perhaps they knew of the dangers? Or were they just another challenge? She forced herself through them regardless.

She had only had a moment to regain her strength barely an hour earlier, though, with the dullness that covered the skies, she wasn't so sure how long it really was. As desperate as Tiki was for shelter, she could feel herself inching closer to Hallownest.

"I hope you are worth the journey..." she muttered. Caving in to her needs, she spotted a rock not too far away to shield her from the cruel gales. Sitting down, she took the ragged sack that hung from her hip and emptied it onto the ground beside her.

Before leaving, she filled it as much as she could with small rations of food and make-shift bandages in case of any wounds she would endure. Her shell, though it had covered her body well and was decently heavy on her, was quite hollow. Her shoulder and leg pads felt so weak that a mere wooden nail would crumble with the lightest, most pathetic touch.

'I wonder,' she thought, 'will I meet anyone else similar to me?' The beliefs of Hallownest's unspoken promise of glory to who could survive that underground kingdom plagued her mind as she wolfed down the remaining half-eaten larvae. If she needed more food, she would have to hunt what was healthy enough to eat- assuming there was anything edible left.

The blasts of wind weakened and the dust had finally begun to settle, vengefly's and reanimated husks had made themselves known.

They were quite slow, and thankfully none of them were aware of Tiki's presence. When she heard the squawks of a small swarm of venglfly's she immediately drew her nail, slashing and disposing of the flying bugs snapping at her antennae.

It seemed the ruckus was enough to alert the closest husk hornhead who had charged at her from the right, skidding to halt as she sped out of its way and sliced the side of its shell. She wasted no time in swiping the husk again, killing it a final time. She watched as an orange substance leaked from where her nail tore into it and shakes whatever fluid on her nail onto the ground.

She caught sight of a horde of husks, where the hornhead seems to have strayed from, and decided to avoid them as best to her abilities upon realising that she was at the cliffs edge, overlooking a small, desolate town.

The few lumafly lamp posts she could make out gave her a strange feeling in her stomach, one which she couldn't quite describe. Pity? Hope? Loneliness? A strange combination of all the above?

Tiki took a deep breath as she gripped the handle of her nail, digging it into the side of the cliff and slid down as far as she could manage before landing on solid ground.