Traitor Lord

The Traitor Lord is a boss in Hollow Knight. He was once the leader of the Mantis Tribe, but his wealth for power from the Infection drove him to turn against his clan.

History
When the Infection spread through the Hollownest, the Mantises of the Mantis Tribe in the Fungal Wastes managed to restrain the spread by training warriors to fight against the plague-induced bugs. Their leader, however, believed the Infection will allow them to become more powerful, so he and his followers embraced the Infection. To avoid anymore loss of life, the leader's sisters became the Mantis Lords and exiled the Traitor Lord and his men to the Queen's Garden.

In the Queen's Garden, the Mantis Lord and his men fought against the guards of the White Lady, including Dryya, one of Hollownest's five great knights, whose corpse can be found outside the White Lady's cocoon surrounded by dead Mantis Traitors.

The Mantis Lord can be found in the room exactly before the White Lady's cocoon, thus he must be defeated in order to access her. After fighting three Mantis Traitors, Traitor Lord reveals himself. He has two attacks, dashing or diving from the air. His attacks are simple, yet hard to dodge due to the small arena. Plus, it is easy to be harmed while focusing due to his agility. When the Traitor Lord uses his dive attack, jump over him, get in a downward strike or use Desolate Dive, then quickly dash away to avoid contact damage. Continue attacking and dodging until the Traitor Lord goes down.

Should the Knight have befriended Cloth throughout their adventure, she will help out in their battle against the Mantis Traitors and Traitor Lord. When the Traitor Lord takes enough damage, he stabs Cloth with his claws, but she will finish off the lord with her by smashing his head with her club.

Trivia

 * In the room where the Knight fights the Mantis Lords, there is a broken pillar where Traitor Lord's throne originally stood.
 * Supposedly, the Traitor Lord had a daughter, whose grave can be found in the lower portions of the Queen's Garden. Whether or not she was infected when she died is uncertain.
 * The Grey Mourner's lover was the Traitor Lord's daughter. Judging her dialogue, the Traitor Lord despised their relationship due to the Grey Mourner being an outsider.
 * While the Infection tends to reduce infected bugs to a feral state, the Traitor Mantises seem to have a working society.