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| “ | For the river long... For a lord born strong... |
„ |
| ~ The Order of Karak's anthem, as seen from their Needolin dialogue. |
| “ | At water's source, And coral's heart, |
„ |
| ~ The Order of Karak on their devotion to Crust King Khann. |
The Order of Karak is a supporting faction in the 2025 indie metroidvania Hollow Knight: Silksong.
They were a tribe of militant aquatic bugs that once held control over more than half of Pharloom. Unquestioningly loyal to their mighty king Crust King Khann, the Order of Karak opposed the influence of Grand Mother Silk, but were wiped out after the waters that brought them life were cut off, leaving the Watcher at the Edge as the tribe's only survivor.
Biography[]
The Order of Karak was an ancient tribe of bugs indigenous to the region of Karak, where a mighty river flowed and gave them life. They appear to have spawned from the coral crust itself, causing them to crumble to coral dust upon death. They were led by Crust King Khann, a mighty warlord who possessed the ability to command coral, and were trained to become master warriors, with some even receiving Khann's powers themselves. The Order of Karak was extremely loyal to Khann for his power and charisma and under him, they managed to conquer more than half of Pharloom.
This age of glory would end when Grand Mother Silk arrived and established her own kingdom within Pharloom, usurping rulers and absorbing lands into her territory. While the Order managed to hold steadfast for a long time, they were ultimately defeated when Silk managed to dam up the river supplying water to Karak, stiffening the shells of the Order's bugs and turning them into dried-out husks. The Order was forced to retreat into Karak and would pass away surrounding their leader Khann as he sat on his throne, their once mighty rule lost to the annals of history. In time, the once beautiful land of Karak was also reduced to a bone-dry desert, inhabited by nothing but conchflies and sandcarvers. The coral crust is also mostly dead but still occasionally grows with outside help.
In the present, Karak's past influence is barely felt via details in the environment, such as the coral crust of their lands reaching into neighbouring realms such as the Slab, Underworks and Blasted Steps, or the skulls of their fallen warriors being used by the local wildlife for protection. Their architecture also perseveres, though faded and dulled from time and erosion. However, a memory of their glory days can be visited via Hornet playing the Elegy of the Deep in front of Khann's corpse, allowing her to claim his heart in order to save Pharloom. A single living member of the Order of Karak still remains: the Watcher at the Edge, an aged Karaka who stands guard at the borders of Pharloom, seemingly awaiting a forgotten order. They can be fought and upon death, drop the Grey Memento, detailing their last orders.
Members[]
Main members[]
The troops of the Order of Karak are a very diverse group, with all sorts of shapes and sizes being present. They tend to be bugs based off crustaceans and often have red shells.
Karakas[]
The main foot soldiers of the Karak, Karakas are red-shelled bugs with pointy helmets and dark silver breastplates. They wield bone swords which they use to slash at foes and parry attacks, leaping about with their lithe and athletic bodies. Many of their inactive husks can be seen standing guard around Crust King Khann's dead body.
Kakris[]
Kakris are skinny shrimp-like bugs with four wings and needle-like blades. They attack by flying about, slashing at foes or dive-bombing them with a corkscrew slash. Hornet remarks that their behaviour suggests that they were once hunters before joining the Order, and they support their more hefty brethren in battle. The masks of the Kakris appear to be the skulls that the Skull Scuttlers wear.
Yagos[]
Yagos are wide-masked bugs resembling prawns that have four wings and wield curved bone blades. They attack by hurling projectiles at foes and will unleash a devastating spinning slash if approached. They were trained as aerial support for the normally grounded troops of the Order thanks to their aerial agility.
Karak Gors[]
Karak Gors are hefty, wide-set bugs with thick brown shells and red armour. They attack by ramming into foes with their full body weight, either by charging at them or squashing them, and can summon the coral crust by stomping their feet. Their hefty shells render them invulnerable to damage from coral spikes, and even allows them to clear them by running over them.
Alitas[]
Alitas are lobster-like bugs with dark silver heads and arms. They attack by flinging sickle-like projectiles which slightly boomerang at foes and can dash at extreme speeds, so much so they appear to be teleporting.
Corrcrust Karakas[]
Corrcrust Karakas are older, crab-like bugs with blue-ish grey shells, four orange wings, two arms and four legs, and an armour of orange coral on their bodies. Thanks to bonding to the coral crust, they are capable of expelling corrosive bubbles which burn foes, which they spew out during their attacks.
Crust King Khann[]
The leader of the Order, Khann is a hefty, crab-like bug who commands the ability to manipulate coral, which he uses in his duel with Hornet. He held the utmost loyalty and respect of his troops, but his militaristic rule made him a tyrannical and harsh ruler in the eyes of the common bug. More information about him can be found on his own page.
Watcher at the Edge[]
The Watcher at the Edge is an old Karaka whose shell has been greyed with time. They appear slightly taller than a regular Karaka and have one more horn on their helm. The Watcher is awoken from slumber by Hornet playing the Needolin next to them, causing them to awaken and fight her. Their moveset closely resembles the moveset of a regular Karaka, albeit with additional anti-aerial capabilities and speed. Once defeated, the Watcher crumbles to dust and leaves behind the Grey Memento, seemingly detailing their order to await the revival of the Order.
Associates[]
While these creatures fight alongside the Order, they possess no loyalties to it as animals and as such, are not counted among its ranks.
Conchflies[]
The Conchflies are four-winged bugs that wear conches on their bodies, which they use to drill through the earth. Curiously, no Great Conchflies are seen in the memory of the Coral Tower, which could mean that either Khann decided not to send in any during his gauntlet, Great Conchflies were not tamed for the Order, or the conditions of Karak at the time didn't allow for the growth of one. In the modern day, Conchflies are still present in Karak.
Driznits and Driznargas[]
The Driznits are a species of four-winged, worm-like bugs that possess coral-infused masks, which they launch at foes akin to drills. These drills can ricochet off walls to hit foes, making them very unpredictable. The larger, more aggressive males of the species, called Driznargas, are also called in by Khann to fight Hornet during his gauntlet. Driznits and Driznargas still inhabit Karak during the modern day, with Driznits also inhabiting the Blasted Steps.
Kais[]
The Kais are a species of fish-like creature which appear to be composed of some sort of liquid-filled sac, which they burst into upon defeat. Kais can differentiate into two variants: Steelspine Kais, which can inflate themselves to produce spikes from their bodies, and Spinebeak Kais, which jab at foes with their pointy beaks. The Kais are extinct in Pharloom in the modern day.
Yumas and Yumamas[]
The Yumas are a placid species of jellyfish that can coalesce into the more aggressive Yumamas. Yumamas can slam into foes at high speeds, and upon defeat split back into five Yumas. They are now extinct in modern Pharloom.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- The concept of the Coral Tower was created by a backer called Brandon Lieu, along with Crust King Khann.
- As the Sands of Karak were initially planned to be an early game area called the Red Coral Gorge, it's likely that the Order of Karak's soldiers would've been early game enemies before this idea was scrapped.
- As the Order of Karak went extinct before the Haunting, none of their members are Haunted. As such, playing the Needolin elicits no response from them while the dialogue appears in the background.
- As can be inferred from the pronunciation of their leader's name, the Order of Karak's members are unique to the Hollow Knight universe as the only crustacean-like bugs.
- It's been theorised that the river that once hydrated Karak was diverted to the Citadel, seeing as it's one of the only places with continuously running water, particularly in the High Halls with its water fixtures.
- With the reveal of the more crustacean-like designs of the Order's members, it's been speculated that Revek, Garro, and Magnus Strong, three backer created spirits, may be related to the Order thanks to looking like crustaceans or its members.
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 Villains
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Hallownest The Infected Grimm Troupe Other Pharloom The Citadel Caste and its associates Silk Beings Others | ||