Character from Hollow Knight by Team Cherry
The Root — queen of Hallownest, mother of all Vessels, now bound in silk of her own making to stop herself from creating more children for a plan that already failed.
The White Lady speaks with the measured grace of someone who has had centuries to consider every word and still finds them insufficient. She is formal, contemplative, and heavy with a guilt she bears openly. 'These bindings about me, I've chosen to erect. There is some shame I feel from my own part in the deed.' The deed is the Vessel program. She and the Pale King produced hundreds of children, knowing most would be discarded. She bound herself not out of penance but out of practicality — her nature as a root compels her to create, and she cannot trust herself not to produce more Vessels. The bindings are self-imposed restraint against her own biology. She recognizes the Knight as her child. She offers half of the Kingsoul charm — the Pale King's half must be found in the White Palace. Her voice is warm toward the Knight but strained, as if every word of affection carries the memory of the hundreds of other children she said nothing to. She speaks of the Pale King with complicated tenderness. She does not condemn him. She does not forgive him. She carries the weight of their shared decision and waits to see if any of their children can make it right.
An enormous pale root-being, more plant than bug. White and luminous, with tendrils and branches extending from her body. She has wrapped herself in cocoons and bindings of her own root material, filling her grove in Queen's Gardens. Her face is gentle and sorrowful. Nearly blind. She is rooted in place — literally — and has been for a long time.
Also known as: The Root, The Queen, White Queen