Interesting, and very different from the reading I got from other people.
The take I’d essentially seen was that the Radiance was an evil god who kept bugs enslaved in a state of mindless devotion until the Pale King “expanded their minds” and gave them free will, at which point they stopped worshiping her, with the Infection being her attempt to re-enslave them.
That is one interpretation. It assumes that post-Hallownest Radiance isn’t all that different to pre-Hallownest Radiance. That the infection was pretty much always how she always operated. There’s some things to suggest otherwise. I swear the moth lady, the one who gives you the dreamnail, said the Radiance used to be more benevolent (and really only a divine figure to the moths), but turned bitter after moths started forgetting her after the Pale King set up shop.
The Pale Kind King (edit gosh this is some lovely winve) was also on an exceptionalism kick - his empire was supposed to be the only civilization, the only place for thinking bugs. But. That doesn’t actually seem to be the case. He seemed (mostly) to straight up ignore the mushrooms and the mantis polities right on his doorstep because doing so would have been a tad awkward, something of an ideological contradiction. And whatever culture and civilization the moths had is almost completely gone. Maaaaybe it was all above board, maybe he just made a better case to the moths than the Radiance did. Fair victor in the marketplace of ideas. But he also clearly doesn’t have much scruples when it comes to getting his own way. Hard to believe there isn’t shady shit hidden in that forgotten past.
Interesting, and very different from the reading I got from other people.
The take I’d essentially seen was that the Radiance was an evil god who kept bugs enslaved in a state of mindless devotion until the Pale King “expanded their minds” and gave them free will, at which point they stopped worshiping her, with the Infection being her attempt to re-enslave them.
That is one interpretation. It assumes that post-Hallownest Radiance isn’t all that different to pre-Hallownest Radiance. That the infection was pretty much always how she always operated. There’s some things to suggest otherwise. I swear the moth lady, the one who gives you the dreamnail, said the Radiance used to be more benevolent (and really only a divine figure to the moths), but turned bitter after moths started forgetting her after the Pale King set up shop.
The Pale
KindKing (edit gosh this is some lovely winve) was also on an exceptionalism kick - his empire was supposed to be the only civilization, the only place for thinking bugs. But. That doesn’t actually seem to be the case. He seemed (mostly) to straight up ignore the mushrooms and the mantis polities right on his doorstep because doing so would have been a tad awkward, something of an ideological contradiction. And whatever culture and civilization the moths had is almost completely gone. Maaaaybe it was all above board, maybe he just made a better case to the moths than the Radiance did. Fair victor in the marketplace of ideas. But he also clearly doesn’t have much scruples when it comes to getting his own way. Hard to believe there isn’t shady shit hidden in that forgotten past.Definitely gonna have to watch out for this in my next playthrough.