The Humble Hollow: A Look At DARK SOULS' Saddest Creature

There are many strange foes strewn all throughout the DARK SOULS series, but by far the most numerous (and perhaps tragic) are Hollows. These walking corpses are what remains of heroes and peasants long past, and due to their number, can be found cowering in every corner of the land. They are almost always hostile — having been driven mad by their undeath — and in large groups, they can prove tricky to overcome.

Now, Hollows make up the bulk of the series’ enemy combatants, and they typically fulfil the all too familiar mob archetype found all throughout fantasy. They are zombies, and something akin to Tolkien's Orcs in function — mindless beasts whose only job is to be cut down en masse by the hero(es). However, much like their distant Orkish cousins, there's simply more to them than appearances…

Within the DARK SOULS mythos, humans are, in fact, immortal by nature, which was a power gifted to them by the first of their race, the Furtive Pygmy. This nameless ancestor discovered the Dark Soul (one of the four Lord Souls) and split it amongst future generations so that every human possessed a piece. Gwyn, Lord of Sunlight, however, would eventually shackle the Dark Soul with the magic of the First Flame, binding humans to mortality. Fast forward countless centuries, and the First Flame has begun to fade, and with it, its hold over the Dark Soul. Now, with their Dark Souls unhindered, humans are cursed to wander the lands without death to release them!

Grim, I know. On the surface, it is a chilling take on how living forever (in a literal sense, at least) would most probably affect our species, which is rather powerful because it is a fate that plenty would greedily seize given the chance. I can understand such an urge, I suppose. Knowing that there is an end isn't a particularly pleasant prospect, even if you are at peace with its inevitability, so why not live forever if you can? Well, I think that Miyazaki has answered it plainly: you would go mad! The human brain, even at its current level of advanced intelligence, is simply not capable of imaging infinity, so experiencing it first-hand would surely not go well.

With that said, though, I do think that this Hollow rabbit hole goes on a little further! Ultimately, I see Hollows as an analogy, a cunning bit of subtext hiding just beneath a wretched facade, and it's easy to see if you squint but just a little: the Hollows are lost humans. The literal fire in them has faded, and the poor sods have been left directionless, which has cemented a complete breakdown of their mental faculties, placing them in a state akin to death.

We humans — the real, non-fantasy kind — are very similar: we often refer to ourselves as possessing a metaphorical fire within us when we are motivated to accomplish something, no matter how insignificant or personal. But when that fire dies, so can the plethora of positive emotions and affirmations that accompany it. We, too, are left without clear life direction, and depending on how much an individual's fire dwindles, a worse state.

I think it's fair to say that we all have moments when we are down for the count, when the fog clouds our way and we feel lost on the road. I'm forever swatting at this fog ineffectively in an attempt to regain my view of the path ahead, and more often than not, my creativity suffers. My writing suffers. In those hard times, I fear that my creativity shall never return to me and that I, perhaps, may go hollow! Obviously, no such fate befalls me, meaning that once my chemicals and circumstances rebalance, the very same creativity that had abandoned me conversely reappears in order to save me.

To conclude: I do think that Miyazaki was onto something real special when he fleshed out his humble, little Hollows. They are not only delightfully inventive — breathing fresh life into the otherwise stale zombie trope — but they are a thought-provoking bunch, too. They are a poignant reminder to keep your own fire burning, in whatever manner it is that suits you; to endeavour to remain the hero in this world; and to not go hollow.