Mosaic

A strange, greedy little being indeed. It hoards things, sometimes even creatures in its makeshift arena, be wary, young traveler.

## Mosaic

### Powers and Abilities

They can retract and retain their shade as long as they have their charm, Eternal Binding.

### Groups

The Horde

Mosaic was one of the first attempts to reuse broken masks and shades of fallen vessels. With the power of their own charm, Eternal Binding, their shade is unable to leave their mask without being dragged back in. They are the leader of the ragtag fighting group The Horde and are found collecting Shades to join their army of Shadelings to cheer them on in battle. While very charismatic by default, they resolve most of their problems with fighting. Like all vessels, they are genderless and feature no gender-specific traits.

## Backstory (WIP)

Mosaic was the Pale King's first and only attempt to make a vessel using the masks and shades of dead vessels. Created with too much shade to withheld in their mask, they went on a rampage, burping out random shades and causing chaos. Pale King quickly got rid of them, the palace assuming peace once again.

After releasing most of the extra void, Mosaic found themselves with an army of loyal shades to their expense. With the help of their siblings, Mosaic created an unstable but functional charm of their own. Eternal Binding allowed Mosaic to control their own shade as a separate entity using the extra void they had retained. By habit, they would drag their shade back into their mask if they ever got injured. Mosaic is completely convinced that this ability is normal, and other vessels are just "weird".

After wandering through the Howling Cliffs, they allied themselves with a group of particularly docile vengeflies and tik-tiks. With the friendly creatures, Mosaic founded The Horde. The Horde established themselves as a group of wandering fighters, challenging anything that came in their path. Usually this consisted of a particularly angry Vengefly or Gruz but they were still up to battle *anything.*

Without a proper weapon to fight, Mosaic made use of their surroundings, extra void, and soul to attack. Wandering deeper into Hollownest, the Horde found themselves in Greenpath. There, Mosaic established a lush but hidden cave as the Horde's "arena and territory". It was quite an overestimation to call the cave an arena, but the Horde protected their sacred grounds with Pride. Any wanderer unfortunate enough had to face Mosaic in a quick, theatrical battle, sometimes to the death. Losing the battle would cause them to be admitted into the Horde, or be declared an enemy. Winners would be considered equals to Mosaic.

After a while of running this, a foreign scorpion named Scuttle wandered into the arena. Mosaic challenged them and they dueled. Scuttle fought with precision and might that skyrocketed above Mosaic's ability. The battle ended quickly. Before they parted ways for the first time, Scuttle gifted the Voidflow Tweezers upon Mosaic. The Voidflow Tweezers allowed them to channel soul and void through a weapon with much more precision. Scuttle said his goodbyes, and left the Arena.

It wasn't long until Scuttle would return. One day he shambled into their territory with a few other battered scorpions, looking half-dead. He explain that the Scorpion Tribe had war waged upon them by another foreign group of bugs. He promised riches and better supplies for the Horde if they formed an alliance with the Scorpion Tribe. Mosaic agreed and the Horde's cave became a safe haven for any young scorpions in need of a temporary home.

As the corruption spread, Mosaic began gathering a hatred for travelers. Peaceful or not, trouble always followed quickly behind them. Quirrel discovered the arena not to long before the beginning of the events of Hollow Knight. Mosaic challenged them to duel, but before they could take a bow, Quirrel fled the scene. Mosaic dubbed anyone who refused to fight or leave as cowards and the entire Horde began to look down on those who feared conflict.

## Personality

By nature Mosaic is very charismatic and cocky, sometimes even condescending. They approach battles as performances, attempting to fight with both skill and entertainment for the Shadelings and other Horde members. While they aren't a sore winner or loser, they hate to lose against people who pose a threat to the Horde or themself.

They have a dry, but widespread sense of humor. It's not very rare to see them joking about something very dark or deep. They show no coyness to their enemies nor friends, being as loud and obnoxiously difficult as they want. Most of the Horde Members look up to Mosaic as a leader and friend, and they usually follow a similar loud and impulsive nature.

Despite their good reputation among the horde, Mosaic is *very* greedy, even if they don't show it at first. They horde objects and trinkets of all shapes and statures around the arena. While they let other Horde members use them, theft can be taken more harshly than attacking them. Mosaic doesn't freely give things out to people, stating that they must be earned. This sometimes causes quarrel among reluctant Horde members, usually travelers who failed to win a battle against Mosaic.

They also have a tendency to resolve things with violence. Mosaic has a very wild and rough-and-tumble nature. Like the rest of the Horde, they puff up to make themselves seem more intimidating and dangerous than they actually are. While this usually works, very experienced fighters wouldn't be put off by this as much as others. This causes many travelers to avoid the Horde's territory.

Overall, Mosaic is an impulsive and wry character with a knack for persuading people. They have many leadership attributes that help them manage the Horde, but sometimes their greediness gets ahead of them. Someone with enough experience with con-artists could see right through Mosaic's sweet-talking façade.

## Battle and Attacks

Once found in Greenpath, Mosaic will challenge the player to a duel. They player CAN leave the arena after their dialogue, but once they re-enter the battle will begin. Before the battle starts, Mosaic will wave to the audience of Shadelings and Horde members before swinging around their tweezers like a baton. They will slam their tweezers on the ground to telegraph that the battle is beginning.

Mosaic has 5 phases and 1 stagger.

**Phase 1:** Mosaic will attack the player, short intervals of time between each attack. They will occasionally move back/forward to walk around the area. They will not jump in this stage.

**Phase 2:** When Mosaic reaches 66% health they will alternate between 2 attacks that are specific to Phases 2 and 4. This phase is timed and lasts about 30 seconds. Mosaic isn't open to attack during this phase and it is mainly about dodging.

**Phase 3:** This mirrors Phase 1. Mosaic will attack slightly faster and will jump to move around.

**Stagger:** When they reach 50% health (somewhere in Phase 3), Mosaic will fall from the ceiling and they will be staggered, unable to move. They are open to attack for 8 seconds and then their shade will be released. It will appear as the boss battle is ending, but a white tendril will shoot out from their charm and drag their shade back into their shell. They cannot be attacked while their shade is being retracted. This marks the halfway point of the battle. It is also a good time to heal

**Phase 4:** When Mosaic reaches 33% health they will alternate between 2 attacks that are specific to Phases 2 and 4. This Phase is the same as Phase 2.

**Phase 5:** This mirrors Phase 3. This is the last Phase. When the battle ends, Mosaic will bow to player, they will shake hands, and Mosaic will give them a lowered version of Eternal Binding called Shademaster.

* **Voidal Release:** Mosaic will leap in the middle of the arena and release a ring of black energy that spirals outwards in all directions. The energy will reach around 3/5 of the arena before spiraling back towards Mosaic. This attack can easily be dodged by retreating to the outer left or right corners of the arena and waiting it out. This attack will leave Mosaic standing still for a few moments, open to attacks. However, right after those few moments they will use Tweezer Bash.
* **Lunge:** A short ranged, but powerful lunge attack. Mosaic will position their Tweezers in front of them then lunge a short distance forwards. This attack can be used multiple times in a row, with small intervals of time in between each lunge. This attack can be dodged by jumping over and behind Mosaic or running out of their reach.
* **Tweezer Bash:** Mosaic will hold their tweezers with a long, thick tendril of void and slam down their tweezers to their left or right (whichever direction the player is in). This will cause a small shockwave to be sent out in that direction. This attack can be dodged by backing up and jumping over the Shockwave.
* **Snap:** Using their Tweezers, Mosaic will briefly float above the player and attempt to snatch them up/squish them with their tweezers. Mosaic will jab towards the 3-7 times. This attack WILL track the player and the only way to dodge it is to hit the tweezers back towards Mosaic (dealing damage to them) or dash in the opposite direction.
* **Equinox Projectile (Phase 2 and 4 Exclusive):** Mosaic will grab onto the edge of their cloak and open it up a few times, released 3-6 projectiles of Soul and Void towards the player. The Soul projectiles move faster than the Void projectiles, but the Void projectiles will home in on the players location before exploding. This attack can be dodged by making sudden movements to throw off the aim of the Void projectiles.
* **Aerial Dash (Phase 2 and 4 Exclusive):** Mosaic will dash midair towards the player's next assumed position. If the player collides with Mosaic they will take damage. After this attack they will use Equinox projectiles.

## Dialogue

We don't take kindly to travelers here.
Stay on your side of Greenpath or I'll claim your shade for myself!
 **If Dream Nailed during the first encounter at Greenpath** | * Another vessel... Another Shadeling perhaps?...
* Out! Out! Out!
 **When encountered at the entrance of the Horde Cave.** | Not too keen of mind, eh? Didn't you here me earlier?
I'm not showing you anymore grace after this, you've reached the entrance of our complex and sacred arena, little fool.
 **Before fighting at the Horde Arena** | Seem's you still can't understand the meaning of leave.
Behold my arena, my people, and my audience. I will be the judge of whether you get to leave in one piece, foolish traveler.
 **After winning the fight at Horde Arena (giving the player Shademaster Charm)** | It appears I misjudged you. You truly are as faithful as you act.
You're a vessel, aren't you?
Yeah, Yeah, you know you're different from other bugs. We are one and the same, little traveler
 **When given the Delicate Flower** | What's this?
Seems you've met the mourner, what a poor thing. Hope she's doing alrigh'
 **When at Scuttle's Tent** | Seems we meet again, traveler.
Scuttle is an old friend of mine.
I hate to admit it, but his skill surpasses mine by astronomical amounts.
You could learn a thing or two from him.

## TRivia

* Mosaic was originally going to be a traveler similar to Quirrel. They would have been based in the Fungal Wastes.
* The Horde was slightly based off of the Grimm Troupe.