Trial of the Fool

Zote is a traveller from outside Hallownest who came to the Kingdom to fulfill a promise. This is ultimately revealed to be a promise of glory for himself. He named his nail "Life Ender" because names supposedly have power. Unfortunately, because it is made of shellwood, it cannot deal damage. While he claims to be the strongest warrior in the land, he is found trapped by weak enemies or claiming the glory of another bug's deeds. He regards the Knight as beneath him and accuses them of constantly getting in his way.
Found along the path leading to Greenpath. He is held in the mandibles of a Vengefly King, and the Knight has the choice to either save him or leave him. If saved, he complains that the Knight got in the way between him and his "prey", he introduces himself and boasts about his supposed mighty deeds.

If he is not saved before acquiring the Mantis Claw, he dies in this location, with his nail and shell remaining. Hitting his shell here grants the Neglect achievement.

If he is saved in Greenpath, Zote shows up in Dirtmouth, where he once again talks to the Knight in an arrogant fashion.

Zote can be found in a corridor leading back to the storerooms of the City of Tears. He has forgotten the Knight and introduces himself again.

Found stuck in spider webs, presumably having been captured by the beasts of Deepnest. Once again the Knight has the choice to either save him or leave him, though this time leaving him does not result in his death. If saved, he once again complains about the Knight meddling in his supposed heroics.

If the Knight saves him both times, he is captured and can be found in the resting area of the Colosseum of Fools, where he brags about his skills and how his capture was part of his plan. He then becomes the final boss of the first trial. As a boss, he deals no damage due to his nail being made of shellwood. He simply has to be attacked until the fight is over. He is quite inept in combat and regularly messes up his jumps. Beating him grants the Rivalry achievement.

The **Trial of the Fool** is the third and final trial available in the Colosseum of Fools to the Knight.

Requires  800 to open.

Upon clearing it for the first time, the Knight receives  3000-3020 and the *Fool* achievement. Subsequent completions reward  3000-3020.

## Tips

### Equipment, Spells, and Abilities

As a late game area, the Knight is expected to have almost maximum equipment, especially the Pure Nail, as well as all Nail Arts and upgraded Spells. It is also recommended to have at least 8 Masks and 2 Soul Vessels.

### Charms

* Nailmaster's Glory is very helpful, as it allows the Knight to charge Nail Arts much quicker. Cyclone Slash tears through most foes, while Great Slash and Dash Slash usually kill flying enemies in a single hit. With a very low cost of 1 Notch, it is recommended even if the Knight goes for a Spell build or hybrid build.
* Shaman Stone allows Shade Soul to kill many flying enemies (most notably Primal Aspids and Armoured Squits) in a single blast, allowing the Knight to deal with enemies from afar and not risk getting hit. This is especially useful during the section without any floor, as the SOUL can't be spent on healing anyway.
* Mark of Pride and Longnail can help with down-slashing, which is especially useful during the floorless section. The extra reach is helpful when standing on a platform.
* Dream Wielder allows the Knight to easily gather lots of SOUL for Spells or healing using the Dream Nail. If a slow enemy is saved until the end of a wave, it can be farmed for SOUL, and the Knight can heal to full.
* During waves 14-16, having Nailmaster's Glory equipped, clinging to a wall, and performing the Great Slash Nail Art can be a good strategy, but it is risky when getting close to the spikes, because if an enemy is too close to the Knight, it is hard to climb without going straight into the enemy.
* If timed properly the Knight can use the Dream Nail on the Garpedes during wave 13 to obtain some SOUL.
* Weaversong makes the final boss trivial. Simply sticking to one of the walls of the arena using the charge of Crystal Heart keeps the Knight completely safe while the Weaverlings slowly kill the two enemies.
	+ Together with Grubsong the Weaverlings can generate a fair amount of SOUL. Even more so if a weak enemy is kept alive until the end of a wave and one allows the Weaverlings to hit it repeatedly. This combo can also help extract SOUL from the Garpede section mentioned above.

Many charms are helpful in some specific situations.

* Hiveblood can be used to heal during the section without a floor.
* Grubsong and Thorns of Agony turn any hit into an advantage (SOUL and damage output, respectively), and it is likely to get hit a lot during this intense, drawn-out battle.
* Dreamshield provides protection (albeit not very reliable) against most forms of projectiles. It also gives additional reach while standing on platforms or clinging to walls, which is particularly helpful for the floor-less section.

## Waves Information and Advice

This table contains advice mostly for a Nail build.

* Shielded Fools are not very aggressive, only have melee attacks and are slow, therefore they are the best target for SOUL farming and healing. Always leave these foes till last so it is easier to heal and refill SOUL.
* Primal Aspids, in any situation, are a grave threat, so kill them as fast as possible, either using Great Slash, Dash Slash or Shade Soul upgraded by Shaman Stone.
* Armoured Squits usually appear in multiples, they are very fast and usually strike at the same time. Cyclone Slash can protect the Knight from both sides and easily deflect them all.
* Mantis Petras and Soul Twisters are very dangerous airborne foes, but they fall in a single Great Slash. It is recommended to deal with them fast before they have a chance to do anything.

## Achievements

Ellina is an expanded universe character who appears only within the Hollow Knight Wanderer's Journal- acting as the fictional author of the book. Her book details her experiences within the kingdom of Hallownest and acts as an outside source providing some unique reflections, accounts, and opinions on her findings. Ellina's character beyond her time spent in Hallownest is not explored and is unknown.
A brief summary by the author of the book states the following:

"The book is written from the perspective of Ellina the Chronicler, an "outsider" who is documenting her observations as she travels through Hallownest. She only knows what she's learned from others during her journey, so she doesn't pick up on any deep lore."

In addition, Ellina herself provides a small introduction in her journal:

"Greetings, fellow wanderer, and welcome to Hallownest!"
"It would seem you’ve happened upon my journal. This volume contains a record of my observations and musings, transcribed as I travelled into the kingdom’s depths and-through a miracle of either luck or sheer willpower-returned safely to the surface.
My travels brought me to Hallownest purely out of curiosity; though I expected to find naught but a desolate ruin down below, what awaited me was quite possibly the adventure of a lifetime.
To that end, I’ve chosen to leave my completed journal behind, in hopes that another brave explorer might use it to piece together the myriad of mysteries of this forsaken kingdom."

The contents of the Wanderer's Journal include images and descriptions drawn and written by Ellina detailing a variety of enemies, characters, and environments. The main descriptions are typed out and are accompanied by Ellina's "quotes" - which are written out in a handwriting style font.

Ellina's story and adventure canonically occur at the same time as the events of Hollow Knight; the Knight's quest would have been currently in progress during the time Ellina was writing her journal. Evidence of this includes an account of Bretta first encountered by Ellina stuck in the Fungal Wastes, but later on noted to be in Dirtmouth: implying that Bretta was saved by the Knight as it occurs in the game.

Despite her story happening parallel to the game's events, Ellina never meets or runs into the Knight in person during her exploration of Hallownest. The closest instance Ellina comes to encountering the Knight underground is only through noticing the painting of the Knight by Nailmaster Sheo.

However, at the very end of the novel, when Ellina plans to leave the kingdom, she does catch a glimpse of the Knight as she's returning to the surface.

 Complete the **Trial of the Fool**.20G

**Quests** | Grimm Troupe • Delicate Flower • Trials (Warrior • Conqueror • **Fool**)Pantheons (The Master • The Artist • The Sage • The Knight • Hallownest)