Hollows, also called Interlopers and Clockhand Children, are a nonhuman species that were created within a now-destroyed pocket dimension, known as The Hallow. During the events of Oversight, their society was governed by a cult created and maintained by The Queen and her subordinates, known as The Council.
Hollows were subjected to intense thought control- especially those within close proximity to The Council, such as Jesse. Their society was structured top-down, utilizing a hierarchy that sorted those with varying "capabilities" into different social and economic classes. This was primarily justified using physical strength, intelligence tests, and unique abilities, as well as the former mandatory religion of The Hallow, Lucentism.
After the events of Oversight, many names are used among different communities of them, as well as communities of humans. This includes Interlopers, and more commonly amongst themselves, Hollows. Furthermore, many stories within folklore may have been surrounding cases of human-hollow interactions, or enflamed the stories further, such as old stories surrounding vampires, doppelgangers, and aliens.
During the reign of the Council, the mandatory religion of the Hallow was called Lucentism. Deeply entwined with hollows' specific cultural values, as well as being innately tied to the government, it was a very rigorously practiced religion with many fundamental components and working pieces.
According to Lucentist belief, The Queen was the deity of the Hallow, who gave life to all that live there. She first created The Council as those meant to most directly execute a form of governance where all other life could live harmoniously. She then created each class from the bottom up, with a different purpose in mind for each, and each with a different level of power granted to them from The Queen.
Lucentism was highly hierarchal, directly tied to their society's structure and economic classes, with both used in tandem to justify and impose the other. Those who openly rejected Lucentist belief were considered enemies of the Council, and would be considered defectors, regardless of if they practiced another religion, or none at all.
Each class had a direct tie to a religious purpose within the Hallow; Gears, for instance, were seen as spiritually gifted, able to see the future and predict the outcome of events. As such, members of their class were often put in jobs of religious authority, such as a Seer. In all aspects of life, Lucentism was a key component of how one lived from day-to-day, from personal free-time to work hours.
Worship was typically done by traveling to an appointed Seer or other religious authority, who would receive word down from the chain of command on what to preach. Those closest to The Queen, however- such as Council members and Jesse- would get their sermons directly from The Queen herself, within the throne room. It is customary to kneel oneself down as though being knighted during this sermon, regardless of who is giving it. It was entirely forbidden to look at The Queen directly, with many believing that doing so would result in instant death.
The Queen was typically equated to being The Sun of the Hallow, with her form being an amalgamation of pure, colorless light. As the Earth has the Sun, The Hallow has their Queen. As such, depictions of the Sun were commonly used in Lucentist art, writing, and other depictions, often used to represent The Queen, as her form was forbidden to be drawn- and would be near-impossible to do, regardless. Light, in general, was provided through The Queen herself, as the "sky" within the Hallow was entirely empty.
The Queen is often referred to as The False Sun, especially after The Expulsion.
There are still some hollows who follow some form of Lucentism; it may be called Neo-Lucentism. usually, they believe that The Queen survived, simply in a non-corporeal form. Others believe that she will return with enough worship and / or devotion. However, most have abandoned the religion. Despite this, old religious traditions may be incorporated into a hollow's life, whether or not they consciously recognize it. This is especially true of hollows who have since began to follow new belief systems.
Hollows have two languages: Relanoir and Relavere, formerly called Cesanoir and Cesavere respectively.
In both languages, similar terms are used. Echos indicate vowels, and Walls indicate consonants, visualized by a sound moving outward (ahh ehh, etc.) and a wall "stopping" it (er, am, etc.)
Relavere is the language of the nobility; only those within high enough classes are ever permitted to learn it. There are only 13 characters, each representing a consonant, such as 'voh' or 'lah.' These are combined together to create the entirety of the language. Despite seeming simple on the surface, the rules are incredibly inconsistent, often built on purely by its users. This is potentially on purpose to keep others from easily learning it; only those "in the know" are capable of understanding what's truly being said, thus keeping those who are only permitted to know this language in the dark. The grammar is inconsistent; for instance, in the word vorah, three symbols are used: voh - re - ah. The 'e' is dropped because another echo is first in the next character. However, in other words, such as lareah, the symbols la - re - ah are combined without any echo-dropping.
Relanoir, on the other hand, is a far more difficult language by technicality, however its rules are much more clearly defined. Relanoir is spoken by most hollows, and it is often considered an evolution of Relavere. This is because, to make up for the inconsistencies of the other language, many more characters, rules, and sounds are added, making characters like Jesse have an incredibly difficult time learning it. However, despite the technical difficulties, rules are consistent and rarely, if ever, change.
Relanoir is written using sharp, angular lines and characters, with them being built on a four-line structure. Each character may have four strokes in a given direction, with each representing a letter depending on placement. Once four strokes have been made, you move on to the next character and begin again. Relavere, meanwhile, is naturally written in cursive, using flowing lines and various dots, dashes, and other accents, as well as height of lines and loops to designate letters. It may be written without cursive, creating curved symbols that have accents on different sides, however this is far less common, and is usually only done for artistic purposes.
Relanoir has over double the word count of Relavere, making it a much more practical language for speaking in detail. Relavere is kept intentionally simplistic and vague.
Before The Expulsion, hollows had a variety of factions and beliefs, though most were suppressed.
Loyalists were hollows who fully believed in, and committed to, The Council and their Queen. They were almost always Lucentists, though there was variation in the more spiritually-minded loyalists, and the ones who were more strictly political. Some loyalists, as a result of The Council's strict control, only followed their beliefs out of fear, not wanting to suffer the fate that defectors tended to receive.
Defectors were hollows that, for whatever reason, were branded as enemies to The Council. For some, this was by choice, and for others, it was simply due to "failure" on their part. Defectors did not all share one belief system, and is instead an umbrella term for any hollow that was undesired and actively hunted down by their society, or those who held beliefs contrary to loyalism in secret. Political Defectors was a more specified term for all those who denied The Council's authority on political grounds.
Rogues were a loose coalition of anarchists who opposed The Council and any replacement system built on the same structure. Aurora is commonly thought to have been the one to unintentionally, and later foster, this ideology. They opted for a system without governance and hierarchy, even fiercely opposing many other factions of defectors.
Relaves were another collection of political defectors, however they were opposed to Rogues as well. Relaves still believed in a strong, centralized government, simply one that ran vastly different from their current system, in a much more fair and humanistic manner. Despite being political rivals to each other, the two groups could also work together when it benefitted them both. Their name, "Relave," is a term from their language that roughly translates to "The people(s)."
Political Defectors tended to don black, or dark clothes in general, in stark contrast to loyalists who tended to wear white. Some may have even darkened their hair, or wore black contact lenses.
Within the Hallow, there was a strict hierarchal class system that was immediately assigned upon formation. It was not entirely understood why someone would be put into a certain class placement. Some theorized eye color. Some theorized behavior or intelligence. At the end of the day, it was at the Queen's decision when she created them, and it did not change.
Class was entirely superficial, and it did not have any material basis. It was an entirely erroneous system designed to create separation between different groups of hallows and the work that they did.
Low classes were the bulk of the Hallow. They comprised the backbone of society, doing the most physical labor out of anyone. They were also commonly assistants, usually for those in high classes. They lived within the lower levels of the Hallow- places with little-to-no light from the Queen, and with the most separation from higher levels.
Middle classes made up the majority of textile, commerce, trade, and minor oversight jobs, as well as often being secretaries or researchers. They lived within the middle layers, which was also where many tended to work and travel through.
High classes made up the majority of journalists, scientists, doctors, law enforcement, and religious authorities. They also made up the bulk of those who oversaw lower classes and their jobs. They lived on the higher levels of the Hallow, closest to The Council.
Hollows are biologically very similar to humans. However, they do possess some unique attributes, such as a quick metabolism, retractable claws, and a long, venomous set of back-teeth that can pop out behind their "regular" ones on command. They may be of any race, height, weight, or gender, and seem to be unable to substantially age. Their eye color comes in many variations, such as yellow, pink, green, and red.
Some hollows form with a variety of mutations, such as extra eyes, arms, or fingers. Furthermore, some may have differently structured back-teeth, though this is considered a minor mutation. Similarly to humans, some may require correctional eyewear, such as glasses.
After The Expulsion, hollows interact with the world through human hosts. Akin to a ghost, a hollow will stalk and gradually grow closer to a human, being visible within reflective surfaces or potentially within dreams, until they are mentally weakened enough to be subsumed- this will almost always result in complete mental death of the human, the body merely remaining as biomass for the hollow to call their own. When this body eventually dies, this process will begin anew. In extremely rare cases, if the hollow is particularly gentle, or the human's mind is incredibly strong-willed, they may end up mentally sharing the body instead.
A hollow's back-teeth typically have two long canines that function somewhat akin to needles. These teeth are venomous, however the venom does not kill, and in fact are usually used on oneself. When one bites the inside of their mouth, or any other part of their own body, and injects the venom into their bloodstream, this allows them to shift or mutate their body as they please while in a human body; it is a typical process done after subsuming a human, making the body fully their own. They may alter their age, physical appearance, sex, height, or allow them to form mutations. This venom can be used multiple times, though it is physically strenuous to do it multiple times in quick succession. It may also be used on humans, and it will cause their body to change in the same way. This has been used as an attack on humans to incapacitate them on numerous occasions.
Despite their quick metabolism, hollows oftentimes went without food for extended periods of time, with some even forgoing food entirely during the era of The Council. Due to their inhuman levels of strength and ability, this seemed to allow them to survive. That being said, it was still deeply unhealthy, with them usually feeling lethargic and lifeless, and their cognitive functioning and strength being massively reduced. This was sometimes called "starving sickness." After The Expulsion however, while hollows are capable of surviving without food for longer than a human could, their human host will eventually perish without eating.
Hollows are designed to be carnivorous, with meat containing high calorie, fat, and protein being their healthiest diet due to their metabolism. It also aids in the rejuvenation of their claws, skin cells, and hair cells. Hollows are capable of eating other food such as vegetables and fruits, with many of them particularly liking beans, nuts, and other foods with higher fat content. Predation on humans is commonplace and nutritionally expected, and multiple of the same species living within a human community may cause tension, similar to the territorial behavior of many other species. Some humans speculate that hollows are natural predators of their species, or would be if their population was larger.
Hollows do not sexually reproduce their own species; while in the Hallow, their original bodies did indeed have sexual organs comparable to that of humans in most cases. However, they were entirely sterile, and their population was only ever increased through The Queen creating them herself. While their bodies are usually no longer sterile within subsumed human form, if they were to sexually reproduce, their offspring would be human. After The Expulsion, the only way for a new hollow to be made is through conversion: a member of their species intentionally, strenuously, transforming a human into one. This is a lengthy process, and requires the death of the human beforehand, before a subsequent "rebirth" as a hollow. They may do this for humans they are particularly fond of, and do not want to lose, however it is difficult and not always successful without considerable skill and effort. The process of conversion may play a role in why they have often been mistaken as vampires in ancient times.
Jesse, anthrocized as Jesse Hourigan, is the former prince of the Hallow. He served as a vassal for the Council, being of low class. Initially, he had very little knowledge of the rest of the Hallow, and did not possess the free will or autonomy to change that. He was only taught to understand small snippets of Relavere, and his association with much of the language took on a more metaphorical or coded meaning, largely to keep him from understanding people on the outside. Above all else, he was made to serve The Queen.
Originally, Jesse was created without a name, instead being referred to as The Prince, or vorah in Relevare, which directly translates to the word vassal in English. Later on, as his awareness of the outside grew, he adopted a proper name for himself, though none in the Council used it for him.
Jesse is a very hard worker, valuing commitment, respect, and justice. He has a strong desire to make the world a better place, having been driven by the seemingly utopian ideas of The Council under pretense that it would improve everyone's lives. Consequently, his desire to help others was used as a way to continue the cycle of control on himself and others, with him largely unaware of what it was doing to his mind. Jesse was frequently subjected to The Council's strict sense of thought control, warping his brain through brainwashing, deception, and abuse. When someone tried to challenge his mentality, it often caused him to break down into fits of denial and intense panic.
While it is a side of him often left hidden, Jesse does have a known rebellious streak. When the situation allows it, he can be incredibly smug, hyperbolic, and sarcastic. This became more and more common as he grew further away from The Council's influence.
Naturally, Jesse was initially an incredibly devout loyalist and Lucentist, going so far as to murder his own friend when he defected. However, this all began to change once political defectors began to reach out to him, trying to help him out of his dire circumstances. Due to the horrific conditions he was put under- including nothing short of torture and brainwashing- he was slowly fading away mentally, succumbing to the Council's complete control and burying his own personhood through dissociation. However, as his support network of defectors slowly grew- including Aurora, who formed into a close friend, and Archer, who was a situational romantic partner, he was slowly pulled from the brink of mental collapse.
This did not come without consequences, however; the time period between Jesse's loyalism and his eventual defection was the most difficult time period in his life. He tried to remain hopeful, merely hoping that in the end, everyone would finally live within a freed Hallow.
Despite the best efforts of the Council and The Queen, Jesse would eventually defect, culminating in the death of The Queen, and the subsequent Expulsion that came as a result. A widely controversial figure among hollows, some practically revere him as a liberator, while others see him as destructive force that destroyed the livelihood of his entire species. Regardless, he is seen in almost a mythological light, and as time passes after the Expulsion, many are doubtful of his existence entirely. He is sometimes titled The Sun Killer / Killer of The Sun.
Jesse himself reached an incredibly low point after the Expulsion, feeling lost and confused, and plagued with immense guilt and existential distress after destroying his home. The future he had hoped for was never meant to be, and he's sure he will never find his former allies and friends ever again. He blends into secrecy amongst humans, trying his best to live vicariously through them, and accept circumstances as they come. Despite being largely nihilistic and closed off about it, a small part of him remains hopeful that he will one day see those he lost again.
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