#monna

Monna was a once-wandering mage and painter who now lives as a hermit. It is not from Hallownest originally, but since coming here from lands outside several years ago (likely before the vessel was sealed away), it has not left. They are solitary and nonconfrontational, but does not hide their distaste for those around them.

As they are not a bug who exists as a part of Hallownest, they do not belong to any caste or creed. The reason they came to the kingdom is for the beautiful world that exists around it: lush gardens, serene lakes, overgrown fungi and crystals, the works. In fact, they have no love for the kingdom itself at all, nor the bugs within it (save a small number), and chalk up the spreading infection as a suitable punishment for the higher beings who imposed upon that which they shouldn't. The only reason they are against the infection is the blight it creates on the lands. (see: infected crossroads).

Monna lives underneath the crypts in the Resting Grounds, next to Blue Lake in the west (their favorite spot). Their home is full of paintings of various landscapes throughout the kingdom, as that is their speciality. They are short with the Knight at first, but not hostile, and you can keep coming back to talk to them. They can have several more lines of dialogue that can be unlocked by meeting specific criteria, which gives insight as to their feelings on that which exists around them.

Some of these criteria include:

Going to certain subareas, usually those with unique items (eg. Tower of Love, Isma's Grove, Cast-Off Shell, etc.). Others such as Hallownest's Crown and Lake of Unn give unique dialogue as well.

Obtaining the Great Slash nail art

Wearing certain charms (most notable ones are Defender's Crest, Hiveblood, Grimmchild, Nailmaster's Glory, and Weaversong, though there may be others)

Giving them a Delicate Flower

Unlocking(?) Infected Crossroads

Breaking Monomon's seal

After you upgrade your nail twice and encounter/talk to Quirrel in three areas, Monna can be fought. Their arena is a larger part of their home, with an enormous mural they painted of one of the lakes. Monna is proficient in magic but has no physical weapon, so their fight consists of them "painting" various enemies to life to attack the Knight, while they are still involved from afar. Completing this fight grants you their respect and a King's Idol, and they tell you to continue exploring the world and then return to them.

After you collect all maps, obtain the Shade Cloak, and break Monomon's seal, if you enter their home Monna will be asleep and surrounded by dream particles. Using the Dream Nail on them will transport you to their dream realm; similar to other dream fights you land outside the arena in a vast sky and make your way there. As soon as you enter, the entrance is sealed and the dream version of Monna will appear, hovering in the center of their arena, but not making any motion towards the Knight. The backdrop is similar to the mural in their home, except it is of Blue Lake specifically, surrounded by other paintings in frames. There is only one painting on the wall that is different from the others: it is a portrait of Quirrel. The battle does not start until the Knight attempts to approach Monna; if they do, Quirrel will appear in front of them and slash at the Knight to push them away. It is then that Monna reveals their staff and cries out, and the battle against wanderers Monna & Quirrel begins.

The dream fight with Monna is much different than the first one. Now, Monna is much more involved in the fight, now attacking you directly with bursts of lightning magic. It's more similar to a harder fight against Uumuu in the Teacher's Archives, Quirrel and all—except Quirrel is attacking you. He cannot be damaged by your nail but he can be blocked, and you can gain soul from hitting him. Their attacks are usually in tandem with each other, so staying in one place is not advised. There are three phases, accessed after successfully staggering Monna the respective amount of times: phase 2 introduces a large lightning bolt attack and electrifies the walls occasionally, and phase 3 boosts the speed of their attacks and increases the damage on the lightning bolt attack to 2 masks.

Once Monna is defeated, Quirrel disappears and essence bursts from them, looking at the portrait one more time before the screen goes white. When the Knight comes to, Monna is awake and appears forlorn, aware of the dream. They realize that the Knight and Quirrel were likely friends, as one could not break Monomon's seal without the other, and regrets the assumptions they made of you. It explains the two were close before the Dreamers were sealed away, but chose to remain in Hallownest, as the bugs who choose to leave Hallownest lose all their memory of it. They lament Quirrel's own loss of memory, and accepts that although some of it may have returned he will not remember them or the time they spent. The last room of their home is unlocked and they tell the Knight to take whatever is there, as they have seen beauty in its highest form and have no need for their possessions any longer. In the room are several chests of relics and Geo, as well as the framed paintings that could be seen in the dream fight's arena: the portrait of Quirrel, however, is unfinished.

Once you talk to Quirrel one last time at Blue Lake and after you exit and re-enter the area, if you visit the home again, Monna will be gone. (If that was done before the dream fight, exiting the home after beating it and re-entering will cause them to disappear.) It is unclear whether they found each other again after Quirrel disappeared. All that is left behind are the creations of a bug who loved the world around them but not their peers that resided within it, except for one.