#vorlons

I am once again attempting to do a Vorlon design. Bsky account has an earlier sketch with the huge fuckoff pile of refs that went into this.

Figuring out the "wings" when they're folded is doing me in a bit so I'm making that a tomorrow problem. (ignore the navel/ribcage impressions btw, those are just there as a temporary point of reference)

Front view; noodling with how the whole 'they look like angels' thing came about.

I figured it'd be more interesting if that had a basis in how the species actually appeared. Or, how they appeared prior to becoming beings of energy.

Putting 'em all together in one post, my Babylon 5 watercolor triptych is done! I had originally just done the Delenn one, but inspiration struck and a G'kar followed, and a Londo soon after. It's never too late to get into a show that's been off the air for decades! Bonus: They look so nice hanging on my wall, I might actually get some frames one of these days :')

-Kosh

"I've been here the whole time"

-Sam Reich

Okay, not an actual Vorlon, but either based on the Vorlons or inspired by the Vorlons. Who are the Vorlons and what does this have to do with Monomon the Teacher from the video game Hollow Knight? Follow along this analysis as we find out!

Before we begin, please pardon any mistakes like spelling errors and the like. I am rushing against time to publish this so we can all enjoy Silksong coming out September 4th. Now for the analysis!

This beginning is a review of what we know about Monomon the Teacher. Not everyone has read my analysis on the Dreamers’ Houses, especially Monomon’s section in my What is Up with the Dreamers’ Houses!?! Essay. Not only that, but any Babylon 5 fans reading this essay may not know Hollow Knight.  I believe this is an important review as I must emphasize just how alien Monomon and her Archives are to Hallownest.

If you have not read my What is Up with the Dreamers’ Houses!?! Essay, please feel free to click one of the links below.

What is with the Dreamers' House!?! - Chapter 1 - Violet_Dawn_001 - Hollow Knight (Video Games) [Archive of Our Own]

What is with the Dreamer's Houses? Herrah's Den – @violetdawn001 on Tumblr

            Monomon the Teacher is one of the most mysterious characters in Hollow Knight. Granted, we are traveling in a post-apocalyptic world, so every character has a degree of mystery and missing backstory. But can we all agree that a jellyfish doesn’t belong in kingdoms of bugs and Weavers?

            It is not enough that Monomon isn’t a bug or spider. Her tech is unlike anything we’ve seen in Hallownest. Compare the lore tablets below.

Monomon’s lore tablet vs. Pale King’s tablet.

(Because I couldn’t find a picture of words with the tablet. Here’s the words from the wiki.)

Higher beings, these words are for you alone. Our pure Vessel has ascended. Beyond lies only the refuse and regret of its creation. We shall enter that place no longer.

Not only are her lore tablets weird, but her architecture is completely unlike anything else in Hallownest. And trust me, after looking over Herrah’s den and Lurien’s Spire, I have a pretty good gauge of Hallownestian architecture.  Please take a look at the pictures down below.

Very pretty, but no spikes on the roof.

Monomon's Archives is the only place in Hallownest that is bronze/gold and green. But the fans never connected Monomon with the only other group who has gold: Godseekers.

Monomon's gold is too cold (lighting wise) to be mistaken for Godhome's amber glow.

Now, let's compare Monomon’s entrance to the typical Hallownestian architecture.

Anyone else noticing the lack of bronze in Hallownest designs? Or how Monomon’s Archives don’t have any crests? If so, good! If not, feel free to scroll back up and dive deeper!

To finish this review, please allow me to recap a point I discovered in my What is Up with the Dreamers’ Houses!?! Essay. For your own convenience, please feel free to click one of the links below.

What is with the Dreamers' House!?! - Chapter 1 - Violet_Dawn_001 - Hollow Knight (Video Games) [Archive of Our Own]

What is with the Dreamer's Houses? Herrah's Den – @violetdawn001 on Tumblr

To recap that section of my analysis, I believe that Monomon’s Archives are actually separate from Hallownest proper due to the lack of Hallownestian crests in her Archives. Team Cherry goes so far as to not even add any geo dropped from Monomon’s jellies. No crests to show allegiance; no currency that allows the archives to be bought, and architecture completely against the standards of Hallownest…

Such evidence made me pose the theory that Monomon’s Archives was not just separate from kingdom, but was a neutral ground for all the kingdoms and tribes in the land where all could come to learn about each other peacefully. This theory fit Monomon quite well and allowed her to become a Dreamer not solely for the citizens of Hallownest, but for every student of hers who came from everywhere.

As I cited in my original essay, I used the TV show Babylon 5 as an example of a neutral place where races can come to learn about each other and sort out their differences peacefully. Well, Babylon 5 happens to be my favorite TV show and of course I was rewatching it when I noticed there were eerie similarities between Monomon and a certain character that I couldn’t ignore. Meet Kosh, one of the most alien of aliens you would ever meet. And someone who has the gold/bronze and green within his design.

As Silksong is fast approaching, I was going to drop how Monomon and Kosh share very similar true forms and leave it there. As I thought more about it, the more I realized that Monomon and Kosh share very similar roles in the story and society, both hide identities behind masks, both cheat Death in a way, and finally grow and develop as characters to break the cycle they find themselves and their students trapped in.

With my thesis statement out of the way, please allow to quote Kosh and hit start.

So the picture of Kosh isn’t his true face or form. Just like Monomon, Kosh uses a “mask” to interact with society. Though unlike Monomon who wears a mask just like any other citizen we find in Hallownest, Kosh’s “mask” is an entire encounter suit.  I bring up this encounter suit due to a surprising connection to Monomon’s statis tank.

Considering how the other jellies float outside the acid just fine, I do not believe that Monomon needs this tank to survive. This tank is for her convenience and helps restore her energy.

I say this because Kosh tricked everyone into thinking that he needed this encounter suit to live.

Yeah…no. He doesn’t need a particular combination of gases to survive. He’s just fine with our amount of oxygen. Kosh does not need that encounter suit to protect him from the world.

But just like Monomon with her mask allowing her easier convenience to connect with her students, Kosh’s encounter suit allows society easier connectivity with Kosh.

What do I mean by that? Well…how about I just show you.

No, this isn’t Kosh’s real face.

Or this.

Or this.

All of these three pictures are merely images of Kosh appearing as a “being of light”, a image that Kosh telepathically sent to everyone in the garden. Yes, every person saw a completely different image and yet the same idea. The event lasted twenty minutes but Kosh disappeared into his spaceship for a week like an introvert hiding from society after getting utterly exhausted from one event.

So yeah, Kosh doesn’t need this encounter suit to survive. The suit does make a massive convenience for Kosh. Not only does he have a lot more energy due to hiding his true identity, but the encounter suit does also have a built-in translator, so Kosh doesn’t need to telepathically communicate. Which is nice for both Kosh and us as Kosh’s natural language sounds like a cross between wind chimes, cricket chirps, music, and dog barking.

Now, are you ready to see what Kosh really looks like? And what prompted me to write this whole essay?

Side note, do you know that the wiki doesn’t have a picture of Kosh’s true form? All the pictures of a Vorlon’s true form are of Kosh’s fellow ambassador Ulkseh. Anyway’s…here’s Kosh.

To quote the Babylon 5 wiki, “A Vorlon's true appearance is that of a bioluminescent, partly translucent, radially symmetrical, multi-tentacled creature, loosely resembling Earth octopuses. Though they may appear insubstantial, they are in fact physical life forms”.  

Sound like Monomon?

A difference between Monomon and Kosh though is what their physical forms are made of. While Monomon appears to be made of some kind of flesh, Kosh isn’t. Turns out having a physical form doesn’t mean it is made of flesh, blood, or shell. Kosh’s physical form is pure energy. Yet no one could look past Kosh’s encounter suit to discover his secret of being an energy being. What a well built mask!

So this was where I thought I could just leave the essay. Then I realized that Monomon didn’t just share physical similarities with Kosh and the Vorlons, but also their roles in society.

Monomon the Teacher.

Kosh Naranek. Or, if you let me translate it from Vorlon, Kosh the Speaker.

On the surface, Kosh’s name and title simply seems just like a coincidence when you compare it to Hollow Knight. Goodness, not only is Monomon consistently mentioned with her title, but so is Lurien the Watcher and Herrah the Beast.  That is a very fair counter argument, so I beg us to dive deeper into Monomon and Kosh’s roles.

As a Hollow Knight and Babylon 5 fan, I can share the roles of both Monomon and Kosh than anyone watching a trailer, or even the first 2 hours of the game and show. Though Monomon became a Dreamer and Kosh was the Vorlon Ambassador, their true calling was shaping the next generation. Despite the lack of seen classrooms in the Teacher’s Archives, we know that Monomon was indeed a teacher and had students, one of whom was Quirrel.  Kosh, now, was more than just the Speaker of the Vorlon’s will as the Ambassador. Kosh had a duty as a Vorlon to mentor the Younger Races, to guide and develop them. These are the two roles directly confirmed by the canon sources.

And because Tumblr won't let me post more than 30 images pert post, look out for part 2!

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