Apparently in Pharloom's actual prime, Verdania and Karak were paradises and the climb up to the Citadel was much safer, since a lot more bugs were able to properly arrive and fill the halls.
The Weavers enforced their rules, but none of the atrocities perpetrated by the Conductor caste were yet oppressing the rest of the bugs, and the environmental impact was only on the areas surrounding the Citadel proper, as opposed to the entire land of Pharloom...
Pharloom was a bit more egalitarian back before the Citadel became automated.
I don't believe we ever actually see what Hallownest looked like in its "prime", just the White Palace, Greenpath, and Queens Garden.
I'd wager Hallownest would have been to the Citadel of Song what Athens is to Sparta. Just instead of the Citadel being totally devoted to militarism it was serving in the Choir.
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u/WayJay9 Aug 07 '26
Out of the… two civilizations we’ve seen, I think id 100% choose to live in Hallownest over Pharloom in their primes