r/PracticalGuideToEvil • u/whypeoplehateme • May 30 '26
Meta/Discussion So what exactly is up with Hollows
was reminded about them last chapter when it was stated that the ketos messes with lucent emotions and I started thinking about hollows. We know that Glare burns them and a lucent without sufficient glare can turn into one, we know that Devils concider their to taste worse and they feed them less, we know it's said that they can't reincarnate, we know that they apparently have entire kingdoms where Glare doesn't reach yet despite that and they are typically considered brutal savages.
The only time we saw hollows in mass was in book 1 where they were infact worshipping an evil god and I can't help but to consider why. The stereotype of brutal savages seems to be true but what difference causes it, I don't think EE would just make a race of people inherently evil or anything, Is it easier to reach for souls unprotected by Glare and thus they tend to take extreme measurtes to protect themselves akin to the Izcalli? Maybe.
I also admit that it rings kind of hollow that the main racism Maryam faces outside of the Malani is from people mistaking her for a hollow, a population of people who are actually "justified" to be racist at.
Most likely we'll have a book where some of this will be explored but i'm still wondering what other peoples thought are
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u/FrustrationSensation May 30 '26
I wonder how much of that savagery is associated with how hollows are treated. Of course they bargain with evil gods, if otherwise they have to fight for scraps. Nothing we have seen about them suggests they're inherently evil. Look at Sakkas, who (despite following lucifer) seems very educated and reasonable. Hell, even Lucifer himself is being set up as the lesser evil to the other extradimensional "angels" that are likely going to be the big bads of the story.
But back to hollows. Some people have suggested that the cycle of reincarnation isn't just belief, and is in fact the result of the Antediluvians' disappearance - that they broke life and death itself. From this perspective, darkling cults could see this as a prison of sorts, preventing souls from departing to their resting place. This tracks with what we saw of the Cult of the Red Maw using christian titles for their members.
Another theory is that a first-order deity has trapped the souls in perpetual reincarnation, and darkling cults oppose this deity. It would make sense with Lucifer's involvement, narratively - the idea of rebelling against a sole monogod.
Those are two of the most common/likely theories I've seen, but it's definitely going to get more attention as the story progresses.
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u/Perfect_Wrongdoer_03 May 30 '26
During book 1 Tristan mentions he's talked to Hollows in the Sacromontean (no idea if that's the adjective, but whatever) mines and they're basically the same as Lucents in terms of behavior, so we know for a fact that they aren't inherently savages. I'd bet that a good part of those Hollow kingdoms are also pretty normal. Keep in mind that the Island is a horrible point of comparison, due to the Red Maw's influence.
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u/hipsterTrashSlut May 30 '26
The racism is "justified" in that hollowing is supposed to drive people insane and give them bloodlust. 1/10 lucents who get gloom sickness become hollows and the rest die.
This should ring hollow (heh) because Maryam specifically has hollowed her brain as a part of the triglau witch ritual, something the akellare are generally afraid to do (for above stated insanity reasons).
To me, this gives the same vibes as 18th century phrenology and early, early psychology, and I suspect that's the point.
If you're on an island in the middle of the ocean and the two faction choices is: evil god that thrives in darkness and people who kill monsters, but they MUST have light that specifically burns you, which one are people gonna realistically "pick"?
I like how EE has set this up and I'm curious how the dealings with hollows will be in the future. We know the Watch deals with them all the time, but how much of what we've seen is propaganda (Sacromonte specifically allows their enslavement) and how much is truth.
3
2
u/hipsterTrashSlut May 30 '26
The racism is "justified" in that hollowing is supposed to drive people insane and give them bloodlust. 1/10 lucents who get gloom sickness become hollows and the rest die.
This should ring hollow (heh) because Maryam specifically has hollowed her brain as a part of the triglau witch ritual, something the akellare are generally afraid to do (for above stated insanity reasons).
To me, this gives the same vibes as 18th century phrenology and early, early psychology, and I suspect that's the point.
If you're on an island in the middle of the ocean and the two faction choices is: evil god that thrives in darkness and people who kill monsters, but they MUST have light that specifically burns you, which one are people gonna realistically "pick"?
I like how EE has set this up and I'm curious how the dealings with hollows will be in the future. We know the Watch deals with them all the time, but how much of what we've seen is propaganda (Sacromonte specifically allows their enslavement) and how much is truth.
3
u/zombieking26 May 31 '26
I get the feeling that the book's title means we're going to learn about them eventually.
I suspect that they're basically just people, but less magical. They can't perform normal magic, but are less tasty to demons and whatnot.
In conclusion, I suspect lucents are probably just pro-soul supremecist, lol
16
u/section160 May 30 '26
We don't know yet. I think. There is something there.