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| “ | Our fair village may have fallen, but for these fellows... these scared few, our honour charges us to keep them safe. Our hornlance shall raise for them! After some rest, of course. | „ |
| ~ Garmond to Hornet. |
Garmond and Zaza are major characters in the 2025 indie metrodivania Hollow Knight: Silksong.
They are an adventurer duo consisting of the elderly knight Garmond and his loyal steed Zaza who have ventured to Pharloom to avenge their village, which fell to the Haunting. Throughout their journey, Garmond and Zaza encounter Hornet numerous times, supporting each other in their quests to learn the truth of this curse.
Garmond is voiced by Nic "Bitter Bits".
Appearance[]
Garmond is a short eldery bug with a stout body, furry grey face and a moustache. He has white eyes and wears a red turban-like hat, reddish brown armour and a bronze chestplate and pauldrons. He wields a long hornlance with four dots on its edge. When corrupted by the Void, Garmond's body turns grey and his eyes are constantly in shadow.
Zaza is a red-shelled beetle with a white, fly-like face. He has large compound eyes and four legs. Zaza appears to carry a pack and bedroll with him, containing his and Garmonds supplies.
Personality[]
In spite of his old age, Garmond is an energetic and passionate knight, determined to help the good and innocent people of Pharloom and avenge his village. While he can come off as somewhat arrogant and standoffish, Garmond proves to be an honourable and kind man, recognising Hornet as a fellow warrior and eagerly providing his aid to her in times of need, as well as declaring his binding to the code of honour all knights share. He also cares deeply for his steed Zaza, with his rests often being for Zaza's sake as he acknowledges the work his friend puts in carrying him around.
Garmond ultimately possesses an insatiable drive to protect the innocent. Having seen his village fall to the Haunting, he ventures to the Citadel to demand answers from its rulers, being willing to force it out of them if necessary. As such, he expresses great anticipation at fighting the Citadel's lackeys, which can be seen as he assists Hornet in her battles against them. Despite this, he bears no ill will to the pilgrims and often comes to their aid, helping to defeat the Void-infested hordes that plague Pharloom. Unfortunately, Garmond's drive to protect ultimately leads him to overexert himself, leading to his possession in Act III by the Void. Despite this, he still retains enough mental clarity to thank Hornet for freeing him and in his last words, compliments how strong she's grown.
Zaza's personality is less apparent, seeing as he never speaks on his own. His Needolin dialogue indicates that he trusts Hornet, urging her to hurry and save Garmond during the Hero's Call wish. He looks up to Garmond, calling him strong, kind, and brave to the end, and thanks Hornet for granting him peace at last.
Biography[]
Garmond and Zaza are a duo from a village that fell to the Haunting, spurring them to come to the Citadel and avenge their kin. They are first seen in Greymoor, resting in a cubby. Garmond recognises Hornet as a warrior and tells her of his intentions of coming to Pharloom. Later on, after Hornet sees the Moorwing, Garmond will warn her about its propensity for eating travellers and decides to help her hunt it. Hornet can accept his aid in felling the Moorwing and the two can fight it together during its boss fight. Garmond congratulates her for a job well done and proclaims that this hunt will be a tale for the ages. He departs soon after, still eager to avenge his village.
Garmond and Zaza are later found in the Sinner's Road, where Garmond complains about the foul air ruining his moustache. Likewise, Hornet warns him to keep watch for the many dangerous beasts lurking within the fog. They will also have defeated a Roachkeeper there, preventing it from respawning again. It's presumed that the duo enter the Citadel via this route.
Once Hornet has defeated the Cogwork Dancers, obtained the Clawline, or activated the Bell Shrine at Songclave, Garmond and Zaza will sometimes appear to help fight enemies in hallway rooms in the Choral Chambers. He thanks Hornet for her help in cutting down the undead bugs that infest the halls, and asks her to lead the way. Later on, Garmond will be on the rooftop at the shortcut to the Whispering Vaults. Hornet warns him of the supernatural nature of the Haunting, but Garmond assures her that nothing will pervade his quest. He can be challenged to a friendly duel, primarily involving Garmond flailing his hornlance, charging at Hornet or the duo leaping at her. Once Garmond and Zaza are defeated in this duel, they will be present outside the High Halls gauntlet, offering their aid in cutting down the foes within. Later on, once the Melodies of Pharloom are collected and the Fine Pins wish is completed, Garmond and Zaza take up residence in Songclave, aiming to protect its denizens.
During Act III, Garmond and Zaza can be found throughout the path leading to the Citadel, fighting off the Void-infested bugs that terrorise its steps. Hornet advises Garmond to slow down and be careful, warning that he may be overexerting himself, but he assures her that he will be fine and that so long as he's able, he must honour his village and keep fighting. Eventually, after encountering Garmond thrice or obtaining the Everbloom, Hornet finds a wish detailing a bug crying for help within the Blasted Steps. She arrives at the bellway station and finds Zaza alone, who guides her to a cubby where they find Garmond corrupted by the Void. Now known as Lost Garmond, Hornet is forced to face off against her former ally, who now wields the Void as his weapon.
Once defeated, Garmond is returned to his senses but slumps down, gravely wounded. Hornet apologises for her actions, telling him that this was the only way she could've freed him from the Void's possession. Garmond forgives her and praises Hornet for growing so strong throughout her journey. He gifts Hornet the Hero's Memento as thanks and assures her that after some rest, he and Zaza will be up and going. Unfortunately, Garmond passes on here, with Zaza remaining at his side, mourning the loss of his partner for the rest of the game.
Trivia[]
- After enlisting Garmond and Zaza's help in the Moorwing fight, if the player exits the game and reenters, the two will stop appearing, and they will need to be spoken with again to rejoin the fight.
- Zaza is described by Team Cherry in a blog post as being the "the real brains of the pair", indicating that he's smarter than Garmond.
- Thanks to his corruption by the Void, Lost Garmond doesn't respond to the Needolin.
- Garmond appears to be a counterpart to Myla from the previous game, both being allies to the player that after overexerting themselves were consumed by a corruptive force and had to be put down.
- While Garmond's village of origin is never stated, some speculate that it could be the Nameless Town on the surface of Pharloom, seeing as its houses resemble Garmond's hat and one of the houses has a memory of a villager describing the others getting "lured down", implying that the Haunting may have been in the town only long enough to bewitch its inhabitants, but not long enough to haunt the Skrills living there. However, seeing as the memory mentions the Weavers, this seems to indicate that the Haunting wasn’t responsible for claiming the Nameless Town’s residents and that the duo’s homeland is still unknown.
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 Heroes
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