Shadows dream of endless fire.

- The Nightmare King originally was born into a Vampire Clan known as the Moth Tribe. The Moth Tribe based itself around the concept of the unconsciousness, believing there was power in dreams and nightmares. They have two leaders, one who ruled over dreams and one over nightmares, that would appear every thousand years that they considered gods. This time the two manifested as the sun and the shadow cast by the sun. The former's name is unknown (ooc: to keep it vague in-case someone wishes to app the Radiance) but the latter was a powerful being who's presence was herald by a written poem. And thus he was named 'Nightmare King Grimm', the God of Nightmares.

- Rather then feed off of blood, the Nightmare King fed off of the nightmares all beings have. And during ancient times when Vampires were just starting to threaten humanity there certainly were nightmares to be had. He also possessed the Nightmare Heart within him, which is said to store the nightmares the Nightmare King ate and converted into the fuel he used to fan his flames.

- The Moth Tribe started expanding their territory through trickery and something that was shortly dubbed "The Infection", although details are sketchy as to what that was. The Nightmare King saw it as distasteful, as he believed both dreams and nightmares should come more naturally, and frankly he had little patience for politics in general. He soon came to blows with his counterpart and shortly left afterwards, taking the Nightmare Heart with him.

- Alone in the world the Nightmare King created a small Clan of Vampires he shortly dubbed the Grimm Troupe after the poem. It was intended to simply be another way for the Nightmare King to gather nightmares but after seeing a traveling group of performers, seeing how his Clan enjoyed the tricks and performances, and becoming amused by it as well, the Nightmare King remolded the Troupe to do the same.

- Eventually the Nightmare King picked one member of the Troupe who had shown exceptional power and talent and made them Troupe Master. As a sign of respect, he gave them his name (Grimm) to use during their time as Troupe Master and to pass it onto whoever succeeds them.

- Meanwhile, while the Moth Tribe had been fine with just letting the Nightmare King do whatever, eventually it became clear just how much of an imbalance there was without the power of nightmares. Their leader ordered the Nightmare King to be brought before them as soon as possible - dead or alive.

- Sensing what was coming for him the Nightmare King bid his time until the last second. Once the thousand year anniversary of the Grimm Troupe's creation rolled over he tore out the Nightmare Heart and left it in the Troupe Master's tent before vanishing. Picking a place where no humans would come the Nightmare King fired off a burst of power to draw the Moth Tribe to him rather then allow them to zero in on the Grimm Troupe.

- No Vampire from the Moth Tribe that faced him in combat survived. But because the Nightmare King's conclusiveness is tied to the Heart, he was slowly being drawn into it while his body remained on autopilot, still fighting an enemy that no longer threatened him. Knowing that he would be nothing but a danger, the Nightmare King invoked an old sealing ritual he learned from a fey kingdom. Binding himself in chains that can only be broken by lighting three Nightmare Lanterns, he also destroyed the entrance to the cave he was in to ensure no one would find him.

- As one final insurance the Nightmare King cannibalized his own nightmares so even he would have no idea where his body was. Unfortunately he was running on limited time and ate without thinking, meaning he ate his own name. As far as he was concerned he was just called "the Nightmare King".

- The Nightmare Heart needed a host and he asked the current Troupe Master's permission to be placed in their body. They agreed and carved out their own heart, where this tradition started. However, the Nightmare King knew fairness and so made a conscious effort to not burn out his host's soul and granted them a few of his own powers.

- The Moth Tribe to this day are still searching for the Nightmare Heart, knowing that unsealing the Nightmare King without it is useless since he will just kill them.

- The Nightmare Lanterns that must be lit are three. Located: The Tower of Love (burred somewhere), guarded by a manifestation of the Nightmare King's personal nightmares, and with the Troupe itself. The cave the Nightmare King's body is sealed is somewhere in France.

PLAYER INFORMATION

NAME: Zee
CONTACT: funfire | zeetee
OTHER CHARACTER(S) IN GAME: N/A

( A spark of red light lights darkest dreams. )

Player Information
Name: Zee
Age: 20+
Contact: PM this journal or funfire
Current characters: None

Character Information
Name: Troupe Master Grimm
Series: Hollow Knight
Appearance: Grimm. Nightmare King.
Age: Ambiguous. He is likely very old.

Canon Point: Just before the Knight uses the Dream Nail on Grimm to begin the Nightmare King boss battle.

( Through dreams I travel, at lantern's call. )