The Mosskin tribe region west of Forgotten Crossroads. Hosts Hornet Protector, the Lake of Unn shrine, Sheo’s Nail Art hut, and the Mothwing Cloak pickup.
Greenpath is the second major region in Hollow Knight, sitting west of Forgotten Crossroads. Per the wiki, the lush plant-filled caves are home to the Mosskin Tribe, "plant-like bugs" who allowed the Pale King to build roads through their region but punished any traveller who strayed via "the law of Unn."
According to the wiki, Greenpath is gated by the Hornet Protector boss fight. Defeating Hornet drops the Mothwing Cloak (dash ability), which the Knight then needs to cross the Greenpath thorn maze and reach Sheo’s Nail Art hut, the Lake of Unn shrine, and the Fungal Wastes connector east.
The wiki notes the region hosts a Higher Being: Unn, the mosskin god who lives at the bottom of the Lake of Unn. Unn "created all of the area’s flora and the Mosskin themselves from her dreams"; talking to her at the lake bottom (via Shape of Unn charm interaction) is one of the game’s deepest lore beats.
This guide covers the entry from Forgotten Crossroads, the Hornet Protector fight, the Mothwing Cloak unlock, the Lake of Unn shrine and Shape of Unn charm, Sheo’s Hut and the Great Slash Nail Art, the Thorns of Agony pickup, the Stone Sanctuary with No Eyes, and the Mosskin lore that frames the whole region.
Mosskin tribe region; second area in the game, west of Forgotten Crossroads.
Hornet Protector; drops Mothwing Cloak on defeat.
Unn at the bottom of the Lake of Unn shrine.
Mothwing Cloak + Great Slash + Thorns of Agony plus 4 Grubs, 1 Vessel Fragment, 1 Whispering Root.Per the wiki, Greenpath is the second canonical region in Hollow Knight after the Forgotten Crossroads tutorial. The region introduces the Mothwing Cloak unlock pattern (boss fight gates ability) and the Higher Being lore tier (Unn parallels Pale King, White Lady, and the Radiance as a major Hallownest deity).
According to the wiki, Greenpath was inhabited by the Mosskin Tribe before the Infection. The mosskin allowed the Pale King to build roads through the region with one condition: anyone straying from the paths "would face the law of Unn." The lore tablets across Greenpath are mosskin-carved warnings that read as religious edicts.
The wiki notes Greenpath is home to one of the most lore-dense charm pickups in the game. Shape of Unn (the snail-form charm) requires speaking to Unn directly at the bottom of the Lake of Unn, swimming to her dream-form, and accepting the gift. The interaction confirms Unn’s divine status and ties her to the broader Hallownest pantheon.
Per the wiki, Greenpath connects from the southwest of Forgotten Crossroads. A locked gate opens after defeating the Elder Baldur in the corridor (the second Elder Baldur, after the one in the Ancestral Mound that gates Vengeful Spirit recovery).
According to the wiki, Cornifer in Greenpath sells the map for the standard ~120 Geo. The map is essential for the run since Greenpath branches in 5+ directions from the central path; unmapped exploration adds 15-20 minutes to the standard Hornet route.
Per the wiki, Hornet Protector is the gate fight of Greenpath. She fights with a Needle and thread, dashes constantly, and fires the canonical sweeping thread-bind move that catches unprepared Knights. The fight has 425 HP and a 4-attack moveset.
| Attack | Tell | Counter |
|---|---|---|
| Needle dash | Pause + crouch | Jump over the dash |
| Sphere throw | Wind-up arc | Move under the arc |
| Thread-bind | Wide red sweep | Wait, then dash through |
| Backflip aerial | Upward leap | Pre-position for landing strike |
According to the wiki, Hornet Protector is one of the two fights in the game without a charm requirement. Players can clear her with the Old Nail and no charms at all; the fight is a pure skill check. The challenge scales on second playthroughs since every later boss assumes the Mothwing Cloak dash is in inventory.
The wiki notes the fight rewards patience over aggression. Hornet has invulnerability frames on most attacks; trying to mash through her combo often eats the thread-bind. Wait for the post-attack recovery window, land 2-3 nail hits, then reposition for the next rotation.
Hornet returns as Hornet Sentinel in Kingdom’s Edge later in the game. Per the wiki, the Sentinel fight is roughly 2x harder and drops the King’s Brand (the Abyss-access relic). The Protector fight is the training round; learning her tells here pays off in the late-game rematch.
Per the wiki, the Mothwing Cloak appears on a small altar just past the Hornet Protector arena. The pickup is automatic; walking onto the altar grants the dash ability immediately.
According to the wiki, the Mothwing Cloak is the first movement ability in the canonical progression order. It unlocks: dash gaps in Greenpath thorn corridors, Fungal Wastes spore corridors, and the City of Tears rain-platform shortcuts. The cloak also enables the i-frame dodge for Hornet Protector’s thread-bind on subsequent playthroughs.
The wiki specifies the Mothwing Cloak upgrades later into Shade Cloak in The Abyss after King’s Brand. Shade Cloak retains the dash mechanics and adds 0.4-second projectile-piercing i-frames; the upgrade is one-way and permanent.
Per the wiki, the Lake of Unn sits in the northwest of Greenpath, "to the left of the arena where Hornet is fought." The shrine entry features a lone Moss Knight standing on the pier; entering the shrine leads to the lake itself where Unn lives.
According to the wiki, Unn is "encountered at the bottom of the lake" on the far west side. The interaction requires the Knight to drop into the water and swim down. Unn manifests as a giant snail-form Higher Being; talking to her grants the Shape of Unn charm.
The wiki specifies Shape of Unn is a 2-notch charm that transforms the Knight into a snail during Focus heals. The transformation makes the Knight move freely during the normally-stationary heal animation, opening Quick Focus + Shape of Unn + Stalwart Shell combos that heal safely mid-fight.
Unn’s lore tablets across Greenpath are worth reading on the Dream Nail. Per the wiki, Unn "created all of the area’s flora and the Mosskin themselves from her dreams" and is "calling the mosskin, who are waiting for the call to return." The dialogue reads as both mythological and mournful.
Per the wiki, Sheo’s Hut sits in the southwest of Greenpath "at the end of a challenging path full of thorns and Durandas." Sheo is one of three Nailmasters in Hallownest; he teaches the Great Slash Nail Art on first visit.
According to the wiki, Great Slash deals 2.5x standard nail damage in a sweeping forward arc. The Nail Art is one of three (Cyclone Slash from Mato, Dash Slash from Oro); learning all three plus equipping Nailmaster’s Glory triggers a cinematic at Sheo’s hut where the three brothers reunite.
The wiki notes Sheo is the only Nailmaster who gives his Nail Art for free. Mato in Howling Cliffs gives Cyclone Slash free, but Oro in Kingdom’s Edge charges 800 Geo for Dash Slash. Players farming early-game Nail Art access usually visit Sheo first.
Per the wiki, Thorns of Agony is a 1-notch reactive charm that sprouts thorns dealing 1x nail damage when the Knight takes damage. The pickup sits in a small chamber in Greenpath, accessible via the thorn-maze south of Hornet’s arena.
According to the wiki, the Thorns of Agony chamber is thematically pointed. The room is lined with thorns that punish the Knight for taking damage; the charm inside rewards the Knight for taking damage. The wiki documents the design choice as a "thorn-charm in a thorn-room" lore beat.
The wiki notes the charm is situational. Better players take less damage, which reduces the charm’s output; lower-skill builds get more value but typically swap it out for sustain charms like Hiveblood. The charm pairs well with Baldur Shell (blocks heal damage) for a tank-and-thorn rotation.
Per the wiki, the Stone Sanctuary sits "in the very southeastern portion of the area, near the connection to Fog Canyon, at the end of a dark passage below the Bench room." The Sanctuary houses the No Eyes Dream Boss arena.
According to the wiki, No Eyes is one of the eight Warrior Dreams. The fight requires the Dream Nail and gives 200 Essence on the first kill (700 on the Hall of Gods Ascended rematch). The fight features stone statues that erupt into spirit attacks; awareness of the spirit-spawn pattern is the canonical clear.
The wiki specifies the Stone Sanctuary corridor is easy to miss. The dark passage requires the Lumafly Lantern from Sly to navigate safely; players who skip the lantern fall onto spikes in the corridor. The Hunter’s lair sits in a small cave in the same area, providing the Hunter’s Journal entry pickup.
Greenpath ties to the Hornet Protector boss, the Thorns of Agony charm, Sheo’s Nail Art hut, the No Eyes Dream Boss, and the Fungal Wastes connector. These spokes pick up the threads.
Game data and screenshots adapted from hollowknight.fandom.com, used under CC BY-SA 3.0. Original content remains the property of the wiki contributors and Team Cherry.