Ogrim is a lonely guy. If you’ve spent any time down in the Waterways of Hollow Knight, you know the smell before you see the boss. He’s loud, he’s energetic, and he’s literally throwing spheres of refuse at you while shouting "DAAASUNDAAA!" But once you beat him—and especially once you beat his dream version, the White Defender—a specific line of dialogue hits like a ton of bricks: "So there were others." It’s a heartbreaking realization for a character who thought he was the last of his kind. When we talk about so there were others dung defender, we aren't just talking about a boss fight. We're talking about the collapse of an era and the four other legendary knights who stood alongside him before Hallownest fell to the Infection.
Ogrim wasn't always a shut-in living in a sewer. He was one of the Five Great Knights of Hallownest. These were the elite, the personal guard of the Pale King. While Ogrim (the Dung Defender) represents loyalty and physical endurance, his companions represented different facets of the kingdom’s former glory. Most players walk past their lore without a second thought, but their stories explain why Ogrim is so desperately lonely when you finally find him.
The Five Great Knights: Who Were They?
The phrase so there were others dung defender often refers to the player’s discovery of the "Great Knights" through the hidden background details in Ogrim’s cave. If you use the Desolate Dive or Descending Dark spell under his boss arena, you find his secret room. It’s a shrine. He has built statues of his old friends out of dung. It’s gross, sure, but it’s also one of the most moving moments in the game.
He’s remembering Isma, Ze'mer, Dryya, and Hegemol.
Honestly, it's easy to miss that these characters even existed if you're just rushing through the boss rush. But they are everywhere in the environment. Isma is perhaps the most famous because of "Isma’s Tear," the item that lets you swim in acid. You find her body—or what’s left of it—overgrown with plants in Isma’s Grove. She was likely the most "natural" of the knights, tied to the greenery of the Queen's Gardens. Ogrim clearly had a special bond with her; his dialogue shifts significantly when you visit him after finding her.
Then there’s Fierce Hegemol. He’s the one most people recognize but don't realize they recognize. Do you remember the False Knight? The first real boss of the game? That wasn't Hegemol. That was a maggot who stole Hegemol’s armor. The real Hegemol was described as a massive, imposing figure, yet surprisingly soft-spoken. The tragedy is that we never see the real Hegemol in the game; we only see his shell being piloted by a coward. It makes Ogrim’s nostalgia even more bitter. He’s waiting for a brother-in-arms who was literally hollowed out and replaced.
💡 You might also like: Why the GTA San Andreas Motorcycle is Still the Best Way to Get Around Los Santos
Ze’mer and the Grey Mourner’s Regret
If you’ve ever attempted the "Delicate Flower" quest, you’ve met Ze’mer. She’s the Grey Mourner sitting in the Resting Grounds. Unlike the others, she survived the downfall, but she’s a shell of herself. Ze'mer came from a land outside Hallownest—the "Lands Beyond"—which explains her unique silhouette and the way she speaks.
It’s interesting. Most players don't connect the Grey Mourner to the so there were others dung defender lore until they see her silhouette in Ogrim’s dream or in the Godhome DLC. She represents the "outsider" who gave everything to a kingdom that eventually rotted away. Her story is about grief, specifically her lost love for the Traitor Lord’s daughter. When Ogrim realizes there are others still around, he’s likely thinking of her, wondering why the band broke up and why no one ever came back to the Waterways to find him.
Fierce Dryya: The Protector Who Died at Her Post
Dryya is the knight we know the least about in terms of dialogue, but her presence is felt in the Queen’s Gardens. You find her body outside the White Lady’s cocoon. She died defending the Queen from the Mantis Traitors. Unlike Ogrim, who retreated to the sewers to guard the "Isma’s Tear" and maintain the infrastructure, Dryya stayed on the front lines.
She was a whirlwind of blades. If you look at the piles of dead Mantis Traitors surrounding her corpse, it’s clear she didn't go down easy. She did her job until the very end. This is the weight behind the so there were others dung defender realization. Ogrim feels like a failure because he survived while his "more noble" friends died in battle or vanished into the fog of time.
Why Does Ogrim Call Himself the Dung Defender?
It’s a bit of a demotion, right? Going from "Ogrim of the Five Knights" to "The Dung Defender." He took on this role to protect the Waterways, but also to hide. There is a theory among the lore community—supported by the "White Defender" dream boss fight—that Ogrim feels immense shame.
📖 Related: Dandys World Ship Chart: What Most People Get Wrong
When you fight the White Defender, you aren't fighting Ogrim as he is. You’re fighting his memory of himself. He’s taller, faster, and covered in white armor. He’s glorious. But in the real world, he’s covered in... well, you know. He’s chosen a life of filth as a sort of penance. He’s waiting for the King to return, or for his friends to come back, or for the world to make sense again.
The phrase so there were others dung defender triggers when Ogrim sees the player’s strength or when he encounters evidence that the world hasn't completely ended. He’s looking for hope. He wants to believe that the "others" aren't just dung statues in a basement.
The Mechanics of the "Others" Realization
To fully experience the depth of this lore, you have to play the game in a specific way. Most people beat Ogrim and move on. Don't do that.
- Defeat the Three Dreamers. This moves the world state forward.
- Talk to him after getting Isma’s Tear. His reaction is visceral. He realizes you’ve been to her grave.
- The White Defender Fight. You need to use the Dream Nail on him while he’s sleeping (after you’ve beaten his physical form and the three Dreamers). You can fight him up to five times, and each time his dialogue gets deeper.
- The Shrine. Again, use the Desolate Dive in the right corner of his arena. Seeing the statues is the "Aha!" moment for the keyword so there were others dung defender.
The game doesn't hand this to you. Team Cherry loves to hide the best writing behind layers of mechanical difficulty. The fact that Ogrim has sculpted his friends out of the only material he has left—dung—is a masterclass in "show, don't tell" storytelling. It shows a man who is desperate to hold onto his identity as a Knight of Hallownest, even when there is no kingdom left to knight him.
What Most People Get Wrong About the Knights
There’s a common misconception that the Knights were "defeated" by the Infection. That’s only partially true. Dryya was killed by the Mantis Traitors (who embraced the infection, but it was a physical battle). Isma seems to have merged with the forest, perhaps as a way to hold back the rot. Ze’mer withered away from grief. Hegemol was murdered or incapacitated in his sleep by a maggot.
👉 See also: Amy Rose Sex Doll: What Most People Get Wrong
Ogrim is the only one who stayed "sane," and even that is debatable. He’s obsessed. He’s living in a fantasy world where the King is coming back. When he says so there were others dung defender, he’s waking up from that fantasy just a little bit. He’s acknowledging that the Knight (you) is a new kind of hero, one that doesn't fit into his old world of shining armor and oaths.
Hallownest’s Legacy in Silksong?
We’re all waiting for Silksong. There have been rumors and theories about whether we’ll see remnants of the Great Knights in the new land of Pharloom. While it's unlikely we'll see Ogrim again (his story feels very tied to that specific sewer), the concept of the "Great Knight" is a trope Team Cherry loves. They enjoy exploring what happens to "heroes" after the war is lost.
If you’re looking to deep-dive into the technical lore, check out the Hollow Knight Wanderer’s Journal. It’s a physical book that gives a bit more background on the status of the knights. It confirms that the Five Knights were basically celebrities in Hallownest. They had fans. They had status. Ogrim’s current state isn't just a fall from grace; it’s a total erasure of his public identity.
Actionable Steps for Lore Hunters
If you want to see everything related to the so there were others dung defender storyline, follow this path:
- Equip the Defender’s Crest. Take it to the Leg Eater in Fungal Wastes or the White Lady in the Queen's Gardens. They have unique dialogue that reveals how others perceive Ogrim's "scent." It’s hilarious but also adds layers to how much he has changed.
- The Hidden Room. Don't just look at the statues. Listen to the music change. It shifts to a more regal, orchestral version of Ogrim’s theme, representing his memories.
- Complete the Grey Mourner Quest. It’s the hardest quest in the game, but it’s the only way to see what happened to another member of the Five.
- Bow to him. After you defeat the White Defender, Ogrim will eventually wake up and stand in his room. If you use the "bow" emote (or just look at him), he shows a level of respect you don't see from other bosses.
The story of the Dung Defender is ultimately a story about what we do when the world moves on without us. Ogrim chose to stay. He chose to remember. When he realizes "there were others," he’s finally allowing himself to see the player as a peer rather than a trespasser. It’s one of the few moments of genuine connection in a game that is otherwise incredibly bleak.
Whether you're a speedrunner or a lore nerd, the "others" that Ogrim mourns are the key to understanding the tragedy of Hallownest. They weren't just bosses. They were a family. And Ogrim is the last one left to keep the lights on—even if those lights are just glowing mushrooms in a pile of dung.