| First Encounter | Greetings, little one! It's been an age since I last heard the ringing of a station bell. It echoed down the stagways and called me to you. I've grown stiff and tired over these many years and I've forgotten much, but the sound of the bell will always call me back. |
|---|---|
| Interacting after opening 3-5 Stag Stations | You've opened several stag stations now, haven't you? I'm thankful for the opportunity to once more travel through the kingdom. As I visit more places I feel my memories returning to me, like the stagways of my mind are running once more. |
| Interacting after opening 6-8 Stag Stations | Ahh, many stag stations have been opened. Again I can travel the breadth of the kingdom. So many grand thoroughfares and old sideways I'd forgotten. Somewhere amongst the lines lies the Stag Nest, the place where I was born and raised. I'd thought its location lost to my failing mind, but now I can almost remember the path. |
| Interacting after opening all Stag Stations | Little one! I've found it! the Stag Nest, where I was born and raised. I've yet to go there again. My duty binds me to travel only where I am called, but if you wished to see it yourself, I could take you there. |
| Interacting while holding the Delicate Flower | That flower you're carrying... It looks quite beautiful, but also very delicate. I fear if you travel with me it will be ruined. If you need to keep it intact, I'd suggest using your own legs to carry it to its destination. |
| Interacting after inspecting the empty eggshell in the Stag Nest | What do you think of my old home, little one? It was full of life, once. Stags coming and going, swapping stories of the places they'd been and the passengers they'd met. |
| Dream Nailed | I tire so easily now, and my old legs seem to ache more and more. Still, I'm lucky to grow old at all... so many others haven't. |
Last Stag
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The Last Stag is an NPC in Hollow Knight serving as transport across Hallownest.
Lore
The Last Stag is a large stag beetle and the last of his kind in Hallownest.[1] During the kingdom's heyday, stags were used to transport bugs and goods across the land through the Stagways.[1] When Hallownest fell, travels died down and most of the Stag Stations were closed.[3][4]
Even though his own kind disappeared and old age starts impairing him, the Last Stag remains faithful to his duties.[5][6] He transports any bug calling him with the bell of a Station, wherever they are. However, his memory has been lacking and he forgot where the Stations are located on the Stagways, even the Stag Nest.[7] Yet, the Last Stag keeps a good memory of the places he once visited and still remembers much of Hallownest's golden age.[8]
His dedication to the Stagways makes him dislike the Tramways the Pale King was building before the latter's disappearance.[9] He also makes no difference between his riders, despite his own feelings about them.[10]
In-game events
The Last Stag can transport the Knight for free to and from any unlocked Stations. He urges them to open any more Stations they may come across, as it may help him remember the location of the Stag Nest.[11]
At every station, he can tell the Knight more about its surrounding areas, providing a lot of information about the past of the kingdom and its inhabitants. However, he mentions that he was not aware of the existence of the station in the Distant Village and the 
Hidden Station in the Palace Grounds.[12][13]
After finding all available Stations, the Last Stag remembers the location of the Stag Nest and can provide a ride to it. Inside, many Stag corpses are found along with a broken egg and a Vessel Fragment and the Last Stag senses that more of his kind might be alive, which rejoices him.[14] His name is then changed to Old Stag.
Dialogue
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Gallery
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Last Stag in Dirtmouth's Stag Station
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Last Stag in the Stag Nest
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Last Stag in King's Station
Locations
The Last Stag can be found in anywhere there is a Stag Station.
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Locations throughout Hallownest
Achievements
|
Connection |
|---|---|
| Open half of Hallownest's Stag Stations. 5G |
|
Hope |
|---|---|
| Open all of Hallownest's Stag Stations and discover the Stag Nest. 15G |
Trivia
- The Hollow Knight Beta contains cut sleeping sprites for the Last Stag. This animation was never implemented in the beta or the final game. The sprites were still present in the release version but were removed in later versions.
- One of the sprites was re-used for a Stag corpse in the Stag Nest.
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Cut sleeping animation
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Stag Nest corpse sprite
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Wanderer's Journal, p. 58.
- ↑ Message from Leth on Discord.
- ↑ Last Stag: "It was a long time ago, but I remember when these highways and crossroads pulsed with life. [...] Those travellers are long gone, yet I still remain."
- ↑ Elderbug: "I never thought I'd see such a thing. The Stag Station has opened! That building lay silent since before even my time."
- ↑ Last Stag: "I've grown stiff and tired over these many years and I've forgotten much, but the sound of the bell will always call me back."
- ↑ Last Stag: "For a long time now, I've considered myself the only one remaining. The last stag."
- ↑ Last Stag: "Ahh, many stag stations have been opened. Again I can travel the breadth of the kingdom. So many grand thoroughfares and old sideways I'd forgotten."
- ↑ Last Stag: "The Queen's Station has opened once more. This place was a bustling hub of travel, well-placed for travellers visiting the outer edges of the land."
- ↑ Last Stag: "That pass you hold! Is it not for that ghastly machine, the tram? I hope you're not thinking of riding on that grotesque contraption. The thought a mere machine could attempt what we stags do! Foolish...Very foolish."
- ↑ Last Stag: "I see another takes rest upon the bench. There's something unpleasant about that one, but a stag station's doors are open to all. If he requests passage, I'll offer it gladly. My duty as a stag far outweighs any personal distaste."
- ↑ Last Stag: "If you keep opening stag stations and beckoning me through them, perhaps I'll again find that Nest. Ahh, I would like that very much!"
- ↑ Last Stag in Deepnest: "I have never been to this station. It has a strange air of danger to it."
- ↑ Last Stag in Ancient Basin: "What station is this, hidden all the way at the bottom of the world? Until I heard the bell calling, I didn't even know the Stagways travelled so deep."
- ↑ Last Stag: "Wherever I travel, the memories of my family and my kind come with me. Yes, I will hold onto that hope. My kin, still alive, still out there, journeying beyond these lands."
