The Marrow

Connection	Bone Bottom Deep Docks Hunter's March Bellhart Shellwood
Music
Ambience	Atmos Boneforest Cave Atmosphere Misc. 3 Atmos Lava Near Big Atmos Lava Far
Main	The Marrow Mini Games (Loddie)
Action	Boneforest Action

Crumbling roads built upon the shells of ancient bugs. All of Pharloom rests upon these fragile foundations.

– Shakra

The Marrow is an area in Hollow Knight: Silksong. Its now crumbling roads are built upon the bones of ancient bugs long gone.

Description

The Marrow is located deep in the lowlands of Pharloom. Composed entirely of bone and the ancient shells of long-dead bugs, the Marrow forms the fragile foundation upon which the rest of the kingdom is built. The area is inhabited by Skull Scuttlers, which use the old skulls as protection. The Marrow is also home to the Flintbeetle, explosive creatures that hold Flintgem required for the Volatile Flintbeetles wish.

A typical room in The Marrow, featuring red flowers that Hornet can needle bounce

Being one of the first areas Hornet travels through, the Marrow is important on her journey. The Bell Beast is encountered here stuck in Silk, and can be fought after binding the Silkspear in Bone Bottom. Defeating and taming the Bell Beast allows Hornet to unlock a useful Fast travel system.

Hornet can find a few useful tools such as the Straight Pin, and meet new NPCS for the first time such as Sherma and Shakra.

To the east is the entrance to Hunter's March, guarded by a Skarrgard, an early game mini-boss. A nearby prison cell contains Grindle, who Hornet can choose to free. Following the defeat of Widow, Loddie takes up residence in the area, offering a pin-throwing minigame in exchange for several rewards.

History

An ancient skull found in The Marrow

Not much is known about the ancient past of Pharloom, but it is evident that the Marrow is made almost entirely out of the shells and bones of ancient bugs. Fossilization, similar to what is found in the Forgotten Crossroads in Hallownest, over generations formed into the solid foundations of the land.

Similar skeletal structures can be found all over the lowlands of Pharloom, from Bone Bottom to Far Fields, suggesting that the land was inhabited by massive creatures in the past.

Following the construction of the Citadel, intricate roads and bellshrines were built through the land to make it easier for Pilgrims to travel. Many Pilgrims start their journey in the Marrow, and have to ascend up through the kingdom as part of their holy pilgrimage.

How to Access

The Marrow can initially be entered by going east of Bone Bottom, which marks the edge of the Mosslands.

Area Features

Characters Sherma Shakra Grindle Loddie Nuu (after defeating Skull Tyrant) Flea Caravan Garmond and Zaza (Act 3 only)

Enemies Skull Scuttler Skull Brute Kilik Beastfly Caranid Flintbeetle (during the Volatile Flintbeetles wish) Pharlid Pharlid Diver Pilgrim Groveller Pilgrim Pouncer Winged Pilgrim Elder Pilgrim Pilgrim Guide Smelt Shoveller Flintstone Flyer Shardillard Void Mass (Act 3 only) Bosses Bell Beast Skull Tyrant

	Straight Pin
	Silk Heart dropped by Bell Beast
	Tool Pouch given by Loddie after beating his first challenge
	Memory Locket x 1
	Craftmetal x 1
	Flea x 1
	Heavy Rosary Necklace x 1 given by Loddie after beating his second challenge
	Frayed Rosary String x 1
Rosary Chest	Rosary Chest x 1  -
	Flintgem dropped by Flintbeetles during the Volatile Flintbeetles wish
	Crown Fragment dropped by Skull Tyrant

Text	Tablet	Location
Pilgrim You are blessed to walk the foundations of Pharloom. Humble yourself before the shells of those who gave their lives to hold our kingdom's weight.
In the air. The water. Everywhere. Inside their shells. Twisted inside. Guts. Tightest around heart. Pulsing rhythm. Sick. Alive. Dead? Something worse. Deeper. Must look deeper.

Arena	Location
Enemy gauntlet at the entrance to The Marrow.
Reward	Theme
Access to the rest of The Marrow	Gauntlet Battle 1
Waves
Beastfly, right	Charges out of the wall and travels across half the arena.
Skull Scuttler, left Skull Scuttler, right
Beastfly x2, top left and right	Both enemies charge out of either wall and bonk into each other in the centre.
Skull Brute, right

Arena	Location
Enemy gauntlet northeast of The Marrow's Bellway. Requires Cling Grip.
Reward	Theme
Memory Locket	Gauntlet Battle 2
Waves
Elder Pilgrim, centre right
Pilgrim Groveller, left Winged Pilgrim, right	Pilgrim Groveller drops out of a sack and waits a moment before reviving.
Pilgrim Groveller, centre Pilgrim Pouncer, centre left	Pilgrim Pouncer drops out of a sack shortly after previous enemy.

Sub-area: Survivor's Camp

Music
Ambience	Atmos Boneforest Cave Atmosphere Misc. 3
Main	The Marrow

After entering Act 3, the survivors of Bone Bottom will move to the central room where the Flea Caravan used to be. If the Volatile Flintbeetles Wish is not completed by Act 3, the Memory Locket it rewards is instead found here.

Characters Flick the Fixer

Enemies None

Memory Locket x 1 if Volatile Flintbeetles is not completed by Act 3

Gallery

• 

  Bell Beast Arena/Bellway Station

• 

  Bell Shrine

• 

  Bridge east of the Bell Shrine

• 

  Lower central area

• 

  Upper area with giant skull

• 

  Upper eastern area

• 

  Entrance to the Hunter's March

• 

  Prison bench

• 

  Grindle's cell

• 

  Moving platform over lava

• 

  Entrance to Deep Docks

• 

  Loddie Room

• 

  New Settlement (Act 3)

• 

  Pre-release screenshot

• 

  Pre-release screenshot

Trivia

• As highlighted by EDGE in their Silksong issue, The Marrow appears to be based off the cut Forest of Bones area from Hollow Knight. The ambience tracks are also called "Boneforest."

Names in Other Languages

Language	Name	Meaning/Explanation
Brazilian Portuguese	A Medula	The Marrow
French	L’Antre	The Cave
German	Tal der Knochen	Valley of Bones
Italian	L’Antro	The Den
Japanese	脊髄の道 Sekizui no michi	Spinal Cord Path
Korean	골수 Golsu	Marrow
Russian	Костяк Kostjak	Backbone or Skeleton
Simplified Chinese	髓骨洞窟 Suǐgǔ dòngkū?	Marrow Bone Cave
Spanish	La Médula	The Marrow
Internal name	PATH_OF_BONE BONEFOREST

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