This is a little something I came up with whilst watching the trailer to Hollow Knight’s Silksong DLC. Also inspired by some of the themes in Hajime Sorayama‘s art.
The story takes place in a world largely comprised of precious metals and stones. Its denizens too are made of stones and metals, their Creator only leaving behind the knowledge of imbuing with or removing sentience from gemstones. The forming of different castes and a hierarchy of power based on metal/stone type and purity eventually takes place and becomes the flow of how things are, and are supposed to be. The disparity which follows leads some of the brightest, but also most empathetic of beings in search of the Philosopher’s stone. With it, transmutation experiments would begin in order to stop the abuse of hereditary power, bringing about a foundation for equality. The authorities catch wind of this and take swift action, but not before seeing almost half of the lower castes turn golden, but only in coating. A brutal aftermath follows. The visionaries of transmutation are smelted, as well as anyone who immediately stands out as a transmute. The latter fight their oppressors back, leading to a conflict that would last for generations.
Our main character is also one such transmute, with the Faker’s mark clearly etched on her left forearm. From her first weeks of sentience, she stands out with her kindness, her innocence, her noble inclinations, all to a fault, which gradually earns her the nickname ‘Goldheart’. Rumours of this reach the royal palace, but instead of capturing and smelting the little girl, the Queen decides to make Goldheart a servant girl to her young daughter, in doing so crushing any glimmer of hope for the lower caste to ever be equal to those of higher rarity and purity.
Despite the royal princess’s attempts to humiliate and demoralize our protagonist, Goldheart shows nothing but clarity of mind and sympathy for her mistress. In a desperate attempt of cruelty, the young princess forces herself on Goldheart, expecting the latter to break, revealing her true self – that, of a member of the lower caste, one only thinly en-robed in the qualities they claim to have, a fake. Things, turn out quite differently. Goldheart returns the princess’s advances with the same gentle kindness and boundless charity, with which she treated all that was thrown her way. Hungry kisses and indecent groping are replaced by intense lovemaking and a shower of diamond tears. A bond forms between the mistress and her servant – the former, of cruel and possessive inclination, confusing the actions of Goldheart for submissiveness.
As time folds onto itself, fresh attempts are made to revive the notions of transmutation; renewed search for fragments from the Philosopher’s stone creates unrest not just with the lower castes, but also higher up. Redoubled efforts by both sides leads to the formation two major factions – The Proponents of Equality (lower caste, in support of transmutation and the abolition of hereditary power) and The Purists (higher castes, in support of the status quo, at any cost). The princess becomes the spearhead of The Purists, capturing, dismantling then smelting anyone linked in any way with The Proponents of Equality. Goldheart, although unphased by the doings of her mistress, begins to take a keen interest in the stalwart determination and selflessness of the lower caste’s attempt to bring about a world of equal rights, despite the seemingly impossible task and the harsh end that meets all, who stand in the way of how things are. Death for the denizens of this reality, does not manifest itself in the same fashion, as it does with organic lifeforms. Once forcefully stripped of their stones, a denizen is then dismantled and smelted, then its substance is reused – the core of the identity is irretrievably lost to an eternity of nothingness, yet never forgotten to its loved ones.
Goldheart attempts to subtly change her mistress’s mind, but only seems to inflame the latter’s vehement, self-righteous pursuit even further. Still, Goldheart is determined to try to put an end to this vicious cycle. The Proponents of Equality attempt to have her made an accomplice in a coup d’état, by sending a young boy to gather information, yet each time she reveals bits, she also tries to convince the boy that both sides of this conflict are fighting for the wrong reasons. The two get caught during one of those secret conversations and the boy is smelted publicly, causing a public outrage at the display, but also deeply disturbing Goldheart.
tsvetoslav shalev 
Leave a comment