“Hallow” as in sacred, not “hollow” as in empty.
Hallownest was once a bustling kingdom, but now all we can find of its residents are the Husk enemies we can find everywhere. Presumably some of the other foes were also citizens, but we don’t see much mention of that in the journal that tells us what everything is. (We’ll get it later.) I suppose the Stag is also a former resident, of sorts, but he was the transit system rather than getting to see the actual kingdom. For how old he is, it’s a miracle he hasn’t succumbed to the same sickness as everyone else! Even Sly was having trouble.
My goal for this playthrough is to pick up everything, speak with everyone, and fight everything. The last point might not actually happen, but I want to at least try. The ultimate goal is to show off everything the game has to offer, though I also know that’s technically not possible, what with a couple of branching paths along the way. Still, I’m going to get at least three endings, and show every bit of dialogue for everyone I encounter, whenever I see them. I’ll also go a little off the beaten path to show some alternate ways to get to places. There’s an obvious path for several locations, but I’ll go my own way, when I can. Sometimes that means I’ll miss dialogue, but you can’t have everything.