The Three Moons interchangeably refers to three ancient celestial bodies or their affiliated goddesses, collectively known as the Three Moon Goddesses or the Three Moon Sisters. They were created by Dragon King Nibelung to oversee Teyvat, wield his authority, and act as an extension of his will.[1]
During the war of funerary flame, the Eternal and Iridescent Moons were destroyed, killing their corresponding goddesses Aria and Sonnet; the Frost Moon's connection to Teyvat was severed when it was banished beyond the false sky, eventually killing its corresponding goddess Canon.[2] The Heavenly Principles projected an illusory "shadowmoon" onto the false sky to cover up their fates,[3][4] The Moon Marrows are the dead remains of the Moon Sisters, only having their remaining power and working as a source of light realm's energy.
Nibelung created the Three Moons using ancient dragon technology and raised them into the space outside Teyvat.[5] They were created with authorities equal to Nibelung's over the power of the Light Realm[6], the World of Teyvat, and the fundamental laws of this world — Life, Death, Time, and Space[7] — the ones which now are ruled by the Four Great Rulers — And can only be challenged by Descenders.[8][9]
The goddesses' failure to prevent the Heavenly Principles' usurpation of Teyvat culminated in the war of funerary flame. During the war, Nibelung transformed their moons into weapons, and the Heavenly Principles retaliated by destroying the Eternal and Iridescent Moons while banishing the Frost Moon beyond the false sky,[2] where it remained intact but devoid of life.[10] This effectively killed the goddesses, who could not live without their moons or a connection to Teyvat;[7] however, their consciousnesses were preserved due to their imprisonment in the "moon's reflection," a unique space created by Nibelung to prevent them from interfering with the war.[1]
Following their deaths, the Three Moons became mytho-historical figures who appear in fragmentary accounts across Teyvat. They are depicted in remnant texts and murals found in ancient civilizations' ruins, and modern literary references to the goddesses include Heart's Desire: Sapphire, Moonlit Bamboo Forest (III), and Records of Jueyun: Mountain Spirits.
Crimson Moon: Created when the Iridescent Moon fused with Abyssal power, it served as an object of worship and source of Abyssal power for Khaenri'ah's Crimson Moon Dynasty before being superseded by the Eclipse Dynasty's "Dark Sun."[8]
Shadowmoon (also called the "false moon" or "moon's shadow"): An illusory moon created by the Heavenly Principles to obfuscate the fate of the Three Moons in the aftermath of the war. Also used by Istaroth to imprison a fragment of Zibai's soul. With the Frost Moon's return underneath the false sky, it became obsolete and disintegrated soon after.[3]
Using Secret Source technology,[17] Nibelung raised the three moons from Teyvat's planetary crust at modern-day Nod-Krai.[1] The first was the Eternal Moon, largest of the Three Moons, whose immense gravity gave rise to the ocean tides. The second was the Frost Moon, which shone the brightest in the night sky. The final one was the Iridescent Moon, the smallest moon whose faint light produced fleeting halos.[11]
While the Moon Sisters held authority over Teyvat's primordial laws, their primary concern was protecting the world rather than ruling it, so they mutually agreed to equally divide their power among themselves to prevent any one sister from becoming too powerful.[7] Therefore, sovereignty over the night sky was held by one sister at a time, who rode through the heavens on a silver chariot, switching places three times a month.[18][Note 1] If a particular sister did not feel like being on duty, she could coax one of her siblings to take her place instead in exchange for gifts. This occasionally led to their schedules getting mixed up, resulting in accidental situations like all three moons appearing simultaneously in the sky.[19]
At some point before the arrival of the Heavenly Principles, the Moongazers constructed Eye of Ibni-Belum on Frost Moon as a transceiver station[20] and later Ungien's Circle and the Space Lifeform Capture Station to capture alien lifeforms.[21] One of the Moongrazers, Lusalim, after inheriting the message from the Stellar Blackbody, devised a plan to collate the ancient moon energy data of the Moongazers and merge them inside the moon's core and pleaded with the Moon Goddesses to borrow the primordial power of creation which they agreed so that the data of the past Moongazers was insured to be reborn in the forms of information-based life-forms which the message of the Stellar Blackbody could be broadcast again and again.[22][23]
At some point, possibly during the Heavenly Principles' invasion, geological disturbances began to appear across the land: "endless snowfields turned to blackened earth" and "volcanoes became clogged with ice," while "shadows poured over the sky." Seeking Nibelung's whereabouts, Pyro SovereignXiuhcoatl visited the Moon Sisters for leads, but was met with silence from each one.[24]
The Heavenly Principles' Arrival
Several millennia after Nibelung departed,[25] the Heavenly Principles — the First Descender — appeared in Teyvat. The Moon Sisters, sensing no ill-intent from them, accepted their presence and peacefully coexisted with them for some time, seeing them as a guest.[1] The Heavenly Principles changed Teyvat "down to its very foundations"[2] and modified Teyvat's rules using the sisters' authorities.[24] While Sonnet opposed these changes, Aria and Canon decided to wait and see whether the "order" to the Heavenly Principles' rules — which were unlike anything Nibelung had taught them — bode good or ill for Teyvat.[1][Note 2]
After altering Teyvat's laws, the Heavenly Principles waged war against the Seven Sovereigns and dragonkind. After a 40-year-long struggle, the Heavenly Principles and their Four Great Rulers overthrew the dragons, took over Teyvat's surface world,[26] and created the false sky.[27] Because the Moon Sisters failed to intercede on their behalf, despite being fellow creations of Nibelung, the dragons came to see them as traitors.[24] While the Heavenly Principles drove out the dragons and "swept the heavens clean," they accepted the Moons' existence as their primary role was to maintain Teyvat, and did not attempt to destroy them as long as they did not do anything which would run contrary to the Heavenly Principles' own designs.[7] They also believed that letting humanity take over Teyvat was in fact fulfilling Nibelung's own words that "all life across the sea of stars are our allies. They fight alongside us against the darkness."[28]
Some time around the Heavenly Principles' victory, the Moon Sisters abandoned their old forms in favor of human ones, Sonnet being the last to do so.[29] Under the Heavenly Principles' divine plan, human civilizations flourished under the instruction of the angels, who served as envoys between Celestia and humanity. For their part, the Moon Sisters noticed the Heavenly Principles' "paranoid hostility" towards the inclination of "certain life forms" to seek power. Many civilizations chose to worship the Three Moons rather than the Heavenly Principles,[7] as the Moons offered solace to those "scorched" by the Heavenly Principles' unyielding rules.[30][31] . The angels, and apparently even the Four Shades,[31] had a good relationship with the Moon Sisters.[32]The Heavenly Principles would even send some of its own servants such as Zibai as Moon Envoys to aid the Moon Sisters in their tasks, which they readily accepted.[33]
The Moons also became the afterlife for the souls of the people of Teyvat before Irminsul took that role, in which several "boatmen" would ferry the deceased to the "cities upon the moon" where they would rest.[34]
Around thirty years before Nibelung's return,[35] the Moon Sisters witnessed the union of Koitar, the first angel, and Anacharsis, the voyager from beyond Teyvat.[36]
When the Heavenly Principles began casting down celestial nails on civilizations that pushed the limits of the "rules," the sisters were horrified at the wanton destruction, considering the punishments to be far too harsh and extreme. Canon in particular attempted to aid some civilizations, but many perished regardless.[1] In the end, the sisters had no choice but to obey the order, as their mission was to preserve fragile Teyvat until Nibelung returned.[37]
Just as the Moon Sisters had begun preparing countermeasures against the Heavenly Principles' cruelty, Nibelung returned to Teyvat, corrupted by Abyssal power and furious over Teyvat's transformation.[24] A devastating war ensued between Nibelung, the Heavenly Principles, and their respective followers. Once again, the Moon Sisters fell into dispute; one of them felt they should ally themselves with their creator, while another favored remaining neutral to avoid bringing even more ruin to the world.[1]
Nibelung interpreted their hesitation as disloyalty and imprisoned them within the "moon's reflection," a specialized lunar prison of warped space-time, to prevent them from using their powers to interfere in the war.[1] Afterwards, he fashioned their Moons into instruments of war to use against Celestia. Perhaps unaware of the Goddesses' imprisonment, the Heavenly Principles saw the weaponization of the Moons as a violation of their peace treaty and retaliated by shattering both the Eternal and the Iridescent Moons while flinging the Frost Moon beyond the False Sky. The destruction of two moons and the physical banishment of the third caused the Moon Goddesses to lose their rationale for existence in Teyvat, causing the world to continuously reject their presence until they disappeared entirely.[7] Most dragons cheered for the Moon Sisters' deaths, seeing it as comeuppance for their perceived betrayal.[24]
Within the "moon's reflection," the sisters were shielded from the consequences of the conflict, including the destruction of their moons. However, they had no means of escaping, no way of knowing what went on in the outside world, and no hope of survival even in case they left. While it is unclear how long they were imprisoned for, they were ultimately freed and sent back to Teyvat during the war of funerary flame thanks to Columbina's arrival.[1]
During the events of the Archon QuestSong of the Welkin Moon 6000 years in the future,[38] Columbina — the new Frost Moon Goddess — enters the "moon's reflection" to escape Dottore's clutches. She makes her way backwards in time until she reaches the time when the sisters were imprisoned. After learning about the war of funerary flame's outcome and their demises, the sisters decide to make amends for their past indecision by transferring their lunar authorities to Columbina, turning her into the Trilune Goddess so she could return to her own time period and put an end to Dottore's threat.[1]
Having become mortal, the sisters were able to escape confinement with Columbina's help. They returned to the war of funerary flame, where the course of history continues its destined path and the Moons' downfall comes to pass soon after.[1] The Eternal Moon's fall threw "heaven and earth into chaos,"[39] while some of its remains rained down onto Teyvat like stardust. Aria's remains coalesced into the Moon Marrow, which was found by and kept as a sacred relic of the Frostmoon Scions, the descendants of the Hyperboreans.[11]
When the Iridescent Moon shattered, the agony Sonnet felt drove her to fuse her soul with Abyssal power in a last-ditch attempt to prolong her lifespan. While she lived, she remained in a state of perpetual torment, and the combination of Light Realm and Abyssal power transformed her into the baleful Crimson Moon. Khaenri'ah's Crimson Moon Dynasty revered the Crimson Moon as a source of Abyssal power and sequestered the Iridescent Moon's shattered husk and her corrupted Moon Marrow in an otherworldly domain that could only be temporarily accessed through the use of Balemoon Bloodfire.[8]
When the Frost Moon ceased to turn, entire nations faltered and fell to ruin.[39] Unlike the other two moons, the Frost Moon was not destroyed and merely flung beyond the false sky, where it became darkened and lifeless. Canon managed to survive for some time before dying due to Teyvat's constant rejection of her,[2] during which she guided the survivors of Hyperborea to Hiisi Island[40] and allegedly granted them hereditary powers and traits, such as kuuvahki sensitivity, animal communication, silver blood, and white antlers.[11][41] After confirming the Moon Sisters' deaths,[7] the Hyperborean survivors venerated Canon's deeds by adopting the name "Frostmoon Scions."[40]
To keep the three moons' fate a secret,[4] the Heavenly Principles hid the moons behind the false sky and projected an illusory shadowmoon over Teyvat's night cycle.[3]Istaroth, one of the Four Shades, used the shadowmoon to preserve a portion of Zibai's soul when the latter died protecting the civilization of Lang-Gan.[42]
Meanwhile, to return to her original time period and escape the "moon's reflection," Columbina splits her being into three parts: Her body is turned into moonlight and poured over Nod-Krai; her soul is left inside the "moon's reflection" with her Luonnotar as its anchor on Teyvat; and her Trilune Authority is hidden within the Frost Moon. This causes the land of Nod-Krai to have a unique, primordial elemental force associated with the Three Moons, which came to be known as kuuvahki.[1][11] Before "dying," Columbina sings the lullaby which became the only thing her newborn self remembered upon her birth 5500 years later;[10] her three parts would be reunited during the final battle against Dottore another 500 years later.[15]
Present Day
In the climax of the Abyss' large-scale assault against Natlan, Mavuika's strike breaks through Teyvat's false sky, revealing the true sky beyond and the Eternal Moon's shattered remnants. While the false sky quickly repairs itself with only a small crack left behind, and most people accept the official explanation of an "astronomical anomaly," Mavuika reveals that this was her first time seeing conclusive evidence of the "false sky."[4] Later, Mavuika divulges new intelligence on the Eternal Moon's origins as a piece of draconic Secret Source technology, as well as the fact that Dottore's subordinates have infiltrated Natlan in order to uncover leads on it.[17]
In between the Natlan Archon Quests and Song of the Welkin Moon, the Fatui pull down fragments of the Eternal Moon into Nod-Krai and build the massive Kuuvahki Experimental Design Bureau around one of them. Columbina herself gives up a large portion of her power for the Tsaritsa as part of a yet-unknown project, which convinces Columbina to leave the Fatui and leads to the events of Song of the Welkin Moon.[11][43]
In order to recover her power, Columbina seeks the Moon Marrows,[12] a plan complicated by the simultaneous interventions of the Fatui and Rerir, one of Khaenri'ah's Five Sinners, who each seek the moons' powers for their own reasons. After being stolen from the Frostmoon Scions, the Eternal Moon Marrow is recovered and left with the Traveler for safekeeping.[44] Columbina and the Traveler later recover the Iridescent Moon Marrow from its otherworldly domain. As they approach the Crimson Moon, Sonnet's lingering consciousness realizes that the Traveler is a Descender. The Traveler uses their purifying ability to cleanse the Moon Marrow of the Abyssal power, releasing Sonnet from her torment. With her dying words, she addresses Columbina fondly, much to the latter's confusion[8] — unbeknownst to her at the time, her future self would meet Sonnet after traveling backwards in time.[1]
After participating in the battles against Rerir,[45] strengthening her bond with Teyvat and adopting the name "Columbina Hyposelenia,"[2] and experiencing a Moon-Prayer Night festival in her honor, Columbina activates an ancient Hyperborean device using her and the Moon Marrows' powers to return to the Frost Moon. Instead of finding herself on the moon, however, she and the Moon Marrows fall into Dottore's clutches and grant him the Three Moons' power. Even though the Traveler is unaffected by his newfound authorities, Dottore still has the Three Moons' raw power, and only Columbina's self-imposed banishment to the "moon's reflection" forces him to retreat with the Moon Marrows in tow.[15]
In the "moon's reflection," Columbina moves backwards in time,[46] entering brief windows of past events and using kuuvahki to cause the once-inexplicable events she and her friends encountered, as well as leave behind clues and messages for them to find. She also places a small fragment of her soul in a Luonnotar as an anchor to the present and entreats it to follow the Traveler.[6] She eventually comes upon the moon sisters and learns more about the nature of kuuvahki — namely, that it comes from her own powers and did not always exist in Nod-Krai — before coming up with her plan to return to her time period and fight Dottore with a more powerful Trilune.[1]
Meanwhile, her friends in the present day uncover her plan through the clues she left behind, but they have to resurrect her while also contending with Dottore, who has become a false god with trilunar authority after creating an artificial Moon Marrow to substitute for Columbina.[46]Sandrone synthesizes the research conducted by the Remurians and the Narzissenkreuz Ordo,[6] the computational power of Wanderer's Irminsul core, and the anchoring nature of Luonnotar to create a world-formula which will bring them 90% of the way to reviving Columbina.[1] After its completion, the final step is bringing the Frost Moon inside the false sky to restore its connection to Teyvat. The plan succeeds at the cost of Sandrone's self-sacrifice; Columbina revives, Dottore is defeated, and the Moon Marrows are recovered.[15]
Lauma and Arlecchino are entrusted with the Eternal and Iridescent Moon Marrows, respectively, while Columbina decides to use her newfound free time to explore Teyvat. As part of her earlier promise to the Traveler, she first takes them to the Frost Moon, where their spaceship was hidden by the Heavenly Principles after the cataclysm.[47]
Following the Frost Moon's return, the shadowmoon lost the meaning for its existence and began disintegrating bit-by-bit. It completely disappears during a contemporaneous Lantern Rite, releasing the fragment of Zibai's soul contained within. Zhongli, who had been awaiting a chance like this for thousands of years, reunites it with Zibai's other Deadly Selves and resurrects her.[3]
During the Archon QuestSong of the Welkin Moon, Dottore attempts to usurp the Heavenly Principles and create a new world order by obtaining the trilune authority. He had long been interested in the Three Moons' powers[48] and in becoming a god, so Columbina's decision to leave the Fatui gave him an opportunity to covertly obtain the Three Moons' power. Dottore masterminded Columbina's arrest warrant[47] and Rerir's resurrection[1] to draw attention away from his own actions, weaken Columbina, and draw out the Moon Marrows from their hiding spots.
For Song of the Welkin Moon's first six Acts, Dottore is stationed in Nod-Krai but makes himself scarce as he waits for Moon-Prayer Night, which would be Columbina's chance to return to the Frost Moon. On Moon-Prayer Night, he gathers enough kuuvahki to trick the teleportation device into mistaking him for the moon, allowing him to capture Columbina and the Moon Marrows — which had been used to power the device — and obtain their powers. He promptly demonstrates his newfound control over time, but Traveler's inability to be affected by the authorities and Columbina's escape into the "moon's reflection" destabilizes his control over the authorities and forces his retreat.[9]
Having anticipated the possibility of such a setback, however, Dottore immediately begins finalizing the construction of an artificial Moon Marrow, which is completed as Columbina's allies attempt to subdue him. He places a curse on each of them and captures the Traveler,[49] intent on convincing them to join his cause. As he demonstrates his control over the Three Moons' power to the Traveler,[46] in the rest of Nod-Krai, his Energy Fields of Light Realm power begin expanding and devouring the land. He uses his power to swap human minds into animal bodies and transform people into monsters, all as part of his experiments into the Three Moons' capabilities,[6] as well as to figure out how best to move his own mind so he may conquer death.[50]
He is ultimately defeated through Columbina's return as the Trilune Goddess, as the trilune authority derived from the Moon Marrows is inferior to that which Columbina gained from the moon sisters. While he is vanquished with a blast of light and is widely considered deceased after that battle, he was later revealed to have survived within Irminsul, having already planned his death in order for one half of his soul to be recorded by it while uploading another half of himself as pure data, reviving him as the Exalted Master of the Heretical Path.[51] Although he maintained a digital variant of the device used to hold the Moon Marrows, he does not use it in battle and is ultimately killed when Irminsul is incinerated by Nahida.[52]
In Teyvat Culture
In the wake of the Three Moons' disappearance, the people of Teyvat have passed down multiple contradictory legends about their fates. Most narrative traditions portray the Three Moons as three sisterly figures who resided within the Lunar Palace[53] and alternated the duty of traversing the heavens in a silver carriage[18] (or chariot).[54] The tales typically diverge at the events of the Funerary Year; some tales say that the sisters betrayed and killed each other, while others claim that only two sisters died and the moon currently in Teyvat's night sky is one of their corpses.[18] Some assert that following her sisters' deaths, the last moon goddess was so overcome with sorrow that she never left her palace again.[55]
The angel Nabu Malikata survived the war and hobbled to Sumeru's Great Red Sand, where she became King Deshret's close friend and confidante. Her stories of the past included tales about the three moons and led him to deduce the false sky's existence.[56]
One of Zibai's Deadly Selves, Ziqiao, traveled across Liyue and would tell the moons' story to random humans she encountered, which gave rise to books like Heart's Desire, Moonlit Bamboo Forest, and Springs of Hidden Jade, although their contents were not always faithful retellings.[57][58]
The Spiral Abyss, a massive underground city built by a ruined civilization, has several deep connections with the moon(s): Within it is a structure known as the Abyssal Moon Spire, in which the moon is clearly visible. The lunar phase within the city shifts twice a month in a phenomenon known as the Moment of Syzygy, which brings new rewards with it, and this change in lunar phase has been referred to as "gears turn[ing]."[59]
Nicole and another angel, who degenerated into a Seelie but retained clarity of mind, drew on terms and concepts from pre-Funerary Year Teyvat while writing their novels, publishing them under the fictitious identity Mr. Nine;[60] one of their popular works, Flowers for Princess Fischl, makes clear references to the Three Moons.[61]
Trivia
The concept of the moon(s) recurs throughout Teyvat lore and shows up both in-universe and in gameplay elements. For example, the names "Mondstadt" and "Liyue" both make reference to the word moon via Mond and Yue, respectively.
Nilotpala Lotuses are said to be related to the three sisters, hence why they bloom during nighttime.[54][55]
Columbina's Elemental Burst, Moonlit Melancholy, states that the Moon Goddesses were called "Iynx," which means "bird-like gods."
In Greek mythology, Iynx was an Oread nymph who cast a love spell on Zeus and was turned into a wryneck bird as punishment. It also refers to an ancient Greek magic wheel or whirligig toy emblazoned with wrynecks, which was used to cast spells; this may have inspired the Moon Wheels in Genshin Impact.
Moonlit Bamboo Forest (III) claims that the Three Moons shared "one love," named the "star of daybreak" and the "morning stars." Given that the artifact set Aubade of Morningstar and Moon[Note 3] revolves around the Moon Sisters and the Heavenly Principles, and the "morning star" epithet has since been applied to the Heavenly Principles,[31][62] the turn of speech is likely a metaphor derived from the Moon Sisters' failure to stop the Heavenly Principles. While they were curious of the First Descender's plan at first, the three goddesses grew to be very wary of the Heavenly Principles over time.[1]
The English localization of Moonlit Bamboo Forest (III) states that disaster would befall the world if the three sisters failed to switch places in time. This is a misinterpretation of the original Chinese text, which says that they continued switching places up until the great disaster descended. (See Moonlit Bamboo Forest § Notes for details.)
Another notable translation liberty occurs later, with "But this was all before the world was smashed against the tides of great calamity." The original Chinese text says 那是颠覆天地的大灾降临之前的事情了 "Of course, this was before the disaster that toppled heaven and earth descended.", with the destruction of "heaven and earth" being a common in-game metaphor for the war of funerary flame.
In the Song of the Welkin Moon Teaser: Moonlit Ballad of the Night, Alice inspects a piece of paper with the words "Aralos," "Solnari," and "Cannon" written on it, which appear to be alternate names for the Three Moons. Rerir's epithet as a Sinner, for example, is Rächer of Solnari (Chinese: 猎月人 "Moon Hunter"), which relates to his infamy for hunting down the Crimson Moon's (Sonnet's) followers at Irmin's orders.
In the beginning of Columbina's trailer, she is seen holding three balloons in turquoise, blue, and pink, representing Aria, Canon, and Sonnet.
Etymology
The Three Moons' names are related to music and poetry:
An aria is a musical composition for a single singer, with or without musical accompaniment. It is most often used in operas.
A sonnet is a type of poetic form closely associated with love poems. It is derived from the Italian word sonetto, meaning "little song."
A canon is a compositional form in which the melody is repeated by an imitation after a given duration.
In astronomy, "syzygy" is the configuration of three celestial bodies in a straight line. One commonly-known type of syzygy is an eclipse.
In the Valentinianism system of Gnosticism, "syzygy" refers to the duo male and female emanations of God.
Cultural References
The concept of the triple goddess is common in real-life mythology.
In the murals of Tsurumi Island, the Three Moons are addressed in Latin as "Trivia," a Roman epithet used for goddesses presiding over the crossroads, such as Diana, the goddess of the moon, as well as the triple-aspected Hecate.
In Nocturne's Curtain Call, Columbina is similarly described as the "Lord of the Crossroads."
Notes
↑Instead of saying that the sisters alternated "thrice a month," the original Chinese text says they alternated after "one xún" (Chinese: 一旬), where a xún can mean ten days, ten years, or an unspecified amount of time. The English localization assumed ten days, as thirty days roughly comprises one lunar month.
↑While various sources such as Fractured Halo, Aubade of Morningstar and Moon, and Nicole's lines in Where Does Her Name Rest? imply that the Moon Sisters were coerced into obedience, the sisters' own account in The First Sliver of Moonlight depicts Aria and Canon as naïvely complicit in establishing the Heavenly Principles' new order, and none of the sisters give the impression that they were forced into it.
↑An aubade is a song or poem which evokes or greets the dawn or early morning; in music, it can also refer to a morning love song.
↑Archon Quest, Song of the Welkin Moon, Act VIII - True Moon, Part 3: Welkin Moon's Homecoming Columbina: The Moon Goddesses always had a good relationship with the angels. I suppose our friendship continues that tradition.
↑Archon Quest, Song of the Welkin Moon, Act V - A Nocturne of the Far North, Part 1: In the Shifting Light of the Moon Nefer: They claim to be from Hyperborea — a name which I've heard from Lauma before. If this is true, it means they must be from 6,000 years ago...
↑Weapon: Mitternachts Waltz Two of the three bright moons [...] were shredded by a sword that tore the horizon asunder, left in smithereens too small even for the mystical sight of the Prinzessin.
