World of the Three Moons

The World of the Three Moons is a fantasy realm that serves as a setting for the Trillium series of fantasy novels by Marion Zimmer Bradley, Julian May, and Andre Norton.

Description

As the name suggests, there are three natural satellites in the World of the Three Moons. Whether that has been the reason or not, the number three plays a great role in almost any aspect of the World. For example:

The coat of arms of Ruwenda depicts the black trillium (three-petaled flower), a plant that is considered sacred by most of the peoples of the country.
The coat of arms of Labornok has three swords on it.
There are three major races in the World: humans, oddlings (the aboriginies/folk) and the Vanished Ones.
The mythical almighty Scepter of Power consists of three parts, each having three identical parts itself: wings, eyes, and monstrous faces.
There were three triplet princesses destined to free Ruwenda from Labornok's rule.
A monotheistic God worshipped in some regions is a representation of a Holy Trinity (the Lords of the Air).
Orogastus had three 'Voices', or acolytes, in both Black Trillium and Blood Trillium.
He (Orogastus) worships three Dark Powers - Aysee Lyne, Bahkup, and Inturnal Bataree, which translate into alternating current line (the electrical power source of the ice mirror), Backup (Power), and Internal Battery. In other words, he worships three ancient electrical devices that he believes are magical.

Another reason for such prominence of this number is the number of the authors who wrote the first novel of the series.

Geography

All Trillium novels are primarily set in the Kingdom of Ruwenda, of which all three heroines of the novels, Haramis, Kadiya and Anigel, are princesses. Ruwenda is located in a swampy valley between two ranges of Ohogan Mountains on an eastern-most peninsula of an unnamed continent. Ruwenda is populated by both humans and the Folk, mostly humanoid sentient peoples who vary greatly in appearance and powers. The capital of Ruwenda is the Citadel of Ruwenda, where the Ruwendian Kings reside.

As already stated, the largest part of Ruwenda is covered with swamps and countless small rivers and streams. Since the swamps are natural environment of the Folk, the Kings of Ruwenda always preferred to do nothing about them and therefore used larger rivers Vistar, Lamar, and Mutar as trade routes. The only land trade route lies in the north-eastern part of the country, where there are less swampy regions and more human towns. The only city known to humans in the western part of the kingdom is Trevista.

To the north of Ruwenda lies the Kingdom of Labornok, a powerful and militaristic human state with its capital in Derorguila. The natural border between Ruwenda and Labornok is a range of Ohogan Mountains. The novel Black Trillium starts with Labornok launching a conquest on Ruwenda and successfully capturing the Citadel but by the end of the novel, the attackers are defeated and Ruwenda is free again. However, since the new King of Labornok eventually fell in love with and married the new Queen of Ruwenda, the two kingdoms merged and were henceforth known as the Kingdom of Laboruwenda.

To the south of Ruwenda is the Kingdom of Var. Unlike its northern neighbours, Var has always been a peaceful state preferring to make trade rather than war. Both Var and Labornok have direct access to the sea.

The "Pirate Kingdom" of Raktum lies to the north-west of Ruwenda. It gained its reputation because of a mighty pirate fleet that it possesses, since marine piracy is perfectly legal there and even encouraged by the authorities of the state. The Pirate Kingdom only played an important role in Julian May's continuity.

To the south-west of Ruwenda lies Zinora. Little is known about this state.

If one travels directly east from the Citadel of Ruwenda, one will soon reach the ranges of Ohogan Mountains that are impassable for normal humans and the Folk. Although the characters of the books occasionally travelled east by magical means, no notable kingdoms were ever mentioned - according to their reports, only "feather-covered barbarians" live there.

Races

The three primary fantasy races mentioned in the novels are humans, the Folk or oddlings, and the Ancients or the Vanished Ones.

Humans

Humans are the most numerous people under the Three Moons, e.g. all countries in the novels are reigned by human rulers. Humans build enormous fleets and armies, start wars and wield powerful magic and are indeed the dominant race of the world.

The Folk

The Folk or oddlings are creations of the Vanished Ones. Shortly before the latter have left the World of the Three Moons, they have used their advanced technology to produce a race of sentient beings who can be put in charge of keeping various legacies that the Vanished Ones couldn't destroy or take with them hidden from future races.

There are several "sub-races" of oddlings in the World of the Three Moons:

Vispi are probably the most culturally developed oddlings and definitely the least numerous. They live reclusively in several valleys high in the northern ranges of Ohogan Mountains. It is mentioned that they were the first oddlings created by the Vanished Ones, therefore they still possess some of their lost technologies, e.g. heating. They are also skilled in magic, can command snow storms (Eyes of the Storm) and communicate with giant sentient lammergeiers. For centuries, the only human to meet Vispi in person has been the White Lady. Vispi have been entrusted with guarding the Three-Winged Disc, one of the parts of the Scepter of Power.
Wyvilo are arguably the second most culturally and technically developed oddlings. They live mostly in a city of Leth located on an isle in the middle of Great Mutar. Living together, they have learned to produce weapons and instruments, although these are mostly copies of humans' ones. Overall, Wyvilo are so fascinated with human culture that (despite their savage outer appearance) are probably the most human-like oddlings. During the reconquest of Citadel, they have proved themselves as ferocious warriors and since then, they comprise the Royal Guard of Queen Anigel. Apparently, they have some familial ties to barbarian savages Glismaks.
Nyssomu are the closest oddlings to humans, with many of them even holding prominent positions in the Citadel. They live mostly in the north-eastern part of Ruwenda, but can also be found in any major human town, serving as mediators between humans and oddlings. Unlike Wyvilo however, the Nyssomu carefully preserve their own culture.
Uisgu are a group of oddlings very similar to the Nyssomu, but much less friendly towards humans. They have their own ancient culture and only rarely become involved in the affairs of other races. To humans, they are mostly known as hunters and merchants. Uisgu live mostly to the north of Trevista, in the north-western part of Ruwenda.
Glismak are cannibalistic savages that are somehow related to Wyvilo. Because of this relationship, Glismaks were constantly raiding Wyvilo settlements and looted everything they needed to live from them. However, this "custom" was changed when princess Anigel used her Three-Headed Monster (another part of the Scepter of Power) to forbid it to them once and for all. It is unclear, whether Glismaks started a more peaceful life after that.
Skritek are, in fact, not a part of the Folk. Not so much because other oddlings don't want to admit anything in common with them, but rather because they are not creations of the Vanished Ones. It was mentioned once that their savage race is even more ancient than the Vanished Ones themselves. Known also as "drowners", they have reptilian appearance and cruel customs, e.g. drowning their enemies in swamps, torturing them to death and eating their dead bodies. It took the entire influence and power of the White Lady to make them forget these customs for just one occasion. Skritek live in the impassable regions in the north of Ruwenda, also known as the Thorny Hell.

The Vanished Ones

The Vanished Ones or the Ancients were once the dominant race of the world but have left it under unknown circumstances. In Norton's and May's continuities, different explanations of their vanishing were provided. According to the Black Trillium, the Vanished Ones possessed a mighty technology that allowed them to terraform their world, create new sentient species and the almighty Scepter of Power, an instrument whose function is to restructure the entire world.

In Julian May's continuity, the Vanished Ones were the creators of two of the three natural satellites of their planet and in fact, many of them still reside in one of them in an cryobiosis.

According to Clarke's third law, all inventions of the Vanished Ones are seen as magical per se, even though those skilled in magical arts do display awareness that these are merely machines.

Scepter of Power-A scepter made up of three other magical items. The Three Lobed Burning Eye, The Three Headed Monster, and The Three Winged Circle. The Scepter was made to combat the starmen but the Vanished Ones were to afraid to use it. It can be only be used by all three sisters.

Religion

Although there is no organized churches in the World of the Three Moons, there are many unorganized beliefs. The three major ones in Ruwenda are:

The worship of the One God is most common among human population of Ruwenda. It is unclear how this monotheistic idea could survive without any organization (like a church) to back it up. On the other hand, it seems that this belief is much more tolerant towards others, than "normal" Middle-Age Christianity, which it was clearly modelled after: it even incorporates the idea of Three in One (likely, the Holy Trinity).
The worship of the Lords of Air is a mysterious belief most common among the oddlings. It is unclear whether the "Lords of Air" ever existed or how they have ever manifested their powers. However, the oddlings seem to pray to them on any occasion when a divine intervention is necessary.
The personality cult surrounding the White Lady is the most practical and effective belief among both oddlings and humans. The first White Lady, Binah, has lived for so long that the peoples of Ruwenda started considering her a goddess. It is also true that through her magic, she actively defended the land against countless external aggressors but in the end she was human, not a deity.

In Labornok, the most common belief is that of the One God, with the Saint Zoto playing a great role. The latter seems to be extremely popular among its military. There are also other cults and sects in Labornok, for example the cult of the Goddess Meret. The latter, however, only plays a considerable role in Marion Zimmer Bradley's continuity.

Personalities

Haramis, the eldest of the three princesses of Ruwenda, later, the White Lady and the Arch-Sorceress of the Land
Kadiya, the second-eldest princess of Ruwenda, later, the Lady of the Sacred Eyes and the great protector of the Folk
Anigel, the youngest princess of Ruwenda, later, the Queen of Laboruwenda
Binah, the former Arch-Sorceress of the Land and the Protector of Ruwenda
Orogastus or Portolanus, a powerful sorcerer who tried to conquer the entire world but was defeated by Ruwendians. In May's continuity, Orogastus survived and resumed his attempts at least twice, gradually revealing the reasons for them
Antar, the Crown Prince of Labornok, later, the King of Laboruwenda