Aria, Sonnet and Canon

Aria, Sonnet and Canon
Region	Teyvat
Affil­i­a­tion	Lunar Palace
Death	Deceased prior to the game's events
Mentioned Characters Gods

Aria, Sonnet, and Canon, collectively known as the three sisters or the moon sisters (unofficial name), are three ancient goddesses who, according to Teyvat mythos, served as Teyvat's three moons. They are also called the Iridescent Moon, the Eternal Moon, and the Frost Moon, although the correlation between which title and which sister name is still unknown.

Following a certain great calamity, two of the sisters died, and the corpse of only one of the sisters continues to illuminate the night sky.

Profile

Just as legends claim that [...] once there were three bright moons in the night sky named Aria, Sonnet and Canon, sisters who were parted by death in a great catastrophe.

—Heart's Desire: Sapphire

The three sisters are mythical figures in Teyvat legends who have been mentioned in books and legends from — and in item descriptions related to — Mondstadt, Liyue, and Sumeru. However, very little of their mythos can be confirmed, leaving their significance and role in Teyvat a mystery.

Most tales involving them agree that the three sisters lived in the Lunar Palace and switched places in riding their silver carriage (or chariot) at regular intervals. The three sisters were close with each other and were also in love with the "stars of daybreak," but met their end as a result of a great calamity. Stories differ, or do not address, why the sisters died or how many of them died.

Story

The trinity of moon goddesses, who once steered the primordial celestial sphere and wove love and passion into the very heart of the world, have long since faded into the shadows of time. Yet those who follow the tides still sing and pray, for a new moon is set to rise...

—Song of the Welkin Moon

According to legend, the moon sisters are older than Rex Lapis, who himself is over 6,000 years old. After the Heavenly Principles overthrew the Seven Sovereigns, the moon sisters were put under their control. They were the sovereigns of the night sky who dwelled in the Lunar Palace and rode through the heavens in a silver carriage. Sovereignty was held by one sister at a time, switching places three times a month. The three sisters were all in love with the morning stars, and it is said that their love for the morning stars was "equal" to the affection between the sisters.

The Ancient Calamity

At some point, the moon sisters witnessed the union of the First Angel and a voyager from beyond Teyvat. Thirty days later, the calamity that overturned the heavens and earth descended on the world. It is heavily implied that this disaster is related to Nibelung's great war of vengeance against the Heavenly Principles, which was the same conflict which caused the Seelie to be cursed and exiled. The lovers went on a self-imposed exile and attempted to flee, but the disaster caught up to them. As punishment, the two were separated for eternity and had their memories wiped. The heartbroken angels withered away, shedding parts of their former selves which then transformed into the Seelie's current wispy forms.

Meanwhile, the great disaster overturned the sisters' carriage and ransacked the palace of the stars. What exactly happened to the moon sisters themselves is controversial; according to one tale, the moon sisters turned on each other and killed each other, while other legends omit this detail and claim that only two sisters died and the moon currently in Teyvat's night sky is one of their corpses. Yet another legend names each moon and describes the disasters which occured as they were destroyed:

1. When the Eternal Moon "fell," it threw heaven and earth into chaos.
2. When the Iridescent Moon "shattered," its "crimson shadow sank into the abyssal sea."
3. Finally, when the third sister, the Frost Moon, "ceased to turn," entire nations faltered and fell to ruin.

Skirk confirms that two of Teyvat's three moons are completely shattered with their fragments floating aimlessly behind the false sky. The third moon, however, remains intact but devoid of life, although its 'will' has not completely dissipated. Around the same time as the deaths of the moon sisters, the sun chariot piloted by the morning stars fell into the plains west of Liyue, creating The Chasm and Dunyu Ruins.

Legacy

Following her sisters' deaths, the last sister was so overcome with sorrow that she never left her palace again.

The morning stars survived the calamities, as did the wolves, who are said to be "children of the moons." The wolves remember the tragedy behind the sisters' tale, and those who live among wolves call the morning stars the "grievous stars." Gods and adepti that heard the story of the moon sisters would "feel sentimental upon hearing such ancient memories."

King Deshret recalls that Nabu Malikata told him about the night sky "adorned with three bright moons," and reiterates that the number of moons should be three. He suggests that the single moon visible in Teyvat's sky is an illusion.

Song of the Welkin Moon says that from the remains of the three moon sisters, a "New Moon" rises, "spinning the wheel of fate anew."

Nilotpala Lotuses are said to be related to the three sisters, hence why they bloom during nighttime.

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. According to folk legends, the Solar Chariot that fell into The Chasm was repaired by the tribespeople who lived there and eventually returned to the heavens; in other renditions of the tale, the sun chariot was a star which "leaped away" and returned to the heavens during the time "countless gods and rulers fought over the appointed celestial seats."

During the Abyssal invasion of Natlan, Mavuika channeled power from the six modern incarnations of the heroes who fought with her during the cataclysm along with Ronova's power to destroy the rift that was responsible for the invasion. The sheer strength of her strike was potent enough to break through Teyvat's skies, revealing that Teyvat's skies were false along with a shattered moon. However, most of the people paid little heed to it, though Mavuika later disclosed to the Traveler that it was worth investigating, as they had not been observed in any other nation and guessed that the Heavenly Principles wished to keep the matter secret. She hoped that they would not cause her too much trouble over it, and she would simply tell the masses that it was just an "astronomical anomaly."

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]." Notably, the moon above Teyvat and the one within the Spiral Abyss are distinct, perhaps suggesting that while one sister's corpse ended up in Teyvat, the other sister's corpse ended up in the Spiral Abyss.

The "Welkin Moon Goddess" depicted in the Blessing of the Welkin Moon card is relate to the moon sisters. She's an unidentified white-haired, purple-robed feminine figure surrounded by Primogems, with an upright triquetra underneath and a waning crescent moon behind her. The word "welkin" means "sky" or "heaven," making the name of this moon the "Heavenly Moon."

Trivia

• The concept of the triple goddess is common in real-life mythology and may be the inspiration behind the moon sisters.
• 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 major 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."

Etymology

• The moon sisters' 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.
  • Both the Chinese and Japanese language patches render Sonnet as "Sonata". This may have been an oversight in localization, as a sonata is a form of musical piece much like an aria and a canon, as opposed to a sonnet, which is a form of poetry.
• 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.

Gallery

The Moon as seen from Teyvat

The Abyssal Moon as seen from Spiral Abyss

One of the Moons, shattered, behind the false sky.

The fragments visible after the split-sky phenomenon closed.

All three Moons eclipsing as seen in phase one of the Song of the Welkin Moon event

The three Moons, one shattered, as seen in phase two of the Song of the Welkin Moon event

The Moon sisters shown eclipsed on a mural from Tsurumi Island

The Moon Sisters depicted in a mural from Ochkanatlan

Other Languages

Language	Official Name	Literal Meaning
English	Aria, Sonnet and Canon	—
Chinese (Simplified)	艾莉亚、桑娜妲与卡侬 Àilìyà, Sāngnàdá yǔ Kǎnóng	Aria, Sonnet and Canon
Chinese (Traditional)	艾莉亞、桑娜妲與卡儂 Àilìyà, Sāngnàdá yǔ Kǎnóng
Japanese	エリア、サンナタ、カノン Eria, Sannata, Kanon	—
Korean	아리아, 소넷, 캐넌 Aria, Sonet, Kaeneon	Aria, Sonnet, Canon
Spanish	Aria, Sonnet y Canon	Aria, Sonnet and Canon
French	Arya, Sandria et Carmen	Aria, Sonnet and Canon
Russian	Ария, Саннада и Канон Ariya, Sannada i Kanon	Aria, Sonnet and Canon
Thai	Aria, Sonnet และ Canon Aria, Sonnet lae Canon	Aria, Sonnet and Canon
Vietnamese	Aria, Sonnet và Canon	Aria, Sonnet and Canon
German	Arie, Sonett und Kanon	Aria, Sonnet and Canon
Indonesian	Aria, Sonnet dan Canon	Aria, Sonnet and Canon
Portuguese	Aria, Sonnet e Canon	Aria, Sonnet and Canon
Turkish	Arya, Sonnet ve Canon
Italian	Aria, Sonnet e Canon	Aria, Sonnet and Canon

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Introduced in Version 1.0

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