Moons

This article is about astronomical bodies. For the town, see Moon.

Trammel and Felucca in Ultima IX

Trammel and Felucca in Ultima VI

The planet Britannia is orbited by two moons, Trammel and Felucca. They play a significant role in the course of the Ultima series, notably in the mechanics of blue moongates, magic portals whose functioning is typically determined in some fashion by interactions between the phases of each moon and the eight moonstones. Trammel and Felucca appear or are referenced in Ultima III, Ultima IV, Ultima V, Ultima VI, Ultima VII, Ultima IX, and Ultima Online.

Description[edit]

Trammel and Felucca are both thought to be devoid of life and, according to the Moonglow observatory’s orrery in Ultima VII, follow a clockwise orbit around Britannia (unlike Earth’s moon, which orbits anticlockwise). However, each moon is distinct both visually and in the influence it has exerted upon the planet throughout history.

Trammel[edit]

Trammel is the larger of the two moons as observed on Britannia, with a synodic period (one complete phase cycle) of 9 days. In Ultima III and Ultima IV, it is the phase of this moon that determines which moongate is currently open. In later Ultima installments beginning with Ultima V, Trammel's phase determines the destination gate for the first half of the night, until and including when both moons are at equal altitude in the sky.

Trammel is generally depicted as white and grey throughout the series. However, in the introduction sequence of Ultima VI it exhibits a slight blue tint, while during gameplay in Ultima IX it appears reddish-brown.

Felucca[edit]

Felucca is the smaller of the two moons as observed on Britannia, with a synodic period of 14 days. In the moongate systems of Ultima III and Ultima IV, it is the phase of this moon that determines a gate's destination. In later installments beginning with Ultima V, Felucca's phase determines the destination gate for the second half of the night, as soon as both moons are no longer at equal altitude in the sky.

Felucca most frequently appears white and grey throughout the series, save for gameplay in Ultima IX, where it is cyan.

Appearances[edit]

Although not in the game itself, which takes place on Earth, the first appearance of the moons is on the rear cover of the Ultima II box, the artwork for which was later reused both for Escape from Mt. Drash and the Sierra On-Line re-release of Ultima I.

In Ultima III, Trammel and Felucca are only represented with numbers, and in Ultima IV and Ultima V with small moon phase icons. Their first detailed in-game appearance comes in the introduction sequence of Ultima VI, during the gargoyles’ attempted sacrifice of the Avatar; here, they are shown as wet moons. Throughout gameplay, the traditional moon phase icons make their final appearance.

In Ultima VII, Trammel and Felucca are only visually represented by their models mounted upon Moonglow’s orrery, and play no part in the operation of moongates.

In Ultima IX, the moons are shown in-game and in one cutscene. However, there are discrepancies between these appearances: in the cutscene, Trammel and Felucca are both white, as opposed to the aforementioned hues observed during gameplay. They are of particular importance in the events of the game, gradually being pulled from their orbits by the Guardian’s columns and threatening to collide with Britannia in what would be an unprecedented catastrophe. Although this is averted, the moons again do not influence moongates in any traditional sense; rather, the gates are operated by the Summon Moongate spell in conjunction with an Orb of the Moons and spoken mantra.

Outside the main series, one of the moons appears in the original introduction sequence of Ultima Online as the Stranger approaches Mondain’s stronghold. Trammel and Felucca also lend their names to an official Ultima Online server's two parallel "facets", which, first introduced in the Renaissance expansion, are each governed by different rules concerning player-to-player combat.

Synodic Periods[edit]

The cycle of phases for each moon over a calendar month are as follows:

Day of Month	Trammel	Felucca
1	Moonglow	Moonglow
2	Moonglow	Britain
3	Britain	Britain
4	Jhelom	Jhelom
5	Yew	Jhelom
6	Minoc	Yew
7	Trinsic	Yew
8	Skara Brae	Minoc
9	New Magincia	Trinsic
10	Moonglow	Trinsic
11	Moonglow	Skara Brae
12	Britain	Skara Brae
13	Jhelom	New Magincia
14	Yew	New Magincia
15	Minoc	Moonglow
16	Trinsic	Britain
17	Skara Brae	Britain
18	New Magincia	Jhelom
19	Moonglow	Jhelom
20	Moonglow	Yew
21	Britain	Yew
22	Jhelom	Minoc
23	Yew	Trinsic
24	Minoc	Trinsic
25	Trinsic	Skara Brae
26	Skara Brae	Skara Brae
27	New Magincia	New Magincia
28	Moonglow	New Magincia

Lore[edit]

“

Under the auspices of Lord British, studies of the properties of the Moon gates are beginning to yield a clearer understanding of the Gates’ mystical workings. People forecast that future citizens will use these gates as a normal means of distant travel. The destinations of the gates appear to be rigidly bound to the phases of the twin moons Trammel and Felucca. The appearance and disappearance of the gates are represented on most maps of the realm as phases of the moons. The gate active is indicated by the phase of the moon Trammel. Once a gate is entered, thy destination is indicated by the phase of the moon Felucca.

– from The History of Britannia (Ultima IV)

“	In the heaven beyond our skies, dwell stars whose numbers are beyond our reckoning. Within our heaven, circling our world, sweeps our bright sun. Ten other orbs trace tight paths around our world. The twin moons Trammel and Felucca are desolate, their light only a reflection of the sun’s brilliance. – from The Book of Lore (Ultima V)

“	There exists an extraordinary cosmic association between the gravity of the moons and the delicate fabric of time and space. As though pulling the strings of some cosmic marionette, the moons cause radiant moongates to appear on the land below. – from Compendium (Ultima VI)

“

Herein is the short book that discusses both moons of Britannia, Trammel and Felucca, in detail, explaining their orbits, approximate sizes, and expected compositions. In addition, there is a short essay about the possibility of people who live on these moons, and how to contact them. The work also includes a short story about a sorceress who discovers a way to change the color of Felucca. After testing her observations, she quickly learns that the changes have little affect on anything or anyone.

– from The Light Until Dawn (Ultima VII)

“

As our twin moons, Trammel and Felucca, orbit our planet in their perfect, unchanging orbits, scientists speculate as to what might happen should there be a gravitational shift caused by any number of cataclysmic events. The gravitational pull would surely be altered, making their orbits extremely unstable. Should this unthinkable event happen, the moons might actually collide with the planet, causing a massive ecological disaster like none we have seen in our time.

– from Orbits of the Moons (Ultima IX)

Trivia[edit]

The cloth map of Sosaria included with Ultima III indicates Trammel's synodic period as 48 days and Felucca's 16.
In Drennal's The Light Until Dawn, a study of Trammel and Felucca found in Ultima VII, the author speculates as to the possibility of extraterrestrial civilizations dwelling on the twin moons.
Ultima VII art director Jeff Dee submitted an unsuccessful project proposal to Origin for a Worlds of Ultima-style game, in which the player would travel by some means to Trammel and Felucca, procure replacement moonstones, and reactivate the moongates following their destruction by the Guardian’s Sphere Generator.^[1]
Both moons can be seen in a cutscene that was ultimately removed from Ultima IX, where they appear low in the sky over the environs of the Shrine of Justice.
Trammel and Felucca are prominently seen and named at the beginning of the Terror of Exodus manga. They do react violently to the awakening of Exodus.

Gallery[edit]

Ultima II box art (rear)
Montage of Trammel and Felucca from Ultima IX’s cutscene (courtesy of Digital Lycaeum)
Trammel surface details (Ultima IX)
Felucca surface details (Ultima IX)
The moons in a cutscene removed from Ultima IX
Trammel and Felucca (Ultima IX gameplay)
Trammel (Ultima IX gameplay)
Felucca (Ultima IX gameplay)
The moon in Ultima IX in-game
The moons as seen in the Terror of Exodus manga