Arilon

Summary

Arilon is a world that exists outside and separate to the Human World. It is made up of a massive expanse of blackness called the NothingSpace (sometimes referred to as the Black). Within this space are hundreds of thousands of floating islands. The islands are all connected by an endless network of cables called Travel Lines. Old-fashioned sailing ships are connected to the lines with anchor chains and they float back and forth along the Travel Lines as they travel from island to island. In the centre of Arilon's black sky is the sun - a blinding white ball of fire. This is the only source of natural light in the entire world.

On the whole, people do not travel between Arilon and the Human World as the connections between the two places are magical in nature rather than physical.

The Idea Islands

Arilon's islands are not just simple land masses. Each island embodies a specific Idea. For example, there is a Bravery island, a Fear island, a Kindness island and so on.

The people who live on an island tend to exhibit that island's Idea particularly strongly. For example, the inhabitants of Savis, the Kindness island, are mostly very kind and selfless people.

The Travel Lines

The islands transmit their Ideas across Arilon via the Travel Lines. So through Savis' Travel Lines, the idea of kindness spreads out to all the people of Arilon, wherever they may be. The more Travel Lines a particular island has, the more its Idea is felt. Phobos, the isle of Fear, has many Travel Lines connected to it. On the other hand, Valia, the bravery island, has relatively few Lines. Hence fear is quite common whereas bravery is more rare.

The Queen

Arilon is ruled by a mysterious monarch known only as The Queen. Nobody knows her true name. Most people have never seen her before and she is so feared that it's generally considered bad luck if you do come across her.

She lives aboard her ship, a massive galleon called the Twilight Palace. Unlike normal vessels, it never stops sailing. It never puts into port for supplies or to change crew. This has led to the rumour that the vessel is crewed by beings that are somehow not entirely alive.

There is no royal family - the Queen just appeared in Arilon one day in RE 0, a quarter of a century before the events in 'The Secret of Waterwhistle'. She took control of the largely peaceful world and has ruled over it ever since.

The Queen's main interaction with her people has been her ongoing mission to control them. She attempts to do this primarily by travelling across Arilon and cutting Travel Lines to certain islands. By cutting them, she affects how strongly the Arilonians feel certain thoughts and ideas. For instance, she cut many Travel Lines to Valia, the Bravery island in an attempt to reduce the amount of bravery there is in Arilon. This plan has brought her mixed success but she continues in her attempts to 'prune' the minds of the inhabitants of Arilon.

Her main rival is a mysterious cat known only as the Cat. Like some animals in Arilon, the Cat can talk. However, he is unique in that he is the only individual to constantly thwart the Queen's many nefarious schemes. Furthermore, he appears to be the one thing she is frightened of, though nobody knows why. Like the Queen, the Cat has no known name.

Magic

For want of a better word, there is a kind of magic in Arilon. The ideas and feelings that are transmitted through the Travel Lines are evidence of this. Also, there is no wind in the NothingSpace and yet the ships and sailing vessels are propelled by some unknown force (often referred to as the Impossible Wind).

The general idea in Arilon is that all things are connected. People, places, ideas, are somehow all linked to each other. Sometimes physically and sometimes in ways that are invisible to the naked eye. These connections are referred to as the Threads.

A small number of people seem to be born with the ability to view and even manipulate the Threads. Many of them only have a very subtle sense of them - these are known as Sensitives. However a tiny number of them are so powerful, they can see the Threads very clearly and can even manipulate them in various subtle ways. These people are known as Weavers. The most prominent Weaver is the Queen of Arilon.

On the island of Ophia, the Wisdom island, there lives a group of people who reside at a place known as the Abbey. They devote themselves to learning all about Arilon and its mysteries and magics. Children who are Sensitive will sometimes be taken there to study by their parents.

History

Nobody knows for sure how Arilon came into being. However, the version best known among its inhabitants states that at first, there was only the NothingSpace. Then, at some point, the sun came into being. After that, four beings emerged. The Thinker, the Beginner, the Ender and the Disruptor. Between them, they created the islands and all life on them.

Beyond this, details are sketchy and change depending on who's telling the story. However, the acolytes at the Abbey claim to have the most fleshed-out version of Arilon's creation.

Gateways to Arilon

Journeying between Arilon and the Human World cannot be done in a purely physical manner. It is not possible to jump in an aeroplane or car and fly or drive there. Nor are there any Travel Lines that an Arilonian ship might use to leave Arilon.

It is only possible to leave or arrive in Arilon through enchanted portals. The only things that can be used in this way are any woven material. The more intricate the weaving, the more reliable the portal. Tapestries make the best portals. The human, Arthur Ness, first arrived in Arilon by walking through an enchanted tapestry in the house where he was staying during the Blitz in World War 2. This portal connected Arilon to the Nottinghamshire village of Waterwhistle.

Creating such a portal is extremely difficult and only a few Weavers are known to have achieved this feat.