The Three, or the Kindly Ones (as they prefer to be called), are a trio of goddesses consisting of the Maiden, the Mother, and the Crone. Originally featured as hosts in DC's line of anthology horror comics, in Sandman, they are connected to the triple goddess archetype, a tripartite deity that can take many different forms. The names the three constituent parts use may change, but they are always connected and are always the same entity.
Among their divine aspects are the Fates (also known as the Moirae), the Three Sisters, and the Erinyes (or the Furies, their vengeful aspect). As the Furies, they persecuted oath-breakers, patricides, matricides, and other violators of divine law. Their relentless pursuit manifested in several ways, one of the most severe being the inducing of tormenting, self-destructive madness.
History[]
After his escape from Alex Burgess, Morpheus visited the Three in the Dreaming to ask after the whereabouts of his sigils of power.[1]
John Dee decided to "consult oracles" at one point during his rampage in Mayhew, which resulted in The Three possessing his human victims. They foretold him that he had no future save for Arkham, but also that he would crush the Dream Lord's life in his hands, which ended up being Dee's undoing.[2] They also showed up during Dee's battle with Dream in the Dreaming to mock him.[3]
When Rose Walker started learning the truth about her origins, the Three visited her of their own will, cautioning her about her future ordeals in their usual cryptic manner.[4]
Around the time Lyta Hall conceived her child, the Furies identified Dream as a target of coming filicide; because they might take action against Dream due to the boon of death he granted to his son, Orpheus. Their interest was also engaged because Lyta Hall was related to them, and suffered a nervous breakdown after the abduction of her son, so the Furies offered her vengeance on Morpheus if she agreed to be their instrument of destruction. Lyta agreed, and the destruction of the Dreaming began. Mervyn Pumpkinhead was one of the few who actively took up arms to fight the Furies in The Kindly Ones and was destroyed. Fiddler's Green was killed by The Three in The Kindly Ones. Abel, too, was murdered by the Furies.
The Furies' attack on the Dreaming was so severe, that Morpheus was left with only one option in order to save his realm; his own destruction. The death of the incumbent aspect of Morpheus of necessity created a new Dream and the new incarnation manifested in Daniel Hall.
It is worth noting that during his journey to the Underworld, Orpheus made the Furies cry by playing his lute in order to gain an audience with Hades and Persephone. They claimed to have hated him for that.
The Furies later appeared in The Sandman Presents: The Furies published in 2002.
Powers and Abilities[]
- Omniscience: As Goddesses of destiny, the three can see the past, present and future, they can know everything about a person, such as their origin, their life time and their death.
- Immortality: All three, as goddesses, are immortal as they are considered as old as the Endless.
Trivia[]
- During their rampage in The Dreaming, the Three Furies would acknowledge Eve as one of their aspects.