A Triluminary was a triangular artifact with religious significance used by the Minbari Grey Council. They were given to the Grey Council by Valen and were programmed to respond to Valen's DNA by glowing.[1] There were three Triluminaries in existence. The Triluminaries have the capacity to put a person in stasis, a mechanism connected with its transformational capacity[2]
A Triluminary is used in the ceremony to induct a new member of the Grey Council.[3][1] One Triluminary also forms part of the head of the staff of the leader of the Grey Council
During the Battle of the Line, Jeffrey Sinclair was captured by the Minbari and interrogated by the Grey Council. During this interrogation, a Triluminary was used to probe Sinclair, and glowed brightly. To the Grey Council, this indicated that Sinclair had Valen's Minbari soul.[4][3] Council member Delenn seized upon this revelation and pointed out that Minbari do not kill other Minbari. Since the Triluminary was seen as the holiest of all relics in Minbari society and could never be questioned, the Grey Council ordered its fleet to surrender, ending the Earth-Minbari War.[3][5]
A Triluminary was also the key component of the Chrysalis device used by Delenn to transform herself into a Minbari-Human hybrid.[6] The origins of the Triluminaries and Chrysalis device were revealed when Zathras brought them along with the time-jump system from Epsilon III, so that Sinclair could use it to transform into a "Minbari not born of Minbari."[7]