Calendars and Time on Duria

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Most of the people of Duria, when they need to count years, count it from the beginning of the reign of their ruler, whether a local ruler or national one. Only explorers, nobles and scholars tend to need a dating system any more complex than that.

For those who do need a more complete measurement of years, three major systems are used across Duria. The Davidian Calendar is prominent on the Divian Peninsula, which traditionally measures years from the foundation of Zeth (though many Koramian scholars have begun measuring years from the discovery of the Glorious Galleon 196 years later). The Neptaran Calendar is popular in the south and is measured from the foundation of Neptaris. The Abarisian Cycle of Years is commonly used among the sorcerers of Lun Dorak.

By the Davidian Calendar, the current year is 1352; by the Neptaran Calendar, the current year is 2102; in the Abarisian Cycle of Years, it is the 339th year of the Cycle of the Twin Sky Worlds (the 11th Cycle of the calendar).

Most humans on Duria tend to use the Davidian cycle of months, which begins with Folloch in the spring, followed by Giblean and Beltain. The summer months are Betasha, Mudens, Lunasa and Sheldsmet. The autumn months are Damhar, Sultain and Samhain. The winter months are Nollaig, Eanaire and Gerran, which is the last month of the year. The seven days of the week are Luanday, Mirtday, Ciadain, Ardainday, Anday, Satharn and Domnach.

Even scholars rarely attempt to keep an accurate measure of hours, but when they do they divide the day into 12 equal hours and the night into 12 equal hours (which results in longer daytime hours than nighttime hours in the summer and the reverse in winter). Prime is the time between sunrise and midmorning. Terce is the time between midmorning to midday. Sext is between midday and mid-afternoon. Nones is from mid-afternoon to sunset. At night, measurement of time is even less specific: Evening is the time between sunset and midnight and Vigil is the time between midnight and sunrise. In some areas, particularly in Koramia, Nocturne is a four-hour period around midnight. Needless to say, most farmers and workers aren’t awake long enough to need any measurement for evening hours, though some religions prescribe certain rituals during these periods.

It is generally considered bad luck to leave a raging fire going through Nocturne. It is believed that during the Witching Hour, the hour after midnight, the sinister God of Fire, Dagon, can view the mortal world through flames left burning during this time. Glowing coals and even smaller flames are considered safe. This nightly ritual is particularly observed, and sometimes enforced, in Koramia and Cambrecia.