Timekeeping on Ítöð
The two most important ways of reckoning time on Ítöð are the way the Tim Ar do it and the way international diplomacy does it.
The Tim Ar
The Tim Ar reckon years using the
Count of Yar Yereu (CYY). In this scheme, there's one special, independent day (
Tékða m Hëkî Éakar ü) at the beginning of the year; otherwise, there are 28 nine-day weeks:
Nðún
Kaskëman
Huhkëti m Höur
Maktáĝ
Ekolír
Łakłé
Këhírłé
Lagomür
Kélesłé
Këtrakimür
Geðre ĝ Ki
Ehsúnúk
N’éhsë
Ḫetl Hákl
Ḫetl Höl
Geðre n Gé
Torłé
Öshë Msaĝ
Nêkurułé
Íormür
Łékahál
Môh Łaĝë
Łagîl
Ḫrmagłé
Łénëð
Ïhköhnir
Ĝel Ïmûr
Łémrúk
(If you were wondering, these are split into six seasons:
Kékhir, the spring melt;
kmhéstag, sowing season;
nturuḫ, growing season;
ḫihtî, summer;
gastolon, harvest;
mhárê, autumn; and
mháríe, winter. Each is four weeks long; however, dates are given with reference to the weeks they occur in, not the seasons.)
An extra day, Decades' Day (
Tékða n Arikhëkî ar) is intercalated every ten years. There is a year zero; the first day of year zero corresponds to 18 October, 1342
AD.
Smaller-scale timekeeping follows a system called the
March of Ndai Ndai:
1
agêr = 1/36 solar day = 43.53 minutes (this is split into three periods of 12 hours, namely A, B, and C; the day roughly starts at sunrise, which is about "6:00 AM")
1
ḫu = 1/48
agêr = 54.417 seconds
1
narihkihê = 1/60
ḫu = 0.907 seconds
So a full date and time might be 4B:42:30, 8 Öshë Msaĝ, 477
CYY.
Diplomacy
The way it's done in international diplomacy is a bit crazier. One way the other countries were able to fight the Tim Ar cultural hegemony was by convincing everyone to use the
Red Death reckoning. This has the advantage of being tied to a global disaster, so it doesn't necessarily favor anyone over anyone else, but has the disadvantage of being completely batshit. Also, the Tim Ar names for the time divisions are the ones that got used anyway, not the original ones from whatever southern language this bastard system came from, so…Pyrrhic victory there. In-universe, no one's quite sure where this calendar came from other than somewhere in the southwest and that its zero year happened during the time the Red Death was starting to get really bad there.
In Red Death reckoning, there are three concurrent cycles, one using years as the units (the decadal cycle) and two using days (the short and long cycles). Each year in a decade has a name, and each day has a binomial designator that is a function of its position in the year vis-à-vis the short and long cycles. The Ítöðian year has about 253.1 days; the nearest integer is 253, which has a prime factorization of 11 · 23, which is the length of the short and long cycles respectively.
The decadal cycle, or
arikrtûk, is as follows:
Ĝatuolú
Méuétuále
Laki
Olsuókuóno
Tuétiáĝa
Iólisku
Takuéluí
Lútlú
Aklákéna
Émĝetuákué
It is the decadal that gets numbered;
e.g., there is no year 500
RD, but there is a 50 Émĝetuákué
RD.
It gets worse. The short cycle,
këkéð kahál 'short week', is an eleven-day cycle:
Lumulúána
Tuákuétele
Náĝuála
Ititle
Kuátlola
Luíkina
Enokuó
Maháalki
Listoloke
Iĝuántuáa
Mekilí
The long cycle,
ĝênmansor, lasts twenty-three days:
Hestekí
Koluóhua
Makuáli
Ekokuálo
Suítuáĝo
Kakaluógo
Malkeniá
Óiomalakué
Tuóntuéĝe
Muatuálki
Heleĝkuí
Milmeuána
Luúhuúski
Kéiolekolo
Mulusuáku
Hantakué
Úiluúsku
Uókiólalo
Mískuí
Hatalakuána
Héikuéma
Kékuólokí
Untúksiálkuí
The short and long cycles run concurrently, incrementing by one each day. The year starts out with both cycles in sync, so the first day of the year is Lumulúána Hestekí, the second is Tuákuétele Koluóhua, and so on. The twelfth day is Lumulúána Milmeuána; the first cycle has reset whilst the second is only about halfway through. Likewise, the twenty-fourth day is Tuákuétele Hestekí, as the second cycle has reset. This continues throughout the year until the last day of the year, Mekilí Untúksiálkuí.
After Émĝetuákué Mekilí Untúksiálkuí, a leap day (
Téluána) is added. This is not considered to be part of any year or decade and serves as an end to the current decadal.
There is no year zero in Red Death reckoning, but there is a cycle zero. Cycle zero appears to have been tied to the infection and loss of a major population center; 0 Ĝatuolú Lumulúána Hestekí
RD in Julian years corresponds to June 6, 812
AD. As in zompist's books, you can use negatives to refer to cycles prior to cycle zero: -15 Aklákéna Enokuó Mulusuáku
RD, for instance.
Smaller-scale timekeeping is handled using the March of Ndai Ndai.
The Tlar Kyanà
The Tlar Kyanà want to be different, naturally, so usually they use the
Count of Ô Bzyam (CÔB). The CÔB system divides the year into 50 weeks with five days in them, and these into 10 five-week months. Sharp-eyed readers might realize this is 255 days, not 253; the calendar eventually goes out of sync. This sucks, but then again so does just about everything with the Tlar Kyanà.
Ôaiay
Gzyǐn
Áiủ
Nẻn Mêakyȁ
Ủ Giòahn
Ōgǎr
Ngéanr
È Kảntlôa
Kyoaglỉ
Iâr Lǒhnéa
Dates are written [month] [week]:[day], so È Kảntlôa 1:5, 255
CÔB. The Tlar Kyanà did not have the good sense to include a year zero. The first day of 1
CÔB in Julian reckoning was 1 December, 880 AD.
As if this wasn't bad enough, there are two smaller-scale timekeeping methods. In Muy Baon and Nguyna, they use the utterly ridiculous
É Tuôy time:
1
gyỏ = 1/25 solar day = 62.688 minutes
1
ȍa = 1/4
gyỏ = 15.672 minutes
1
zyủyn = 1/6
ȍa = 2.612 minutes
1
tlāyná = 1/50
zyủyn = 3.1344 seconds
1
ǔl = 1/6
tlāyná = 0.5224 seconds
Whereas in Nikyuwar, they use the much more sane
system of Bor Gyana:
1
bzyěahné = 1/25 solar day = 62.688 minutes
1
luôan = 1/50
bzyěahné = 75.2016 seconds
1
hủia = 1/50
luôan = 1.504 seconds
The Empire of the Violet Sun
Not to be outdone, the Empire of the Violet Sun uses
Wekoq Reckoning (
WR), which divides the year into 21 twelve-day weeks. There are seven months; an extra week is added to the fourth month every twelve years.
N̥omiˤ
Oˤqʰen
ʜwax
B̥uˤqlus
N̥oŋ̊aˤmda
Law
M̥iˤm̥iˤ
Again, no one had the good sense to include a year zero. 1 N̥omiˤ, 1
WR is 11 September, 8
AD Julian.
Smaller-scale timekeeping is handled by
Üsüm timekeeping:
1
matl = 1/18 solar day = 87.067 minutes
1
okulli = 1/36
matl = 145.111 seconds
1
lektlil = 1/72
okulli = 2.015 seconds
The Caber
The Caber sphere of influence uses the
Count of Cagracala (
CC) to reckon years. Here we have seven months of six six-day weeks; an extra day is tacked onto the end of the year every six years.
Camhir
Basci
Ưǧoac
Ćumep
Ter
Śaher
Biơc
Again, no one had the good sense to include a year zero. Camhir 1, 1
CC is 14 February, 1232
BC Julian. Years before 1
CC are positive integers
AC (
ante Cagracalam),
e.g. Biơc 10, 40
AC.
The Caber use the March of Ndai Ndai to measure smaller units of time.
The Mziddyun
The Mziddyun Sprachbund has, over time, grown sufficiently close that they use a unified method of timekeeping. The
Gentian Way (
GW) was developed by the Archaic Wokratak and includes eighteen months of fourteen days each, comprising two weeks of seven days:
Dakąrą (rainstorms
Ġahit (~ ‘two’)
Siltales (blooming)
Ḅoḅñąkkę (migratory bird spp.)
Kokpąssę (of flamingos)
Takit (trading)
Oklasąhę (of dowries)
Katąl (plant sp.)
Pophąttę (‘of carrion birds’)
Ręwammę (‘of drive/belligerence’)
Nęsam (‘wanderlust’)
Sętam (~ ‘find a meaning’)
Kęrtąkkę (~ ‘command’)
Birak (‘sleeping-place’)
Sęrag (~ ‘turning black’)
Kihmahes (‘drying up’)
Ikkoliġ (starving)
Ondakro (immediate future jussive ‘may it rain’)
A bonus month,
Ḅaḅaklǫk (~ 'it divides itself') is intercalated every 200 years.
Dates are written [month] [week]:[day], so Birak 2:4, 100
GW. Dakąrą 1:1, 1
GW was 4 May, 1653
BC. Every Ḅaḅaklǫk is numbered by itself,
e.g. 1 Ḅaḅaklǫk 1:1
GW and not Ḅaḅaklǫk 1:1, 200
GW.
There is no year zero; however, there is a 0 Ḅaḅaklǫk—the first day of the first week of 0 Ḅaḅaklǫk was 20 April, 1653
BC. (I didn't pick that date. It was a consequence of selecting 4 May as my year-one start.)
Timekeeping on a smaller scale is accomplished using
Sengin reckoning:
1
sogąt = 1/12 solar day = 2.1767 hours
1
koląt = 1/36
sogąt = 3.5 minutes
1
jalǫd = 1/36
koląt = 6 seconds
1
jogǫy = 1/6
jalǫd = 1 second
The Täptäg
The Täptäg have their own methods of counting time.
Täptäg Fiscal Years divide the year into 51 five-day weeks; there are ten five-week months plus one week left over at the end of the year. An intercalary month is dumped in every 25 years.
Hottu
Tinža
Dall
Njäžžech
Urdme
Chjäggik
Hikhna
Mimdut
Sähanne
Gjann
The year-ending week is
Kujändanvjän. When present, the intercalary month
Pjächluktal precedes Kujändanvjän.
Rendering a date is simple; it's [month/bonus-week] [date], [year]—Gjann 25, 100
TFY or Kujändanvjän 7, 100
TFY. A year zero is included free of charge; Hottu 1, 0
TFY in Julian reckoning was 7 April, 792
AD.
Täptäg consensus time operates as follows:
1
kjävel = 1/12 solar day = 2.1767 hours
1
bhogeoš = 1/8
kjävel = 979.515 seconds
1
mjävku = 1/12
bhogeoš = 81.6 seconds
1
keach = 1/120
mjävku = 0.68 seconds
Western Countries and Followers of the Bỏm Ikkeb
The
Year of the Bỏm Ikkeb has its zero date on 8 October, 2266
BC. This is the date of birth of the Bỏm Ikkeb. There are two seasons,
Ikeỏ and
Muỏn, which each have three 42-day months (
Tảlle,
Danggan, and
Sảngadj). (The last month of the year, the Sảngadj of Muỏn, receives an extra week every 36 years.
You write a date in this system using the scheme [season] [date] [month], so Ikeỏ 1 Tảlle, 0
YBI. Dates prior to year zero are written as positive integers
BBI (
e.g. Muỏn 40 Danggan, 20
BBI).
Weirdly enough, generally the
system of Bor Gyana is used with the Year of the Bỏm Ikkeb, though the time units have different names in different languages.
The Patchwork States and Their Religious Institutions
The
Year of St. Vengeance features seven months, each having four weeks, and each of those has nine days.
Lūquor
Proceo
Nalquis
Ēnnedi
Tseho
Agānni
Dēreo
It's a lunar calendar and it gradually goes out of sync with the rest of time. As if that weren't enough, there's no year zero. I Lūquor, 1
YV was 19 June, 1997
BC Julian. Dates prior to year one are written as positive integers
BV ("before Vengeance").
The Year of St. Vengeance uses an archaic Tim Ar timekeeping system—itself inherited from the Classical Kyaha—for smaller units.
1
agār (< CT
agêr < CK
aġyul) = 1/40 solar day = 0.653 hours
1
murī (< CT
musíh < CK
musih) = 1/10
agār = 235 seconds
1
cēlcen (< CT
kélikan < CK
qeylikay) = 1/10
murī = 23.5 seconds
1
haqua (< CT
ḫakua < CK
qakkua) = 1/10
cēlcen = 2.35 seconds
Southern Countries
Southern countries tend to use
Red Death reckoning for the dates. This, of course, gets even worse. In southern countries, there's an alternate system for counting hours, minutes, seconds, &c., the
system of Batracchuî. Both the Tim Ar and native names for the time units are given below:
1
léoł (
leoche) = 1/24 solar day = 65.3 minutes
1
múin (
mûgne) = 1/24
léoł = 2.721 minutes
1
niúor (
gnuor) = 1/24
mûgne = 6.802 seconds
1
ił (
îzhe) = 1/6
gnuor = 1.134 seconds
