Calendars of the Palladium World

The Palladium World has 365.25 days in a year, and 24 hours in a day the same as Earth. Both worlds also only have one moon, with very similar orbital patterns.  There are a number of other similarities between the two worlds as well. The number of coincidences is so plentiful that it almost cannot be coincidence at all. This suggests higher powers may be at work.

During the Age of Chaos, the Gods of Light & Dark are known to have scoured the Megaverse looking for new allies and possible methods to defeat the dreaded Old Ones. Entire worlds are said to have been created and destroyed during this time. There's the possibility that they created Earth as a breeding ground for new warriors. When the Old Ones entered into their slumber after the Great Battle, the urgency for new warriors diminished and Earth forgotten, at least for a time.

Another possibility is that before the end of the Battle of the Gods, the Gods of Light & Dark rescued a group of humans from the devastation. Guilt over what they helped wrought, they searched the Megaverse for a new home for these refugees. The Gods of Light & Dark went through great effort to find a new home as similar as possible to the humans' native world. That new home was Earth.

Then again, the Megaverse is a large place with many different dimensions. Many of those dimensions have a version of Earth within it. Rifts, Splicers, After the Bomb, Heroes Unlimited, Nightbane, and so many others all have a version of Earth that differs from the other Earths in the Megaverse. The Palladium World could just be another Earth, though perhaps the most foreign. Whether this is simply a random dimensional difference or if it's the work of the Old Ones reshaping the land masses and other aspects of the world to suit their needs and whims remains unknown.

The Elven Calendar

After the Age of Chaos and the ancient evils entered their slumber came the Age of Light. With the world no longer at the whim of the Old Ones, and the Elves who had never known true freedom, the gods sought to aid their young allies. The Elves needed to learn to live independently and to take care of themselves. So the gods settled them into a new home ideal for farming (the area now known as the Old Kingdom) and created a calendar for them to help plan accordingly. This is the calendar still used by the Church of Light and Dark to this day.

The calendar was divided into three seasons: First comes the Season of Floods, when the River of Kings (now known as the Old Kingdom River) would flood. When the water receded, it would leave behind soil rich for farming. Next comes the Season of Growth, using the fertile soil the Elves would begin planting and growing. Third and final comes the Season of Harvest. As the name suggests, during this time the Elves would begin harvesting their crops. Each season had four months, with each month consisting of three weeks of ten days. Each week is known as a decan. A new day officially began at sunrise.

At the end of the year is a 5 day week. According to the Church, these 5 days mark the 5 days it took for Set to kill Osiris and scatter the body parts. Now these 5 days continue to serve as ill omens where anything can happen and even good men and women turned to evil. People remain indoors during this period and only leave their homes when necessary. Every 20 years, these 5 days turn into a full 10 day week. This extended period helps to a leap year, with an extra 5 days every 20 years instead of just one day every four. On this extra week every 20 years, the world is said to be rebalanced and everything returned to its proper alignment. As such, it cancels out the typical misfortune and serves as a time of celebration.

Other Calendars

Though various nations may design calendars with different names, a different number of months, or different days in a week, the Elven Calendar remains the basis for almost all other calendars on the Palladium World. This is because the Church of Light and Dark retain astronomical records dating back over 10,000 years, as well as their institution is the only one to wield the mythical Staff of Astronomers. Legends tell the mystic staff is able to predict astronomical events such as variation in the seasons, eclipses, and various other astronomical events, though few have ever seen it to confirm its existence let alone whether its power is real.

This allows the Church of Light and Dark to keep an accurate calendar, and currently the only institution in the entire world capable of doing so. The Almanac of Light & Dark is released every five years and contains ten calendar years.  Within the almanac they char positions of stars and planets, rising and setting times of the sun and moon (keyed for the different longitudes), as well as eclipses. So even though other nations create different calendars, to keep accurate track of years and important astronomical events, they need to use the Elven Calendar as a basis. This is especially important for practitioners of magic and those who rely upon their power. As such, most religions keep the same holy days.

Awnevir: The first month of the year and the beginning of the Season of Floods. It comes from the Elven word for "Flowing River."

Neelaso: The second month of the year. It comes from the Elven word for "Soaring Dragon."

Suinn: The third month of the year. It comes from the Elven word for "Wandering Leaf."

Indrast: The fourth month of the year. It comes from the Elven word for "Pondering Statue" and viewed as a time for musings and internal reflection. One must be at peace within before one may create life outside.

Wealoor: The fifth month of the year and the beginning of the Season of Growth. It comes from the Elven word for "Planted Roots."

Tobirit: The sixth month of the year. It comes from the Elven word for "Noble Spirit."

Cenwin: The seventh month of the year. It comes from the Elven word for "Gentle Wind."

Orgill: The eight month of the year. It comes from the Elven word for "Iron Will."

Yoonwelf: The ninth month of the year and the beginning of the Season of Harvest. It comes from the Elven word for "Blossoming Flower."

Egilsu: The tenth month of the year. It comes from the Elven word for "Burning Soul" and is considered a time of joy.

Xiaga: The eleventh month of the year. It comes from the Elven word for "Tranquil Moment." This is sometimes viewed as the calm before the storm, or a time to reflect upon the perfection of all living things.

Zekin: The twelfth and final month of the year. This month also contains the extra five days (or week once 20 years). It comes from the Elven word for "Dark Endings."

The Dwarven Calendar

Dwarves are the first to create a calendar that varied from the Elven Calendar. Since the Elven Calendar was handed down by the gods themselves, the Elves viewed any change to it as heresy. This became one of the many points of contention that eventually led to the Elf-Dwarf War. Living in mountains and underground homes, the Dwarves did not care the same for the Elven farming system. Instead, they decided on four seasons starting with Winter and followed by Spring, Summer, and Autumn. Winter and summer begin during the solstice, while spring and autumn begin during the equinox. This helped them keep track of important times of year for increased ley line energy during mystical ceremonies.

The Dwarves decided upon 16 months to a year, with 4 months per season and 5 days per a week. The first and third months of a season have four weeks (20 days), while the second and fourth months have five weeks (25 days). Instead of beginning at sunrise, the Dwarves decided to start their days at midnight, another point of mystical importance. At the end of the year remained the 5 days (or 10 days once every 20 years), same as the Elven Calendar. They also used the Elven Calendar to determine eclipses and potential planetary alignments. Since it's based upon important mystical points, this is sometimes referred to as the Wizard's Calendar. Though not used very often in modern times, some subterranean cultures still use the Dwarven Calendar while the concept of four seasons has found usage in the calendars of many human nations.

The Blood Moon

For the Dwarves, a particularly important astronomical event occurred approximately once every 2.5 years. This event is known as the Blood Moon, when a total lunar eclipse turns the moon red. The Dwarves believed this was Aco calling for a blood sacrifice.  Though some followers of the Dwarven Calendar may still follow this custom, most now view it as an antiquated belief that has no place in "modern" society. Still, there remains a belief among magic users that a blood sacrifice during the Blood Moon triples the available P.P.E.!

These practitioners of magic and scholars speculate that the combined benefit of the total lunar eclipse with the increase in sacrifice energy was the key to forging rune weapons. While a Blood Moon seems unlikely to be required for rune magic as a whole, it is possible that it plays a part in forging greater and greatest rune weapons, which could further explain their rarity. There continues to be great debate within the mystic community regarding the validity. True confirmation would require exact numerical figures. Instead magic users must make a conclusion based on observation and sensation, which is a highly subjective means of measure. Whether true or not, many evil magic users will plan their rituals and blood sacrifices for the night of the Blood Moon.

The Sun Calendar

The Western Empire uses the Sun Calendar, which has aspects of both Elven and Dwarven Calendars. They have four seasons like the Dwarves, though the year starts in spring instead of winter. This represents the beginning of the warm season and the prevailing sun. There are 12 months in a year and 30 days to a month like the Elven Calendar. However, each month has 5 weeks broken into 6 days each. The Sun Calendar keeps track of years by how long the Emperor and their ruling house has been in power. As such, it is currently the 20th Year of Voelkian II in the Age of Itomas. Note: When written in classic Western, the Sun Calendar is easily mistaken as the Sin Calendar. A simple mistranslation, or an intentional alteration, may be the basis of the term Empire of Sin.

The Royal Timiro Calendar

Over one thousand years after the Timiro Kingdom rose to power, King Spatenrok the Great finally succeeded in driving out the old Elven dynasty and starting the "true" Timiro Kingdom. During his campaign against the Elven kings, one of Spatenrok's faithful followers designs the Royal Timiro Calendar. The final year of the insurrection is deemed as year 0, the first year on the calendar. The calendar year continues to count forward from the point of its founding, making this currently 1781 Y.R.

Unlike most other calendars of the Palladium World, the Royal Timiro Calendar uses a 7 week pattern. This means the way the days of the week line up with the months changes from year to year. Many use the five days at the end of the year of other calendars as a time to worship. With the Royal Timiro Calendar, the hope had been to do better. Instead of just one week of devote worship, every week would have the 7th day dedicated as a holy day. For this reason, most businesses are closed on this day.

The Royal Timiro Calendar is divided into 12 months, with four seasons each lasting three months. The twelve months are January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, and December. Spring begins the last week of March, summer begins the last week of June, autumn starts the last week of September, and winter starts on the last week of December, the last week of the year.

The Meaning of January

To honor their Dwarven allies during the uprising, the first month on the Royal Timiro Calendar is January, the Dwarven word for "place of power." As the first month of the year it holds a great place of power and superstition tell that depending if the month of January goes well or badly determines the fate of the rest of the year.

Some people mistakenly believe there's a connection between the name of this month and the January Magic Tribe of the Wolfen, or think that the months are for the Wolfen Calendar instead of the Royal Timiro Calendar. However, the only connection is that both have a connection to Dwarves. Though the exact origins of the name for the Wolfen tribe remain unknown, it's believed by many to indicate a "super-nexus" or Place of Magic somewhere in their territory. Though many have looked, none have ever reported finding it. In the vastness of the Great Northern Wilderness though, it may continue to simply elude any who seek its power.

There's a rumor though that long ago, Dwarven masters of arcane magic managed to seal the Place of Magic using the Wolfen. Now, every member of the January Magic Tribe holds a small piece of it within. If someone could ever kill every last member of the tribe, the Place of Magic would return! Other conspiracy theories include the Dwarves there still use dark and forbidden magic, or that they've taught the secrets of rune magic to the January Magic Tribe.

The Wolfen Imperial Calendar

In the old days, each tribe had its own calendar. Each of these calendars used the phases of the moon to determine month lengths. This meant only about 29 to 30 days on average in a month, and only 354 to 355 days in a year. A new month could not begin unless the proper moon phase could be visually verified by multiple trusted sources. As a result, clouds and other weather could affect exactly when a new month started. Along with several other variations from tribe to tribe, this resulted in the calendars of each tribe varying as well as months wandering through the years and seasons. This method encouraged the populace to study the moon and stars, providing Wolfen with a +5% bonus to Astronomy & Navigation.

While such a system worked fine for individual and warring tribes, with the formation of the Wolfen Empire something more unified was required. Selecting one tribe's calendar as the official Wolfen calendar would've led to more fighting, so it was decided to create a new calendar. After discussion among astronomers from all the clans, they designed the Wolfen Imperial Calendar. Though still a lunar calendar at heart, this one uses a more mathematical method for predicting moon phases. This allows for a consistent calendar across the entire empire, without need for visual confirmation.

Days start at sunset. The typical year is divided into 12 months, one for each tribe. Odd numbered months have 30 days while even numbered months have 29 days. Months start at the full moon. On the 7th or 8th of each month is the waning quarter moon. The 15th or 16th of the month is the dark moon (new moon). Then on the 22nd or 23rd is typically the waxing quarter moon. Each of these lunar phases marks the start of a new week, which can vary depending on the month.

To help keep the months aligned with the solar year, the Wolfen have implemented a 13th month every 2 to 3 years in a 19 year cycle. These "long" years are 3, 6, 8, 11, 14, 17, and 19 in the cycle. This 13th month also serves as a constant reminder of the Algor Range Huntsmen tribe lost to senseless war. Though the long year cycle also helps predict eclipses and keep the months aligned with the year, there is an error. Approximately every 200 years the calendar will drift from the solar calendar by approximately one day. This is not likely to become evident to the Wolfen for quite some time, but if the empire lasts that long they may need to make further adjustments if they wish to keep the years aligned.

The Seasons

Weather in the Great Northern Wilderness tends to be much harsher than in many of the other lands. The Wolfen only have two seasons, a long and harsh winter followed by a brief summer. Their winter furs help them continue hunting even in some of the colder months, but the short summers and inhospitable land make the area impractical for farming. The Disputed Lands would allow the Wolfen to not only expand their numbers in an area they view as rightfully their own, but could open up new options for fertile land with calmer seasons.

Windemuane: The first month of the Wolfen year. This roughly translates to "The Winter Moan" and is marked as the first of the winter months. This month begins the first full moon after the autumnal equinox. Typically by this month the trees are already bare, harsh winds whip across the land, and snow falls before the end of the month. Snow storms can be fierce and last for days for the remainder of the season.

Windenin: The second month of the year. This roughly translates to "The Winter Snow."

Endrewhett: The third month of the year. This roughly translates to "The Endless White."

Windehoar: The fourth month of the year. This roughly translates to "The Winter Frost." By this point the worst of the winter storms have passed, though lighter storms may sweep in for the next month or two. This can be perhaps even more dangerous than the snow storms as the weather drops to even more frigid temperatures, and when the sun comes out it can reflect off the frozen snow causing blindness.

Svillwund: The fifth month of the year. This roughly translates to "The Ice Wind."

Deppafriez: The sixth month of the year. This roughly translates to "The Deep Freeze."

Windemakt: The seventh month of the year. This roughly translates to "The Winter Melt." Snow begins to melt creating mist and fog in the air. At the same time, the melting snow causes the ground to turn into mud and, in some places, even a swamp. The excess water causes springs and rivers to flood for the next two to three months.

Hyggthuane: The eighth month of the year. This roughly translates to "The Big Thaw."

Dresktymm: The ninth month of the year. This roughly translates to "The Drying Time" and is marked as the beginning of summer, as short as it may be. The heat and lack of rain allow the ground to absorb the extra water and finally start to dry up.

Laggaburne: The tenth month of the year. This roughly translates to "The Lightning Bearer." There are occasional lightning and thunder storms for the next couple of months, but the temperature remains relatively pleasant.

Tuggaburne: The eleventh month of the year. This roughly translates to "The Thunder Bearer."

Keldegrein: The twelfth month of the year. This roughly translates to "The Cold Grey." Every day the skies grow a little greyer and a little colder. The leaves begin to fall from the trees and mark the approach of winter.

Algorhuanne: The thirteenth month of a "long" year. This roughly translates to "The Algor Hunt" and serves as a constant reminder of that which was lost.

The Scholars' Calendar

The Palladium World is a big place with several nations, many using their own calendar system and detailing the year. While most have some similarities and a common base, this can make it difficult to keep track for recorded history. Each calendar has its idiosyncrasies and every time one needs to be converted to a different system, there risks the chances for mistakes. Sometimes information can only be guessed, and this leads to a potentially unreliable history.

4,000 years ago, a group of scholars gathered to discuss the situation. They decided to make a calendar that could be tracked accurately regardless of nation and politics. After a great deal of deliberation, they decided on 18 months with 20 days in each, and a 19th month with only 5 days. To keep the math accurate, they decided to not account for leap year. While this would slowly cause their calendar to drift from a solar calendar, the math was unambiguous and reliable. At any point in history, someone could look at the date and determine exact date and how many days had passed.

The months and days don't have any names, only numbers. They are always written from left to right, currently with a five decimal system. First is the day of the month, followed by the month, and then the year. For every vicennial (20 years), the years reset to 0 and a vicennial is added. After 20 vicennial (400 years), the vicennial counter is reset and the fifth decimal used. Example: "0.10.19.16.14" indicates it is the 14th day of the 16th month (314 days of the year), and the 19th year after the 10th vicennial (219 years). Since each year is exactly 365 days, we know it's been 80,249 days since this calendar began.

Originally this system was set up with only four decimals, but could only accurately keep track of 400 years. Instead of making the number system longer than it needed to be, the founders decided that for every time the number was reached, the counter would reset and another decimal added (with the exception of the months and days, as those determine the 365 day period of a year). After 400 years the fifth decimal was added, and if it survives to over 8,000 years a sixth decimal will be added. This formula can also be used when mentioning a date in the future that has not yet come to pass.

Though parts of history remain spotty, this calendar system is what has helped scholars keep a far more reliable record of history than all the ages that came before. Though scholars had hoped to also better detail dates in the past such as the Age of Elves, the creators of this calendar decided that dates of the era were too unreliable, and attempting to convert them to the Scholars' Calendar would cause its accuracy to fall into question. So they decided to focus on maintaining accuracy for their descendants instead of fixing the follies of their ancestors. Since it has been exactly 4,000 years since its foundation, the current date of the Scholar's Calendar is 10.0.0.x.x, with the month and day depending on the exact time of year.