This is a small black volume in the Asemath Academy, Library Hall.

The Elanthian Calendar
An Introductory Guide to Timekeeping and its History

by Herpo Drakonides
of the Guild of Warrior Mages
Member, Foundation for Arcane Research
Truffandu 6 Lirisa 352, the year of the Golden Panther

Table of Contents:
Introduction
I. The Solar Year
II. The Ten Months
III. The Andaen
IIII. The Days
V. The Date
VI. The Seasons

Introduction

From earliest antiquity Elanthians have been fascinated by the
passage of time. Before the Empire there were countless
calendars. Dwarven calendars were different than Elven
calendars, for example, and even two Elven cities might have
different names for months, or a different number of months, or
have entirely different systems altogether. Some calendars were
based on the sun, others on one of the moons. One Elothean
calendar seems to have been based on all three moons and
scholars are still attempting to understand all of its
intricacies from the scraps of evidence we have about it. With
the coming of the unifying presence of the Empire a 400 day
solar calendar was settled on as the standard and we modern
Elanthians have inherited it only slightly modified from the
time of the first emperor.


Reading: 
I. The Solar Year

The years roll by in an ever recurring cycle of 7 year names.
Each name reflects a mythological animal: Bronze Wyvern, Golden
Panther, Amber Phoenix, Iron Toad, Emerald Dolphin, Crystal Snow
Hare and Silver Unicorn. The year of the Redeemer's victory
(Year 0) was a year of the Silver Unicorn. Year 1 then, was a
year of the Bronze Wyvern, Year 2 a year of the Golden Panther,
Year 3 a year of the Amber Phoenix, and so on.

The 400 day (0-399) solar year is broken down into smaller
months. Of these there are 10 and each is made up of 10 andaen
(often translated "weeks") which are in turn made up of 4 days
each so that each month contains 40 days (0-39). These 10 solar
months were variously named in different parts of the Empire
despite the presence of Imperial names for them all. Some time
after the victory of the Redeemer, they were renamed in honor of
great figures and objects from Elanthian history. For a fuller
account of each of the eponyms see the famous account of the
bard Silvyrfrost in _Human Histories_.


Reading: 
II. The Ten Months

Akroeg, called the Ram, gives his name to the first month and he
is a suitable choice. He looked forward to the new order of the
Empire and of a united Elanthia but was also a part of the old
ways. Similarly, his month signals both the beginning of the new
year as well as the end of the old.

Ka'len, called the Sea Drake, gives his name to the second
month. A great sailor he was and therefore it is appropriate
that this month, at the end of which the sailing season begins,
is named after him.

Lirisa, called the Archer, gives her name to the third month.
This month is the height of spring and consequently the best
season for hunting, Lirisa's lifelong pursuit. She disappeared
in this month after striking down her last and most dangerous
prey.


Reading: 
Shorka, called the Cobra, gives her name to the fourth month,
for it is during this month that the S'kra would begin their
migrations and the summer heat would begin. It was at this time
that Shorka pledged herself to Lanival's cause and gave him hope
for victory.

Uthmor, called the Giant, gives his name to the fifth month.
This month is the first full month of summer and is the height
of the campaigning season when Uthmor, the greatest of Lanival's
generals, smote his foes. He also died in the last week of this
month.

Arhat, called the Fire Lion, gives his name to the sixth month.
This month is the second full month of summer when the heat is
at its worst and fires are most dangerous. So this month is
doubly suited to Arhat not only because he was the greatest of
the Fire Mages but also because just as Arhat was inseparable
from Uthmor in life, so he is in the calendar. He died in the
first week of this month.


Reading: 
Moliko, called the Balance, gives her name to the seventh month.
As the Lawgiver herself wrote: "Justice does not always consist
of giving equally to all sides but rather it is the reasonable
application of reward and punishment in the proper degree." Thus
Moliko's month rounds out the ten months but it is no surprise
that it does not come directly in the middle of the year. And
yet there is good reason for its placement here since the month
divides the warm part of the year coming as it does on the
dividing line between summer and autumn. "Chadatru," as Moliko
wrote, "does not always work in a way that is immediately clear
to all observers."

Skullcleaver, the great Dwarven ax of Uthmor, gives its name to
the eighth month, for it was in this month that Uthmor received
it as a gift from the Dwarf Hexoch and first fought with it
victoriously for Lanival.

Dolefaren, the brigantine of Ka'len, gives its name to the ninth
month, for it was in this month that the ship and her captain
slipped down through the icy waves as the lands of Elanthia fall
into the chill of winter's grip.


Reading: 
Nissa, the Elven healer, gives her name to the tenth month. For
it is in this month, the first full month of winter, that life
is at its lowest and nature is most in mourning over the loss of
the unjustly murdered maiden. And just as the mourning of her
death led to the joy of Lanival's victory, so the mourning of
the death of the old year leads us to the rejoicing of the new.

III. The Andaen

Each of the months is, as was pointed out above, divided into 10
"weeks" of 4 days each. These groups of 4 days are each named
after one of the great divinities of Elanthia. Kertandu after
Kertigen, Hodandu after Hodierna, Evandu after Everild,
Truffandu after Truffenyi, Havrandu after Hav'roth, Elandu after
Eluned, Chandu after Chadatru, Glythandu after Glythtide,
Faeandu after Faenella, and Tamsandu after Tamsine. The word
"andu" (pl. andaen) literally means "day" in High Gamgweth but
since each of the "days" here is actually four days long,
"weeks" is the more common translation.


Reading: 
There are many local tales concerning the naming of the andaen
and explaining why Meraud, Damaris and Urrem'tier are not
honored in this particular way. In one S'kra version, for
instance, Meraud refuses the honor and prefers hidden devotion
to open reverence. Damaris and Urrem'tier, on the other hand,
are said to require no special weeks set aside for them since
Night and Death are always with us. At any rate, many such
stories circulate and some are of considerable interest. Few of
the variants agree to any great degree in particulars.

IIII. The Days

Each day was divided by the soldiers of the Empire into 15
sections or watches, 9 for the day and 6 for the night. This
usage has survived into present times. Each watch is of single
(s), double (d) or quadruple (q) length. The day watches begin
with Dawn (s) and then proceed through Early Morning (s), Mid
Morning (d), Late Morning (s), Noon (s), Early Afternoon (d),
Mid Afternoon (d), Late Afternoon (s), and end with Dusk (s).


Reading: 
The six night watches are: Early Evening (s), Mid Evening (d),
Late Evening (d), Midnight (s), Very Early Morning (q), Almost
Dawn (d). Both day and night, therefore are made up of the
equivalent of 12 single watches.

V. The Date

The date is officially given in the following notation <week
name> <day in month> <month> <year>. Thus: Kertandu 0 Arhat 350.

VI. The Seasons

There are four seasons in Elanthia: Winter, Spring, Summer and
Autumn.

Winter begins on Glythandu 30 Dolefaren (day 350) and extends to
Evandu 9 Ka'len (day 49) of the next year.

Spring is from Evandu 10 Ka'len (day 50) to Glythandu 29 Shorka
(day 149)


Reading: 
Summer is from Glythandu 30 Shorka (day 150) to Evandu 9 Moliko
(day 249)

Autumn is from Evandu 10 Moliko (day 250) to Glythandu 29
Dolefaren (day 349).