Time and Calendars

Currently being edited by Kowaman

Every dweller of Vailor can count the passing of days and nights by the Moon and Sun, but few have attempted to chart such days and account for their Passing. It is commonly believed that the recording of time in Aegis began with the Elves and does not mark the beginning of the realm, but the time from which it began to be measured.

In 1431 of Anthos the calendar was adjusted to accommodate for the changed seasonal structure in the new land. The main differences were that there were now seven seasons, or Seeds, where once there were eight (the Second Seed was removed) and the year passed in 14 Fortdays instead of 12. This made for the passing of 26 years in Malin's year (See Real-Life Measures of Time below) where before there was 30.5.

In the Fringe, the calendar was adjusted again, and now one Seed passes in one real life day, and one year in-character passes in a real life week.

In-Game Measures of Time The most common markers of time in Vailor are the Passing and the Seed.

A Passing is the common word for a cycle of day and night over the surface of Vailor. There is a common children’s tale telling of the Daemon Fallsheth, the fastest among his kind, who was tasked with destroying the Undead creation Galgrumak, and their current course through the great voids above and below the world mark the passing of day and night on the surface.

The Days of Vailor (each day is equivalent to one hour in real life):

   Ahad (Sunday)
   Itnan (Monday)
   Tolta (Tuesday)
   Irba (Wednesday)
   Kamees (Thursday)
   Joma (Friday)
   Sabet (Saturday)

The Seasons of Vailor The “Seed”, a word coined by Humans, divides the year into seven months differed by the weather cycles. There are 24 days in a Seed, making 168 days in an entire year for Vailor.

Each Seed is equivalent to one day in real life. The following is a list of the seven Seeds and their real life counterpart. Time in-game follows the GMT timezone with each month starting at noon GMT. For example, the Seed will change from The Amber Cold to The Deep Cold at noon GMT each Tuesday.

   Snow's Maiden - Snowy Season (Wednesday)
   Malin's Welcome - End of Cold Season (Thursday)
   The First Seed - Warm Season (Friday)
   The Grand Harvest - The Season of Harvest (Saturday)
   Sun's Smile - The Sunniest Season of The Year (Sunday)
   The Amber Cold - End of Warm Season (Monday)
   The Deep Cold - The Coldest Season (Tuesday)

Out of Game/Real-Life Measures of Time The Day/Night cycle found in the world of Vailor is as follows.

   60 minutes in-game is a full day, including daytime and nighttime.
   7 hours in-game is a week from Ahad to Sabet.
   1 day in-game is a Seed/month.
   7 days in-game is a year.

This helps you determine more accurately your character's aging as well as time spent doing something in-character, such as journeying, training for something, etc.

The most common references of real life time in Vailor are the Fortday, Season, Elven Week and Malin's Year. A Fortday is one real life calendar day, or a Seed in-game. The Fortday was established by the seventh Dwarven King after Urguan faded from history. Likely he observed the sleeping and waking cycles of his people and decreed that would be the method he would use to account for the time of his people. Luckily, all creatures of Vailor observe a common sleeping and waking cycle, and the method spread (slowly, of course) to be commonly used among all people of Aegis, Asulon, Anthos, Athera and now Vailor.

The Elven Week is one real life calendar week, or a year in-game. The Week was actually first established by Malinor, or so claim the Elves, and that has given rise to the terms “Elven Week”, “Elf Week”, and “Long Week” by many of the inhabitants. An Elven Week is approximately seven Fortdays.

A Season is one real life calendar month, or around 4 years in-game. The Season was instituted by the Orcs in recognition of the weather's shifts, particularly in Krugmar, every two years and three Seeds. It has been observed that the heat during "Suns Smile" can differ from one season to another, likewise the cold of Snows Maiden. It is unknown why the Season affects over two years of weather. However, equipped with this knowledge a cunning farmer knows that Krugmar will only yield harvest for one season before the heat becomes too extreme in the next.

Malin's Year is one real life calendar year, or 52 years in-game. It can also be referred to as an Elven Year. When the first High Prince was elected to rule over the Elves, the length of their reign was determined by the number of days that Malin resided in Laurelin, becoming Malin's Year.

To determine the approximate year in Lord of the Craft from an Out Of Game date, try using this calendar.

Important Years in Modern History

   (Lotc 1.0 commenced in the year 1300. Due to issues with date plugins the first year lasted as many as 5 years)
   Aegis fell in 1351, the mortals escaping through a portal to the Verge before sailing for new lands
   Asulon was discovered in 1354 at which time some chose to reset the counting of years from 1 at the year 1351, though this was later removed
   Asulon was left behind in 1414 and the mortals sailed through Kalos and Elyisum
   Anthos became the new home in 1424
   The Calendar was revised in 1438 to have 7 seasons (months) to a year where previously there were 8
   Anthos was abandoned in 1457 for the Fringe that was accessible through the Door of Eternity, and then on to Thales
   Athera was settled in 1468
   Vailor was reached in the year 1513