Calendar
The region generally uses a simple calendar devised over a millennium ago by the skyseers of Risur. This calendar divides the year into four 91-day seasons, each starting on an equinox or solstice. After the 91st of Winter, one extra day is used to celebrate the new year. The most common celestial rhythm is the cycle of the moon over 29 and a half days. People might say something happened “a month ago,” but individual months are not named. Instead dates are referenced in the format “17 Spring 473 A.O.V.” In the year 500 A.O.V., the first first-quarter moon of each season occur on 12 Spring, 10 Summer, 9 Autumn, and 7 Winter. Festivals of the Old Faith typically fall on these nights. More colloquially, there are names for each prominent moon phase throughout the year. These terms have fallen out of favor except in poetry, academia, and mysticism.
Lunar Myth
Some say the moon is made of glass, and they claim they can see stars through it, or perhaps within it. Poets have long noted that the “right side” of the moon (the edge that crests the horizon first) seems to have the shape of a man with his arms extended, while the left side has the image of a woman facing away from the man. This gave rise to a shared myth of the moon. In this tale, an orphan boy meets a girl whose mother is dying beneath a cypress tree. The girl is taken away to be trained as a mage (or an artist, a princess, or a scholar depending on the version), and the orphan boy joins a band of hunters (or rogues, brigands, or rebels). They cross paths, fall in love through their trials, wed, and become heroes. But he dies, and she lives on to raise their child.
Though different seasons can have more specific names, generally the first quarter moon — when only the “man” is visible — is called Hunter’s moon. The full moon is Lovers’ moon — when both man and woman are present. The third quarter is Maiden’s moon — with the woman alone. And the new moon is Dreamer’s moon. Much of the nuance of Skyseer prophecy depends on which moon rises first in a season, and which stars if any are in conjunction with it. The specialized names typically start with the first Hunter’s moon each season; phases before those are just called by the generic terms of “early Lovers, early Maiden, or early Dreamer” moon.
The more flavorful names, in order, are below:
- Spring. Hart moon, Plow moon, Thunder moon, Dreamer’s moon. Stranger’s moon, Forest moon, Mage’s moon, Dancer’s moon. Hero’s moon, High Spring moon, Legend’s moon, Dreamer’s moon.
- Summer. Husband’s moon, Marriage moon, Bride’s moon, Dreamer’s moon. Dragon moon, Honey moon, Kraken moon, Sleeper’s moon. Hero’s moon, High Summer moon, Legend’s moon, Dreamer’s moon.
- Autumn. Serpent moon, Harvest moon, Mother moon, Dreamer’s moon. Martyr’s moon, Pyre moon, Widow moon, Black moon. Hero’s moon, High Autumn moon, Legend’s moon, Dreamer’s moon.
- Winter. Hunger moon, Snow moon, Wolf moon, Dreamer’s moon. Orphan’s moon, Cypress moon, Daughter’s moon, Hope moon. Hunter’s moon, High Winter moon. Maiden’s moon. Dreamer’s moon.
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