Function of Time

The most common system of tracking time originates from the Skaaldi system used by the shamans which itself originated from the Northel of old. The system used now is a mixture of old and new, where its interpretation is different on the various continents. Something to keep in mind, however, is that the vast majority of peoples throughout Ayotha are generally very uneducated, only the privileged have access to proper education. Basically, few people care about keeping track of time besides seasons or blocks of time.

A standard calendar year on Ohr consists of 510 days, 15 months (each month consisting of 34 days), and 27 hour days. Lore also has three moons: Somnus, Shal, Tzem with a 10, 24, and 42 day cycle respectively.

The Assai system has widely been adopted and modified all throughout Ayotha. Many non-human races still use their own methods and calendars for keeping track of time.

Hours of the Day

The typical Ayotha day is 27 hours long. Most people break up the day into large slices; such as dawn, morning, diurnal, afternoon, dusk, sunset, evening, midnight, and umbra.

HOUR	TIME OF DAY
One	Umbra
Two	Umbra
Three	Umbra
Four	Umbra
Five	Umbra
Six	Umbra
Seven	Umbra
Eight	Dawn
Nine	Morning
Ten	Morning
Eleven	Diurnal
Twelve	Diurnal
Thirteen	Afternoon
Fourteen	Afternoon
Fifteen	Afternoon
Sixteen	Afternoon
Seventeen	Dusk
Eighteen	Dusk
Nineteen	Sunset
Twenty	Evening
Twenty-One	Evening
Twenty-Two	Evening
Twenty-Three	Evening
Twenty-Four	Midnight
Twenty-Five	Umbra
Twenty-Six	Umbra
Twenty-Seven	Umbra

Calendar of Ayotha

The Assai calendar defines the year for most of Ayotha. Some border towns and secluded villages adhere to the calendar as well. Beyond that, many races and cultures they have their own ways of keeping track of the months.

Numerous holidays fall between the months that are more or less universal in their meaning, although, under different names, depending on the culture/people celebrating them. The list found below are merely some of the more well known holidays and celebrations.

Wodanhall - Winterrule: 22-27th. A celebration of peace and appreciation that often involves the lighting of lamps to honor the sun and to hope for its quick return during the months of 'Wintertide' or 'Umbra'. Gift giving and celebrations of varying degrees are often held during Yule.

Day of Holy Embers - Springtide: 13th. An ancient Ovroyan story, it is said that during a siege of King Haydar's great temple, an impossible to surmount army littered outside the gates. King Haydar stepped out onto the parapets, stretched out his arms, and took to the sky. He soared far above the gathered army, growing larger and larger and twisting into the form of a great beast. He breathed flames upon them, melting metal and burning their bones to ash. The people celebrated, worshipped, even, the occurrence, but over the endless ages the celebration has lost much of its meaning. Now, the Day of Holy Embers is merely a celebration of the coming spring. Bonfires, ale and song are used to welcome the new season.

Honor Harvest - Summerrule: 20th-30th. A time of harvesting crops and preparing for the winter months. Celebrations often include drinking, dancing and gift giving.

Celebration of Endless Light - Umbra: 1st. A celebration dedicated to Ein Sof, the Endless Light. The few remaining temples and clerics of the Infinite Clergy seek out the weak and the poor and offer them the light of Ein Sof, providing food and feasts for entire villages and offering medical services to those in need.

Fray - Aith'na: 10th-17th. A week long celebration typically used as a coming of age ceremony for the Northern tribes of men. The week is filled with combat, hunting, and meditation at ancient shrines of ancestors and the Giant Gods of Eld. Any who are slain during Fray are believed to not be granted passage into the golden halls of the gods. Instead, they are reincarnated to try and prove themselves to the gods once more.

EMPIRE CALENDAR	NORTH CALENDAR	ASSAI CALENDAR
Aith'na	Fehu	Light
Springtide	Ur	Time
Springrule	Thurisaz	First Shadow
Spring's End	Ansuz	Fire
Summertide	Raido	Water
Summerrule	Kaunan	Earth
Summer's End	Gyfu	Air
Falltide	Haglaz	Second Shadow
Fallrule	Naudiz	Life
Fall's End	Jeran	Thought
Wintertide	Algiz	Memory
Winterrule	Tiwaz	Third Shadow
Umbra	Berkanan	Aether
Winter's End	Nulrand	Dream
Somnus	Karrzan	Unity

Ages of Ayotha

The "timeline" for Ayotha is left intentionally vague, exact dates and years are not nearly as important to people as the events themselves. Most human nations do not have or keep a reliable way to track time, at least in terms of years. It's never been of great importance. Beyond keeping track of seasons or the 'day of the week' most people don't concern themselves with what year it is. One of the only measurements that are used by a number of the human nations when recounting history beyond a few years is the term 'age', generally age is used to describe a period of one-hundred years but even that isn't always true, there have been a number of 'ages' that have lasted for less than a hundred years and some ages have lasted far longer. Despite the loose track of time, that doesn't necessarily mean that history isn't recorded. Many scholars and organizations have dedicated themselves to the recording of human history. Even then, history is subject to unreliable narrators and false histories pushed by the victors of conflicts and wars.

AGE	ERA	YEARS
Age of Origination	Creation	250,000 - 500,000 Years Ago
Age of Sentience	Creation	200,000 - 250,000 Years Ago
Age of Sundering	Creation	150,000 - 200,000 Years Ago
Age of the Divine	First Era	100,000 - 125,000 Years Ago
Age of Muses	First Era	50,000 - 100,000 Years Ago
Age of Beasts	First Era	35,000 - 50,000 Years Ago
Age of Serpents	Second Era	10,000 - 15,000 Years Ago
Age of Dragons	Second Era	8,000 - 10,000 Years Ago
Age of Man	Second Era	5,000 - 8,000 Years Ago
Age of Silence	Third Era	4,000 - 5,000 Years Ago
Age of Prophecy	Third Era	3,200 - 4,000 Years Ago
Age of Fire	Third Era	2,800 - 3,200 Years Ago
Age of Exodus	Fourth Era	2,500 - 2,800 Years Ago
Andminas Founding	Fourth Era	1,700 - 2,500 Years Ago
Time of Madness	Fourth Era	1,000 - 1,700 Years Ago
Age of Dread	Fifth Era	900 - 1,000 Years Ago
Age of the God Binder	Fifth Era	500 - 900 Years Ago
Age of the Wytch Queen	Fifth Era	400 -500 Years Ago
Age of Shadow	Sixth Era	100-300 Years Ago
Age of Death	Sixth Era	Present Time