Days in the Norrathian Year

Discussion in 'History and Lore 2' started by Sigil, May 1, 2022.

  1. Sigil New Member

    Okay, so according to the archived post @ https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq...estiny-starpyre-calendar-its-holidays.465679/, and various sites, blogs & wikis, there's 12 months in the year, each month is 14 weeks is 10 days.
    This gives:
    1 year = 12 months * 14 weeks = 168 weeks
    1 year = 12 months * 140 days = 1680 days
    Is this correct?
    IF this is correct, what is with some sources claiming the Norrathian Year is 360 or 365 days?
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  2. Cusashorn Well-Known Member

    Not sure what in-game source is claiming 365 days per Norrathian year, but we also really don't have any real information on the calendar system other than the book found in the mage tower. My guess is that it's because Earth itself is 365 days, so all works of fiction are still forced to acknowledge that fact.
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  3. Smallcorners Well-Known Member

    This is the article I put together for use in 2015. The information was gleaned form an even older article on the Raven-Mythic somewhere:

    We write reports, lots of reports and while passage of time in Norrath is generally agreed upon to be rather fluid, on occasion something does need to be noted as being from, or for, a specific date. If you want the long discussed post it is here (~Slipps note: the link poofed sometime ago), but to make life simple:

    12 Months of the Year:
    Deepice (January) - (New year begins!) This is the third month in the season of Decay. These days are the doldrums of winter, all the world seems encased in cold and shadow.

    Grayeven (February) - This is the fourth and last month in the season of Decay. Dawn breaks on the wintry scene, life stirs and finds its legs.

    Stargazing (March) - This is the first month in the season of Growth. The clarity of the cold night offers an unhindered glance deep into the heavens, as the warming days make the out-of-doors habitable again.

    Weeping (April) - This is the second month in the season of Growth. Rain and wind sweep across the lands, a tempestuous mix for mariners, from which new life finally springs on land.

    Blossoming (May) - This is the third month in the season of Growth. Norrath in full flower, the air warm and sweet at last.

    Oceansfull (June) - This is the fourth and last month in the season of Growth. The tides are most favorable for mariners as what's left of Luclin reaches its perigee.

    Scorchedsky (July) - This is the first month in the season of Harvest. The heat feels closest as it ripens the fruits and grains of the fields.

    Warmstill (August) - This is the second month in the season of Harvest. The days are still very long and the climate yet favorable for returning home from far-away adventures.

    Busheldown (September) - This is the third month in the season of Harvest. When the last fruits of the growing season are gathered in and stored away.

    Lastleaf (October) - This is the fourth and last month in the season of Harvest. Feasts abound as Norrathians celebrate the bounty of the far-distant gods' favor.

    Firstchill (November) - This is the first month in the season of Decay. Winter signals its coming as the days grow long.

    Deadening (December) - (Last month of the year) This is the second month in the season of Decay. Life settles indoors and deep in-ground yet again.

    7 Days of the Week:
    Feastday (Sunday) - This day is marked by a lack of work and grand feasts. Most businesses are closed on this day.

    Darkday (Monday) - The first day of the work week, appropriately named!

    Burnday (Tuesday) - This is the day set aside for burning refuse and is known for its terrible smell.

    Soulday (Wednesday) - This is a day of remembrance, when most Norrathians find time to visit the graves of their ancestors and leave offerings.

    Windday (Thursday) - In port cities this day brings the arrival of travelers. And although the wind does not pick up globally on this day, it does pick up in the city that after which the day was named.

    Moorday (Thursday alternate use) - The second busiest day of the week, mostly around shipyards. This is also when ships that have been out harvesting goods all week return and their cargo is unloaded and delivered. Many ships arriving and moored at the docks.

    Spryday (Friday) - This is the busiest day of the week when traders and merchants rush to package and deliver their goods aboard vessels. It is best to walk briskly on this day lest you be stampeded by couriers and shippers.

    Steelday (Friday alternate use) - This day is filled with the music of forges. With imports and components being delivered the day before, this becomes a truly noisy and smoke-filled day.

    Mirthday (Saturday) - This day is set aside for fun. This day came about after the Age of Cataclysms in hopes that people would find time to look upon the positive side of life.

    Brewday (Saturday alternate use) - With most exports gone the only work left is local business. Much of this day involves work related to preparation for Feastday.

    The Three Norrathian Seasons:
    Decay (Winter) - This is usually the season of wind, cold and rain. Only the hardiest of crop types can survive through the Decay season.

    Growth (Spring/Summer) - Growth brings rain and sunlight to the land. Seeds have been blown far by the winds of decay and now spring to life filling the land with beauty and abundant resources.

    Harvest (Summer/Fall) - The sunlight prevails as light rains appear and clouds begin to billow towards the end of the season. Most of this season is spent harvesting the resources nurtured by the Growth season.

    The Four Year Zodiac:
    Year 1
    THE YEAR OF XEGONY (2004, 2008, 2012, 2016)
    This year is named for the ruling goddess of the Plane of Air, Xegony. With this year comes incredibly strong winds and frequent downpours in many regions. As quickly as the rains arrive they leave, and the sunlight or moonlight beams down upon the land. Cloud movement is brisk during this year. The year often brings about great beauty in nature.

    Year 2
    THE YEAR OF FENNIN RO (2005, 2009, 2013, 2017)
    This year is named for the ruling god of the plane of fire. Fennin Ro. This year brings less cloud cover and the temperature of Norrath begins to rise. It is a beautiful season of warmer temperatures. Beware of the deserts during this year, they are almost inhospitable to life without magical aid.

    Year 3
    THE YEAR OF THE RATHE (2006, 2010, 2014, 2018)
    This year is named after the ruling god of the Plane of Earth, a council of 12 beings called the Rathe. With this year comes a rise in geological disturbances such as tremors. Volcanic regions are extremely dangerous to travel during this year. To many this year is considered frightful bringing a remembrance of the myths of the gods forsaking the lands.

    Year 4
    THE YEAR OF THE TRIUMVERATE (2007, 2011, 2015, 2019)
    This year is named after the council of three gods that rule the Plane of Water. This is the stormiest and coldest year of the 4-year cycle. Ice and snow fall in abundance. The rains become furious and temperatures drop. chilling desert winds race across the dunes at nightfall.

    Game Years:
    • 3721 = 2004
    • 3722 = 2005
    • 3723 = 2006
    • 3724 = 2007
    • 3725 = 2008
    • 3726 = 2009
    • 3727 = 2010
    • 3728 = 2011
    • 3729 = 2012
    • 3730 = 2013
    • 3731 = 2014
    • 3732 = 2015
    • 3733 = 2016
    • 3734 = 2017
    • 3735 = 2018
    • 3736 = 2019
    • 3737 = 2020
    • 3738 = 2021
    • 3739 = 2022
    • 3740 = 2023
    • 3741 = 2024
    • 3742 = 2025
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  4. Cusashorn Well-Known Member

    Hmmm. Interesting trying to assign something of a Chinese Zodiac to the Norrath calendar, or assign real life years to the game. You do mention that the calendar and dates are fluid, but there's very rarely been very little consistency for each zone, server, and indeed character that is playing the game.
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  5. Daryx Well-Known Member

    I find it hard to reconcile that with the date I get when I do the /time command in-game. For instance, just now I got:
    It is 01:06 AM of Steelday, Firstchill 5, of the year 4059
    Earth Time: 11:56 PM 05/19/2022 (Note that is CDT on Thursday right before midnight)
    The day possibly matches (it would be Friday for EDT) but the year certainly does not. I know that as Cusahorn says I can be on two characters on two accounts at the same time on the same server and get different readings at the same time (and see different positions of the shadows etc.). But since the Norrathian day is 72 minutes of earth time, I don't see how you can make an equivalence between the two.

    It's like there are two calendars at work, the actual Norrathian time where the day passes that quickly for us Earth-bound people, and then an alternate one that tries to reconcile things like the in-game festivals so they align with the annual Earth events. (Otherwise, Frostfell would be coming around what, every couple weeks??? for our time.)
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  6. Daryx Well-Known Member

    And redoing the time:
    It is 12:10 AM of Brewday, Firstchill 6, of the year 4059
    Earth Time: 01:05 AM 05/20/2022
    It might be stating the obvious, but my point is just that although there may be a similar number of weekdays or months, the years are certainly not transferrable to ours in a one-to-one. From our perspective, Norrath time happens at a different rate, and the recurring festivals have to be on alignment with our calendar only so we don't go crazy having them occur when they really should (*so Frostfell doesn't begin on the same Norrathian day every year for example, or else we would be celebrating it several times of during our earth year).
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  7. Cyliena Well-Known Member

    I returned to the game a few months ago. Since then, when I do /time, it constantly tells me that it's Darkday, Deepice 1, of the year 0. I know the game used to display a year for me, because I used that as the "publication year" for my player-written books. Do we all see different years or did my time display break somehow?
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  8. Cusashorn Well-Known Member


    The time of day, day, month, and year can literally be anything from one zone to the next, for every player to the next. There is almost absolute no form of consistency other than the passage of recorded events that have taken place over the game's development life. There's a book in the 2018-released Chaos Descending where Najena herself chronicles that it has been a proper 10 years since her tower in Lavastorm was invaded by creatures of the Void -- an event that happened during the 2008-released The Shadow Odyssey.
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  9. Cyliena Well-Known Member

    Ah that explains much. I'll have to try the command in different zones to see the results. Thanks for the explanation. :)