Timeline

Much of Castores’ technological development has been stunted by the slow, but radical changes in environment every millennia. Because of this,  most people know little of time beyond days and whether it is the morning, noon, evening, or night (which are simply referred to as the 1st through 4th quarter). The Fey likewise, seem to care little for the concept of time, for their lives seem more or less eternal and relatively unchanging.

The best summary of Castoran time, is to call it “Metric Time”. There are 10 days in a week, 10 weeks, in a month, and 10 months in a ‘year’. The ‘year’ on Castores is separate from the planet’s rotational year, which is actually 333 ‘years’, which is known as a Cycle. Thus, someone’s Castoran age is somewhere close to 1/3 of their earth age numerically.

It should be noted that the Castores’ two moons, the Warrior and the Thief, are the base of this system. Castores rotates on its axis once every day, whereas the Thief darts around the world once every week, and the Warrior slowly patrols the heavens every month. While orbiting on slightly different planes, the time of the two moons being together is known as the “Arrest”, where the Warrior catches the Thief. This time is considered an ill omen for thieves and schemers, but a great time for commerce and peace.

What few time records there are, are denoted in a format of DD.WW.MM.YYY/CC. In this format day is merely the day of the week, as opposed to the day of the month. So for example, the 5th day, of the 10th week, of the 4th month, of the 150th year in the 2nd cycle post Invaders would be 05.10.04.150/2 After Invasion (AI). However, Cycle means little to most, as they will only live a fraction of its time.

For ease of reading, most mentions of years and time are mentioned using Earth equivalents (except for separation of Year and Cycle).

BI = Before Invasion

AI = After Invasion

The Long Seasons
In many ways, Castores is actually two worlds. Possessing an extremely eccentric orbit, Castores’ distance from its sun varies greatly as it traces its slow path through the heavens. At its farthest point from the system’s center, out past the great gas giants, the sun is little more than a bright spot in the sky, and the world is covered by glaciers and vast snowfields. At its closest point, however, Castores transforms into a desert wasteland, and  glaciers and oceans give way to endless tracks of sand. Moisture builds dense clouds in the atmosphere that while much light and heat still managed to burn though, also protects the inhabitants from the close proximity to their star. Because of this extreme seasonal shift, Castores has two distinct ecologies, each of which changes or goes dormant while the other is ascendant.

During the Castoran winter, the planet’s civilized races hunker down in castles and towns carved from ice and stone beneath the ground, only leaving to go hunting for Kresnite, while eating pale fungi and snowmoss for food. This is a hard time for everyone, and the people’s personalities reflect it—gruff but honorable, concerned first and foremost with the survival and comfort of their families, slow to give friendship but willing to fight to the death to uphold a promise.

In the spring, Castores’ glaciers melt and recede in great monsoons, after which those fortunate generations known as the Summerborn abandon their deep forts to live free and easy in the forests and jungles that last for a few centuries before drying up into barren desert. While the greatest cities and villages retain their populations, this is traditionally a time of nomadism for most cultures, while others encourage homesteading to take advantage of the unclaimed but briefly fertile landscape. Regardless of the particular tactics a nation or family takes during the summer months, only the most foolish forget the warnings of history, and most priests and government officials during the autumn years require those under their control to stow away a certain percentage of their crops to help feed future generations during the dark years to follow.

Of course, as with any society, there is rarely a shortage of fools who prefer to live for the moment—on Castores, a single orbit around the sun takes 1000 years, while its humanoid races rarely live more than 80 earth years. As a result, autumn is typically a time for rebellion and resentment by those who see no reason to toil in preparation for a season of hardship they know only from legends and likely won't even live to see.

The Fey Courts of course, are practically untouched by this cycle, their power and magic allowing them to enjoy a relatively fertile and bountiful land all year-round. However, the mysterious nature of the Fey shows itself in that the various seasonal courts always seem to get the upper hand politically during their respective season.

Cycles

 * Pre-Cycle
 * First Cycle
 * Second Cycle
 * Third Cycle