Time in Aerathiea

The progression of time in Aerathiea  “feels” the same as time on Earth, but something is remarkably different.  Maybe it's due to crossing a quantum singularity or the concave environment vs a convex one, but time moves 4 times faster in the interior relative to the exterior.  If 1 year goes by on Earth, 4 years have gone by in Aerathiea and vice versa.

There is no specific “Day or Night” in Aerathiea .  The sun named “Sirath” remains in the sky as a noonday sun perpetually.  If it were not for the their moon called “Moloth” orbiting Sirath there would be no distinct way to tell time in Aerathiea.  As it is, Moloth appears to be almost the same size of the sun and creates a shadow across the equator as it traverses.  It is 2500 km from the surface and because of the relatively equal tugs from both Sirath and the event horizon deep in the earth, it takes 21 Mora to to make an orbit.  The people of Aerathiea also break a “Sep” or day into 24 equal parts.  No one knows if this convention was started from outside help or if its just because of the convenience of being able to break it in halves, third and quarters more conveniently than any other base time.  From the POV of people’s living along the equatorial line, Moloth appears to get larger and larger until he eclipses Sirath then recedes.   The people of Aerathiea have traditionally worshipped Sirath and her unruly child Moloth as the progenitor and evil deity of Aerathiea.  It is Sirath that gives life, heat and light, and it is Moloth that tries half-heartedly to mess things up and take away life (dimming and shadow).  Moloth is also the provider of time and is therefore held in higher esteem by the more technically savvy races of Aerathiea.

**Measuring Time**

Time is measured very differently in Aerathiea.  There are no convenient measurements for seasons or years.  The same sun sits in the same spot in the sky continuously.  If it were not for Moloth and the 5 sisters orbiting the central sun, there would be no way to tell time in Aerathiea.  As it is the Nilor and Dranok worked out a timekeeping system eons ago that is relatively universally kept though it is believed that the Korei many have an even deeper understanding of the world and keep time differently.

There is a watchtower in Darak-Nil  (literally “Dark Tower”) that has stood for as long as the recorded history of Nilor or Dranok can remember.  there is an engraved area on the floor of that watchtower.  When Moloth is exactly overhead, and his shadow rests exactly within the circumference of the inscribed area, the ‘0’ hour has arrived and the watchkeeper will ring the bell.  This tells the people of Darak that a new day has begun.

The oldest of timekeeping devices were a style of hourglass with graduated markings.  The Aerathiea ‘Day’ called a “Sep” or “Sepae” (formal) is broken into 24 equal parts purely for gregarious reasons since 24 can be divide in ½, by 3, by 4 and by 6 and just makes itself so useful that way. Each Aerathiea ‘hour’, called a “rij” is broken further into 100 parts called “nik” and each “nik” is equal to 1.26 earth minutes, for anyone trying to keep track.  In Aerathiea,  humans sleep typically 8 rij out of 24 and Dranok sleep 8 rij out of every 3 Sep.  A “Mor” or “Morae” (formal) is 400 Sep and the closest analogy to a human year.  The Mor is broken into 16 parts called “Remot” that would be the equivalent of months.

Before there were Rij-glasses to keep time, people could buy candles called “Septoons” that means “Daymarkers” made from Hrok drippings that would burn more or less in 24 Rij, marking a complete day.   But as all things, the people selling Hrok candles became greedy, pricing themselves out of the market when more technically savvy people came along offering a better way.  Most old people do not forget nor welcome the smell of a Hrok candle burning.   It would be the equivalent of stopping in an old filling station in a backwoods town and seeing the fly paper strips hanging from the ceiling.  You can still smell the characteristic odor in some small out of the way traditional villages, especially on the Carathian Peninsula.

Now most middle class families, especially in the larger cities, now have mechanical spring controlled devices to mark the passing of time.