Celestial Bodies

Purpose

Give definition and substance to naked-eye astronomy of those walking about on Valyr.  Also to define and set in motion the calendar system to track historical events.

Valyr Astronomy

Native sky-gazers of Valyr have advantages that their earth counterparts did not have. On Earth, Sol and Luna appear to be exactly the same size in the sky, Luna is the sole satellite, and perhaps most amazingly, Luna’s rotation is perfectly synchronized with her revolution, thus only showing one side toward Earth. This amazing series of coincidences made it easy for Terrans to imagine themselves at the center of the universe, on a flat disc, for millennia.

NOTE: Much of this document has been modified from the original. All items have been finalized. The days of the week and months now collate uniquely.

On Valyr, this is not the case: Luvaire and Imbrie have “days” evident to landed observers. This gave Valyr astronomers the impression of large, spherical objects, the small orbiting the large, quite early on. Thus, the people of Valyr have inferred that they and their moons are in orbit around the sun… this also takes much of the mysticism out of their cyclical seasons.

Both moons appear somewhat larger than the sun, and solar eclipses can last nearly an hour. Rarely, the moons eclipse each other. In fact, when the conditions are perfect, Luvaire will “carve” a rounded chunk on one end of Imbrie, while Imbrie is in a gibbous phase, producing a breath-taking hour-glass shape in the sky. This it is said is when Luvaire bites Imbrie.

Though perspective masks Imbrie’s true mass, mathematician/philosophers studying whirlpools have observed that objects tend to rotate faster towards the center of the event. Thus, by comparing rotation speeds (33/59, or ~1 3/4), it has been concluded that Imbrie is farther from the planet than Luvaire, and some guesses to Imbrie’s diameter can be made in terms of Luvaire.

Most lay persons on the planet take little interest in things like these. However, the amazing complexity of 2 moon cycles, with multiple angles of their surfaces exposed, and the unique way their shadows interact with each other, has had some long-ranging folk consequences: folk astrology, using only the cycles of the moons, has developed into something at least as complex as Earth’s system, which utilizes a moon, 7 other planets, and 13 constellations.

Sun

The local sun is named Solus.

Moons

Luvaire

This is the smaller closer moon; its orbit around Valyr is about 33 days. Here’s what those symbols for phases of the moon mean.

Symbol	Explanation
	New Luvaire (dark – usually not visible at all)
	Waxing Crescent Luvaire
	First Quarter Luvaire
	Waxing Gibbous Luvaire
	Full Luvaire (entirely bright)
	Waning Gibbous Luvaire
	Last Quarter Luvaire
	Waning Crescent Luvaire

Imbrie

Of the two moons this is the larger, further moon; its orbit takes about 59 days.

Symbol	Explanation
	New Imbrie (dark – usually not visible at all)
	Waxing Crescent Imbrie
	First Quarter Imbrie
	Waxing Gibbous Imbrie
	Full Imbrie (entirely bright)
	Waning Gibbous Imbrie
	Last Quarter Imbrie
	Waning Crescent Imbrie

The Lunettes

Valyr is surrounded by a belt of thousands of “micro moons,” which orbit at a distance far closer than Luvaire and Imbire. Estimates predict that they range in size from a few yards across, up to a mile. To the untrained observer, they are nearly indistinguishable from stars. The casual astronomer will notice that they appear to move across the sky slightly faster than the stars do, and they do not flicker as much. They are in their thickest concentration around the equator; while the unaided eye may see many from the capitals of Bansu and Zaica, none are visible from the Palace of Life or Korangar.

Most of the people on Valyr know of these lesser celestial bodies, but only those who live exclusively in the tropics tend to study them, namely the Druids, the green-identifying Bansuans, and the Amperians.

Tides

In reality, Earth tidal calculations are pretty complex, but when we consider the affect of the gravity of two moons! Here it is simplified for game play, with the strongest tidal effect coming from the ever regular smaller closer moon. Simple high-tide is about 1/3 the effect of a double high tide. And so it is also for 1/3 as strong for a simple low tide. Double high tides make stilted docks and floating piers a necessity. Especially when shore lines take the appearance of a small cliff overlooking freshly uncovered sea bottom.

Tide	Phases	Phase Names
Simple High Tide		Waning Gibbous Luvaire & Waxing Crescent Imbrie
Double High Tide		Full Luvaire & Full Imbrie
Simple Low Tide		New Luvaire & New Imbrie
Double Low Tide		Waxing Crescent Luvaire & Waning Gibbous Imbrie

Calendar

The numeral “3” is a sacred number to the people of Valyr, as are its multiples and powers. This is partially by design, as it is seen in the monetary system and the color system, both vertically (geographical alignment) and horizontally (ability type). The same is true for their markers of time. This system, while simple and elegant, rarely works exactly. Thus, when necessary, this is “fixed” by adding a “tenth” unit as a sort of psychological reset. These observations are quite obvious to a Terran observer, but to a citizen of Valyr, it is merely part of the natural order of things: questioning it is not impossible, but it seems so natural and functional that it is rarely examined.

Notes:

1. All “standard” units refer to common Terran calendar units.
2. An example Calendar (for the year MV940) can be found at Calendar Example

Basic time units:

Hours

The Valyr hour is very close to the Terran hour. Its exact length is based on the length of time it takes for the sun to move 10 degrees (9 was too messy) on the Summer Solstice. On this day there is a perfect 2:1 ratio of light to darkness; 180 degrees from horizon to horizon, divided by 10 degrees/hour, yields 18 hours of light; a 27 hour day. For farmers and astronomers alike, this has always been a day much celebrated, and thus it seemed fitting to model their time scale after it.

Weeks

Keeping with the theme, the rigors of daily life are set to a recurring 9 day schedule: 6 days of work, followed by three days of rest (or more specifically, a day for religion, a day for family, and a day for play). The days of the week have unique first letters. They are as follows:

Names for Days of the Week
Work						Religion	Family	Play
Laborus	Tuvaire	Matrie	Endurus	Ralavaire	Faybrie	Saturus	Donavaire	Caprie

One may notice that, as with many Terran cultures, the day of religion is actually the first day of the week, thus the cycle is actually broken. Also unique to Valyr, the endings of the days’ names alternate to honor each of the 3 major heavenly bodies.

Months

This is the final draft of the month names (Kantlar, you were right!). Three weeks make up one month. Unlike Terran months, which fluctuate from 28-31 days, all months are 3 weeks, 27 (or 33) days. There are some conveniences to this: i.e. the day of the week and the date are (almost) always synchronized. The months of the year have unique first letters. There are, as expected, 9 months in the common year, totaling 35 days… however, the cosmos in their random glory did not allow for exactly 243 rotations in the planet’s revolution. Thus, like the Terran leap year, a coping method has been devised. More on that later.

1. Prisma
2. Cyanna
3. Magenti
4. Lavendi
5. Nehran
6. Jadys
7. Vidrian
8. Dakra
9. Brae

“Realignment” period:

As the Earth’s rotation is off by approximately .24 days/year, the year on Valyr is short by 0.300000011 days. To evenly reset the calendar, 3 days are added every decade to coincide with the New Year, between Brae 28 and Prisma 01. These days, which have their own names apart from the standard weekly cycle, create a Brae “super weekend,” and serve as a time of lament (Penetant), forgiveness (Debetant), and celebration (Jubilant).

The celebrations on the day of Jubilant transition into the Holy day of Nyuson, Prisma 01, the first day of the year. The specifics of these festivals, and their underlying spiritual/religous imagery vary somewhat from region to region, and greatly between Bansu and Zaica. However, the calendar, along with language, astronomy, and creation legends cause a basic unity all across Valyr. Realignment Day Names are as follows:

Seasons

The seasons are named using our four seasons, realizing of course that any story told has been “translated” into English for the readers. Due to the tilt of the axis and the lop-sided orbit that Valyr now has, the four seasons are as follows;

• Winter – from the first of Brae until the 6th or 7th of Cyanna
• Spring – from the end of Winter until the 13th of Lavendi
• Summer – from the end of Spring until the 19th of Jadys
• Fall – from the end of Summer until the last of Dakra

Storm Seasons

There are basically two annual storm seasons. On the Western Seaboard the season usually begins following Winter and lasts until the end of Lavendi. These storm typically begin far out to sea near the equator and meander until landfall anywhere along the coast from Frostport to Ladesh. On the Eastern Seaboard the season usually begins in mid Nehran and lasts until the beginning of Dakra. These storms typically begin in the warm southeastern waters and run up the coastline until they dissipate. Historically they make landfall anywhere south of Emerald Sands to Weyford. Each season includes 6-12 storms.

Holidays

Solar Alignment

Though the only place to see the coincidence is in Trisolar, once every 7 years the sun centers above the two moons creating a triangle that from Trisolar appears to sit on top of the Ancient’s tower. Bansuan and Zaican people travel to see this event.