Calendar
The Avendar Calendar was designed by an actual astronomer (Synrael), tweaked for playability, and reflects the unique world, including the dual-lunar system. The moons are most commonly known by their aelin names, Lunus & Rhos, but are also referred to as Telianthis & Nimiel (ancient alatharyan). The feast day descriptions represent the traditions typical of aelin and human cultures.
Overview
381 days a year
7 days a week
14 months a year
54.5 weeks a year
+5 feast days
Days of the Week
Lyrensday - “The day of the lyre”
Iolenday - “Jolinn’s day”
Thelansday - “Telianthis’ day”
Endenday - “Iandir’s day”
Nimansday - “Nimiel’s day”
Thethelsday - “Dragon’s day”
Evenday “Last day”
Months and Feast Days
The Dawning 32 Spring First month of the year
The Day of Quickening 1 Spring Spring equinox
Nelennamir 32 Spring After Nelenna, queen of the Titans and granddaughter of Kyana
Tyrilis 30 Spring/Summer After Tyril, hero of the War of Night
The Burning 32 Summer High summer
The Dragons’ Feast 1 Summer Midsummers day
Converumir 32 Summer After Converu, greatest templar of light
Rystaiamir 15 Summer After Rystaia, Goddess of the Ch’taren
The Reaping 15 Autumn The harvest season
The Setting 32 Autumn Fall
The Day of Tears 1 Autumn The autumnal equinox
Kyanamir 32 Autumn After the Goddess of the Stars
Valectis 30 Autumn/Winter After Valectis, patrician of Earendam after Lyceon
The Sundering 32 Winter Supposedly the month in which the Sundering occured
The Hearth Feast 1 Winter Midwinters day
Elanthemir 32 Winter After Elanthe, child of Kyana of the Stars
Lyceonis 15 Winter After Corvandil Lyceon, Earendam general who won the First Kankoran War
Year’s End 15 Spring Last month of the year
The Day of Year’s End 1 Spring New Years Eve
Feast Day Information
The Day of Quickening
A fertility festival to celebrate the coming of spring. The fertility rites are fairly simple in most cultures, and involve the most obvious activities.
The Dragon’s Feast
A very old fireside story tells that in the years soon following the Sundering, three dragons came into the world. One was a dragon of wind, one a dragon of fire and one a dragon of water. Each staked out a third of Avendar’s main continent as their hunting grounds. Wind in the west, fire in the north, and water in the south. The three would issue forth from the strong places of their homes at times and battle each other over what are now the vast Arien Plains, blasting everying within many miles. The legend tells an old pig farmer, fed up with the destruction caused to his people’s farms by the warring dragons, fed his entire herd on carrion and swampwater for a season, then one midsummer’s day led the pigs to where the dragons would come to battle. Naturally, the dragons fought each other for the pigs and ate up every one. They became so ill from the feast of fat, sicky pigs that they flew back to their homes and never again came to battle their neighbours, convinced as they were that the pickings were much better around their own homes. Midsummer’s day has been celebrated as the Dragons’ Feast ever since. Of course, this is probably just a legend, as dragons aren’t nearly that stupid. Copious amounts of pork are nonetheless consumed on the Dragons’ Feast, be the tale true or not.
The Day of Tears
On this day it’s said Kyana wept for all the sorrow she saw would befall the world in the ages to follow, and her tears created the stars.
The First Day of Sundering
The first day of the month is often held as a feast day. One birthing term after the Quickening, this date, or around it, is the birthday of many. The feast celebrates the positive aspects of the Sundering; that, sooner or later, all children must leave the guardianship of their mothers. It celebrates the fact that through pain may come great things – through birth, life; through winter, spring; through the Sundering, diversity.
The Hearth Feast
In the dead of winter, this feast day celebrates the warmth of house and home, and of companionship and family. The Feast generally involves large groups of family and neighbours gathering about a pre-selected hearth for feasting and music-making. The hearth is chosen on the Day of Tears and, every day from that date in the hearth is burnt a twig of applewood for fertility and a leaf of oak for protection. The sanctified hearth is supposed to bring blessing on all who feast by it on the Hearth Feast.
Year’s End Day
Traditions vary greatly over the celebration of The Day of Year’s End. A widely held tradition is to honour travellers on this feast day, partly because the day represents transitions, and partly because with the easing of the winter, travelling merchants and bards begin to take up their paths again. After long winters with little outside contact, smaller villages are very pleased to see the first of the year’s peddlers and entertainers arrive.
