Rophalin Calendar

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The Rophalin Calendar is a solar calendar in common currency across Wisteria, especially promoted in the Atarlie Empire and its protectorate, the Hearthlands. Created by the first emperor, Rophalin Imperitor, it is a 365-day calendar that aligns with the sidereal year of Ahren, consisting of 13 months of 28 days, further subdivided into 7-day weeks. A single day, not belonging to any month, is aligned with Rophalin's birthday and is marked as the Festival of the Turning Wheel; this is the roll-over date of the calendar from year to year.

Reckoning of Years, Months, and Days

Because of the celestial event associated with the Festival of the Turning Wheel, which occurs with remarkable regularity, most Ahrenic calendar systems show shocking agreement on the demarcation of years. Much like competing calendars, the Rophalin Calendar (the dominant calendar on the continent), the Atarlie mark the occasion on a special day outside of the normal order of months - considering the day and its signs and portents so holy as to belong to neither a week nor a month, being simply a Holy Day.

The Rophalin Calendar consists 13 months, divided into four weeks of seven days. These week long periods happen to align with the phases of Axioma.

The Elves' special relationship with arcane magic and its cataloging has lead to the dominant naming convention for these months being the month in which Vita is occupying a certain portion of the Ahrenic Zodiac. Each month therefore corresponds to a particular sign of the Zodiac and has a matching name. For ease of use with their Western cousins, the men of Bastonia, as well as other populations, it's not unheard of to render each month by its number interchangably - the 28th day of the month of the Crab could also be written as the 28th of the 4th.

Scholars familiar with the Ars Magica often use these months interchangeably with those of their native calendar, because of the Astrological meanings (which have magical connotations). These thirteen months are, therefore:

• The Ram
• The Bull
• The Twins
• The Crab
• The Panther
• The Maiden
• The Balance
• The Spider
• The Archer
• The Buck
• The Inkwell
• The Waters
• The Ship

The days of the week are also named. Since months consist of twenty-eight days, they are evenly divided into four weeks. The days are listed in order beginning from the first of the month:

• Moon-Change
• Crystal-Bathing
• Heart-Song
• Leven-Changing
• Soul-Song
• Muster-Day
• Rejuvination