Calendar

Because of Vantowyn's unique orbit around its parent star, most cultures in Vantowyn track time by the regular passage of Dakovar in front of the sun. Dakovar is a shrouded planet that shares its orbit with Vantowyn, and is often referred to as The Shrouded Sister. As the two bodies spin around each other, the mysterious twin planet regularly eclipses the sun for an hour at roughly twenty six hour intervals. These eclipses are the means by which most mark their days. Throughout the history of Vantowyn, numerous calendars and methods of keeping time have been devised, based on any number of phenomena, but most official records are kept by the Crotani Calendar, which has been refined over the centuries since its inception to match closely with the observable solar year.

The calendar consists of 338 days, divided into twelve months of 28 days each, with two days on the calendar being devoted to special solstice holidays, around which the calendar is written. Although Vantowyn is constantly facing toward the sun, its motion is slightly tilted, resulting in more or less daylight hours for some parts of the surface for part of the year. The winter solstice, known as Dirnalat, is the final day of the calendar year, when Crotan is farthest from the sun's light, and this is often the coldest day of the year. The summer zenith is known as Hallacar, and it marks the precise middle of the calendar year. These two days are celebrated almost universally across the world, though they may have different names. On the Crotani Calendar, Dirnalat and Hallacar have six months of 28 days each between them. This regular cycle is only broken once every sixth year (known as a bright year), when Hallacar is celebrated for second day before the month of Ainor is allowed to begin. This tradition of the bright year exists to prevent seasons drifting, and to keep the solstice celebrations coinciding with the solstice itself.

The Crotani Calendar numbers its years since the last epoch of a new era. What defines an era is somewhat arbitrary, meaning that an era might last a few centuries, or it might not last even one. The era that a year belongs to is denoted before the year's number by an 'E' preceded immediately by the era's number. For example, the year 3E 134 would be the 134th year of the Third Era of recorded history. To record historical events prior to the establishment of this particular calendar, the year numbers are counted backward, and denoted with a 'BC' prior to the year number. The above example of '3E 134' would indicate the 134th year since the declaration of the Third Era, while 'BC 134' indicates 134 years before the establishment of the official Crotani Calendar. That First Era began during the reign of King Cyre I of Crotan, who established the Crotani Calendar.

Other Calendars
Although most records are kept by the Crotani calendar, it is worth noting that many other methods of time-keeping exist in the world of Vantowyn, and other calendars were used in various places in the world throughout history.

Draconic Calendar
The most distinctive calendar other than the Crotani calendar is the one used by the isolated nation of Ak-Arra. This Draconic Calendar as its name is often translated, is divided into 7 months, each in honor of one of the seven Progenitor Dragons of Ak-Arran mythology. Days are tracked in much the same way as the Crotani calendar, with the passing of Dakovar indicating the end of one day and the beginning of the next. This calendar features seven months. Each with 48 regular days, except for the months of Sharithi and Gulluthi, which typically have 49. This means that on a standard year, the calendar has the same 338 days as the Crotani Calendar. The typically year-marking celebrations of Dirnalat and Hallacar are celebrated in the Ak-Arran tradition as Myrakur and Skaragur, which occur within the months of Sharithi and Gulluthi, respectively. Every sixth year, the month of Sharithi or Gulluthi receives an extra day, for a total of 50. Which month receives the extra day alternates every six years, to prevent seasonal drift. Additionally, the month of Mithi alternates its occurrence every year. It either appears between the months of Koparithi and Gronthi, or between the months of Radrathi and Blarathi. Most places outside of Ak-Arra find this calendar to be confusing and archaic.