Layan
Apprentice copyist at a local observatory. She wants to carry the record with the caravan and go home. Her first copy leaves out where the witness stood, so she keeps that copy and signs the correction.
The Crescent Record, ch. 1–2
The world
People, observatories and the sky they count by
Each entry names the book or chapter it comes from. Anything that gives away later events stays closed until you open it.
Bayan, “Face of the Moon”
Keeper of the market board. She compares the slips copied from the observatory, and her question about the witness’s position sends Layan back to check the market copy.
The Crescent Record, ch. 2–3
The observatories
Four roles share the work. The month observer watches for the crescent, the mansion observer places the Moon against the stars, the light keeper tracks illumination, and the clock calibrator checks the instrument against both. Readings that disagree are kept in the record.
Lunariq Canon Reference
The lunar calendar
Twelve true lunar months, each of 29 or 30 days, counted from the first attested crescent after sunset.
Lunariq Canon Reference
The Celestial Clock
The great instrument of the later books.
Spoiler for books 21–23. Open to read.
In Imran’s era the clock measures signals from the heavens and conditions along the routes. Its double beat can reach a portable device. Celestial motion and route openings are beyond its control. See vol. 21 ch. 3, vol. 22 ch. 21 and vol. 23 ch. 13.
The Whisperers, books 21–23
Months and mansions are two different counts
12
lunar months of 29 or 30 days
A month begins after sunset on the evening the new crescent is attested. A year runs about 354–355 days, so the months drift through the seasons.
28
lunar mansions against the stars
A mansion is where the Moon stands among the stars, on a cycle of about 27.32 days. The same mansion can fall on different dates in successive months.
Source: Lunariq Canon Reference, “Calendar and mansions”.
Timeline of the one world and its division
This section opens as each entry is verified against the books. The Crescent Record is set late in the age of one human world, before the division.
The Whisperers · الهامسون
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