Dwarven Timekeeping
by Bruce Heard The dwarves use a totally different
way of measuring time. The biggest difference between them and most
of the creatures living on the surface of Mystara is that the
dwarves, to put it simply, don't. The majority of surface-dwellers,
as can be expected, refer to the skies, the course of the sun and
the moon, and the seasons as their main point of reference in time.
Dwarves couldn't care less. Instead, they rely on a system specific
to the dwarves and the gnomes to a certain degree. The dwarves
often treat these "silly lights in the sky" with derision which
earns them amused smiles from the elves.
One of the more reassuring sounds for a dwarf is the regular beat
of the hammer on an anvil. It is a soothing sound that any dwarf
worth its salt has loved to listen to and fall asleep with the
comforting feel that all is right and orderly. Thousands of years
later, it has become part of the dwarven racial memory and rare is
the dwarf unable to get the traditional dwarven beat just right.
Equally tranquillising is the breathing of the bellows which
reminds of a mother's breath. To the dwarves, the sound of the
bellows is the breath of Urt, Mother Earth, and they the progeny in
her protective womb. From a distance underground, the beat of the
hammer on the anvil echoes through the rock as the great heartbeat
of Urt.
So, the basic unit of time measurement in Rockhome is the simple
hammer beat, which lasts a second. The dwarves ca recognise the
double and triple beat, when two or three workers toil on the same
anvil. The beats come in a quick succession, followed with a short
pause. In effect a double beat lasts half a second, while the pause
lasts another second. The triple beat lasts a third of a second
followed with a second- long pause.
The breath of a common bellows lasts three seconds. After
exhaling, the bellows pauses for a second and then inhales for
another three seconds and another pause. The Great Bellows used for
clan forges have a slow breath that rumbles on for 10 seconds.
Generally, the Great Bellows will inhale for 10 seconds, pause for
a second, and then exhale for another 10 seconds. The Great Bellows
then remains quiet for three minutes. Dwarves and gnomes can feel
these vibrations through the rock, which keeps their natural clock
running without making a conscious effort. As a result, outdoors
life needs a time of adaptation for dwarves which can be a jarring
experience.
Triple Beat: 1/3 of second
Double Beat: 1/2 of a second
Simple Beat: 1 second
Simple Pause: 1 second
Small Breath: 3 seconds
Great Breath: 9 seconds
Great Pause: 3 minutes
(or 20 Great Breaths, 60 Small Breaths, or 180 Simple Beats)
Longer periods are measured according to time it takes to work on a
forge. To bring an iron rod to a red hot temperature requires 5
Great Pauses. To work it into steel requires sixteen "Rods". Four
"Steels" make a "Shift" after which working dwarves have some free
time to take care of their own business and rest. Two "Shifts" make
a "Link", basically a dwarf's day.
Rod: 15 minutes (or 5 Great Pauses)
Steel: 4 hours (or 16 Rods)
Shift: 16 hours (or 4 Steels)
Link: 32 hours (or 2 Shifts)
Chain: a dwarven week (or 7 Links, or 9.33 human days)
Gate: a human's month (or 21 Links, or 3 Chains)
Barbican: a human's year (or 252 Links, or 36 Chains)
Citadel: a human's century
Don't forget a Mystaran year lasts 336 days. Dwarves use a calendar
of seven-dwarven-day weeks and twelve months. The lengths of time
used, however, are different. Of course, this is non-canon material
simply because the Dwarves of Rockhome Gazetteer does make it clear
that the dwarven calendar is based upon the standard Known World's
human calendar. On the other hand, the switch is fairly easy since,
luckily, few of the official Dwarven festivals have a date that
goes above the 21st of the month -- which works with the above
system. One that does need to be changed is the Cleric's Forum
happening on Yarthmont 21-27, from a human's perspective. The real
Dwarven dates should become Styrlin 17- 21.