LETHAO PLANETARY ATTRIBUTES
Lethao orbits a G-type star, that is sightly smaller than Earth's sun. The orbit of Lethao around its sun is tighter than that of Earth taking only 240 Earth days
per revolution. Lethao, itself, is larger than Earth and rotates more slowly. Each revolution lasts approximately 96 Earth hours.
The axis of the planet relative to a perpendicular line on the ecliptic is 6.876 degrees, only about
1/4 of Earths axis angle. This means that Seasons on Lethao are far more subtle and that polar ice caps are larger and quite stable. Coupled with the long rotational cycle, this creates a daily weather pattern
that is quite regular, at sunrise, the day is cool and humid with tapering precipitation. By high sun, temperature begins to increase rapidly and cloud cover and humidity decrease rapidly. By sunset, temperatures are high, especially by Earth standards
and strong winds begin. Clouds form rapidly approximately three Earth hours after sunset and rapidly grow to thunder cells. Rain, wind, lightning and thunder continue for 32 to 48 Earth hours thereafter during the dark night hours beginning to let up
after sunrise.
Lethao has one, large rocky satellite in a tidally locked orbit with an orbital period of approximately 22 days and lunar phase cycle of approximately 32 days. Lethao's moon is called 'Hejac' and creates dramatic equatorial tides as it orbits.
HISTORY AND Description OF THE LETHAO ALMANAC
The Lethao almanac (or calendar) was completed on Earth date October 12, 1317 BCE, by Shadra Brelec, a hermetic devotee in residence at the Melat monastery. She was one of several key historical figures that catalyzed a period of Lethao history
similar to the Renaissance and Enlightenment of Earth.
Brelec believed that rational or scientific principles needed to have as much place in understanding one's orientation in the world as principles of faith and magic. In many ways, she saw the
Almanac as the intersection of all her study and work, which covered many areas of discipline, including astronomy, archaeology, anthropology, physiology and sociology, as well as the first rational attempts to understand magic and theology.
Brelec
wanted to be sure that the calendar would include all dates relevant to the history of Aonise kind. She chose a date that corresponds to Earth date February 15 17381 BCE-- a date 16,000 Earth years before her own time. She had been a key figure in
discovering and learning how to date ancient remains of Aonise people and civilizations. The earliest finds she was able to discover were only 4,000 Earth years prior to her time. Using information she had collected about the way ancient remains degrade
and about the probability of finding remains going further back in time, she created a formula that suggested finding any trace of Aonise kind earlier than 17381 BCE (Earth time), would be virtually impossible. Thus she chose this date as the beginning Epoch for
the almanac.
The almanac contains four major categories of information, namely the cycles (obasna) that mark the date, the staves (oami) that mark time of day, the popular segments (duiebriz) which mark the sleep cycles, and the orbs (payain) that mark lunar phase and
position of the terminator and dark side of the planet. A bar at the top of the almanac contains the date values. A bar at the bottom of the calendar contains the time values.
OAMA: THE STAVES
The Lacria word 'oami' means
staff. This is the name given to the four sets of horizontal rules that mark the time of the Lethao day. These appear below the cycles, in the center of the almanac. Each of the four sets of staves mark a particular unit of time throughout the cycle of the day,
beginning with the 'ut' which is almost exactly one Earth second, and ending with the 'thetro' which is one Lethao day.
OTECLU: THE QUINTET (25 ut or 5 ti)
The Lacria word 'teclu' means
quintet. The quintet is a single staff with five slots. Each slot marks the passage of 5 ut, or 1 ti (almost exactly five Earth seconds), thus the full cycle of the quintet lasts for 25 ut or 5 ti (25 Earth seconds). Each completed cycle of the quintet causes
the lower staff in the tetrad to advance one step. When reciting the time of day, the quintet value is usually omitted and is also omitted in the large time of day display at the bottom of the almanac.
OGECLU: THE TETRAD (64 quintets)
The Lacria word 'geclu' means
tetrad. The tetrad contains three staves, each with four slots. Each slot in the bottom staff marks the passing of 1 quintet, 5 ti, or 25 ut, thus the full cycle of the bottom stave in the tetrad is 4 quintets (100 Earth seconds or 1 minute and 40 seconds Earth time). The complete cycle of the bottom staff in the tetrad causes the middle staff in the tetrad to advance one step. Thus, each step in the middle staff of the tetrad marks 4 quintets, and the full cycle of the middle staff lasts for 16 quintets (400 Earth seconds or 6.667 Earth minutes). The complete cycle of the middle staff in the tetrad causes the top staff in the tetrad to advance one step. Thus, each slot in the top staff of the tetrad marks the passage of 16 quintets, and the full cycle of the top staff lasts for 64 quintets (1600 Earth seconds or 26.667 Earth minutes). The complete cycle of the top staff in the tetrad marks one completed tetrad, and causes the lower staff in the triad to advance one step. When reciting the time of day, the value of the tetrad is read as a sequence of three numbers. Each of the three numbers will always be a value between 1 and 4.
OKECLU: THE TRIAD (27 tetrads)
The triad contains three staves, each with three slots. Each slot in the bottom staff marks the passing of 1 tetrad, thus the full cycle of the bottom stave in the triad is 3 tetrads (4800 Earth seconds, 80 Earth minutes, or 1 hour and 40 minutes Earth time). The complete cycle of
the bottom staff in the triad causes the middle staff in the triad to advance one step. Thus, each step in the middle staff of the triad marks 3 tetrads, and the full cycle of the middle staff lasts for 9 tetrads (14,400 Earth seconds, 240 Earth minutes or 4 Earth hours). The complete cycle of the middle staff in the tetrad causes the top staff in the tetrad to advance one step. Thus, each slot in the top staff of the tetrad marks the passage of 9 tetrads, and the full cycle of the top staff lasts for 27 tetrads (43,200 Earth seconds, 720 Earth minutes or 12 Earth hours). The complete cycle of the top staff in the triad marks one completed triad, and causes the octet to advance one step. When reciting the time of day, the value of the triad is read as a sequence of three numbers. Each of the three numbers will always be a value between 1 and 3.
OVECLU: THE OCTET (8 triads or 1 Lethao day)
The Lacria word 'veclu' means
octet. The octet is a single staff with eight slots. Each slot marks the passage of 27 triads (12 Earth hours), thus the full cycle of the octet lasts for 216 triads, or 1 Lethao day (96 Earth hours). Each completed cycle of the octet causes
the three rings in the year cycle to advance one step each. When reciting the time of day, the octet value is one number between 1 and 8. Thus, the full time of day, when recited follows the order octet, then triad, then tetrad with quintet omitted. This is the format seen
in large numerals at the bottom of the almanac.
OPAYA: THE ORBS
The Lacria word 'payain' means
orb or
sphere. This is the name given to the two circular displays on either side of the staves. The left orb marks the 32 stages of the Lethao moon. The right orb marks the movement of the terminator and dark side of Lethao at the
current time of day. Both of these orbs give their information relative to the position of the Melat monastery on the northern hemisphere of Lethao, which Shadra Brelac used similarly to the way humans use Greenwich, England as a reference. The small 'm' in the right orb
represents this location from a bird's eye view of the north pole of Lethao.
ODUIEBRA: THE POPULAR SEGMENTS
The Lacria word 'duiebriz' means
group. This is the name given to the three eye-like rectangular glyphs that move up and down, above and below the octet staff. Each glyph represents one of three equal segments of the population, and prescribes the wake and sleep cycles for each segment.
When a given glyph is above the octet, with an open eye, that popular group is in their waking hours. When it is below the octet with eye shut, that segment of the population is in their sleeping hours. There are always two segments of the population in the waking hours of their sleep
cycle at any given time. There are three popular segments, namely the Tegar, the Yagar, and the Pac. These are represented by the eye-like glyphs in the almanac from left to right, respectively. Assignment into one of these three popular segments is determined by which day of the Lethao
week one is born on. Anyone born on Naci, the first day of the Lethao week is a member of Tegar. Those born on Zot are members of Yagar, and any born on Sicrac are members of Pac. There are no status-related or social register oriented meanings to these popular segments. Rather, they are simply conventions for organizing and balancing the working population of Lethao. Each segment experiences 4 complete iterations of the wake-sleep cycle throughout the Lethao day.
OTHETRO: THE LETHAO DAY (1 octet, or 8 triads)
The Lacria word 'thetro' means
rotation. The Lethao day or 'thetro', is 1 octet, or 8 triads in length (96 Earth hours). The Lethao day is the most basic unit of the Lethao year cycle or 'osube.' There are 60 Lethao days, or 'thetra' in the Lethao year.
OBASNA: THE CYCLES
The Lacria word 'basnoth' means
cycle. This is the name given to the three sets of three interfacing rings that mark the date cycles. These appear at the top of the almanac. The set on the right marks the Lacria days of the Lacria year. The center set marks the Lacria years of the Lacria life cycle. The left set marks the Lacria life cycles of the Lacria epoch. In each set of rings, the outermost and innermost rings are marked with a series of Lacria consonants. The medial rings in each set are marked with a series of Lacria vowels. All three rings in a given set rotate one step
each time a unit passes. The consonant-vowel-consonant combination forms the name of each unit in the set.
OSUBE: THE LETHAO YEAR CYCLE (60 Lethao days)
The Lacria word 'sube' means
revolution, or
orbit. The cycle that appears on the right side of the almanac marks the Lacria days in the Lacria year, or, in other words, the time of one revolution of Lethao around its sun. The completion of a Lethao day causes
each of the three rings in the year cycle to advance one step. The outer ring contains the consonant series 'g', 'b', 'c', 'd', and 'f.' The central ring contains the vowel series 'u','a', 'e', and 'o.' The inner ring contains the consonant series 'n', 's', and 'z.'
Thus, the first year in the cycle has the name 'gun,' the second year has the name 'bas,' the third year has the name 'cez,' and so on. This combination of 5 consonants, 4 vowels, and three consonants provides 60 (5 x 4 x 3 = 60) unique names-- one for each Lacria
day of the Lacria year. These days can also be referenced by the numbers 1 through 60.
OCEXAD: THE LETHAO WEEK: (3 Lethao days)
The consonant series on the inner ring of the Lacria year cycle are not arbitrary. The series of three consonants on the inner ring are the initial consonants of the three Lacria week day names, namely 'Naci, Zot', and 'Sicrac,' which are archaic Lacria words
roughly meaning
birth,
life, and
death respectively. Because each Lethao day is 96 Earth hours long, the Lethao week is 12 Earth days long even though it is only 3 Lethao days in length. The Lacria name for this period of time is 'cexad.' There are
20 Lethao weeks, or 'cexa' in one Lethao year.
OFEXAD: THE LETHAO WORK WEEK (5 Lethao days)
The series of five consonants on the outer ring of the year cycle are the initial consonants of the five Lacria long week, or business week day names, namely 'Gaberi, Bajac, Cahaic, Dacli,' and 'Fot,' which are Lacria words
roughly meaning
planning,
purchasing,
selling,
calculating profit, and
paying wages respectively. In Lethao history, these days were each reserved for the business activities corresponding to their names. However, in recent Lethao history, only the tradition of
distributing payroll on each Fot has been maintained. This period of 5 Lethao days, or the Lethao business week is called a 'fexad.' There are 12 Lethao business weeks, or 'fexa' in one Lethao year.
OBAREC: THE LETHAO QUARTER (15 Lethao days)
The outer ring and inner ring of the year cycle come into phase every 15 Lethao days. This happens 4 times throughout the Lethao year. This period of 15 Lethao days is called a 'barec' meaning roughly
double ring. Each of these four periods are referred to by number only as 'opebarec,
obebarec, okebarec' and 'ogebarec' meaning roughly
the first quarter,
the second quarter,
the third quarter and
the fourth quarter respectively. There are 4 quarters, or 'obara' in the Lethao year.
OTHENAPI: THE LIFE CYCLE (120 Lethao years)
The Lacria word 'thenapi' basically means
lifetime,
lifespan, or
life cycle. The cycle that appears in the center of the cycle sets at the top of the almanac is the life cycle or 'othenapi' and marks the Lethao years of the life cycle. Accordingly, the most basic
unit of the Life Cycle is the Lethao year, and the completion of one Lacria year cycle causes all the rings in the Life cycle to advance one step. The outer ring of the life cycle, contains the consonant series 'p', 'h', 'j', 'd', 'l', and 'm.' The central ring contains
the vowel series 'u','a', 'e', 'i', and 'o.' The inner ring contains the consonant series 'x', 'c', 'g', and 'j.' Thus, the first year in the cycle has the name 'pux,' the second year has the name 'hac,' the third year has the name 'jeg,' and so on. This combination of 6 consonants, 5
vowels, and 4 consonants provides 120 (6 x 5 x 4 = 120) unique names-- one for each Lacria year of the life cycle. These years can also be referenced by the numbers 1 through 120.
OTHOEKI: THE LIFE STAGE CYCLE (4 Lethao years)
The Lacria word 'thoeki' means
stage or
life stage. The consonant series on the inner most ring of the life cycle is not arbitrary. Rather, these four consonants are the initial consonants of the life stage names, which are 'xabro, cilai, gasauth,' and 'jobew,' meaning
potential, enterprise, benevolence, and
wisdom respectively. Because each step in the life cycle is one Lethao year, one life stage cycle lasts 4 Lethao years. Originally, this cycle was intended to represent a literal cycle of individual growth and philanthropy. In more recent history, it is considered more as a reminder of these stages, rather than a literal prescription of a cycle one must go through every four Lethao years. The life stage cycle completes 30 times per life cycle.
OMEISCO: THE VIRTUE CYCLE (6 Lethao years)
The Lacria word 'meisco' means
virtue. The serries of six consonants on the outer ring of the life cycle are the initial consonants of the six Lacria virtue names, namely 'ponani', 'hiewa', 'jahea', 'dur', 'lumam', and 'muaya' which are Lacria words
roughly meaning
humility, understanding, kindness, courage, work, and
generosity respectively. In Lethao history, these periods were used as points of moral focus throughout one's life. However, in recent Lethao history, they are considered only of reminders of the social virtues.
Each virtue cycle lasts 6 Lethao years, thus, each life cycle contains 20 virtue cycles.
OCECLO: THE GENERATION CYCLE (24 Lethao years)
The outer ring and inner ring of the life cycle come into phase every 24 Lethao years. This happens 5 times in a life cycle. This period of 24 Lethao years is called a 'ceclo' meaning roughly
generation. Each of these 5 periods is referred to by number only as 'opececlo,
obececlo, okececlo, ogececlo' and 'o ceclo' meaning roughly
the first generation,
the second generation,
the third generation,
the fourth generation,
the fifth generation and
the sixth generation respectively.
OSHA: THE EPOCH CYCLE (210 life cycles)
The Lacria word 'sha' basically means
epoch. The cycle that appears on the left of the cycle sets at the top of the almanac is the epoch cycle or 'osha' and marks the life cycles of the epoch. Accordingly, the most basic
unit of the epoch is the life cycle, and the completion of one life cycle causes all the rings in the epoch cycle to advance one step. The outer ring of the epoch cycle, contains the consonant series 'r', 's', 'sh', 't', 'th', 'v' and 'x.' The central ring contains
the vowel series 'a','e', 'i', 'o', 'u' and 'ao.' The inner ring contains the consonant series 'c', 'g', 'j', 'ng' and 'x.' Thus, the first life cycle in the epoch has the name 'rac,' the second life cycle has the name 'seg,' the third life cycle has the name 'shij,' and so on.
This combination of 7 consonants, 6 vowels, and 5 consonants provides 210 (7 x 6 x 5 = 210) unique names-- one for each life cycle of the epoch cycle. These life cycles can also be referenced by the numbers 1 through 210.
OEAPI: THE PERIOD (5 life cycles)
The Lacria word 'eapi' roughly means
period. The consonant series on the inner most ring of the epoch cycle contains five consonants that are the initial consonants of the period names, which are 'ciedew, gaz, jar, ngot,' and 'xaclanin,' roughly meaning
expectation, possibility, inquiry, execution and
achievement respectively. Because each step in the epoch cycle is one life cycle, one period lasts 5 life cycles. The period completes 42 times per epoch.
OTEGAUO: THE ERA (7 life cycles)
The Lacria word 'tegauo' roughly means
era. The serries of seven consonants on the outer ring of the era cycle are the initial consonants of the seven Lethao eras namely 'radrong, scepo, shotar, teto, thacra, vali' and 'xocrad,' roughly meaning
beginning, growth, conflict, unification, peace, passing down, and
end respectively. Each era lasts 7 life cycles, thus, each epoch cycle contains 30 era cycles.
OCLU: THE AGE (35 life cycles)
The outer ring and inner ring of the epoch cycle come into phase every 35 life cycles. This happens 6 times in an epoch cycle. This period of 35 life cycles is called a 'clu' meaning roughly
age. Each of these 6 periods is referred to by number only as 'opeclu,
obeclu, okeclu, ogecclu, o clu' and 'o ceclo' meaning roughly
the first age,
the second age,
the third age,
the fourth age,
the fifth age,
the sixth age and
the seventh age respectively.
UNITS OF TIME IN LACRIA VERNACULAR
1 ut ~ 1 Earth second
1 ti = 5 ut (5 Earth seconds)
1 teclu = 5 ti (25 Earth seconds)
1 geclu = 64 tecla (1600 Earth seconds or 26.667 Earth minutes)
1 keclu = 27 gecla (720 Earth minutes or 12 Earth hours)
1 veclu = 8 kecla (96 Earth hours)
1 thetro = 1 veclu or 1 revolution of Lethao (96 Earth hours, or 4 Earth days)
1 cexad = 3 thetra, or 1 inner ring rotation (12 Earth days)
1 fexad = 5 thetra, or 1 outer ring rotation (20 Earth days)
1 barec = 15 thetra, or 1 phase cycle of outer and inner rings (60 Earth days)
1 sube = 60 thetra, or 1 Revolution of Lethao, or 1 phase cycle of all three rings (240 Earth days, or 0.657 Earth years)
1 thoeki = 4 suba, or 1 inner ring cycle (960 Earth days. or 2.628 Earth years)
1 meisco = 6 suba, or 1 outer ring cycle (1440 Earth days, or 3.943 Earth years)
1 ceclo = 24 suba, or 1 phase cycle of outer and inner rings (15.770 Earth years)
1 thenapi = 120 suba, or one phase cycle of all three rings (78.850 Earth years)
1 eapi = 5 thenapa, or 1 inner ring cycle (394.250 Earth years)
1 tegauo = 7 thenapa, or 1 outer ring cycle (551.951 Earth years)
1 clu = 35 thenapa, or 1 phase cycle of outer and inner rings (2759.754 Earth years)
1 sha = 210 thenapa, or one phase cycle of all three rings (16558.522 Earth years)
UNITS OF TIME IN TERRAN VERNACULAR
1 ut ~ 1 Earth second
1 ti = 5 ut (5 Earth seconds)
1 quintet = 5 ti (25 Earth seconds)
1 tetrad = 64 quintets (1600 Earth seconds or 26.667 Earth minutes)
1 triad = 27 tetrads (720 Earth minutes or 12 Earth hours)
1 octet = 8 triads (96 Earth hours)
1 Lethao day = 1 octet or 1 revolution of Lethao (96 Earth hours, or 4 Earth days)
1 Lethao week = 3 Lethao days, or 1 inner ring rotation (12 Earth days)
1 Lethao business week = 5 Lethao days, or 1 outer ring rotation (20 Earth days)
1 Lethao quarter = 15 Lethao days, or 1 phase cycle of outer and inner rings (60 Earth days)
1 Lethao year = 60 Lethao days, or 1 Revolution of Lethao, or 1 phase cycle of all three rings (240 Earth days, or 0.657 Earth years)
1 life stage cycle = 4 Lethao years, or 1 inner ring cycle (960 Earth days. or 2.628 Earth years)
1 virtue cycle = 6 Lethao years, or 1 outer ring cycle (1440 Earth days, or 3.943 Earth years)
1 generation = 24 Lethao years, or 1 phase cycle of outer and inner rings (15.770 Earth years)
1 life cycle = 120 Lethao years, or one phase cycle of all three rings (78.850 Earth years)
1 period = 5 life cycles, or 1 inner ring cycle (394.250 Earth years)
1 era = 7 life cycles, or 1 outer ring cycle (551.951 Earth years)
1 age = 35 life cycles, or 1 phase cycle of outer and inner rings (2759.754 Earth years)
1 epoch = 210 life cycles, or one phase cycle of all three rings (16558.522 Earth years)
