Galactic Standard time gives the worlds and interstellar civilizations of Hex a common measure of elapsed time. One Cycle contains ten Phases, each Phase ten Spans, and each Span ten millicycles: 100 Spans and 1,000 mils per Cycle. Phases serve as month-like intervals and Spans as week-like intervals. Local calendars follow planetary days, seasons and eras while remaining convertible to the same shared chronology.

Interstellar records express ages, lifespans, service terms and long historical durations in Cycles. Planetary records give both Cycles and local years, identifying the local calendar. Veyrath follows the Baraldic Imperial Calendar and six-hour shifts; ships and stations commonly organize their watches in mils. Immediate action is measured in Turns of approximately six seconds.

Veyrath: The Baraldic Imperial Calendar

The Baraldic Imperial Calendar was inherited from the Arvessan Empire and remains in use among its successor states. Its era, AB, means Anno Baraldi and counts years from the Baraldi Dynasty’s accession to power. The railway campaign takes place in 1287 AB, roughly two centuries after the Empire’s dissolution.

Days and Shifts

A local day lasts 24 hours, with 3,600 seconds to the hour. Veyrath’s campaign day is divided into four fixed shifts of six hours each.

Weeks, Months, and Years

The five weekdays are Aurel, Vardon, Mercan, Selen, and Domar, in that order. Each month contains five complete weeks: 25 days. The ten months, in order, are Primar, Secundar, Tertiar, Quartar, Quintar, Sextar, Septar, Octar, Novar, and Decar. One Veyrathian year contains exactly 250 local days: 21,600,000 seconds, or approximately 0.684556 Cycle. One Cycle is 1.4608 Veyrathian years. There are no leap days or intercalary dates.

Every month begins on Aurel and ends on Domar. The same weekday grid applies to all ten months in every year.

A full written date gives the weekday, day of the month, month, year, and era: Vardon, 12 Septar 1287 AB.

Moons and Lunar Phases

Veyrath has two moons, Lethra and Namar. Their phase cycles are measured from one matching phase to the next as seen from the planet. Calendar calculations use the following mean cycles and reference new moons, continuing across month and year boundaries without resetting.

Lethra is the larger, nearer moon. Its mean phase cycle matches the civil month: new moon falls at 0000 on the first day, and full moon at noon on the thirteenth. The civil calendar keeps its fixed dates independently of observation.

Namar is smaller and substantially farther away, following an elliptical orbit that varies its distance and apparent speed. Its mean full moon occurs 45 days after new moon; the first following the reference is at 0000 on 23 Secundar 1287 AB. A 250-day year shifts Namar’s phase by 70 days within its 90-day cycle, so its phases return to the same civil dates after nine local years (approximately 6.16 Cycles).

These mean phase calculations provide a practical calendar. Exact moonrise, eclipse alignments, and tides also depend on orbital geometry and location. Namar’s changing speed introduces variation around its mean cycle; local tide tables must also account for Lethra, Vaerun, and coastal geography.

Seasons

The mean seasonal year is 250 local days (approximately 0.684556 Cycle), divided into four quarters of 62.5 days. The equinoxes and solstices fall on the following annual reference dates. Seasons are reversed between the northern and southern hemispheres.

Regional weather follows local geography. Wet and dry seasons, snowfall, storms, and growing seasons vary with latitude, elevation, and surrounding land and sea; equatorial regions need not experience four temperate seasons. Sunrise and sunset likewise depend on location.

Worship and Regional Observances

Aurel is the principal weekly day of worship in Aurethian and Asharanic communities, with Mass held at local sunset. It also begins the working week and is not a general day of rest.

Annual regional observances include the Opening of the Eastern Gate in Ilyriaz and Vaelorin’s founding-voyage commemoration. Their dates are not fixed in the calendar. Cerathene’s observances and ceremonies include the First Felling, Crown Day, Remembrance of the Lost, the Royal Circuit, River Oaths, and the Gathering of Estates; their schedules belong to the regional tradition. These observances apply to their respective communities, and no date is assigned where one has not been established.

Galactic Standard Time

Galactic Standard time is maintained by shielded U-232 chronometers called Chronocores. Its principal unit, the Cycle, is exactly 31,553,280 seconds, independent of any planetary orbit. Each of its ten Phases, also called Tenths, contains ten Spans or 100 mils. Each Span contains ten mils. A standard shipboard watch lasts one mil.

Reading Stardates

A compact stardate uses Cycle.PSM, with exactly three digits after the point. P identifies the Phase within the Cycle, S the Span within that Phase, and M the mil within that Span. Each digit runs from 0 through 9. Stardate 13477.925 means Cycle 13477, Phase 9, Span 2, Mil 5. The three digits together give mil 925 of the Cycle. Any finer time measurement is recorded separately.

Phase 0 covers mils 000–099 and Phase 9 covers mils 900–999. Each Phase contains Spans 0–9, and each Span contains mils 0–9. Stardate 482.350 means Cycle 482, Phase 3, Span 5, Mil 0: the start of Span 5, halfway through Phase 3. The sequence advances from 482.359 to 482.360, from 482.399 to 482.400, and from 482.999 to 483.000. The Wardens pay at Span 0, Mil 0 of every Phase, giving ten payments per Cycle spaced 100 mils apart.

Human and Erynari Crew Rhythm

Human and Erynari crews commonly organize life aboard ships and other offworld installations around a five-mil routine repeated twice within each ten-mil Span. Each mil lasts 8.7648 standard hours. A complete Span lasts 87.648 standard hours and contains four sleep periods. The mil labels within a Span run from 0 through 9:

This rhythm is customary among such crews. Individual communities and campaigns may follow other schedules; Veyrath uses its local calendar and six-hour shifts.

Campaign Dates and Calendar Synchronization

The railway campaign’s reference moment is recorded below in three systems. Each entry identifies the same instant.

Earth’s Gregorian calendar has twelve months and a continuous seven-day week. A year divisible by four is a leap year, except a century year unless it is also divisible by four hundred. A common Earth year of 365 days is approximately 0.999452 Cycle; a leap year of 366 days is approximately 1.002191 Cycles. Earth dates use AD.

Use the reference moment to convert date labels between calendars; an era year number cannot be multiplied directly into a stardate. Elapsed durations are converted through their lengths in seconds. For example, 20 Cycles equal approximately 29.2 Veyrathian years or 24.2 Kelmar years, while 20 Veyrathian years equal approximately 13.7 Cycles. Advancing one galactic mil advances every calendar by 31,553.28 seconds. Each local date changes at its own midnight. Establishing the correspondence between date labels does not itself advance time.