So far the novel has covered over 4,500 years :Plol
1. “The love of men is a frigid thing, a mountain stream only three steps from the ice. We are his. Oh Stormfather…we are his. It is but a thousand days, and the Everstorm comes.”—Collected on the first day of the week Palah of the month Shash of the year 1171, thirty-one seconds before death. Subject was a darkeyed pregnant woman of middle years. The child did not survive.You're assuming that the whole series has to take place before the Everstorm comes.
1000 days doesn't seem like enough time for the series to take place in, given the bit we have so far. I'm also a bit confused here, are the years 500 days? (5 days a week, 10 weeks a month, 10 months a year) And is a day in this series the same length as a day in our world? Should we be multiplying their ages by 1.37 to get their age in our years?
“Above the final void I hang, friends behind, friends before. The feast I must drink clings to their faces, and the words I must speak spark in my mind. The old oaths will be spoken anew.”—Dated Betabanan, 1173, 45 seconds pre-death. Subject: a lighteyed child of five years. Diction improved remarkably when giving sample.
Map of the Battle of the Tower, drawn and labeled by Navani Kholin, circa 1173.There's one of our few vague/if solid dates.
| Year | World Events | Szeth | Kaladin | yBP | Kaladin's Age | Szeth's Age |
| (3332*) | Heralds resign | --- | --- | 4,505* | --- | --- |
| 1138 | --- | Szeth born | --- | 35 | --- | --- |
| 1154 | --- | --- | Kaladin born | 19 | --- | 16 |
| 1156 | --- | --- | Tien born | 17 | 2 | 18 |
| 1166 | --- | Szeth becomes Truthless | --- | 7 | 12 | 28 |
| 1167 | Gavilar comissions maps | --- | --- | 6 | 13 | 29 |
| 1168 | Gavilar dies | Szeth kills Gavilar | Kaladin & Tien conscripted | 5 | 14 | 30 |
| 1171 | First death visionrecorded | --- | --- | 2 | 17 | 33 |
| 1173 | Battleof the Tower | Szeth owned by Took | Kaladin leaves Amaram's army, arrives at Shattered plains 8 months later | 0 | 19 | 35 |
What does yBP stand for?Sorry -- archaeology shorthand. "years before present"
If I recall... age is measured in terms of number of Weepings experienced (survived?), not by birth date.
Do we know when in the year Weepings fall?
I'm tempted to answer things like how many hours in the day, how long those hours are compared to our hours, how many minutes to the hour, etc. But I think I'll hold off a few months (or years...) and see what you can come up with just from the book.
But I will say that the "XX years later/ago" chapter timestamps in the book are only accurate to half a year. (Except for the eight months one.)
Also, "ago" is a moving target based on the timeline of the surrounding chapters.
Here's an editable table I made:What I coukld find:
https://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0Al9mpDUN_8rSdGZIcU1DbFJ1amRLb2l6UVZwRWtEQ3c&hl=en&authkey=CPyvzssM
I still like the idea of 1173 being "the present", and with age measured in Weepings it seems to work out.
According to the table, Kaladin experienced a Weeping between leaving Amaram's army and arriving in the Shattered Plains. Does anything in the text support this?
Right before Kaladin suggests to the bridgemen that what else they could try is escape, he is tlaking with Syl, and ready to give up since "He Can't save them." he finds a stone, and remembers Tien, and talks how he recognized what was happening, how he always felt mdespair take him duing the weeks of the Weeping. This is only a hint, or it could have some other meaning, or none at all. Most likely it depresses him because there are no highstorms, and he has always probably gained something from those.
I did think it was quite interesting that Weepings had a distinct effect (or at least appeared to) to Kaladin's mood. The highstorms not being around could be the reason, since he draws his power from there, but I also think he might have a higher tie to the Almighty. Dalinar and Kaladin could have some very interesting coversations, and might find that they are both connected to the Almighty. I can't wait to see what the next book presents us.
1= Jes
2= Nan
3= Chach
4= Vev
5= Palah
6= Shash
7= Betab
8= Kak
9= Tanat
10= Ishi
I think the dates in the years would be more readable here if we converted them to just numbers 1-500 to correspond to the sequential day of the year. So it would be (month's #-1)*50 + (week #-1)*5 + (day #). I'll put the some examples in parentheses. Edit 2: I'll grudgingly add Peter's method of dates in, since he's an authority on the series. Also, since there's no math involved I'm less likely to mess it up.
1. “The love of men is a frigid thing, a mountain stream only three steps from the ice. We are his. Oh Stormfather…we are his. It is but a thousand days, and the Everstorm comes.”—Collected on the first day of the week Palah of the month Shash of the year 1171, thirty-one seconds before death. Subject was a darkeyed pregnant woman of middle years. The child did not survive. (271) [6-5-1]
2. “You’ve killed me. Bastards, you’ve killed me! While the sun is still hot, I die!”—Collected on the fifth day of the week Chach of the month Betab of the year 1171, ten seconds before death. Subject was a darkeyed soldier thirty-one years of age. Sample is considered questionable. (315) [7-3-5]
3.“Ten orders. We were loved, once. Why have you forsaken us, Almighty! Shard of my soul, where have you gone?”—Collected on the second day of Kakash, year 1171, five seconds before death. Subject was a lighteyed woman in her third decade. (377) [8-6-2]
4.“A man stood on a cliffside and watched his homeland fall into dust. The waters surged beneath, so far beneath. And he heard a child crying. They were his own tears.”—Collected on the 4th of Tanates, year 1171, thirty seconds before death. Subject was a cobbler of some renown. (404) [9-1-4]
5.“I’m dying, aren’t I? Healer, why do you take my blood? Who is that beside you, with his head of lines? I can see a distant sun, dark and cold, shining in a black sky.”—Collected on the 3rd of Jesnan, 1172, 11 seconds pre-death. Subject was a Reshi chull trainer. Sample is of particular note. (8) [1-2-3]
6.“I have seen the end, and have heard it named. The Night of Sorrows, the True Desolation. The Everstorm.”—Collected on the 1st of Nanes, 1172, 15 seconds pre-death. Subject was a darkeyed youth of unknown origin. (51) [2-1-1]
7.“I’m cold. Mother, I’m cold. Mother? Why can I still hear the rain? Will it stop?”—Collected on Vevishes, 1172, 32 seconds pre-death. Subject was a lighteyed female child, approximately six years old. (196) [4-10-1]
8.“They are aflame. They burn. They bring the darkness when they come, and so all you can see is that their skin is aflame. Burn, burn, burn….”—Collected on Palahishev, 1172, 21 seconds pre-death. Subject was a baker’s apprentice. (249) [5-10-4]
9.“Victory! We stand atop the mount! We scatter them before us! Their homes become our dens, their lands are now our farms! And they shall burn, as we once did, in a place that is hollow and forlorn.”—Collected on Ishashan, 1172, 18 seconds pre-death. Subject was a lighteyed spinster of the eighth dahn. (477) [10-6-2]
10.“Ten people, with Shardblades alight, standing before a wall of black and white and red.”—Collected: Jesachev, 1173, 12 seconds pre-death. Subject: one of our own ardents, overheard during his last moments. (14) [1-3-4]
11.“Three of sixteen ruled, but now the Broken One reigns.”—Collected: Chachanan, 1173, 84 seconds pre-death. Subject: a cutpurse with the wasting sickness, of partial Iriali descent. (107) [3-2-2]
13.“I’m standing over the body of a brother. I’m weeping. Is that his blood or mine? What have we done?”—Dated Vevanev, 1173, 107 seconds pre-death. Subject: an out-of-work Veden sailor. (159) [4-2-4]
14.“He must pick it up, the fallen title! The tower, the crown, and the spear!”—Dated Vevahach, 1173, 8 seconds pre-death. Subject: a prostitute. Back ground unknown. (173) [4-5-3]
15.“The burdens of nine become mine. Why must I carry the madness of them all? Oh, Almighty, release me.”—Dated Palaheses, 1173, unknown seconds pre-death. Subject: a wealthy lighteyes. Sample collected secondhand. (201) [5-1-1]
16.“A woman sits and scratches out her own eyes. Daughter of kings and winds, the vandal.”—Dated Palahevan, 1173, 73 seconds pre-death. Subject: a beggar of some renown, known for his elegant songs. (217) [5-4-2]
17.“Light grows so distant. The storm never stops. I am broken, and all around me have died. I weep for the end of all things. He has won. Oh, he has beaten us.”—Dated Palahakev, 1173, 16 seconds pre-death. Subject: a Thaylen sailor. (239) [5-8-4]
18.“I hold the suckling child in my hands, a knife at his throat, and know that all who live wish me to let the blade slip. Spill its blood upon the ground, over my hands, and with it gain us further breath to draw.”—Dated Shashanan, 1173, 23 seconds pre-death. Subject: a darkeyed youth of sixteen years. Sample is of particular note. (257) [6-2-2]
(19)“And all the world was shattered!” Maps yelled, back arching, eyes wide, flecks of red spittle on his cheeks. “The rocks trembled with their steps, and the stones reached toward the heavens. We die! We die!” (No Date)
20.“ReShephir, the Midnight Mother, giving birth to abominations with her essence so dark, so terrible, so consuming. She is here! She watches me die!”—Dated Shashabev, 1173, 8 seconds pre-death. Subject: a darkeyed dock-worker in his forties, father of three. (284) [6-7-4]
21.“Above the final void I hang, friends behind, friends before. The feast I must drink clings to their faces, and the words I must speak spark in my mind. The old oaths will be spoken anew.”—Dated Betabanan, 1173, 45 seconds pre-death. Subject: a lighteyed child of five years. Diction improved remarkably when giving sample.(307) [7-2-2]
22.“The death is my life, the strength becomes my weakness, the journey has ended.”—Dated Betabanes, 1173, 95 seconds pre-death. Subject: a scholar of some minor renown. Sample collected secondhand. Considered questionable.(306) [7-2-1]
23.“In the storm I awaken, falling, spinning, grieving.”—Dated Kakanev, 1173, 13 seconds pre-death. Subject was a city guardsman. (359) [8-2-4]
24.“The darkness becomes a palace. Let it rule! Let it rule!”—Kakevah 1173, 22 seconds pre-death. A darkeyed Selay man of unknown profession. (370) [8-4-5]
25.“I wish to sleep. I know now why you do what you do, and I hate you for it. I will not speak of the truths I see.”—Kakashah 1173, 142 seconds pre-death. A Shin sailor, left behind by his crew, reportedly for bringing them ill luck. Sample largely useless. (380) [8-6-5]
26.“They come from the pit, two dead men, a heart in their hands, and I know that I have seen true glory.”—Kakashah 1173, 13 seconds pre-death. A rickshaw puller. (380) [8-6-5]
27.“I see them. They are the rocks. They are the vengeful spirits. Eyes of red.”—Kakakes 1173, 8 seconds pre-death. A darkeyed young woman of fifteen. Subject was reportedly mentally unstable since childhood. (386) [8-8-1]
28.“That chanting, that singing, those rasping voices.”—Kaktach 1173, 16 seconds pre-death. A middle-aged potter. Reported seeing strange dreams during highstorms during the last two years. (393) [8-9-3]
29.“Let me no longer hurt! Let me no longer weep! Daigonarthis! The Black Fisher holds my sorrow and consumes it!”—Tanatesach 1173, 28 seconds pre-death. A darkeyed female street juggler. Note similarity to sample 1172-89. (403) [9-1-3]
30.“They named it the Final Desolation, but they lied. Our gods lied. Oh, how they lied. The Everstorm comes. I hear its whispers, see its stormwall, know its heart.”—Tanatanes 1173, 8 seconds pre-death. An Azish itinerant worker. Sample of particular note. (406) [9-2-1]
31.“All is withdrawn for me. I stand against the one who saved my life. I protect the one who killed my promises. I raise my hand. The storm responds.”—Tanatanev 1173, 18 seconds pre-death. A darkeyed mother of four in her sixty-second year. (409) [9-2-4]
I probably screwed at least 1 or 2 up, but I don't feel like double checking all 30. 21 is the only one we can be sure we see happening in the book, and oddly it's the only one out of chronological order compared to the rest of the death quotes. Edit 2: Fixed some wrong dates. 4-5, I think.
I write the dates as Month#-Week#-Day#, XX-XX-X where the two pairs are from 1 to 10 and the last number is from 1 to 5.Damn it, I'll have to edit the earlier post to show your way of doing it as well. On a side note, while I mostly understand the abbreviated dates now, where Tanat is used kinda screws me up. I imagine the system of abbreviating the dates would make even more sense if I studied over the Alethi script? (Which, sadly, I am too lazy to do.)
"We do not know why dome speak when others do not," Taravangian said. "But the dying see something. It began seven years ago, about the time when King Gavilar was investigating the Shattered Plains for the first time."
20 hours per day, and their hour is like a minute or two shorter than our hour.The earth's rotation isn't constant, its speed decreases very slowly over time, due to the moon's influence. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tidal_acceleration
This geological record is consistent with these conditions 620 million years ago: the day was 21.9±0.4 hours, and there were 13.1±0.1 synodic months/year and 400±7 solar days/year.
It doesn't matter if it's the same size, bigger, or smaller than Earth. If it takes 20 hours to rotate, then it has a 20 hour day.
Let's use Mars and Mercury as examples:
Mars has a 24.6229 hour day and is only has 11% of Earth's mass. Mercury has a 1407.5 hour day and has about the same mass as Mars. Mercury has nearly the same density of Earth. Mar's radius is 0.533 Earths, and Mercury's radius is 0.3829 Earths.
The mass only matters for gravity.
It doesn't matter if it's the same size, bigger, or smaller than Earth. If it takes 20 hours to rotate, then it has a 20 hour day.
Let's use Mars and Mercury as examples:
Mars has a 24.6229 hour day and is only has 11% of Earth's mass. Mercury has a 1407.5 hour day and has about the same mass as Mars. Mercury has nearly the same density of Earth. Mar's radius is 0.533 Earths, and Mercury's radius is 0.3829 Earths.
The mass only matters for gravity.