Supplementary Chapter II

The Tide Calendar of Astheria and The Auroral Cycle

Compiled by Order of the Celestial Academy's Department of Temporal Studies and Lunar Synchronics

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To the Initiates Seeking to Grasp Astherian Time,

In other realms, time drips like a candle—steady, linear, predictable. But here, in our skybound realm of Astheria, time flows.

An excerpt from the First Codices of the Skyborn Archives, from the records of Elyndra, Skyborn historian reads:

"When the first Mortal envoys crossed into Astheria, they brought their rigid sun-marked hours and days. Yet here, time is a river, not a wheel. Mortals found themselves disoriented, believing that mere "hours" passed, when in truth, dozens of Spirals, Flows and Crests had slipped by in silence. Their pulses quickened, and their minds seemed to "lag" behind the breathing Aether. We had to explain gently: in Astheria, the Chronaether governs, not by a mere single star, like in their realm called Sun.

Thus the Chronaether Cycle remained immutable: not chained to a singular celestial body, but to the living, breathing tides of existence itself. Mortals often perceived "delays," "rushes," or strange "drowsiness" because their senses strained to catch up to Astheria's flowing tempo. The longer a Mortal remains, the more their spirit "resynchronizes" with the breath of the Aether, though it is said they never truly perceive it as the Skyborn, us, do.

"Time is not a master here," I said, "it is a companion you must learn to dance beside.""

We do not mark time by rigid solar turns or mere rotations, true. Instead, in the Auroral Cycle, we observe Tides—celestially resonant periods influenced by the dance of our three moons: Vael (The Silent Moon), Molun (The Watching Moon), and Cireth (The Blazing Moon).

These moons shape not just sky currents and weather, but also emotion, magic, and memory. Each Tide is a phase of reality's temperament since each is influenced by celestial alignments, aetheric turbulence, and the drifting of its governing moon. The duration of each Tide can expand or contract slightly, and this means some Auroral Cycles (years) may last 280 Spirals, others 320, or more; hence, Astheria does not have a fixed number of days in an Auroral Cycle.

(Refer to The Chronaether Cycle by Archivist Maeril Vosk, Senior Aether-Cycle Keeper of the Skyward Cartographer's Guild for full breakdown of Chronaether Cycle and its difference from Auroral.)

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I. The Nine Tides of the Auroral Cycle

Each Cycle in Astheria contains 9 primary Tides, each named and attuned to a moon's aspect. A Tide may last 30–39 days, fluctuating based on celestial conditions.

[TIDE NUMBER] [TIDE NAME]

[ASSOCIATION/MAGICAL INFLUENCE] 

[NOTES/COMMON EVENTS]

[DOMINANT MOON]

[MOONDRIFT ALIGNMENT]

1 Birthtide

Rebirth, light, navigation 

Start of the year

Vael

Vael's Call

2 Zephyrtide

Wind, youth, sky movement

Airships are traditionally launched

Molun

Molun's Sail

3 Embertide

Heat, war, fire

Volcanic and passion-linked events

Cireth

Cireth's Return

4 Selentide

Moon, memory, hidden currents

Whispering flows are strongest

Vael

Vael's Sail, occasional clash with Cireth or Molun

5 Glaretide

Sun, judgement, clarity 

Time of trials and law

Molun

Molun's Return

6 Viretide

Storms, unrest, change

Surge storms are most frequent

Cireth

Cireth's Call

7 Umbraltide

Shadows, silence, decay

Time of endings and preparation

Vael

Vael's Return

8 Lunirtide

Duality, mirrors, transformations

Great for enchantments and prophecy

Molun

Molun's Call, occasional clash with Vael

9 Echoetide

Reflections, time echoes, closure

End of year

Cireth

Cireth's Sail, occasional clash with Molun and Vael

When a particular Moon is sailing, it is drifting away from Astheria; returns when it is drifting towards; calling when it's in its zenith or ascendant arc, exerting strong influence on celestial magic and aetheric tides. Sometimes clashes happens when two or all moons are dominant at once, their gravitational and magical influence overlaps, creating resonance or interference.

(Refer to Lunar Dominance Events in Astheria for full breakdown of these clashes)

II. Divisions Within a Tide: Tidephases

Tidephases are a subdivision of a Tide, marking shifts in celestial mood or localized sky current behavior. It is often divided into 3 segments (sometimes it can be up to 5), called:

Firstlight

Seconding (infrequent)

Midflow

Withering (infrequent)

Lastglint

So, a date marked as "2nd Selentide" would correspond to Seconding of Selentide, a time known for peak navigational clarity, although this Tidephase doesn't happen often.

Tidephases are akin to what Mortals call "week". They also indirectly affect the duration of a Tide; Tide is like a musical movement, and Tidephases are the tempo changes within it. If a Tidephase stretches unusually long (say, a slow resonance storm holds over an island), it can expand the overall Tide.

Think of it like a Tide as a moon-governed chapter while a Tidephase is a "mood" within that chapter.

III. Conversion to Mortal Calendars

Because of temporal distortion between realms, translation into mortal dates is imprecise, unless when basing on the Chronaether Cycle, in which:

140 Spirals (akin to "hour") = 1 hour in mortal time

Note: Aside from varying duration of Tides, time slips may occur, hence no relevant translation could be made when using Auroral Cycle. 

IV. Notations for Skylogs

When noting a date in general official Guild documents, you can use this simplified structure:

[Tidephase] [Tide Name], Cycle [Year]

Examples:

"Midflow Selentide, Cycle 1719"

"Withering Birthtide, Cycle 1720"

"Firstlight Echoetide, Cycle 1721"

Some skyfarers use poetic or encrypted substitutions, but we do not recommend this for formal records, which follows the structure:

[Tidephase] [Tide Name], Cycle [Year] — [Flow], [Crest], [Current], [Passage], [Chronaether Cycle]

Note: If it simply says Cycle, it follows the Auroral Cycle. If not well-versed, DO NOT USE CHRONAETHER CYCLE; use the simplified structure.

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Closing Notes:

To master the sky, one must first master its rhythm. The moons do not orbit—they weave, and in that weave lies the truth of Astherian time in the Auroral Cycle.

You are now ready to read the stars not just as points of light, but as temporal notes in a grand celestial symphony.

Next, we suggest you turn to Principles of Aetherglass Mechanics & Application.

—Chronal Mentor Elire Kinthan, Temporal Harmonist of the Celestial Academy