Current Verdurian Year?

[BGMan]

What is the current year in Verduria?

Also, does the current year advance in real time like our own world or is it frozen (like in Fox Trot or Calvin and Hobbes)?

[zompist]

It's 3480... specifically we've gotten to 17 olashu, the date of the last Lord of News extract.

It's frozen except when there's a good reason not to be, which there hasn't been for years. The D&D group actually started in late 3479 and got to 3482, if I recall correctly.

I could advance the current date if I were writing stories set in the present... but as it happens most of the stories I want to write occur in previous times. (Even the Abend stories I want to write would mostly cover the Corona years.)

I used to envision writing about the upcoming Dhekhnami war, but it seems too Tolkienian. Writing about Revaudo Xurno is more interesting.

But who knows, someday I may decide to advance history 400 years at once and see what's happened.

[Zerrakhi]

It's 3480... specifically we've gotten to 17 olashu, the date of the last Lord of News extract.

On a closely related topic, you never answered the question I asked ages ago on the Almeopedia (specifically, on the Almea talk page) about the Verdurian calendar (at the time, I was planning to write the Verdurian calendar article).

To repeat the question, the Grammar of Verdurian makes the following assertions:

every fifth year, except those divisible by 300, has a leap-day, the kasten

every century or two, the First Patriarch declares an extra kasten

So what's the point of losing kasten via the rule about years divisible by 300, if the Patriarch puts them back at about twice that frequency?

Numerical example: Suppose, in a 600 year period, there are 120 kasten, minus two (via the 300 year rule), plus four (added by Patriarch), for a grand total of 122. The 300 year rule serves no apparent purpose except to double the amount of work the Patriarch has to do.

[zompist]

Calendar rules can be strange, but I agree, not that strange. I think I'll just change that 300 to a 30.

(So to update your example, in a 600 year period, start with 120 kasteni, subtract 20 due to the 30-year rule, leaving 100; the patriarch adds back 4 or 5.)

[BGMan]

It's 3480... specifically we've gotten to 17 olashu, the date of the last Lord of News extract.

It's frozen except when there's a good reason not to be, which there hasn't been for years. The D&D group actually started in late 3479 and got to 3482, if I recall correctly.

I could advance the current date if I were writing stories set in the present... but as it happens most of the stories I want to write occur in previous times. (Even the Abend stories I want to write would mostly cover the Corona years.)

I used to envision writing about the upcoming Dhekhnami war, but it seems too Tolkienian. Writing about Revaudo Xurno is more interesting.

Tolkienian? I more expected you to say "Harry Turtledove-ian", but I still think it would be interesting. I haven't seen your stuff about Xurno, though...

But who knows, someday I may decide to advance history 400 years at once and see what's happened.

By that time, I expect the ZOF would be a non-issue with steamship travel and the rest. Then we might have things like Verdurian-speaking ex-colonies in Lebiscuri or convict colonies in Curym or Palthuknen (which seems to extend quite a bit further south than Greenland). This would be especially true if some crop from the Northern Hemisphere caused a population explosion in Erelae like the potato did in Northern Europe.

Hmm... you know, there's a board that I frequent that you might find interesting...
http://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/

[Mornche Geddick]

I used to envision writing about the upcoming Dhekhnami war, but it seems too Tolkienian. Writing about Revaudo Xurno is more interesting.

I envision the Verdurians secretly arming Sarnean and Monkhayic rebels in exchange for intelligence, and when the war actually arrived, en masse defections of Sarnean and Monkhayic conscript troops to the Verdurian side. The battle for Middle Earth would have been very different if the Numenoreans could have persuaded the orcs or the Haradrim to fight for them instead of Sauron.

But I'd love to know about Xurno. Bring on A Diary of the Prose Wars, please!

[Raphael]

and when the war actually arrived, en masse defections of Sarnean and Monkhayic conscript troops to the Verdurian side.

I'm not sure- would the Dekhnami actually conscript their lowest subjects and give them arms?

[brandrinn]

I'm not sure- would the Dekhnami actually conscript their lowest subjects and give them arms?

From what I understand, that's exactly how they operate. The lesser partners in the empire have an incentive to go out and conquer other regions so they wont be on the bottom anymore. Ktuvoks don't do any fighting, and the Demoshi probably do precious little as well.

As for the Verdurian future, I'd be interested to see how it pans out, given the differences between Verduria and Renaissance Europe. Eretald is more unitary than Europe, having one dominant city and only three or four kingdoms worth mentioning. I see the Verduria-Kebreni rivalry dying as soon as industrial development trumps maritime grasp (around 1800-1900 in our world) to be replaced by a Verduria-Erenat rivalry, since that seems to be the next big center of urbanization and industry. The key invention seems to be the steam engine. Is Verduria on the verge of inventing such a device?

[Yiuel Raumbesrairc]

Almea's future is far more promising in stories than a mere quarrel between Eretald powers. As far as I understand Almea, the "Europeanesque" part of the world also includes Xengiman and Skouras, though the cultural relations are far different than thre relations European kingdoms had. I would imagine Cheiy, Xurno or some Tej to go out of Erelae as well and found colonies. Perhaps a fourth Gurdagor Empire. Indeed, as far as we can see, the next crisis is Dekhnam which will probably stop colonisation.

I also imagine what will happen with Almean anthropodiversity (my creation). Flora and the Flaids are described in the Almeopedia as being a maritime power, I wonder if they will actually found any colony, which would expand flaidish culture (What would the feminist Be culture would answer to Flaidish more or less egalitarism... ). What would the Ilii answer to a Uestru present-day-like civilisation... And a lot more.

I would indeed like to read the Diary of the Prose War. It would give us a completely different view of Almea. And I think a lot are also waiting for the Arcel historical atlas.