Appendix
Units of Time
Time is measured somewhat arbitrarily in the world of Ereas, a result of the distinct lack of timekeeping devices. Much was lost in the cataclysm that befell humankind in the days prior to the Before, and the only increments which survived were those set by the laws of nature. Citizens of the Empire use the following standards for measuring time.
1. Breath – The shortest unit of timekeeping, a breath represents the amount of time it takes for a person to exhale.
2. Whisper – A whisper generally represents the time it would take to tell someone a substantial secret.
3. Prayer – A prayer is the longest unit of arbitrary timekeeping, and originated with ancient religious rites worshipping the Divines in the early days of the Empire, which only lasted the same rough amount of time.
4. Day – One of the only concepts of timekeeping to have survived the fall of humankind, a day represents the full cycle of day and night.
5. Span – A span is seven days, and is based on the lunar cycles.
6. Cycle – A cycle is four spans, or the time it takes for the moon to complete one cycle.
7. Sojourn – A sojourn is roughly thirteen cycles, or the time it takes for Ereas to complete one rotation around the sun. Units of Distance
Distance, like time, is measured arbitrarily in some cases, and more precisely in other cases, but most Imperial interests use but the one unit for almost everything.
1. Finger-width – The smallest unit for measuring distance, a finger-width represents precisely what it sounds like, the width of an average adult's finger.
2. Pace – The single most common unit of measurement, a pace is described as the distance it takes a fully grown adult to stride two steps. Most measurements can be calculated using paces, or as fractions and multiples of paces.
Units of Weight
There's surprisingly little need for using measures of weight in the Empire of Exeter, and as such, a single measurement is used for everything.
1. Stone – This unit of measurement is the universal method for weighing objects, and was adapted from the early merchant classes in the Before, who would use baskets full of stones that could fit in the palm of the hand as the basis for setting prices on goods. An average adult male would be said to weigh approximately 150 stone.
Bloodfire (The Sojourns of Rebirth) Page 49
