On the issue of measuring time

[Forty Winks]

I've been curious lately as to how Zalanthans keep track of time? How might a merchant know what hour it is so he's able to make it to a meeting on time? Also, what would be a term used for Zalanthans to denote an hour? Besides looking up at the sun and dictating how much of the day is left, that is.

[Rhyden]

The positions of the sun and moons.

[Anonymous]

I imagine that they do it like someone in our time would who is outdoors and doesn't have a watch.  Look up at the sun's position and guess.

The differences between dawn, early morning, late morning and high sun would probably be pretty noticeable not only by the sun's position but also by how hot it was.

[Revelations]

So no hour glasses?  :roll:  What if there was a storm out, or if it was during the night?

[Bogre]

Then you don't know for sure.

[LauraMars]

There was a point in my life where I had to stay outside for long periods of time, because of my work.  I don't wear a watch, and before too long, I was able to tell the hour just by the "feeling," and the sun, and the routine, if that makes sense.

I'd assume that for Zalanthans, who have no digital wristwatches and whose lives are so dependant on the elements, telling time would be very much a mental thing.  The "feeling" would be even stronger, and it would be almost like an internal wristwatch.  I'd wager that just like oral tradition and memory strengthens when illiteracy abounds, internal time-telling becomes second nature when there is no external means to do so.  Is this a logical assumption?  It's something I've been wondering about as well.

[Dalmeth]

I work outside quite a good deal, and there are telltale signs of the relative time of day.  Humidity, air temperature, the placement of shadows relative to familiar objects, the exact color of the light from the sun, and, of course, the position of the sun.  Not only that, but after a while, you can gain a pretty good guess of how much time has passed.  At night, regular contstellations or stars are applicable.  There are plenty of external stimuli that can be used to keep time.  It may not be good for arranging a precise daily schedule, but that isn't really necessary in Zalanthas.

One thing you have to realize about Zalanthan time keeping is that exact timekeeping isn't really necessary by 90% of the population.  Seriously, when have any of your characters needed to know the exact hour?  All my character needs to know is when the sun comes up and when it is about to go down.

[jstorrie]

I can see Zalanthans having some concept of 'hour', although they may or may not be able to tell exactly which hour of the day it is. I don't think they have any idea of minutes or seconds, though, which is why I never >say Just a minute, Lord Templar.