Khora is the world.

Sun and Moons

The sun is yellow.

Khora has two moons: Aros and Nyth. Aros is the nearer, large and bright, and is full once a month. Nyth is smaller and dimmer and is full about every two months. The two together make a slow tide on top of the daily one, and tides run high when they align.

The Night Sky

On open water, the sky is crowded. Stars stand thick from one horizon to the other.

A broad pale band crosses the whole sky. In one quarter it swells into a great dome of light, and it narrows and dims toward the opposite horizon. Dark channels cut through the bright part and break it into patches.

The dome stays in the same place among the stars, so it rises and sets with them, and the hour it is highest moves through the year. It is up at night in the same months everywhere on Khora, and north of the equator those months fall in the dry season in the tropics and in winter in the temperate lands. In those months the dome is above the horizon for most of the night, and on a moonless night at sea the band alone casts a shadow. Half a year later it crosses by day, so only the narrow end of the band is visible at night, and in the tropics cloud hides much of the band during the rains.

A second light stands well apart from the band. It is an oval wider than a hand held at arm's length, with a bright core and paler arms curving away from it, and it stays the same shape from one year to the next.

Cities take this view away. Magical light on the streets and galleries leaves the sky nearly blank overhead, and villages do the same on a smaller scale.

Sailors know the sky. Ashore, most people know the moons and a few bright stars.

The Calendar

The calendar uses both Aros and the sun. Aros has set the 12-month calendar, adjusted to a solar year of about 365 days. Years are counted from the start of the Record. The current year is past 1,800.

Seasons

Seasons depend on how far north or south you are. The tropics have a wet season and a dry season. The temperate lands have four seasons: spring, summer, autumn, and winter. The far north and far south have long, cold winters.

Where People Live

People live on the coasts and a little bit inland, only as far as The Garrisons can protect. The interior is full of monsters, so travel, trade, and news all go by water.