Something tells me that I might need to reopen that Wiki (It’s still in the same directory if you remember it) to collect the notes I need to show to people.  The first of which involve the calendar Maatla uses, which is starkly different form the Julian Calendar we know.

The year number starts from the birth of Donnovan, an important religious figure, 2058 years before Eric’s not-so-grand entrance. The months are taken from Maatlan’s version of the Chinese Zodiac:

Spring: Rat, Dragon, Monkey

Summer: Ox, Bear, Rooster

Fall: Tiger, Horse, Dog

Winter: Rabbit, Sheep, Pig

Months are 28 days each, broken down into four weeks of seven days, with days noted by the seven elements known in Maatla: Sunday, Moonday, Earthday, Fireday, Airday, Waterday, and Spiritday. Spiritdays, like Sundays on Earth, are considered a day of worship and rest, and most businesses do not operate at that day. Some businesses and most schools do not operate on Sunday as well.

Holidays differ from country to country, but nearly all countries celebrate Rat 1; the first day of each year. It is the designated birthday of Donnovan, and is usually called Advent. It is similar to your Yuletime holidays, such as Christmas or Hanukah.

 

More such tips will come up as they are needed.  If you’d like, you can help out by calling out whatever questions needed answering in the story.  I’ll do my best to answer each one as they come up.