Sylia, the Dark & Light Saint

Welcome back, dear reader. Long ago, there was a time when Sylia had been bewildered by this world's peculiar system. She had only just arrived in physical form within this Sub-Realm, and it took her some time to adapt to the society of Nagasmar. She succeeded thanks to the allies she met along the way.

One of the most perplexing aspects was its system of timekeeping.

Although people in this world do use clocks and standard hours, just as you do in your world, the way society functions isn't always based around numbers on a dial. In Nagasmar Kingdom, much of public life, especially for Commoners, revolves around the ringing of Ceremonial Bells.

These Bells ring twelve times a day at regular intervals, every two hours, and are deeply woven into the social and religious fabric of daily life. They're not used for precise scheduling but instead serve as general markers that guide routine. They tell people when markets open, when schools dismiss, when to pray, when city gates close, and so on.

For Commoners, guild workers, and Church staff, this system offers a reliable and easily understood structure. Most people don't walk around with watches or worry about whether it's exactly 3:15 PM. Instead, they know that after the Sixth Bell, schoolchildren will be pouring into the streets, or that after the Ninth Bell, an unlicensed merchant might not be able to pass through the City Gate. The Bells offer shared cues for collective behavior, particularly in cities where the sound carries widely.

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Nobles, higher Gentry, scholars, and state officials, on the other hand, typically rely on more precise timekeeping through clocks, hourglasses, or written schedules. But even they will refer to certain events or expectations using Bell-based terminology, because it remains the common language of public order. A Noble might schedule a private meeting "between the Fifth and Sixth Bell," not because they lack a clock, but because it aligns with how daily life flows for the people around them.

It's important to understand that the Bell system is not mystical or symbolic for most people. It's a practical structure reinforced by Churches, City Halls, and sometimes main Guild Towers that ring the Bells at set times. This shared rhythm brings order to large, stratified populations that might not otherwise share a common frame of reference, especially in cities with high class divides, where a Noble's day looks very different from a Commoner's.

So when a scene mentions a Bell, say, someone being stopped at the Gates after the Ninth Bell, it doesn't mean time is being measured differently in this world. It just means society has chosen a different way of structuring public life around sound, ritual, and collective expectation rather than digital precision.