The day in Erde does not dawn; it springs. At precisely the same time each day, the sky explodes in solid light like a light bulb being turned on. The light starts at its peak, the sky gleaming a rich robin’s egg blue. The sky slowly pales and blackens as the day wanes, only to be born again the next day. For this reason, the inhabitants of Erde do not know the word “dawn” or “sunrise”; rather, they say “dayspring” or “daybreak.”

Because Erde lacks celestial bodies by which to gauge time, time of day is judged by the color of the sky. In everyday usage, most time is based on relevance and rough estimates; exact time is rarely used. When accuracy is needed, some cultures use a device colored with the shades of the light, such as a painted board or string of beads, to hold to the sky and compare. Other regions prefer devices such as hourglasses; these devices are also used for measuring time during the night. Still other cultures study natural objects that react to the time of day.

The variety of devices prevents a unified measurement of time. No standard “hour” or “minute” exists in Erde. Some cultures divide the day into even segments based on their devices. Others prefer to measure the time until darkness; for example, the Volk often cite “so many paths to darkness,” a folklore reference to how many paths (a distance measurement) the average man could walk before it was too black to see. On the rare occasions that a universal time needs to be established between cultures, the most common method is to use a standardized hourglass and schedule times at “so many turns of the hourglass from daybreak.”

Despite the variance, however, all units of time are interchangeable by comparing them to the length of day. Because the light is indirect and the earth does not spin or rotate, length of day is consistent across Erde and throughout the year, with daybreak occurring at the same precise time. There is no need for time zones. [In terms of our-world time, each day lasts approximately twelve hours while the night lasts eight.]

Because there is no change of season or solar/lunar phases, the day is the only standard unit by which to track time—there is no “week,” “month,” or “year” in Erde. Counting days is tedious and old records use number systems long forgotten; as a result, most of history remains untimed. For most cultures in the present day, counting days is impractical, even discouraged. Instead, the timetable of life is judged by the cycle of plants and animals, and plans are rarely made more than a few days in advance.

Because most cultures do not keep a precise track of time, the average person does not measure how “old” he is, although some families will keep a record of generations. “Birthdays” and “anniversaries” are not celebrated, and adulthood is judged by physical appearance and maturity according to local custom. Most people rely on their appearance to estimate how old they are and how long they have left to live. The few who do track their precise age in days are usually viewed as obsessive and demented.

The unique days and lack of time-keeping in general must seem very unusual to Carter, since he comes from a world that is always moving and where every second is counted.

Ooh, 'twould be fun to have a book entitled Dayspring or Daybreak set in the world. . . The dayspring sound so pretty! Very imaginative and clearly thought out precisely.

It should be fun to write. In my partial drafts I have a conversation between Carter and Arc (a Volk teen) about daybreak. 'Tis fun.

Oh! Thanks for the great idea, Elly! If I write more books in the series (you didn't hear that from me), I'll need more titles, so... In the aforementioned conversation between Carter and Arc, one of them does make a comment on the poetic quality of the word.

I love this, and how it spiders out into the traditions and cultures, etc. Your worldbuilding inspires me.
That said...I think Vadra will still have a very similar way of measuring time to ours. Although I've had a few ideas on how to change it up... *is re-inspired to think about those ideas*

Thanks so much, Wolfie! I'm very happy to hear it inspires you. I can't wait to see what you come up with!