The Twelve, The Calendar, and The Dusty Tomes (I'm Sorry.)

[Anonymoose]

I'm reading those pesky Dusty Tomes again, and I think something has gone horribly, horribly wrong on the text organization end. Before I begin, I can see that it's all based on the elemental wheel - so let's dig that gem back out.

NOSTALGIAAAAAA
Seen here, the elemental "wheel" rotates from ice (polar umbral) clockwise back unto itself.

Pretty much everything in the game is based on this down to crystal drops (6 shards of a defeated mob's main element and 3 from each that neighbors it on the wheel). Therefore, it's no shock that Eorzea's measurements of time would follow this as well.

But... somewhere along the line the whole thing just CRUMBLES as far as what the Dusty Tomes are trying to communicate to me.

Possible outcomes:

• I'll look foolish because I overlooked an obvious solution.
• There is a lot of editing in your future (I'm sorry.)
• This'll all get shipped off to the Dev Gods to sort out and they'll have to choose between hating me forever or realizing that future generations of Eorzeans will have time measurements that make sense and line up with the lore and be so happy that they build a statue of me somewhere (preferably in Limsa Lominsa).

BUT I DIGRESS.

Chapter 1 - The Suns
By the unit of a sole Sun we mean that period which lasts for the duration of four cycles of the six elemental hours - those of Ice, Water, Wind, Lightning, Fire, and Earth. And so is the sun twenty hours and four, and so shall it ever be.

Got it: Hours come in blocks of six. 00:00 until 1:00 is Ice up until 05:00 to 6:00 is Earth, and then we repeat that four times to get a sun (a day).

(Question Block #1)
We see a lot of Astral/Umbral later on - so are two cycles astral and two umbral? Do they alternate? For that matter, do astral and umbral even exist as they once did? Banish used to be the three astral elements and scourge used to be the three umbrals but now they're all just "Neutral."

On top of this, the month progression and element tome seem to indicate that EVERY element has an astral and umbral side - is it 3 and 3, or everything was polarized in both ways all along? Both? @.@

Chapter 2 - The Moons
The life of a single Moon spans four cycles of eight Suns, and is thus the sum of thirty and two. The eight deriveth from the elements six, Ice, Water, Wind, Lightning, Fire, and Earth, and the polarities two, Astral and Umbral.

So, eight days a week, starting with Iceday on the 1st, 9th, 17th, and 25th and rotating clockwise through the other 7. Gotcha!

(Question Block #2)
I tend to notice things like busting a lot of lightning synths on earthsday and having way more of my spells resisted on Garuda on windsday. Is this what the book is trying to say or am I the victim of confirmation bias?

If there's something to his, back to the Astral Umbral thing - are Fire Lightning and Wind powered up on the 7th day but to a lesser degree than they would be on their respective days earlier in the week? Why would the tomes tell me what element is associated with every 2 minute 55 second period of a sun but leave out this nugget of relevance?

Chapter 3 - The Years
The Year is made when the Moon goeth round the two Astral and Umbral poles, fluctuating between the six elements, and that in turn. (????)

In this, the Year can be said to be the length of twelve Moons. The first and second Moons of the Year are the first astral and first Umbral, and together they share affinity with Ice. etc. et. etc.

We've got the same elemental clockwise rotation from Ice, but now we get an astral and an umbral of each. If Astral is still associated with 3 and umbral still with 3, what's going on here? Consider that a secondary question, though, because here's where it all starts falling apart for me with a simple crack in the ice (pun intended): The character creation process associates The Twelve with these months, and we do start in with ice and go clockwise, and we do see the positive forces with astral and the negative with umbral... except for that first one. Why would the fury be astral and the lover umbral?

Chapter 4 - Of Man
The wisdom of the Twelve saw fit to grant man with the cycle of years, and in turn the reverence of man bound them to his gods - the Year of the Navigator, of the Wanderer, of the Builder, of the Destroyer, of the Warden, of the Traders, of the Matron, of the Keeper, of the Fury, of the Lover, of the Scholar, and of the Spinner. The turning of these Years twelve is a sacred thing, and together they comprise one epoch of man, by which the histories of his endeavor are measured.

Why are the twelve listed in a totally different order than their months were? So far everything has gone in order, starting at polar ice and going clockwise. What's up? Was this just a translation thing - or do the years of an Epoch really stand upon 4 tiers of matching progressions and decide to totally ignore it?

Chapter 5 - Of Gods
The constancy and eternity of time derive from the pulse and breath of the Twelve. And by their divine will the brilliance of the Astral Eras which see man flourish and prosper, and the shadows of the Umbral Eras which see man falter and doubt, are visited upon him in equal, and neither the greatest good nor the greatest evil may escape their purview. Since the peace among the Twelve was broken and life was created to wage their wars, six cycles of the Eras have come to pass in keeping with the elemental order. The Sixth Umbral Era belonged to the waters, as heavy rains fell and the seas rose high, submerging and cleansing all in a great deluge. With time the waters receded, ushering in the present Sixth Astral Era, during which man has again rebuilt his halls and tilled his lands. Naught save the ken of the Twelve themselves knoweth when the Seventh Umbral Era shall come and end our days. The sole certainty what resides within man is the selfsame as it has ever been - ours is the power to make of our Era what we might.

And finally, in the last chapter, the Umbral eras now come before astrals? I'd hate to think that all long it was the FIFTH umbral era that ended, ushering in the SIXTH astral - because that would really throw a crimp in the Seventh Umbral Era storyline, wouldn't it?

Let's assume they really do go the opposite way after 5 tiers of the opposite. The lore says the Spoken started their existence in an umbral era? You'd think that would have prevented us from getting off the ground...

And even though we're "in keeping with elemental order" the sixth is water? This whole thing seems in shambles to me, at this point. Help me out!

If not for me, than for all the lore loving Eorzeans who will have consistent Dusty Tomes and time measurements to appreciate on the page I've already blown WAAAAY to much time on.