Measure By Auroras
The way Fairies track calendar years vs. the way Anti-Fairies do: A small but interesting detail in my 'fic headers.
What is an Aurora?
An aurora is a 5,000-year unit of measurement in Fae culture. It's named after the Aurora Fairyalis from "When L.O.S.E.R.S. Attack." Wanda claims it prevents magic usage on Earth for 28 weeks. No frequency of this event was confirmed, so I opted for 5,000 years.
The Fae age slowly, with 11,250 years as the rough parallel for 1 human year (In regards to average lifespan and the rate at which the magical societies progress through generation aesthetics; for example, I designed teen Poof and his dorm to fit with Fairy World in its 70s era).
How Are Auroras Used?
Auroras help people define time periods. They mark age differences in ways less dramatic than a full generation.
Ex: In Anti-Fairy society, the year you were born determines which element on the Fae zodiac you fall under. In polite society, you should defer to those of the more dominant zodiac. This affects social situations, ceremonies, and even which role you can take in a sexual relationship with another individual. - In the Frayed Knots chapter "House of Cards," Anti-Cosmo was embarrassed to explain to his long-time friend that he would rather play a submissive role than a dominant one (and Anti-Lance was shocked to hear him admit this).
Auroras separate age groups. It's because of the aurora measurement that an adult won't defer to a young child in social situations, even if the child was born in the dominant zodiac year. In this case, the child would defer to the adult because they're older.
The aurora division is less useful between adults and children (where age difference is clear), but commonly brought up when groups of adults wish to determine which of them is older. Age may determine who is first in line for a promotion, who in a large extended family receives the most inheritance, who organizes a meal, or so on.
Where Do Fairy and Anti-Fairy Society Differ?
Fairy World has existed for a long time. In fact, Fairy World is the proper name for the entire cloudland colony... that is, not only Fairy World itself, but also Anti-Fairy World and Pixie World.
- Anti-Fairy World split off from Fairy World during the War of the Sunset Divide. Before this point, there was no Anti-Fairy World and the aesthetics for both landscapes were consistent across the cloudlands. All races could come and go across the land as they wished. That is to say, the skies were uniformly violet and the clouds puffy and bright. - Pixie World is a micronation surrounded by Fairy World on all sides. - H.P. was two years old when Anti-Fairy World became a recognized society.
A wide-held belief among Fairies is that Fairy and Anti-Fairy counterparts were once united beings, but were forcibly split generations ago; they're now born separately, but are linked with a magical connection.
The Aos Sí are said to be the ancestors of Fairies, and it's believed their bodies split apart to become Fairies, Anti-Fairies, and Refracts (as recorded by one of the only surviving texts from this time period: a hotly debated book of poetry called Rhoswen's Journal that perhaps shouldn't be taken literally).
- "That Was Then" is a Rhoswen-centric one-shot featuring snippets from his journal.
The last of the Aos Sí was an individual named Kahnii the Thoughtful. Year 0 in the Fairy calendar is set approximately 40 million years pre-series and supposedly marks the year Kahnii split into separate counterparts, thus bringing an end to the Aos Sí race.
The Anti-Kahnii went on to marry Anti-Shylinda: a very important figure for Anti-Fairies and a major character in "That Was Then."
- Art post of Kahnii - Anti-Wanda is a direct descent of Anti-Shylinda; she's listed on the Anti-Fairywinkle family tree - Anti-Shylinda took the family name Anti-Coppertalon. You may recognize this surname as belonging to the High Count before Anti-Cosmo: Anti-Bryndin Anti-Coppertalon. -> Anti-Wanda would have been heir to the High Countess seat if Anti-Bryndin's elder half-brother (the Anti-Big Daddy) hadn't been nudged out of inheritance due to being born without colored eyes (A blessing from the nature spirits).
Anti-Fairies, however, do not particularly care for Anti-Kahnii's supposed Splitting date. In fact, Anti-Fairies widely follow the Zodii belief system, which doesn't believe in Splitting at all; instead, it's thought that Anti-Fairies are creatures of smoke who magically link themselves to those they care about. After all, Anti-Fairies are born smoke clouds, and how can Fairies argue with that?
Anti-Fairies count auroras from the time the War of the Sunset ended (and Anti-Fairy World began). Aurora 0 in the Anti-Fairy calendar is Aurora 7868 in the Fairy calendar.
I use dates in the headers of my FOP fanfics, especially the 130 Prompts. Many works take place in the early 2000s, so an aurora date isn't specified; the year is given instead.
Some works do contain aurora dates, and whether that date is given in the Fairy or the Anti-Fairy calendar is dependent on the main character of that 'fic.
Examples
Fairy Calendar:
- "Hate That I Love You" - H.P.'s dad POV - Aurora 7868 - "Watch and Learn" - Goldie POV - Aurora 8047 - "All I Ever Wanted" - Poof POV - Aurora 8049
Accurately, "All I Ever Wanted" takes place 10,000 years after "Watch and Learn"... 2 auroras later.
Anti-Fairy Calendar:
- "Gentlemanly" - Anti-Wanda POV - Aurora 131 - "Temptation" - Anti-Marigold POV - Aurora 176 (Despite taking place the evening of "Watch and Learn") - "Approval" - Foop POV - Aurora 177 (Takes place 5,000 years - or 1 aurora - after "Temptation" and before "All I Ever Wanted")
While it's a small and easy-to-miss detail, I do think it's a neat part of my worldbuilding that emphasizes the Anti-Fairies seeing themselves as separate from Fairies and opting for a calendar that aligns with their people's significant events.
As the War of the Sunset Divide wrapped up, Anti-Fairies were chased out of Fairy World and into several different regions that became the newly formed Anti-Fairy World. Some were cut off from their families in the process.
Ex: Anti-Cosmo's grandmother (Anti-Miranda) was separated from her Fairy partner, Lucas Rainwings. Other individuals lost track of their families during the chaos.
The conclusion of war not only marks the beginning of Anti-Fairy World, but major shifts in their government... including the creation of a government in the first place. Prior the war, the Blue Castle was a home of scholars (akin to an abbey or monastery). It became a government building after the war, with young Anti-Bryndin raised as a prince beneath his mother, Anti-Ember.
Really, it's no wonder the Anti-Fairies like using their own calendar to reference the start of their organized society.
Side Note: H.P.'s generation and older are very convinced that the worlds literally split apart during the war (i.e. that the skies changed color and their "ground" environments changed as well, giving the Anti-Fairies a realm better suited to hunting animals than farming and vice versa for Fairies). Cosmo and Wanda come from a generation divided on the topic. Poof and Foop grew up in a generation that's very skeptical the skies split, and the generations after them tend to wave the notion of a splitting sky away as complete rumor.
Related:
FOP Episode Timeline Post
130 Summaries
The Fae Wars
7 Billion Years in 15,000 Words
Fae Cosmology
Cloudland Belief Systems
Anti-Fairy Class Overview