celebrations varying based on local traditions and popu-
lar faiths.
Midwinter. The' fir s t f estival day of the year is known
genera lly as Midwinte r, though s ome people name it
differently. Nobles a nd monarchs of the Heartlands look
to th e High Festival of Winter a s a day to commemo-
r ate or re new alliances. Commone rs in the North, the
Moonsea , and other, colde r climes celebrate Deadwinter
Day as a marking of th e midpoint of the cold season,
with ha rd times s till ahead, but some of the wors t
days now past.
Greengrass. T he traditiona l beginning of s pring,
Greengrass is celebrated by the dis pl ay of fr eshly cut
flowe rs (grown in s pecia l hothouses whe rever th e cli-
m ate doesn't permit flowe rs so early) that are give n as
gifts to the gods or spread among the fields in hopes of a
bountiful and s peedy growing season.
Midsummer. The midpoint of summe r is a day of
feasting, carous ing, be trotha ls , and bas king in the
pleasant weather. S torms on Midsummer night a re seen
as bad omens and signs of ill fortune , and s ometimes
interpreted as divin e disapproval of the roma nces or
ma rriages s parked by th e day's events.
Shieldmeet. The great holiday of the Calenda r of
Ha rptos , Shieldmeet occurs once eve ry four year s
immediately after Midsummer. It is a day for plain
s peaking and open council be tween rule rs and their
s ubjects, for the renewa l of pacts and contracts , a nd for
treaty m a king between peoples. Many tourname nts a nd
contests of s kill are held on S hi eldmeet , and mos t faiths
mark the holiday by emphasizing one of th eir key te nets.
The next S hi eldmeet will be observed in 1492 DR.
Highharvestide. A day of feasting a nd thanks, High-
ha rvestide marks the fall ha rvest. Mos t humans give
thanks to Chauntea on this day for a pl entiful bounty be-
fore winte r approaches. Many who make th eir living by
traveling roa d or sea set out imme diately following the
holiday, before winter comes on in full force and blocks
mounta in passes a nd harbors.
The Feast of the Moon. As nights lengthen a nd
winter winds begin to approach, the Fea s t of the Moon
is the time whe n people celebrate their ancestors and
their honored de ad. During fes tiva ls on this day, people
gathe r to share stories and legends, offer prayers for the
fallen , and prepare for th e coming cold.KEEPING TIME FROM DAY TO DAY
Most people don't keep track of the time of day beyond
notions such as "mid-morning" or "nigh sunset." If peo-
pl e plan to meet at a particular time, they tend to base
their arra ngements around s uch expressions.
The concept of hours and minutes exis ts ma inly
whe re we althy people use clocks , but mecha nical clocks
a re often unreliable, and rarely are two set to the same
time. If a local temple or civic structure has a clock that
tolls out th e passing of the hours, people refer to hours
as "bells ," as in "I'll meet you a t seven bells."THE SHIFTING OF THE SEASONS
The worlds of Abe ir a nd Tori! drifte d apart in 1487 and
1488 DR. In s ome places this change wa s accompa nie dTHE CALENDAR OF HARPTOS
Month
l2
3
4Name Common Name
H ammer Deepw inter
Annual Holiday: Midwinter
Alturiak The Claw of Winter
Ches The Claw of Sunsets
Tarsahk The Claw of Storms
Annual Holiday: Greengrass
5 Mirtul The Melting
6 Kythorn The Time of Flowers
7 Flamerule Summertide
Annual Holiday: Midsummer
Quadrennial Holiday: Shieldmeet
8 Eleasis Highsun
9 Elient The Fading
Annual Holiday: Highharvestide
10 Marpenoth Leaffall
11 Uktar The Rotting
Annual Holiday: The Feast of th e Moon
12 Nightal The Drawing Downby cataclysm , while in othe r s the shift went without no-
tice. Astronome rs and navigators who closely watched
the stars couldn't fail to see that th ere wer e ni ghts
when they seem ed to hang in the sky. The winter of
1487 - 1488 las ted longer than normal. It was then noted
that the solstices and e quinoxes had s omehow shifted,
beginning with the spring equinox falling on Green-
grass of 1488 DR. The seasons followed s uit, with e ach
starting later and ending late r.
This shift in seasons has caused some sages, and the
priests of Chaunte a , to cons id er cha nging the marking
of s ome of the annual feast days, but mos t folk counsel
patie nce, believing that the seasons will fall back to their
previous cycle ove r th e coming years.A BRIEF HISTORY
The known history of the Sword Coas t region spans
thousands of years, e xtending back into the misty ep-
ochs of the creator race s and the ages of the first nations
of the elves and dwarve s. Comparatively recent history
is the story of the rise and deeds of humans and other
younger races.
Much of what follows in this s ection is known mainly
by s a ges, some of whom have been alive for the last few
centuries of Faerfm's hi story. The common folk across
the continent have little knowledge of, and little use for,
events that have transpired far away in time and s pace.
News does travel, of course, so even pe ople who live in a
village along the Sword Coast might get wind of happen-
ings in distant lands.THE DAYS OF THUNDER
Tens of thousands of years ago, e mpires of r eptilian,
amphibian, and avian peoples-known in Elvish as
Jqua'Tel'Quessir, the creator races-dominated th e
world. They built great cities of s tone and glass, carved
paths through the wilderness, tamed the great lizards,
worked mighty magics , shape d the world around them,