All - just a quick update to let everyone know that since we've secured an alternative source of funding, we are going to cancel the Kickstarter project.

Thanks for your support!

I know some of you may wonder at the week of silence...things are moving along - and I have some exciting news...

We've been in talks and, regardless of if we hit our goal on Kickstarter, we've managed to secure complete (conditional) funding for Xephyer and the World of Trexlin!

So - what does this mean?

We have secured funding for both games - however, in the discussions, we decided that we wanted to give Kickstarter until the end of August to see if we could raise the funding here. The reasons are two-fold. First, if we can manage to raise the funds here, we can get copies of the games to our backers at far less than what we are going to have to charge at retail. Second, we would be able to get Xephyer on the streets quicker. (Thus the conditional nature of the funding).

However, if we can't get the funding on Kickstarter by the end of the project period, we'll move forward with this new funding and hope to have Xephyer available for purchase by early November, and the World of Trexlin Sourcebook by February 2011. Additionally, we will have the Large, Full-Color maps of Trexlin available in early September.

We hope we will be able to meet the goal here on Kickstarter - as it is a great community. However, as is now readily apparent to us, if you don't make it on the "Recommended by Staff' section of the site - the exposure of the project is negligible. In fact, I've had emails from more than one person who was looking for the project (and had never used Kickstarter before) but was unable to find it. They didn't realize that when game section was selected , it defaults to the Staff picks. That's just the way it works. So - for those lucky projects that get promoted by the Kickstarter staff, they have a much greater visibility, and thus, seem to perform much better.

But - the goods news is - regardless, we'll have both Xephyer and World of Trexlin on the streets very soon!

Thanks again for all of the support!

It was noticed that I omitted any mention of the holidays found in the Empire of the Platinum Lion. This was, in part, intentional, as the calendar is used much wider than simply within the Empire - and holidays (with the exception of one or two) in the Empire are largely Empire-specific.

However, for those interested, below is a listing of the major holidays celebrated in the Empire



New Year - Prendul 1 - Celebrates the first day of the new year. All shops are generally closed. It is also the Winter Solstice

Martial Day - Drisdul 19 - Celebrates the victories of the Empire. Originally the day the forces of Lord Gertim surrendered in 262

Imperial Day - Osendul 14 - Celebrates Emporers - both past and present

Hiding Day - Mesdul 8 - Familes hide small presents for their children to find. Originally, this was a day of remembrance for the day Lionchild I disappeared.

High Summer's Eve Kon 20 - Summer Solstice - all shops are closed. Marks the start of the Midyear festival

Midyear Feast Kon 21 - 23 - A three-day event. Largest holiday in the Empire, it is marked by celebrations, festivals, tournaments, and performances

Opening Day Brekdul 7 - The day when the Tomb of the Lion is opened and any who wish to enter are permitted. [Note: The Tomb of the Lion is also opened on the 42nd of each month - more as a tradition. No one is permitted to enter on these dates - rather, it is opened in the belief that Lionchild I still wanders the Tomb searching for the Sword and Staff of the Lion.]

Tomb of the Lion - in the Imperial capital of Lions Den

Again - thanks for the support! Please tell your friends - we need all the supporters we can get!

Today’s update gives some insight into one of the systems of measurement found in Trexlin – the units used in the Empire of the Platinum Lion. I’ve selected this system, as the Platinum Lion Calendar (one of the three primary calendar systems) is widely used as the conventional calendar throughout much of the land.



Calendar of the Platinum Lion

Before we can speak of the calendar, it is helpful to become familiar with the units of time in this system:

Beat - The smallest unit of time. It is based on the heart-rate of a lion, or roughly 1.5 sceonds

Wain = 100 beats (roughly 2.5 minutes)

Watch= 100 Wains (roughly 4 hours 10 minutes)

Day = 6 Watches (roughly 25 hours and equal to a solar day)

Year= 381 Days

The calendar is a yearly calendar of 381 days (a solar year) divided into eight months, each of 42 days, plus a ninth month of 45 days.

Months

Prendul (42 days) – Winter Solstice is 1st of Prendul

Drisdul (42 Days)

Osendul (42 Days)

Mesdul (42 Days)

Kon (45 Days) – Summer Solstice is 21st of Kon (which marks the start of Midyear feast 21-23 Kon)

Brekdul (42 Days)

Xephdul (42 Days)

Zeckdul (42 Days)

Weildul (42 Days)

Seasons

There are four seasons:

Winter – Weildul 12 to Drisdul 29

Spring – Drisdul 30 to Mesdul 40

Summer – Mesdul 41 to Brekdul 42

Fall – Xephdul 1 to Weildul 11

In addition to the units of time, we have units of weights and distance in the system.

Distance

Stride – Smallest unit of distance. Based on the stride of a lion (roughly 2.35 feet or 27 inches)

Leap = 15 Strides (roughly 35.25 feet)

Strande = 150 Leaps (roughly 5,287 feet or 1 mile)

Great Strande = 300 Strandes (roughly 300.5 miles)

Note – there is no official (Imperially sanctioned units of measure less than a Stride – but a number of unofficial units are used.)

Weights

Paw = Smallest unit of weight (roughly 3.25 ounces)

Leg = 4 Paws (roughly 0.81 pounds)

Body = 4 Legs (roughly 3.24 pounds)

Oresel = 50 Bodys (roughly 162 pounds)

Great Oresel = 100 Oresels (roughly 8.1 tons)

Liquids

Drink = Smallest unit of liquid measure. (roughly 6 fluid ounces)

Kremen = 5 drinks (roughly 0.2 Gallons)

Basin = 10 Kremens (roughly 2 gallons)