The Weeks of Day and Night

The day and night cycle occurs weekly, meaning the sun rises for an entire week before setting into a nighttime of the same length. This has an impact on everything from agriculture to trade, as many merchants refuse to travel through the night.

But this cycle doesn’t just affect Wicklings, it’s dictated how Fanewick’s wondrous ecology has evolved. Days and nights are accompanied by entirely different natural soundscapes as Fanewick’s nocturnal denizens sleep through the long days and stalk the woods in times of darkness while their diurnal counterparts sleep. The plants similarly live on this strange day-night loop, and many live out their entire life cycles in a week. Sun rose vines make a thorny ascent to the top of the tree canopy over the course of the week, only to wilt under the light of the moon. Conversely, night bloom, a bioluminescent flower that emits the smell of burnt sugar and decay, only blossoms when evening falls, illuminating patches of forest—a godsend to anyone forced to travel in the dark.

Day and night in Fanewick are governed by the Crepuscular Twins: Apidae brings the day; Omiodes ushers in the night. Their rivalry and rapport make the cycle beautifully unpredictable.

Cadence

• Average stretch: ~165 hours of day, followed by ~165 hours of night.
• Variance: from as short as 3 hours to as long as ~30 days in extreme seasons of sibling strife.

Consequences

• Timekeeping: towns use “bells” and shadow-boards keyed to the Twins’ omens; contracts specify “within one light” or “by next nightfall.”
• Travel and Work: caravans plan around long-nights; harvests surge during long-days; guard shifts flex to unpredictable dawns.
• Health and Faith: sleep cycles and festivals align to the Twins; lantern rites (Omiodes) and first-song markets (Apidae) bookend commerce.

GM Notes

• Prolonged day empowers sun-blooming flora like Lady's Veil; a plot to trap Omiodes could stretch days toward the infinite.