Measurement

The majority of Folk are practical by necessity, and though knowledge is prized above most, a formal education on Lume is unusual. The most learned Folk are Casters, who may act as tutors in exchange for board when traveling, exploring, etc. Commonfolk may also be educated by visiting (or resident) Slenders, however most will educate themselves through books and scrolls they trade and painstakingly duplicate. These conditions, coupled with the daily reality of a developing society, has given rise to a rather rough-and-ready method for everyday mathematics.

Standards of Measurement

Lacking sophisticated equipment, Folk use what is readily available. Calculations are performed with the hands, feet, and limbs, as follows: five fingers on each hand equals one span, so that both hands and feet amounts to four spans. The wrist, arm bone, elbow, upper arm bone, and shoulder together also count for a span, as do the ankle, lower leg bone, knee, upper leg, and hip. This allows for calculations up to forty, and is generally more than enough for regular trade and everyday use. This standard is accepted throughout the Continent alongside Barterspeak. When needed, each limb can represent the aforementioned eight spans, or forty digits, to allow for calculations of up to two-hundred. Densely populated villages and emerging towns are adopting more sophisticated tools for counting, such as beads on strings or notched rods. These and other emerging systems have been strongly influenced by the Slenders, the philosophical Dunefolk, and the fastidious Manidae aristocracy. The Slenders themselves use a decimal system closely resembling the old terrestrial metric system, including Roman numerals and denominations; century to represent a hundred, millenia for one thousand, etc. They have recently begun tasking their traveling academics to proliferate this system amongst the Folk, however with trade routes opening with other Races, it is likely this fledgling decimal system will continue to evolve as it rises to the task of satisfying all inhabitants.

It is worth noting that smaller measurements, for the purpose of crafts for example, are unique to each trade, and the terminology reflects the tools and materials used. Leatherworkers use terms such as handspans, fingerwidths, half-hides, etc. Likewise, as walking is the preferred form of travel on Lume, consequently the distances are measured in walking time, e.g. two days to the next village, a halfday to the river, etc. There are eight spans to a terrestrial meter, and a stride is roughly eighty terrestrial centimeters. Hugo's note: must allocate time to illustrating the above on a graph or chart, for easier reference.

Land Occupation

With Lume's dispersed and culturally diverse population, standards of measurement vary greatly between region, Race and profession. The populace is sparse enough that land-titles are not enforced; if a being or family live and work an area, they in effect 'own' said territory until they cease to occupy it. An unwise few see reason to hold more than they can manage, as this is irresponsible and unanimously discouraged, though the occasional dispute that may arise is settled by the judgement of a town council, Slender diplomat, or impartial visitors. The latter is typically conscripted against their better judgement, but well rewarded for their trouble.

With so much wild and untamed land - not to mention dangerous - the Folk and Races of Lume have not been driven to gobble up arbitrary plots of lands opportunistically. Instead, they inhabit only what they can responsibly manage. This is a universal, if informal, law amongst the Races; one which is occasionally threatened by fearful despots, typically acting under a deluded narrative.

Spoiler: At the time of writing, Necrosis attempts to enforce land ownership laws with the unification of his Multis empire. The implication behind this development is one the wise Slenders, Gardeners and Frost Giants consider to be misguided and fraught with error.’’