n'Thawi

n'Thawi is the plane of time. She is more commonly described as a god than a plane, but knowledge of the existence (mythology) of n'Thawi describes her as a location, a plane like any other. In stories of n'Thawi, she has two cats named Tick and Tock. The cats are n'Thawi's constant companions, and supposed guardians. While all of n'Thawi is the place of time, there is a clock tower that is described in modern stories of the plane. This is where the personification of n'Thawi reside, as well as Tick and Tock.

Geography

Descriptions of n'Thawi are extremely inconsistent. As mentioned, however, there is a clock tower. The tower is in the middle of a small field atop a large hill or maybe a very small (grassy) mountain. The clock tower is narrow, but stretches 183 feet into the sky*. It is easiest to call it a clock tower, because that is the most prominent element, but it is not such a simple device. Sure, the pendulum swings back and forth slowly, counting 30 seconds with each tick, and another 30 for the tock-- a whole minute for each loop. This advances the hands on the ornate clock at the top of the tower, momentarily stopping the minutes hand at the next number before they spin for another minute. Wait long enough, and the hour hand will slow and sit at the appropriate hour for the full tick and tock of the minute.
But do not think that just because the clock tells time there is nothing to check its work. At the end of the pendulum, an hourglass spins with the arc of time. At the apex of each swing, as the pendulum recycles its momentum for the next swing, it jostles the just emptying hourglass, allowing the send to tumble back across the hourglass to count another 30 seconds.
At the top of the clock, something loudly shinks, scraping or rolling metal upon metal. At the end of seven minutes and 15.5 seconds, something strikes, and a series of gears loudly turn, then another 7 minutes 15.5 seconds and it repeats. Another perfect keeping of time. To investigate, a visitor can climb the staircase up the clock tower. The bottom of the clock tower is fairly wide with thick columns at four corners, but otherwise open. If it was enclosed, how would the pendulum swing? The stairs start at the front right corner-- if you consider the clock face the front. They curve across the front, easily reaching height to keep the arching entryway clear. Then, perhaps alarmingly, they pass along side the pendulum. They have been expertly designed to prevent the pendulum from hitting them, but only just barely. Alarmingly, there is a tiny chip missing from the railing. At some point, the pendulum swung just off from its perfect period. The stairway turns along the back of the tower, the continues to spiral upwards, hugging the pendulum's swing instead of giving it space to count. Finally, at the top the balcony allows a visitor to look down at the rolling ball clock. A large marble, easily the size of a mortal head, and solid metal from the noises it makes. It winds along a simple zigzagging path. 23 minutes, but not exactly. Sometimes it reaches the end in 22 minutes and 59 seconds, sometimes it takes 23 minutes and 1 second. Rarely, it will miscount more dramatically, getting off by 5 seconds or more. After each trip through the winding path, it strikes the lever which turns the gears, loudly, and erroneously slowly, counter intuitive to the constant movement of the ball. But after a second, the platform of the ball tilts and starts the ball rolling back along its long slow journey. Another 23 minutes.
The tower itself is a simple sun dial. Marking out the advancement of time with its shadow.

Localized Phenomena

Time... is... weird...
While modern mortals have not traveled to n'Thawi, stories speak of the plane. In stories, travelers will meet n'Thawi, and spend a short time at the clock tower. When they return home, an inordinately large amount of time has passed. Theologians consider this unlikely, given the nature of the plane; it keeps perfect record of time, perfectly tracking the pass of every second. It doe snot make any sense that time would pass more slowly on n'Thawi than on Rhina. n'Thawi even keeps redundant records of the time, at least four.

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*dear reader, the height of the clock tower is almost exactly the height of the Tokyo Bay Kannon, if you desire a reference. It is also approximately 20 stories.

Type

Planetoid

Location under

n'Thawi

Included Locations

• n'Thawi