Keepers of the Cadence

The Keepers of the Cadence are an ancient monastic order present across Southern Erek. The Monks and Bards of the order compose and perform poetry and songs used during important ritual periods, especially the Nachikîun, an annual mass migration synchronized to a magical energy burst let off by a giant Machine off the coast.

Timekeeping

The Keepers have developed a unique timekeeping system used for spiritual and practical purposes in Southern Erek. In this region, the terms for subdivisions of time come from poetry:

18 Chapters per Day	1.2 hours each
5 Songs per Chapter	16 minutes each
5 Verses per Song	~3 minutes each
25 Lines per Verse	~8 seconds each
10 Beats per Line	~¾ of a second each

Games of Ricochet are split into 5 songs to make up one chapter, while Beats find their main use when timing a race. Lines are the least used, except by hunters to coordinate ambushes. The largest three are the most commonly used, with chapters being designed to approximately align with the day/night cycle as shown below. Though shorter than nighttime, daytime is divided into three periods of sunrise, brightness, and sunset based on the position of the sun.

Sunrise	2 Chapters (~3 hrs)	From first light to the end of sunrise.
Brightness	3 Chapters (~4 hrs)	When the sun not covered by the horizon.
Sunset	2 Chapters (~3 hrs)	From the start of sunset to the last light.
Night	11 Chapters (~14 hrs)	Also descriptively called darkness.

Influence

The Keepers are politically independent and non-denominational, serving all communities in their area of influence with their timekeeping services and honoring a number of deities from Erek and beyond. They are well-liked by Veymenuz, who has commissioned many monasteries for them, including the Manor of the Beating Heart just north of Veysîsata. The group has come under fire for their recent adoption of a goddess called the Bringer of Harmony, who is part of the belief system of the Pupils of Juanthon, though not the primary focus of their spirituality.

Composition and Performance

The Keepers of the Cadence build off of the local tradition of counting beat on the fingers, which results in ten beats per line rather than eight as is standard in music from the Fertile Lands. They are usually performed in call-and-response, with the caller speaking a slower 2-beat subject line and the responder delivering a more detailed 3-beat line. Groups of songs on a subject are written to last precisely a day if performed at the proper tempo of 78⅛ BPM. Monks and Bards of the Keepers spend their lives cultivating the discipline needed to keep this exact tempo, with masters able to do so for days at a time by synchronizing their heartbeats to the music. Many machines in are area are known to hum at this cadence as well, offering novices with an opportunity to practice their craft.