[moey112]

hey all!

i'm so sorry if this has been discussed before (and im sure it has been, a lot) but i'm scared of googeling and searching the whole forum on midnight tides, because i'm only on chapter 15.
as to my question, i'm a bit confused with the timeline of the series and specifically with this one.
in the prologue it is stated that withal's stranding took place in 1159th year of BS and three years before the letheri seventh closure.
then chapter one starts one year before the seventh closure, which i thought would be 1161 BS, but the prologue to house of chains and trull's shorning also takes place in 1159 BS.
it keeps bugging me and i'm not sure if there are different definitions to a 'year' in every culture and if i just missed something.
thanks in advance

[Aptorian]

The dates in the books have been an issue with the series for over a decade. Erikson is aware of it but there's no real story related explanation that makes the dates make sense. You might chalk it down to the narrator (Erikson himself) being unreliable and that, since the stories are based on a book that describes the fall of various Malazan Armies, some mistakes may happen as stories are retold and dates are copied over decades, centuries, millenia.

To make it easier, repeat this mantra every hour: The Timeline is Not Important, the Timeline is Not Important, the Timeline is Not Important, the Timeline is Not Important...

[Gorefest]

Yeah, it's an error. The Letherii 7th Closure is 1162nd year of Burn's Sleep. Most of the MT events take place 1161-1162, so the shorning from the HoC prologue should take place after that time.

[moey112]

aaah ok i usually don't check dates that much, but this time i kinda got irritated. thanks a lot
back to reading! i really enjoy this book, but some things are still, very confusing. i think i still don't get some things (for example the distinction between eleint and draconian), but i'm hanging in there!!

[Abyss]

moey112, on 21 July 2017 - 05:28 PM, said:

... i think i still don't get some things (for example the distinction between eleint and draconian), but i'm hanging in there!!

We're here for you.

'Eleint' is the word for Dragon in their own language. Other people use it interchangeably with 'dragon', Crone back in GotM by example .

'Draconian' is a descriptor for something linked to dragons, typically soletaken shapeshifters. Could also be used to describe Stavald Demelain as the 'Draconian elder warren', or 'draconian blood has been shed'.


So Silanah is a pureblood Eleint, but the word could be used to describe all of the draconian soletaken Tiste as well, including Rake.


And just to complicate your life, any shapeshifter, including a draconian soletaken, could also be described as an 'Ascendant'. And some of them, notably Osserc, are also described as Gods.



As for the timelines, look, there's magic and warrens and storytelling involved, just roll with it, it's not worth limiting your enjoyment of the books over. Also, the timeline is not important, the timeline is not important, the timeline is not important, the timeline is not important, the timeline is not important, the timeline is not important, the timeline is not important, the timeline is not important, the timeline is not important, the timeline is not important, the timeline is not important, the timeline is not important, the timeline is not important, the timeline is not important, the timeline is not important, the timeline is not important, the timeline is not important, the timeline is not important, the timeline is not important, the timeline is not important, the timeline...

[worry]

You could also repeat "Traveling through the Nascent is the same as time-traveling" over and over, but you'll probably get pelted with rocks.

[moey112]

timeline not important! got it!

and thanks for the eleint clarification, at first i thought it meant dragon or something like dragonfolk but after some time i got a bit unsure about what it meant.
and yeah, ascendants and ascendancy is still confusing as hell. but oh well, i figured i dont need to to get everything for now an just roll with it for my first read through