Time

Time is is the interval experienced from one moment to another. Aeons, millenniums, centuries, decades, years, weeks, months, days, hours, minutes, and seconds are ways of describing or measuring the amount of time passed. Time may also be divided into seasons and tracked on a calendar. Specific periods in history may be referred to as the 'ages'.

Background

Time is usually measured on clocks such as Manannan's Clock or a grandfather clock. Time is usually linear and follows a fixed progression of events that have passed are in the past, perceptions of the moment are the present, and events that will come are the future. Prophecies may predict future events and even individuals that will exist at a future time. While linear through magic or certain applications of science it may be possible to slow or speed up time, or even travel back in time via a time warp although this seems a rare occurrence. Time travel may be one way or require much energy to be used commonly.

Daventry is either considered to be located in a parallel universe to earth in the multiverse but may also be set in a few centuries in the past of Earth's history (although these are ideas are necessarily mutually exclusive, in particular when time travel is involved). Time in the Other World (or present Earth) apparently runs slower than time is calculated in Daventry (the past). Some calculate that events took place in the Middle Ages; c. 1000 AD (see Earth timeline)

Time flows differently in the world of Daventry. The wizard Manannan kept a magical device in his house that recorded the passing of time. Alexander says that the time it kept was different from the time normally recognized in Daventry. It measured the passing of time in an interval unknown to his kind. The wizard didn’t know were it was from but believed that it was created by another race, one that came before the human, or after-he was not sure which. From this evidence, it is safe to assume that time runs differently in that universe, slower than it flows here. If Manannan's clock were some sort of clock from our world, then we must wonder how he obtained it.

Time in Tamir flows differently somehow as well. A day of Tamir time is made up of 24 Tamir hours.KQ4 Hintbook: 24 hours of Tamir time is around six hours of earth time.

Time in the Old Wood may run at a faster rate than time outside of the woods, although this may be an issue where individuals lose their sense of time and stay in the woods longer than they had intended. It reacts differently with different individuals. The the woodland faeries have the power to either slow time or keep others wits about them so that they leave without much time having passed. For example what was perceived to be not much more than a few hours turned out to be a few days outside the woods.

Etheria exists in another world in the multiverse and time there certainly moves at a much faster rate than in Daventry. There may even be places where one loses track fo time there as well; where moments, hours or even days pass without individuals even realizing it. So those visiting Etheria may be there a day or more but when they return to Daventry only a few minutes or hours has passed in the same day they left.

Behind the scenes

Time is relative; from Alexander's perspective in the KQC three days passed while he was trying to escape from Llewdor. He was using Manannan's Clock to figure out Manannan's schedule and figure out the right time to act. This is a reference to the on screen clock that appears in some versions of KQ3. By 'slow' the book means two things one the speed of the clock is dependent on the speed of the computer. A minute in game time is usually longer than a minute in real time. As such it takes longer for a minute to pass in the game (the clock runs 'slow'). Secondly, from Alexander's perspective this could mean for example that an hour or two of clock time for example could represent a day in Daventry time. In which case from his perspective the clock runs extremely slow. This is more to give an internal explanation of a game mechanic so that the book can be used as a walkthrough. rather than just a story. Where in the case of the game can be completed in a couple of hours; such events in real life should take much longer to actually complete due to scope of realistic geography he was passing through.

King's Quest IV is a timed game with a full day and night cycle . Rosella has 24 hours to complete her quest in the land of Tamir, but the player has only six hours. Therefore, the player must be very observant, and save their game often. Once the player has gotten the hang of the game, they'll discover that the six hours of playtime is more than adequate.