Climate

Tiblēna lies in high latitudes and at an altitude ranging between three hundred and two thousand feet, with some ridges leading into the Girēḡōtana mountains and the gap of Kiēgatōhru above four thousand feet.

Though the vale is much colder than the ranges of the hyperboresperic steppe immediately northward, it is much warmer than the northern ranges of the same steppe a few hundred miles farther north. During the winter months the wind blows through the interalpine region between the Diona and Girēḡōtana mountains as cold air blows down from the sea and the steppe, resulting in similar temperatures between the upper and lower regions of Tiblēna.

Rain and snow tends to come from the northwest, blowing over the steppe and the foothills of the Diona, or in the summer from the west as tropical weather blows in through the ranges. During the winter months for a period between one and two months, the sun only briefly appears above the peaks of the Girēḡōtana mountains and for a week near the solstice it does not rise at all.

Winters of the Tiiwera

Among the Ḡaēgatō, there is frequent mention of cold cycles in Tiblēna where every few decades they experience a winter that seem to last three to five years, which they call tiiwēra or the long cold. The cause of this period relates an El Niño phenomenon in the western seas where the normal course of warm water shifts southerly, plunging average temperatures in the hyperboresperic regions and bringing drought to much of the rest of the world.

During this period winters are much colder than they normally are and precipitation much rarer. It doesn’t snow or rain as much in this period, but small snow showers can build up in the late afternoon as the sun melts ice on the steppe.

In the height of summer the temperatures can raise enough to melt snow and ice but not so much as to push it up ridge as it normally does, which inclines the more migratory of the Ḡaēgatō to remain in the low countries and not range upridge to hunt—given that their usual game does the same.

Winds of Tiblēna

The Ḡaēgatō do not divide the sky as one might from a compass. The course of the sun remains mostly southerly and the wind does not blow with particular character from all directions. Instead, they observe three cardinal winds: east, north, and south.

In addition to the cardinal winds, they also observe the tiiwēra or long cold, an unusual weather phenomenon that occurs in Tiblēna in which winter would seem to last one to three years.

As an animistic people, the Ḡaēgatō often speak of the winds and the tiiwēra phenomenon as though they were gods of some ilk or at the least as spiritual beings who possess some degree of agency.

Kiharbin: The West Wind

The west wind is the one that blows through the interalpine region between the Diona and Girēḡōtana mountain ranges. This wind is a trade wind originating in the subtropics far to the west. During hurricane season it blows tropical rains through the gap which are often very warm and cause flooding in Tiblēna.

Its name is kiharbin , which derives from the roots *h'ar- wind (hot) and *bin- high, indicating a warm wind that originates in a region viewed as upwards from the speaker: specifically, the gap of Kihrutlē.

Kihibin: The South Wind

Winds do not often blow from the south but when it does it is often very cold, coming down off the high snowlocked peeks of the Girēḡōtana mountains.

As with most terms for winds, the name kihibin reflects the quality of the air and the place of origin. It derives from the roots *h'i- wind (cool) and *bin- high in the sense of a cool wind that comes from a high place in relation to the speaker. The Girēḡōtana mountains are among the highest in the world so to some extent this is an even more appropriate designation than the altitudinal reference found in Kiharbin.

Tihiwan and Tiiwēhi: The North Winds

The winds of the north are among the most dangerous for the Ḡaēgatō peoples, especially during periods of tiiwēra , when the temperatures drop to frigid extremes. As such, Pre-Kaddesol conceives of the north wind in two separate personae: tihiwan and tiiwēhi , whom they see as twins.

The north wind as it occurs in most years is tihiwan , which forms from the roots *h'i- wind (cold) and *wan- low in the sense of a cold wind that blows from the low country, which in Tiblēna lies to the north.

The north wind as it occurs during tiiwēra is called tiiwēhi which is formed from *iwē- ice cold and *h'i- to emphasize the cold of the wind in this period.

Glaciers

There are two glaciers in Tiblēna. Given the tendency of the Ḡaēgatō to migrate north or south rather than east and west, these glaciers do not have distinct names but rather are both referred to by the generic term kiēmaiwē or cold-rock, which may reflect a lack of association on their part between glacial ice and water.

The western glaciers began between ridges on the eastermost stretch of the Diona mountains where it pushes southerly towards the lake Kibrila. It effectively blocks passage from Tiblēna to the steppe along the northern route.

The second glacier lies in the south and southwest of the lower vale. Its seasonal melts feed much of the water flowing through the rivers Taotlahal, Maotladi, Kaotlabal, and Tanḡahwu.

The tiiwēra phenomenon generally leads to periods of glacial expansion and it is only a period of warmth above three decades that these glaciers retract towards the mountains. Glaciers in Tiblēna in general are expanding overall as the climate shifts towards an ice age, but the tipping point from mildly chilly weather to broad stretches of ice across the steppe remains a few thousand years hence.

Seasons

The seasons of the year are not understood as a category in abstracto, instead they are referred to as animistic personae that rule over the year during certain periods.

Maiwē and Njaiwē the Winters

Due the variance in the season caused by tiiwēra , Pre-Kaddesol features two words for winter. The masculine winter, maiwē refers to the milder season while the feminine njaiwē is used when speaking of the colder winter where the mountains remain snowlocked for several months longer.

Each season is treated as a spirit in their animistic customs and both become known as gods in later generations, though the specific gender of each is somewhat flexible across cultures. The genders found in Pre-Kaddesol relates to a cultural association among the Ḡaēgatō peoples of women with strength and tenacity.

Njarin the Spring

The personification of spring is called njarin . The name derives from the root *rhin- meaning growth. It is related to the verb rhinha to grow and narin grown in the sense of animate adulthood.

The culture associates spring with rebirth but as the struggles to hold one’s own against nature. Springs are often straggled by long winters with the snows only clearing for good in the early weeks of summer.

Njahiba the Summer

Summer is a general warm seasons wherein most years the snows melt away far enough through Tiblēna to allow for hunting, foraging, and migrations. The general term for summer is njahiba , which derives from the root *hiba- meaning hot and is related to the adjective kahiba warm, hot.

Autumn

Fall is a period of intense color in the vale of Tiblēna where the dark greens of the lower vale turn a mix of red, brown, and yellow. It is also a season where bears become much more active as they bulk up for their winter rest.

The Pre-Kaddesol word for the autumnal season is madōr , which derives ultimately from the root *dōr- brown, though it is unclear whether its immediate origin is the color tadōr red, brown or the animal ngadōr bear.

Dialectic Representations

It should be noted that while Pre-Kaddesol features five terms for the seasons and several for the winds, not all of the Ḡaēgatō acknowledge these quasi-deities.

Seasons are not all felt the same throughout Tiblēna. People who live in the upper vale have more pronounced winters and often miss the spring as the snows do not recede until the early summer. Meanwhie, those who have settled the lower vale do not always perceive variance in winters, and in seeing no difference between Maiwē and Njaiwē they tend to lose one in favor of the others.

Similarly, the cultures of the vale and later river peoples have a very pronounced understanding of the winds and seasons while those who live much of the year in caves have a much less developed understanding of the same.

Within the narrow context of the Pre-Kaddesol language these features are not especially important. As someone from a culture whose dialect downplays a particular season will still know and understand the meaning of the word when she encounters someone from another culture. But, the variances do play a significant role in the larger development of the Kaddesol language family.