The story of Precinct of Despair begins during the Year of the Song, 756, Mistfall, during the Days of Blossom.
Years are divided into a cycle of nine, each year representing what in Midland is considered a core foundation of human civilization. The Chronology itself dates back to the founding year (year 0), when Skysage Pathanos set out the ground concepts for the civilized modern day Midland.
The years are divided as such:
Year of the Grain - Representing harvest, abundance, and prosperity.
Year of Stone - Representing construction, permanence,and foundation.
Year of Wine - Representing pleasure, fertility, and festivities.
Year of Iron - Representing war, technology, and progress.
Year of the Book - Representing knowledge, wisdom, and history.
Year of the Song - Representing tradition, storytelling, and memory.
Year of the Hunt - Representing struggle, survival, and triumph.
Year of the Light - Representing faith, duty, and honor.
Year of Trade - Representing cultural exchange, commerce, and travel.
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Further chronology comes down to dividing the sections of a year into periods, which was originally based on common seasons (but were mostly meant to aid in the keeping of accurate historical records). There are eight periods commonly referred to in Midlands chronology
Dawnspring - When the buds of the trees appear.
Bloomspring - When the flowers bloom.
Brisksummer - When the leaves are green.
Crownsummer - When the heat overwhelms.
Mistfall - When the rains come.
Skyfall - When the blowing winds darken the sky.
Soothewinter - When the snow paints the landscape.
Hoarwinter - When all freezes over.
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Finally, concerning the individual days: it is not custom to keep track of each individual day in Midland among the common people. However, chronokeepers do keep track of the passing of each day, as well as using large clockwork mechanisms to accurately assess which time of day it is. Additionally, each quarter of a period is referred to in this order: 'the Days of Beginnings, the Days of Blossom, the Days of Fire, the Days of Ash.' This form of day-tracking is commonly used by the people.
The most accurate form of chronological record keeping may look something like: 'Year of the Song, 324, Soothewinter, P.A. 16 days (the Days of Blossom), 15 turns since sunrise'.
Notes: 'P.A.' stands for 'passed approximately'. It is not entirely clear when one period in a year transitions to the next, so most recountings of days are counted in the approximate. The year in and of itself is a topic of debate, as many scholars differ on how many days exactly are in a year. But almost all academic consensus agree on the fact the one year is somewhere in between 300 and 400 days long.
The 'turns' in '15 turns since sunrise' refers to the clockwork's mechanism, where each mechanical turn represents a unit of time. Taking into consideration both day and night, they account for a total of approximately 48 turns.