Rislandian Calendar
The Rislandian Calendar is the official system of timekeeping used in Rislandia. Dates are recorded by numbered day within a named month, combined with a regnal year counted from the beginning of the reigning monarch's rule. In For Steam and Country, The Blood of Giants, The Fight for Rislandia, The Steam Knight, and The Steam Knight 2, log entries by Baron Theodore von Monocle, Talyen von Cravat, and others consistently follow the format "Day [number] of the [Month Name], [ordinal] Year of [Monarch]'s Reign."
Structure
Day Numbering
Days within each month are numbered sequentially. Log entries in For Steam and Country record days as high as Day 55 within a single month, suggesting months contain at least that many days. No upper bound for a month's length is explicitly stated in the text.
Regnal Year System
Years are counted from the beginning of a monarch's reign rather than from a fixed historical epoch. During the events depicted in For Steam and Country, dates spanning the 16th, 17th, 18th, and 19th Years of King Malaky XVI's Reign appear in the logs. In The Blood of Giants, log entries from Baron von Monocle's earlier records reference the 1st, 2nd, and 5th Years of King Malaky XVI's Reign, extending the attested range of the calendar significantly further back. In The Fight for Rislandia, all attested log entries fall within the 24th Year of King Malaky XV's Reign, establishing that the calendar system predates Malaky XVI's reign and functioned identically under his predecessor. The regnal year is appended to the full date in formal log entries.
Month Order
The relative order of most months is not explicitly stated in the text. However, The Blood of Giants establishes that the Month of Queens follows the Month of Dukes, providing one confirmed sequential relationship between named months. The Fight for Rislandia establishes that the Month of Princesses follows the Month of Princes, providing a second confirmed sequential relationship.
Named Months
The following months are attested across For Steam and Country, The Blood of Giants, The Fight for Rislandia, The Steam Knight, and The Steam Knight 2. Unless otherwise noted, their order relative to one another is not explicitly stated in the text.
Month of Queens
The Month of Queens is a named month of the Rislandian Calendar. In For Steam and Country, log entries by Baron von Monocle are dated to Days 2, 13, 15, 23, 34, 42, 45, and 46 of this month. A log entry by Captain von Cravat is dated Day 15 of the Month of Queens. Entries in this month are recorded in both the 16th and 18th Years of Malaky XVI's Reign, indicating the month recurs across multiple years.
In The Blood of Giants, the Month of Queens is confirmed to follow the Month of Dukes. Baron von Monocle's log entries reference Day 22 of this month during the 2nd Year of King Malaky XVI's Reign, and Day 7 of this month is recorded as the birthdate of Zaira von Monocle. Additional log entries in The Blood of Giants are dated to Days 1, 2, 5, 7, 8, 9, 10, 12, 14, 15, 18, 20, 28, and 33 of this month, with entries in the 5th Year of King Malaky XVI's Reign also attested.
Month of Kings
The Month of Kings is a named month of the Rislandian Calendar. In For Steam and Country, Baron von Monocle's log entries are dated to Days 13, 14, 17, 19, and 21 of this month. A log entry by Captain von Cravat is dated Day 30, and a log entry by Talyen is dated Day 33. Entries in this month are recorded in the 16th and 17th Years of Malaky XVI's Reign.
Month of Princes
The Month of Princes is a named month of the Rislandian Calendar. In For Steam and Country, log entries by Captain von Cravat are dated to Days 1, 7, and 9 of this month. An entry is recorded in the 17th Year of Malaky XVI's Reign.
In The Blood of Giants, a log entry is dated to Day 34 of the Month of Princes.
In The Fight for Rislandia, the Month of Princes is extensively attested in the 24th Year of King Malaky XV's Reign. Narrative events occur on Days 22, 25, 29, and 30 of this month. Baron von Monocle's log entries are dated to Days 31, 33, 35, 37, and 40 of this month. The Month of Princes is confirmed to immediately precede the Month of Princesses.
In The Steam Knight, Mr. Stephen Nava states that a mechanized unit prototype will be ready by the beginning of the Month of Princes, indicating the month served as a planning milestone for military development.
Month of Princesses
The Month of Princesses is a named month of the Rislandian Calendar, attested in The Fight for Rislandia. It is confirmed to follow the Month of Princes. All attested entries fall within the 24th Year of King Malaky XV's Reign. Baron von Monocle's log entries are dated to Days 1, 12, 13, 17, 25, 26, 30, and 34 of this month. Additional log excerpts reference Days 3, 8, and 10 of this month. Narrative events of The Fight for Rislandia occur during this month.
Month of the Fool
The Month of the Fool is a named month of the Rislandian Calendar. In For Steam and Country, a log entry by Captain von Cravat is dated Day 40 of this month, recorded in the 17th Year of Malaky XVI's Reign.
In The Blood of Giants, a log entry is dated to Day 17 of the Month of the Fool during the 2nd Year of King Malaky XVI's Reign. The text also references "the month of fools" (lowercase) in connection with a winter rescue mission in the Twin Tops Mountains. It is not explicitly confirmed in the text whether "the month of fools" and "the Month of the Fool" are the same month;
In The Fight for Rislandia, the Month of the Fool is attested in the 24th Year of King Malaky XV's Reign. A blizzard is described as having fallen over southern Rislandia during this month. Baron von Monocle's log entries are dated to Days 10, 11, 15, 20, 28, 30, and 38 of this month. Battle preparations and a battle are recorded on Days 12 and 13 of this month.
Month of Dutchesses / Month of Duchesses
A named month of the Rislandian Calendar appears in both For Steam and Country and The Blood of Giants, but with differing spellings. In For Steam and Country, the month is rendered "Month of Dutchesses", with log entries by Captain von Cravat dated to Days 23 and 40, including an entry recording the killing of a Wyranth soldier. No regnal year is explicitly attached to these entries in the available text.
In The Blood of Giants, the month is rendered "Month of Duchesses", with log entries dated to Days 8 and 43.
Month of Dukes
The Month of Dukes is a named month of the Rislandian Calendar, confirmed to immediately precede the Month of Queens. In For Steam and Country, log entries by Baron von Monocle are dated to Days 35 and 42, and a chapter epigraph is dated Day 55 of this month. Log entries by Captain von Cravat are dated to Days 4, 24, and 29, including an entry recording the promotion of Marina du Willet. An entry is recorded in the 19th Year of Malaky XVI's Reign.
In The Blood of Giants, the Month of Dukes is extensively attested across multiple chapters. A log excerpt from Chapter 2 is dated Day 6 of this month. Baron von Monocle's log entries reference Day 38 of the Month of Dukes during the 1st Year of King Malaky XVI's Reign. Additional log entries in The Blood of Giants are dated to Days 7, 9, 14, 17, 20, 22, 25, 27, 28, 34, 35, 37, 39, 41, 42, 43, and 45 of this month. Chapters 15, 16, and 17 of The Blood of Giants contain log entries dated within the Month of Dukes.
Cultural Observances
Winter Festival
Spoiler: The Steam Knight 2
This section reveals events from “The Steam Knight 2”.
Usage in Logs
The calendar format appears consistently in the personal logs of multiple characters throughout For Steam and Country, The Blood of Giants, The Fight for Rislandia, The Steam Knight, and The Steam Knight 2, including those of Baron von Monocle, Captain von Cravat, and Talyen. This suggests the system was standard across Rislandian military and noble record-keeping. The Von Cravat Family and Von Monocle Family both employed this dating convention in their official logs. The consistent use of the same format under both King Malaky XV and King Malaky XVI indicates the calendar structure itself remained stable across reigns, with only the regnal year resetting upon a monarch's succession. In The Steam Knight, the month is also referenced in a planning context by military personnel, further confirming its use as a standard scheduling reference within Rislandia's armed forces. The Winter Festival attested in The Steam Knight 2 suggests the calendar also structured cultural and ceremonial life beyond military record-keeping.