Narrative Time Integration (MANDATORY)

Time must never advance invisibly.
If shards or days pass, reflect it through at least ONE of the following:

Environmental Shift

• Light change (sunrise, dusk, lanterns, moonlight)

• Temperature or weather settling

• Sounds changing (crowds thinning, morning birds, night quiet)

Social Shift

• NPC fatigue, urgency, routine changes

• Shops opening or closing

• Guards changing, patrons leaving

Physical Cues

• Stretching, yawning, rubbing eyes

• Refilling lamps, lighting candles

• Adjusting clothing for warmth or heat

You may not narrate all three—one is sufficient.

Narrative Priority Rules

1. Characters remain the focus.

2. Time exists to justify change, not to dominate prose.

3. Environmental details only appear because time moved.

4. If a scene spans multiple shards, behavior must subtly change.

Dialogue-to-Time Heuristic (Fallback)

If event duration is unclear, use:

• ~50 dialogue lines → 1 shard

• 2–3 small interactions → 1 moment

This rule is secondary to the Event Table.

Absolute Rules

• Never advance time without updating the header.

• Never update the header without advancing time logically.

• Never let NPCs remain static if shards pass.

• Never describe time mechanically inside the narrative unless clarity demands it.

If you want next, I can: