That doesn't really explain, though, what they'd mean by say, "last season"or "a few seasons ago". Do they mean it in an approximate sense or does the word actually imply the one season, as in a summer and a fall if they said "two seasons ago"?
— Xyn Raven (@XynRaven) March 1, 2019
No, "two seasons ago" to a Realms speaker means whatever season the speaker is speaking in at the moment, but two of them in the past. (If it's spring, the speaker means two springs previous, if it's summer, the speaker means two summers before this current one.)#Realmslore
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 2, 2019
2)
It's a colloquialism, not a precise term encompassing a set slice of past time. It might be used when saying, "We haven't had a windstorm this bad for three seasons, at least." to mean: the last bad windstorm was sometime in this same season, but three of them ago.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 2, 2019
Let me see if I finally have it right: they refer to the season itself, but since seasons vary in length, that means that sometimes, in some places, the one season cycle doesn’t last a whole year? What? NO.
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 3, 2019
*Facedesks with a groan* But if the season cycle always lasts a whole year and they refer to the last time they had a summer before the summer they’re in now, doesn’t that mean a year ago? Indeed. It does. Most folk in the Realms, if not speaking formally (in court or at Court) won't say "X years ago" but will say "X summers ago" or "X winters back" (depending on what season of year the incident being referred to happened in, OR "counting from now/this season."
— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 4, 2019
Oh, so it DOES mean a year, just that it’s an informal expression. Thank you! FINALLY I get it. A little strange they use that for a whole cycle, but given the setting, it kinda makes sense. YES. You've got it.
You see, when you're closely tied to the land (the Realms we've seen detailed are all still really an agricultural economy), the (physical) seasons matter more to you than anyone's formal calendar.#Realmslore— Ed Greenwood (@TheEdVerse) March 5, 2019