The name "Clock Town" seems to hardly do the capital of Termina justice. Spurred by intergalactic trade, the town has long since become a city sprawling across the wide plains. It is split into different walled districts, each exhibiting a unique blend of the old world, and the new. If one were to walk through its narrow streets, he would see Aurbesh holoscreens and posters handwritten in Termina's language advertising their wares side by side, horse-drawn carts giving up the right of way to swoop bikes and groups of children playing pranks on protocol droids. However, despite their modern trappings no building is more than three stories high, as nothing is permitted to be taller than the ancient clock tower in the center, from whence the town derives its name. I have been lucky enough to arrive only a few days before the planet's annual "Carnival of Time", a festival celebrating the new year. People are joyfully placing decorations all over the city. As we enjoyed the cool breeze over the delicious local beverage "Chateau Romani", a kindly old woman told me the history of the Carnival.


This is one of our dearest traditions. Each year, the season of harmony begins when the sun would align with the moon. Now, of course the moon is long gone, so we have to mark the date instead.

Regardless, this pays homage to the way that both nature and time are tirelessly in the process of progressing. The Carnival of Time is when the people of the four worlds celebrate that harmony and request fruitfulness for the new year.

For ages people wore masks resembling the giants who are the gods of these four worlds. Now it has become a custom for each person to bring a handmade mask to the Carnival.

It is said that if a couple united on the day of the festival and dedicated a mask as a sign of their union, it would bring luck.

The centerpiece of the Carnival has always been the Clock Tower, and on the eve of the festivities, the doors to its roof are opened. From atop the Clock Tower roof, a ceremony to call the gods is held and an ancient song is sung.

All of these festivities in the Carnival of Time are held so that we may ask the gods for a rich harvest in the years to come.


Please note that Termina's traditional calendar is somewhat different from the Galactic Standard, as its days are much shorter and it has two additional months, so the Carnival of Time does not correspond with the Standard New Year.

One of the most perplexing mysteries of Termina is the absence of a moon. While this in itself is not so unusual, iconography across the planet and stories such as this all make reference to a moon. This has been baffling to astrologists across the New Republic, because there is no physical evidence that a moon had ever even existed. If it somehow broke out of orbit and went hurtling off into space, it would have left some trace of a gravity field, but there is none. If it collided with the planet, there would have been a crater or at least leftover debris, but again there is none. It has been speculated that perhaps the moon the Terminians make reference to was an ancient space station possibly built by the Rakata, Celestials or some other unidentified alien race. For now, it is still up for debate.

The "giants" this story makes reference to are the ancient deities of this world, but I shall discuss them in the next section.

Masks are a very important cultural touchstone for the people of Termina. Many of their social functions revolve around these beautifully carved masks. As mentioned above, a special mask is dedicated to seal a marriage. The reason for this is very deep-set, and will also be explained in more detail later.

Finally, the Clock Tower is the center of this world, a sacred site for the people. This is why no building can be built taller and why no one is allowed to ascend to the roof until the Carnival of Time. Interestingly, there is clearly a set of large doors at the base of the tower, but they are locked and no one is allowed entry. The reason for this is unknown.