Number Systems

There are 3 main number systems in use: a decimal system that developed independently several times with minor variations, the irregular base-8 system used in the Burnished Isles, and the base 16 system of Reld. This article will focus on the latter. The origin of the system is in a hand-counting system used in the Srem that may well be thousands of years old. It is based around holding fingers to the thumb, with each finger being worth a different power of two - from small to index, that's 1, 2, 4, and 8, essentially binary notation. A closed fist is 0, and a spread hand is 16.

Chain system

The chain system is derived from the Chain tally that stretches back to time immemorial. It counts to 8 by constructing two overlapping rectangles in a set order. This setup is still commonly used for keeping tallies, and is the basis of the scriptoria of the Learned Canyons.

Over time, modified versions of these symbols began to stand in for the numbers themselves. With a modifying tick beforehand, they were doubled up to create a system of 16 characters.

Eventually variations on the 8/16 symbol were developed to stand in for higher powers of 16. From there, a new symbol developed, contracting the Reldan word for "amount of" or "lots of". This was used to construct a larger numbers, written either in a square or a long row, in the form "X of 100s, y of 10s, z" (although obviously in base 16).

Etneshkan system

During the reign of queen Etneshka, a positional notation system was developed that now exists on competition with the Chain numerals. The numerals for 0-15 are based around a notion of a 2 by 4 vertical grid, with each row representing a power of two (or a finger) and each column representing either on or off (or up or down). From that grid a numeral is formed - these are made with styluses in Emshol, and have a modified cursive form that is more common nowadays.

To construct a larger number, They are joined by a horizontal line that bisects or sits atop each symbol, and each position from left to right represents a larger power of sixteen.