From Anima · Chapter 3, Planting the TreeThe sun had moved. Aft, the ship's bell rang noon, eight clear strokes, and the shadows on the deck had shortened and shifted, the light coming down from high above now, the kind of flat midday brightness that illuminates everything evenly and leaves little shade.
Ship's time
What the bell says now
The day is cut into watches of four hours. Each half hour adds one stroke, up to eight bells at the end of the watch.
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British custom: in the last dog watch the bell counts 1, 2, 3, then 8 bells at 20:00. The sound is played by your browser only when you press the button.
The bell's instruments
Counting your own time
The bell counts the watches of a voyage. These count the watches of a life.
