Year Gate

First Appearance and Context

Within the Mynster, the Year Gate is part of the clock‑governed gate system. During Apert, crowds gather beyond the threshold; on the first day of the opening, people in the plaza outside cheered as Yearers emerged at sunrise after a year of seclusion. Guided groups cross the stone bridge and pass through the gate into the Unarian Math for tours.

Roles/Actions and Affiliations

• Annual time‑gated portal: Opens on a one‑year interval, synchronized to the great clock and functionally associated with the Unarian community’s movement during Apert.
• Counterpart gates: Parallels the Day Gate and the Decade Gate within the same family of timed portals.
• Mechanical coupling: Its motion is tied to the clockworks housed in the Praesidium, and is associated with the descending cube‑shaped auxiliary weight.

Relationships

• Historical note: During the Third Sack, avout mustered behind the Year Gate, stormed out across the plaza, and returned; the bridge was dropped afterward. A nearby wedge‑shaped monument commemorates those who did not return.

Descriptions/Characteristics

• Placement and form: The gate rises in a crenellated bastion across a stone bridge over the river. Bridge and gate are of similar design to those in the Decenarian precinct, but twice as large and more richly decorated. Looking through the gate affords a view onto the plaza outside.
• Actuation works: At Apert, a water wheel and driveshaft carry power across the bridge into the far bastion, where gearing on the hinge pins swings the doors. In the tower, the cube‑shaped weight linked to the yearly cycle descends to cue the opening.

Current Status/Location

Active and intact. Recently observed operating during a decennial opening alongside the Decade Gate; outside such observances it remains closed, advancing toward its next cycle as the clock is wound.