I think my favorite bit of Blades in the Dark just might be the Lights in the Darkness section on page 240 that deals with how citizens mark the time, the strange refraction of the moon as it passes through the night sky, and the eerie stars visible from beneath the inky seas. Very evocative and cool, and pushes all my geeky world building buttons.
But I’m having a Lethal Weapon moment trying to work out the details of the timing structure. Does the”first hour” start at the same time when dawn occurs or does the first hour kick in an hour after dawn? In other words, if I were looking at a Doskvol clock, would dawn occur at 1 (the first hour) or at the preceding 12 (the hour of smoke)? Or are there 26 hours in a Doskvol day with dawn and twilight added into the mix?
The first twelve hours begins with the lights of dawn. The second twelve hours begins with the lights of twilight.
The dawn lights signify the first hour. The 12th hour ends with twilight. The hour of Honor begins with twilight, and the dying of the 12th dawn hour.
I read it as Smoke ends with the dawn. So 30 minutes later would be 1:30 (thirty minutes into the first hour.)
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I suspect you guys are probably right, and that’s how I originally read it as well. Then I tripped myself up wondering if it was the “first hour of dawn” or the “first hour after dawn.” Prepositions are tricksy!