The new year celebration is one of them (from the end of the zodiac to the beginning) and lasts about five days.
The other 3 quarterly transitions are also important.

calculations are some 4000 years before the story begins. It's been refined since and now there is a more scientific approach to astronomy overall. The lucky times and such still matter though, and the four major zodiac transitions are still important holidays.
2/2

I didn't mean watching. I meant writing.

They're not allowed to work alone following a certain incident, so there should be someone around to knock some sense into her at all times.

How fast are their ships? And do they have wireless communication over long distances, like telegrams?
(I'm not sure whether I'm worried about your characters or happy for them)

Though I wonder whether spirit possession counts in this case, because that is sort of symbiotic. The spirit gets a body, the person gets powers, at least theoretically.
(Would not recommend doing this if you fall in to the setting though)
2/2

They would definitely have preventative medicine like vaccines, especially in places where the systems are still working, but I haven't developed these in detail.
Thanks for the prompt, this is an area where I have a lot of holes in my worldbuilding still.
3/3

However, the presence of magic and potential for misuse/accidents creates a whole new class of problems that medicine has to address (or try to). MC is living with a (currently) mild case of this, and the only effect of it, so far, has been the complete loss of colour.
2/3

This happens to me all the time

It's a former gigantic aristocratic mansion which has been modified a lot.

different because magic and their associated understanding of the world is built into the tech.
2/2

difficult or impossible to distinguish between the two types.

They are used like lab grown gems so it's perfectly legal to make these.
The problem is when people try to pass these off as natural stones (which have a higher value and are mostly used for pretty things by rich people). Sometimes people do this to make money quickly and if it's done well it's

WELCOME TO THE DRACULA PAPRIKA DISCOURSE!!

(meme from tumblr, not my own, original link seems to be dead now)

In a way. At least the intention was there on her part.