Pénombre

by Etienne Suarven Lorneau, in Dark Ages

            Thirty years have passed since I wrote De Obscurité et Lumière, my treatise on Light and Darkness. Aislings were but a seed at the time, and the power of the two higher Elements had not yet been unleashed. Certainly, they both had been used in endless wars before the Sacrifice, but never in the scale in which Aislings, now in great number and carrying great experience, use them, and guide their lives by them.

            It is time I again write of Light and Darkness. With greater knowledge and more consolidated positions, I feel my original work no longer covers enough of the two Higher Elements. I write this not to replace De Obscurité et Lumière, of course, and repeating all I already said there would be rather pointless. That does not mean, however, this present work cannot be understood without previous knowledge of the first one: no, no, it does stand on its own, as much as I could bring it to. See for yourself.

Origins

            Although in De Obscurité et Lumière I clearly state Light has existed since the beginning of the Universe, and Darkness was created by Wizards of Temuair, I no longer believe it is simple as that.

First, it must be noted these two Elements are different from the other four. Srad, Creag, Sal and Athar are natural Elements of our land, they have always been there for anyone to harness. Light and Darkness, on the other hand, could not have their powers controlled before Wizards found the means to it. Even now, for a Wizard to use a Dubh spell the training endured greatly surpasses that meant to control one of the four elements; the same applies for Deo, in the case of Priests.

            This is so because Light and Darkness have no original physical manifestation. They both have existed since the beginning of the Universe, yes, but they could never before be touched by human hands. That is why making direct use of these elements is so exhausting to spell casters: it is not simply a case of making water splash around or earth rise; one must first bring Light or Darkness from its initial, non-physical stage to something that can indeed act upon the physical world, and only then control this very ephemeral manifestation to do their binding.

            Having said that, I believe the origins of the two Higher Elements are now clear: they did exist since the first moment of the Universe, but we could only tap into their power once they were made tangible, once they had a physical manifestation for us to control. That was the “discovery” of Light and Darkness: Wizards found a way to touch what had existed since days forgotten by Grinneal itself.

Physical Manifestation

            It is a wonder, when we look at it, that the very first tapping into the higher Elements’ power brought forth a living creature, a Dubhaim. Those Wizards barely knew what they were doing, when they forged Darkness into a material form, yet they created living creatures from the start. Of course, the first creatures were so horrendously deformed they lived mere moments. But it did not take the Wizards long to give life to what we now call Dubhaimid: dark beings of great strength and even some intelligence.

Why did they not create a dark sword, for example, or some other dark object that would be useful in the war they fought? Today, it takes a tremendous amount of power for an Aisling Wizard to harm an enemy with Dubh in its lesser form; summoning a living creature made of this Element, without using Sgrios’ powers, is yet to be seen!

            Please notice the assumption here: the lesser Dubh spell I refer to is Strioch Bais. However, we know very little of the Strioch spells: only that it is a glyph from the Aosda, as Kiril, Dark Wizard of Undine, tells us. Since the damage caused by it is very similar to that caused by Dubh spells cast by some Dubhaimid, it is generally accepted that Strioch Bais (not Mor Strioch Pian Gar, let it be clear) is also a Dubh spell.

            Another point to be considered lies with Light. When Wizards got a hold of the Sixth Element, they did not create any living being out of it! Why, in the case of the Fifth Element, Darkness, the one thing they made with it was living beings, and were overrun by then afterwards. Why did they not create Light beings?

            I counter my own question in two ways, one already in my original work.

            Chadul is regarded as the God of Darkness, the direct nemesis of Danaan, Goddess of Light. However, Chadul was created by the Dubhaimid, therefore long after Wizards first made use of Darkness. Danaan, on the other hand, existed before the chaining of Light. It is possible, then, as I say in De Obscurité et Lumière, that Danaan prevented the physical manifestations of Light from gaining life. Darkness, however, had no deity watching over it until Chadul was created; therefore any manifestation of it was free to gain a mind of its own.

            The second possibility, unfortunately, has no more proof to its name than the previous one. It is feasible that Wizards feared what Light could do. Yes, feared. They created Dubhaimid, and the first of them were in fact helpful to the Wizards, but soon went rampant and caused great destruction. What if Light did the same? What if a living creature of Light simply turned its back to the Wizards and attacked them as well? Or if it went madly after the Dubhaimid, and ravaged the land in its way to reach its goal, destroying anything that stood in its path, in the process? The fighters of the Shadows War surely had no intention of battling in two fronts, against two infinitely superior enemies; and the same applies to being caught between two immensely powerful armies that fought with no regards for what was below them.

            In either case, both possibilities bring the same doubt. Be it by Danaan’s prohibition, or by the Wizards’ fear, no living creature of Light – a “Deoaimid” – was born. What would be the consequence of such a creation? Would it not indeed act the very same way as a Dubhaimid?

The Deoaimid?

            In our Woodlands, a very common creature is the Wisp. What, after all, is a Wisp? They surely do look like small shiny dots of light. Could they be some kind of Deoaim? If they are, seeing as they are hostile, it could cause a revolution in the way we see Light and Darkness.

            Some may argument there is another kind of Wisp, the Unseelie Wisp, found in the Macabre Studies scattered across the Graveyards near Tagor. These critters are black, and float like the white Wisps of the Woodlands. I think their family ties are not very tight, however: Unseelie Wisps are a black floating flame, and upon their death a dark lifeless flame is left behind. White Wisps clearly are not a flame of any sort, and leave no part of their body behind.

            But what brings the Wisps closer to the Dubhaimid than any other creature? Suppositions, that is all. It is impossible to say for sure. I could theorize, for example, that Wisps are Deoaimid, but not as “evolved” as the Dubhaimid: they draw their power from natural elements to attack us; they have no defined form (they are a dot of Light) and they simply disappear upon death – perhaps to return to the non-physical manifestation of Deo? – while Dubhaimid have a glimpse of Dubh in their attacks, most of them have humanoid shapes, and their remains can often be recovered after their death.

            I draw no conclusion. There are no facts to back the idea that Wisps are a lesser form of a hypothetical Deoaim. In actuality, the very existence of the Deoaimid has no facts behind it. I find nothing to deny the possibility, however; my belief remains.

Strioch Bais, Deo Saighead

            Putting aside the living creatures made of the two higher Elements, we return to the spells which make use of Light and Darkness. In the case of Light, however, I do not refer to healing spells: these seem to have a modus operandi that greatly differs from the simple transmutation of a non-physical Element to a physical form.

            Another note here to explain that, how healing spells differ from attack spells made of Light – in the case, ioc and Deo Saighead. Being a Wizard myself, I am not entirely familiar with ioc, but it does not seem to have a direct effect on wounds: rather, it will cause the body to heal itself, using the energy provided by the spell instead of that commonly obtained by the organism. The Inner Fire of Monks, for instance, accelerates the natural process of healing, using the body’s own energy, and it has continued effect; ioc has immediate effect, and uses the energy of the casting Priest to mend the wounds – as if the body retrieved energy from a different, much more powerful source, for that brief moment. I hope that was clear enough.

            With that explained, let me return to Deo Saighead. When this spell is cast, Light is taken from its original form, and made tangible, physical, for an instant. That is the twirl we see when Deo Saighead is used. The physical spiral of Light cuts through the enemy, causing some damage. This spiral is imbued with Light, naturally, and is thus greatly powerful, the same energy used for healing in ioc being used for damage in Saighead – funny how all Elements can be used for both good and bad purposes, no? Srad, Fire, is probably the best example: heats you in a cold winter’s night, burns down your house. Proper control makes such a big difference. But, back to our previous point.

            Let us take, now, Strioch Bais, our Aosdic Glyph of destruction, the Dubh spell of Aislings. A very interesting star-shaped figure envelops the target; all the caster’s mana is spent, and Darkness hurts the enemy deeply.

            Why does Deo Saighead produce a random twirl, while Strioch Bais comes as a perfect geometrical figure? Not known. It might be heritage of the Aosda, since the Dubh spell has its origins in it. Or Wizards are better trained in the offensive spells field, while Priests do not have enough experience in that use of magic to give it a defined shape. It is not to be said that the Deo Saighead spiral is inefficient, however: although not the most aesthetic of spells, it is impressive. And, the most curious aspect of all: it is Light being used to harm.

Good vs. Evil?

            I am certain this chapter was rather predictable, both for the contents of this work, and the parallel I trace between Darkness and Light in my first work. The argument, too, is rather obvious: if both Light and Darkness can be used to cause damage, and assuming living creatures could be born out of the two elements (and go rampant, as the Dubhaimid), what would differ Light from Darkness?

            One edition of the Seanchas Temuair, a parchment from the early years of Deoch, brought some interesting verses in one of its first pages:

Sometimes we barely tell
The difference
Between darkness and light

            And all known editions of the same text end with the sentence which has become the most overused cliché of our land: Every light casts a shadow.

            Whoever compiled our history into the Seanchas seemed to have views similar to what I present here. However, in spite of the historical text being consolidated, I will not make use of this safe harbor to back up my points. No, that is too easy. And, after all, Seanchas Temuair is factual history throughout most of its paragraphs; this work is supposed to be a discussion on the theme.

            Is Light good, and Darkness evil? No.

            Having put aside the onus of that affirmation, let me explain it. I, as an Aisling, and like most rational mundanes, live under Danaan and the Light; and I fear Chadul, and have seen what Darkness can do. In past wars, the Dubhaimid ravaged the land; those not killed had their minds twisted. Horrible, horrible.

            But let me trace a parallel here. What if the Wizards of the time, instead of researching the fifth Element, decided to magically enhance the Kobolds to fight in their war – and those powerful Kobolds went rampant and turned against the Wizards? Would we today fear the “Koboldness”? Would we have Castle Koboldhaim in the Isle of Dawn? And maybe we would have won the war against Koboldness by use of an army of magically enhanced Goblins! Except we did not commit the same mistakes and tamed them well before giving them too much power.

            Perhaps this is not the best analogy, but it should be remembered Darkness only became an antagonist after the Wizards gave form to the Dubhaimid: before that, our wars were fought among the split pockets of survivors from the fallen Hy-Brasyl, and most disgraces derived from the worship of Kadath. Darkness had no part in our play until we gave it a paper. We lacked a true villain in our little story, and Darkness filled the role. Would Light not do the same, had it been discovered before?

            This might surprise some, but I doubt it would. Not that I believe in any infinite benevolence of the Sixth Element, no. But I believe we have greater affinity with Light, and that is the full extent of our reason to see it as good, and Darkness as evil. The methods of Light cause us less damage – and that is all.

            Is water, Sal, evil to a bird? Throw a sparrow in the river and see for yourself. Take a fish from that river and throw it up in the air. Is Athar evil to the fish? Both questions accept a yes for answer. A simplistic example, no doubt, but I believe it illustrates the point well, in spite of Light and Darkness being Higher Elements. Humans do not dwell in the chaos of Darkness because we were born to live in Light – or grew used to it. And the Dubhaimid hide from the sun in the shadows of their castle, and the bird drowns in the fish’s sweet home.

Danaan, the one who got there first

            It is imperative that we remember the history of Temuair, back from before it was named Temuair. Although records are nearly non-existent, it is known we had over 32 thousand years of civilization before Danaan arrived. That is the era of Grinneal, and the great Aosda was part of it.

            A century later our world had its rebirth under Danaan, with the founding of Hy-Brasyl, the City of Gold. This was the beginning of the Light civilization. Aosda was completely lost in another eight centuries, and Hy-Brasyl, founded in the era of Danaan, became the model of perfect civilization – perfect, and driven by Light.

            I hope my point is clear by now. Aosda needed no Light or Darkness, no Danaan or Chadul, to be the most advanced culture of known history. Then Danaan arrived, and took the scales off balance. Hy-Brasyl was founded in that imbalance – the same imbalance in which we lived the last three thousand years, always doing our best to keep Darkness away. In the occasions it emerged, as all things kept locked down for too long, it was explosive, destructive – vindictive? We pushed it back and returned to Light.

            The other side of this imbalance coin would probably be, in my view, the Chaos Pits, found under the mountains of Pravat. That, I believe, is the true representation of a world where Darkness predominates – as opposed to ours, where Light has the upper hand. Not even Dubhaim Castle comes close to the chaotic, horrendous nightmare an Aisling faces in the depths of the Pits.

            Obviously, then, a question arises: how would a Porboss from the Pits feel if it was brought to the surface – or, let me push it even further, to Hy-Brasyl itself? Without a doubt, not comfortable at all, probably a very similar feeling to what we face while in its home.

            In another simplistic analogy, I would say it is similar to what we face when we stand in the sun for too long then walk into a very dark room. Or the contrary: stay in the dark for too long, then go out under the sun. Nothing is visible, moving about is complicated, things seem to get in our way on purpose so we bump into them. Such is the case of Temuair: it stood under the sun for too long; now in the slightest shadow its sight is hindered, it bumps into things, curses them, kicks randomly, and turns back.

            That is the result of thousands of years under the Light of Danaan: we lost touch with and knowledge of Darkness, and now we fear it. And this dooms us to forever fight it, and never reach the point of Aosda. We live in imbalance: we can go on trying to maintain it, desperately keeping Darkness outside while we hold on to Light, the two distant as ocean and desert. Or we can stop fighting over an unnatural division, and return to the balance in which Aosda bloomed, where Darkness and Light are one and the same. That is the Twilight. That is Pénombre.

Etienne Suarven Lorneau
31^st year of Deoch