Corpus Tamrielicum - The Imperial Library

[34] THE LIGHT AND THE DARK
them the Light and the Dark. Others use different names. Good and Evil, Bird and Serpent,
Order and Chaos. None of these names really apply. It suffices that they are opposites, and
totally antithetical. Neither is really good or evil, as we know the words. They are immortal
since they do not really live, but they do exist. Even the gods and their daedric enemies are
pale reflections of the eternal conflict between them. It's as though their struggle creates
energies that distort their surroundings, and those energies are so powerful that life can
appear, like an eddy in a stream."
"Do demons and trolls come from the Dark, Grandpa?"
"Not exactly, son. The undead evils we know, and the demons that live on Oblivion tend to
align with the Dark. Their natures are more akin to it. Humans and the other peoples of
Tamriel, even the misunderstood Dark Elves, are more aligned with the Light. Our evils are
not always of the Dark, but some are, and these are the truly dangerous ones. Jagar Tharn was
almost wholly aligned with the Dark, and that is really why he was so monstrous. It was not
because he was a black mage, as some would have it."
"Did his magic come from the Dark, Granther?" The girl's interest was piqued by mention of
magic. Her heritage is beginning to show itself, thought the old man.
"No, magic power comes directly from the energies swirling about both entities. These
energies are impersonal and all mixed up. Black magic is more a matter of intent than effect.
The Mages' Guild holds that a fireball, say, directed against a creature intent on causing harm,
is not black magic; but the same spell directed at one seeking peace is. In this, they are right.
Destruction of a fire daedra strengthens the Light and weakens the Dark just a little. In the
same manner, destruction of a unicorn strengthens the Dark."
"What about the gods? Do they come from the Light?" The boy's eyes were animated, but
tinged with apprehension. He adored stories of the gods and goddesses of Tamriel's pantheon,
and the heroes who served them.
The old man chuckled. "The gods have an unusual origin, if some of the oldest tales are true.
The oldest inhabitants of this world -- no one seems to be sure what race they were -- had a
system of myths that they believed in for a thousand years. The people of et'Ada believed for
so long and so well, that their beliefs may, just may, have drawn upon the energies
surrounding Tamriel to bring the gods themselves into being. If that is so, the conflict
between the Light and the Dark provided the energy, and the et'Adans the structure, that
created the gods of Tamriel. No one really knows since it was so long ago and so little
survives from that time. It no longer matters; the gods have their own existence now, and
mostly align with the Light, except for a few who are, shall we say, a little ambiguous."
"Why do we have to remember, Granther? What is the danger you spoke of? If the Light and
Dark are so big and powerful, can we influence them? Should we try? What should we fight
for?"
"I see that your critical faculties are developing, Solara. That is good. The answer is simple,
but quite large enough for mere mortals like us. The Light and Dark are evenly matched, and
perhaps will never resolve their conflict. Mortals and the beings of the Aetherius sometimes
can perceive traces of them. Therein lies the danger; to most of us the Light is more
congenial, even inspiring, and moves us to behavior that we would call good. To creatures
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