Darkness

The difference between Darkness and Shadow is an important distinction in Saurian culture. Shadow is where light could be, where light simply isn't at the moment, but which could change. Shadow is defined by the light and light is defined in turn by the shadow, there is an undeniable connection which has tinges of sacred. Night is shadow, it may colloquially called 'dark' but in academic or formal settings it is referred to in other terms. Darkness, real darkness, is where light cannot be. Under mountains, ocean depths, these places cannot even potentially be touched by natural light.

Thousands of years ago, it was said, Darkness swept across the land from the western ocean. There was no sun, no moons, no stars, and the blackness was so thick it choked and killed. Horrors unlike anything seen since roamed the lands, and those who survived endured the terrors with no surety that they would ever end. A generation without light, only the hope that one day it would return. When a light pierced the veil it is written the darkness screamed and writhed, until finally the power of the sun and stars beat it back the edges of the world.

Academics in the modern era aren't sure how much truth can be found in these legends, but the wariness of these dark places remains ingrained in many Saurian cultures. Dwarves who find themselves in The World Behind are looked upon with fear or wonder, depending on where they go, as their preference for living in the deep places of the world is incredibly strange to most Saurians. They have become highly valued for certain industries; metals have only become common within the past hundred years thanks to Dwarven intervention. While the presence of ores and other natural resources in the mountains was known, the methodologies or practicalities for extraction was not. These days dwarves who have set up in the mountains on either continent will usually have some Saurians on their crews, but all who work in the darkness are viewed as having something of a death wish.