Light Energy
Light Energy, commonly rendered in Ruulden as Miran, is an aetheric energy flow present throughout Mundus and within all living organisms. It is widely regarded as the essential life-sustaining force, maintaining biological function, mental clarity, and the harmonic balance that allows Mundusian life to endure.
Overview
Light Energy is described by Seers and scholars as a force that living beings "borrow" for the span of their lives. While alive, creatures retain Light as an internal field and as a circulating flow; at death, the body can no longer hold this field, and the energy disperses back into the world.
Most Mundusian traditions distinguish between the soul (guided to rest by Alessa) and Light itself, which is treated as the world's shared life-force rather than an individual's eternal essence.
Distribution and natural variance
Light is found in two commonly discussed forms:
- Endogenous Light: the Light Energy held within a living creature, sustaining vitality and stabilizing mind and body.
- Ambient Light: the Light Energy present in the surrounding world.
Ambient Light is widely observed to fluctuate. In most regions, it is strongest during daylight and weakest during the deep night, a pattern frequently cited in both religious teaching and practical defense planning.
Interaction with matter
Although Light permeates most environments, multiple materials are believed to influence its movement.
Gold as a conductor
Gold is commonly believed to conduct and carry Light Energy efficiently. This belief underpins the long-standing practice of using gold in sanctums, reliquaries, and Aetherian iconography, including the Cross of Simonius. In Directionland, this association contributed to gold's reputation as a sacred metal, particularly in sites intended to preserve or amplify Light-consecrated space.
Obsidian as an attenuator
Obsidian is widely reported to deflect or heavily attenuate Light Energy. Experimental accounts describe obsidian structures as "Light-dead" interiors, where ambient Light fails to penetrate in measurable amounts. Because of this, obsidian is treated as an effective insulator against Light and is viewed with suspicion in many sanctified contexts.
Measurement and detection
The study of Light Energy is supported by both innate and mechanical methods.
- Aura Readers: Rare individuals capable of sensing Light and its distortions directly, including the presence of strong Light signatures or invasive Dark influence.
- Lightmeasure devices: Instruments used to quantify local Light levels and detect depletion trends. Lightmeasure calibration is also employed in medical contexts when subtle imbalance is suspected.
Practical applications
Forcefield towers
Two centuries ago, Directionland engineers discovered that by gathering and concentrating Light Energy, a dome of protection could be formed over large areas. This breakthrough led to the construction of forcefield towers in major settlements, designed to shield citizens during nighttime, when Netherkind manifestations become most dangerous. In St. Stylinson, the Golden Tower was later repurposed to serve this function.
These forcefields are understood to work by maintaining a concentrated Light boundary that resists intrusion by entities formed of Dark Energy.
Sanctums and Light-consecrated zones
Light-saturated sanctums are often treated as stabilizing environments. They are frequently recommended for those suffering aetheric imbalance, and they are notably used to slow the progression of Darkblight in documented cases.
Relationship to Dark Energy
Ruulden texts commonly render Dark Energy as Druvath. In many academic traditions, Light and Dark are treated as opposing forces: Light sustains and harmonizes, while Dark erodes, destabilizes, and replaces.
This relationship is most clearly discussed in the context of Darkblight, where invasive Dark Energy corrupts and suppresses an individual's endogenous Light. In advanced stages, Light collapse is associated with catastrophic physiological decline, psychological fragmentation, and, in extreme outcomes, transformation or death.
Ecological effects of Light depletion
Prolonged absence of Light Energy is considered fatal to Mundusian ecosystems. Reported effects include:
- Rapid decline in plant vitality, including withering, leaf-loss, and failure to bloom.
- Increased disease and mass mortality among animals.
- Accelerated onset of aetheric illnesses among humes and elvenkind, most notably Darkblight, when Light is suppressed or actively replaced by Dark.