Great Equilibrium
Introduction
The Great Equilibrium is the balance between light and darkness in the Dawn Wars, the endless conflict between Tñarilu and Náiluv, the Primordial Spirits of light and darkness. It constantly tips one way and then the other, and its shifting produces day and night on Dalel.
Etymology
Great Equilibrium is the common name. In Tivayi, the language of the spirits, it is called Ñolautúv, "the balance beam".
Origin and Nature
The Great Equilibrium came into being with the Dawn Wars, c. 55,000 BME, when Konmai, the Primordial Spirit of time, emerged at the end of the Great Erosion. Light and darkness, whose realms, Qaaniguaq and Woncu, lie on either side of Dalel, began to contend for the space between them. Neither has been able to win.
The Equilibrium is often described as a scale. When light gains ground, the scale tips toward day; when darkness gains ground, it tips toward night. The warden races of the two spirits, the Inguik and the Nuworno, fight on their behalf, and their struggle is the tipping of the scale. Each swing lasts roughly the same length of time, and the scale never comes to rest. Why the balance holds is unknown.
Significance
The Great Equilibrium governs day and night on Dalel. Daylight and darkness are divided across the plane in concentric rings, following the same pattern as its climate. The center of the plane lies in permanent daylight; Haberria, which lay at the center, knew no night. The outermost reaches, beyond any inhabited region, lie in permanent night.
Between these, the boundary between light and darkness moves as the scale tips. When light gains ground, the boundary moves outward: dawn comes first to the regions nearest the center and last to the outer rings. When darkness gains ground, it moves inward: dusk comes first to the outer rings and last to the regions nearest the center. Dawn at any place is the moment the advancing light reaches it; dusk is the moment the returning darkness does.
Regions near the center therefore have long days and short nights, and regions toward the edge have short days and long nights. A full day, from one dawn to the next, is the same length everywhere; only the share of daylight changes.
Osia and the Osiari
The Great Equilibrium lies beyond the reach of Osia. Disciples of the Path of Tñarilu and the Path of Náiluv work with lesser spirits of light and darkness and can brighten or darken a place for a time, but they cannot affect the balance itself. The Primordial Spirits do not heed mortals, and any attempt to reach the Equilibrium is regarded as extremely dangerous.
Cultural Significance
The turning of day and night shapes life across Dalel. Calendars are reckoned in days, and work, markets and travel follow the daylight.
Many animals are most active at dawn and dusk, and hunters and herders plan around their movements. The Equilibrium also appears in everyday speech, in sayings about the turning of the scale and the return of light or darkness.
Philosophy
Whether the Great Equilibrium could ever break is a long-standing question. Some hold that it is a law that cannot be broken. Others hold that it lasts only as long as neither spirit gains a lasting advantage, and that a world of endless day or endless night could not sustain life.
See Also
Bibliography