“The Night is ruled by forces of undoing, spirits of primal causes, invisible beings from the plains of instinctual sources, instigators of violence and bloody sacrifices, emanations of the worlds-between. Their food is fear, their ally weakness, their pleasure death. They are driven away by radiance, the clarity of familiar things, memories of joy, the invocation of high powers, and protective chants.” … so says the wisdom of the priests of Aderan. Yet, every person in the depths of their heart knows very well what the Night truly is—it is nothingness, emptiness, extinction. He who steps into the Night and is not protected by the brilliance of fire shall dissolve in the liquid darkness and never again find the way back to the community of men.

Yet the Night is not only the darkness creeping between the trunks of trees; it is hidden within people themselves—human sleep is the counterpart to the night as experienced by the world. Just as the beasts of the night emerge during the world’s slumber and formless demonic revelries begin their dance, and just as silvery webs of the Halls light up within the black canopy of Night in the glow of stars or the moon, so too does a person submerge into darkness. Through their internal shadows wander dream-predators and demons; in their dreams, they visit wondrous Halls and may be ensnared by their charms, never to wake again.

The bridges across Erdogdu can thus be crossed not only in one’s body—that is, in the solar dream—but also in the nightly dream. There are not three bridges, but as many as there are human souls, for it is they who reach across the water’s surface in their sleep into the jeweled darkness of that other world. To prevent them from flying off into the pure Night and dissolving within it, they must drink the light of Aderan every day; it shall be a lamp for them during the nights, in whose radiance they cannot forget their purpose and stray from the path. Many of the Hwarnij, however, also strive to diminish their sleep time, and through traditional techniques, they can rest fully during a mere three hours of deep sleep. Others do not lose consciousness during sleep and consciously visit good places and kind Halls. Others possess an amulet, a key that allows them to unlock the door to a new day, a torch that will guide them. If someone’s husband or wife dies and they were bound by a cord of love, then the soul cannot depart and becomes a nightly guide and guardian of the living.

There are also those who found the knot intertwining sleep and waking and untied it. For them, sleep has poured into waking and waking into sleep. They are called the Awake or the Dreamers, and they are held in high esteem, for they have transcended the human lot. It is they who dream with open eyes, seeing revelations by day and radiance by night. The day is dark to them and the night bright; the sun a hollow opening, the pupil of the eye a shining star, their paths entirely straight, and time but a succession.

Night can therefore be entered both by the path across the bridges and within the person themselves, here and now. Thus, Night lurks just around the corner of reality, and only a thin curtain separates it from waking consciousness. Night is a mystery, for no one has fully understood it and remained alive. It is the other side, the absence of everything that is our nature. It is like water—it pours into hollows abandoned by light, drawing outlines with black ink, and in its movement is perfection. Like water, it is a prerequisite for life, for it hides the roots of the universe, which must not be uncovered.

Its essence is finer than ether, and so it is a canvas for a strong will and the holder of breathtaking colors. The powerful, therefore, often walk through the Night and paint for their pleasure—wherever they pass, the night is interwoven with gold that dissolves toward morning. The Travelers also know the Night and its properties. For them, it is a gateway to the Halls, and perhaps something more. For it is precisely in the Night that their eternally echoing footsteps come to a halt, and they find respite from the Pilgrimage.