t is oppressive, malevolent, paralyzing. It surrounds us completely, pressing in from all sides, bringing with it visions of terror, torment, death. One's blood runs cold, slowly the hair stand's on end and the flesh begins to creep. The senses are crippled, apprehension builds quickly, the heart begins to palpitate and panic ensues as terror's icy claws rip a man's strength asunder. Darkness remains one of mankind's greatest fears.

Neither is this fear unfounded, as it is an instinctual reaction long built into our species for good purpose. One example of the wisdom driving this innate proclivity may be attested to by any dwarf, for it is their race who most often encounters the deadly kuljin, deep within the darkest caverns.

These small, shapeless creatures that inhabit the deep, gloomy recesses of the underworld have never been viewed by the light of day. To adapt to their subterranean existence, the kuljin are colored black as pitch and possess razor sharp claws. Traveling in small packs, and feeding on all manner of flesh, it is speculated that the kuljin retain several rows of small, razor sharp teeth, for they devour their prey with amazing quickness. >From what we were able to ascertain, these creatures are small in stature, and bipedal, or ape-like in form, although a specimen has never been examined closely enough to give legitimacy to this opinion.

The kuljin can see perfectly in the complete absence of light, which makes them excellent hunters, well suited for their environment. Thankfully for us, this is also their greatest weakness, as light not only blinds them, but appears to cause them extreme pain. Consequently, kuljin flee in terror from any source of light. But woe to the unfortunate soul whose torch sputters and dies when the kuljin are about; his life is as good as forfeit.

While researching these vicious creatures deep within a dark and twisting cave, one of our pack animals tripped, landing upon the lantern tied to its side. Being at the rear of our team, the beast was plunged into darkness, whereupon a pack of kuljin rushed upon it immediately. Its screams of terror and pain bombarded our ears and filled cavern with chaos. We rushed back to save the poor beast, but were too late. As we stumbled back, the kuljin retreated from the light, and the grisly sight that met our eyes will surely haunt my dreams for years to come.

There before us on the ground, barely recognizable and still writhing in agony, was the partially devoured pack animal. It's flesh stripped away to the bone on its haunches, legs, head and neck, devoured in a matter of moments by the opportunistic kuljin. The chill that went down my spine and the terror that gripped my heart was suffocating as I moved to put the beast out of its misery.

I now know firsthand, why it is we fear the dark.