The Heat and the Dark

For the song of the same name, see Marielda: Friends At The Table Soundtrack, The Interlude.

The Heat and the Dark, also known as the Dark and the Heat or simply The Nothing, is a powerful and destructive force that surrounds and threatens Hieron. "The original state of non-action, non-matter, non-existence", it is not two separate forces but two manifestations of the same absence. It may have had a role in the Erasure.

Debate

There are multiple schools of thought on the exact nature of the Heat and the Dark.

• Samothes believed that the Heat and the Dark arrive together. There isn't much to do except to try and make life good until then.
• Samot and his disciples believed that the Heat arrives first, and then the Dark. To stop it, you must keep the Heat at bay.
• The Yellow House believed that the Dark arrives first, and then the Heat, but that people have a light to them, and by moving, playing, dancing, and celebrating in the dark, we emanate that light and keep the Dark from coming in full, and thus prevent the Heat. Maelgwyn's Faithful hold a similar position.
• The Cult of the Dark Sun allegedly believed that rather than preventing its coming, it should be accelerated to put an end to worldly misery. The Dark Son himself believed that the Heat and the Dark was a substance to be worked on, and wanted to accelerate its coming to have more material to make use of.
• The gnolls believed that the Erasure was not brought about by the Heat and the Dark, and that any danger that the latter represented was unimportant in comparison to the more immediate problems facing their society.