It was dark but…not. It was a cave but…not. The air was warm and humid but not stuffy. Far above lay a ceiling of black stone, but azure light shone through millions of cracks and crevices. They were too far below to believe the light came in from the surface; more likely, the geodes in the stone gave off their own illumination. In fact, most of the natural formations emitted blue light. Everywhere they looked, pale blue mushrooms, many of them as tall as trees, glowed brightly, illuminating the cobblestone roads  and buildings. Even the boulders, grasses, and stalactites carried the same luminescence, and the cave was as bright as a moonlit night. The only things that didn’t glow blue were the cobblestones of the road and the tan stone and bronze of nearby Dwemer buildings and sculptures. Pale flakes of something like wisps from a dandelion floated through the air, never actually landing, just drifting along in the mist. Off to their left, dwarven pistons churned, and water rushed to their right. And they got all this before they even stepped off the balcony. They couldn’t see walls other than the one at their backs; the cave was vast, and it seemed the legends of Blackreach being the size of a city were true. They could see shadows of buildings and towers far away, although the mist obscured their distant view.

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