Lights are made by spiralling elderin core filaments around a cylindrical shaft of space. The filament conducts graescence toward the center line and resonates to excite the gases in that space. Lights will have tighter spirals on one end than the other, causing a build up of electrons on near the tighter spiral. This, in turn, creates a potential differential that's directed along the spirals axis by the graescence fields. Depending on how the filaments are arranged, this cause various gases to emit light. The position and arrangement of the filaments is very important and will affect not only the efficiency and potency of the light, but also the color(s) it can produce.

Small misalignments in a design can have a drastic effect on how much graescence is needed to produce a desired effect, and thus more expensive lamps tend to be easier to use.

The specific designs and colors tend to be predominant to specific regions. For instance, regions in or around mountains have higher mercury and argon content, which results in a blue-tinted light. Volcanic regions tend toward orange or red colored lights. Even the plant life can affect what lights work best in a region.

Despite their complexity, lighting is a long-solved problem and one of the most common tech available. Though not cheap by any means, most families can afford at least one lamp if they are anywhere near civilization. Even if the light itself is cheap and difficult to use, it's generally preferable to light things on fire.

More complex (and expensive) lights do exist. A common variant will have a reinforced glass tube along the lamps axis, filled with the specific gas(es) required to produce light. These tend to be highly efficient and very expensive. Despite the cost (or perhaps because of it), they are favored for stationary purposes, usually as part of building or city designs.

It is possible to manually manipulate one's graescence to create light without a lamp, though it is difficult, requires extensive knowledge most people don't have, and usually takes a lot of practice (years), assuming one doesn't have a Trait to help facilitate it.