when they made their timid way to the mouth of the cave , where veig treth awaited them holding his lamp , and stepping out they saw the abyss of uncolour gaping as far as the eye could see , gallan and raddia were too fearful to proceed but after they explained the cause for their reluctance to veig treth , he laughed heartily and told them that the thing theyd lived in dread of , thinking it a sign of grave impurity , was in fact a colour among many , named black , which , besides being prevalent in all of feerien , was completely harmless to see and touch .