Light falls from the sky and is emitted from lit Furnaces, Torches and Lava. In Creative and Survival, light falls upon any surface that is completely uncovered. A single opaque Block separating that surface from the sky causes darkness. In Indev, light is much more dynamic, allowing it to fall down "levels", of which there are nine.
Indev Light Dynamics
Light in Indev works by checking all adjacent tiles to see if they have a lower light value than itself. If so, it will raise it to one below its own value.