Dragon Rage

One thing about your water, and why it might be as dark back and front... Do you have a seabed as such, or is it just void below the water surface? If it is just a void, then the water will look bottomless, and that makes it very dark, which could be drowning (no pun intended?) out your water shadows? Try putting a matte plane below the water at as a sea bed, and see if it lightens the water... also if there is nothing up in the sky (like ibl or anyother objects, the reflection from the top of the water surface will also make the water look dark, as it is also reflecting the void, although if you have the reality sky, that may not be the issue. With the reality sky as a light source, it will give an overall illumination, see if when you turn the sky off in the lux light tab, if you get the shadows from having just the sun on?