This tale, detailing the creation myth of Dragonus, was taken from the Gold Anniversary publishing of “Old Father Bindlestein’s Fairy Tales and Fables”, adapted from the Book of the One. Many different translations from the original Dragonian text exist, some omitting or adding details, but the one featured in the aforementioned biblical text is the version most frequently recited at gatherings of the One Faith. Those wishing to indulge curiosity about other religions and myths, such as those preached by the Church of Claudandus, may be directed to "Mythes and Legendes for the Curious Mind" by Gloria Varrus, found in all good bookshops.
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Long ago, in the very beginning, there was nothing. There was no sun or moon, no stars in the sky. There were no hills or valleys, no deserts or forests or oceans. There were no plants or trees, no insects or beasts or birds. In the very beginning, the sky was grey and lifeless, and the land was flat and barren. And instead of animals, horrid shapeless things lived on the land, sucking the moisture from the air and slithering blindly over each other. These were the First Things, born from the barren Earth itself, and they were so numerous they covered the whole world.Then it came to pass that, who knows after how long, the sky itself opened up, and there came a great Being, unlike any that had come before. He was like a mighty Dragon in shape, yet so much bigger, for His wings scraped the sky as He flew, and His shadow blotted out the world. He was Dragonus, the Maker, for He had been born in the fire and wind of the Aether, that great void where all spirits are born from. And His eyes shone like great torches and illuminated the early world.
When the First Things saw Dragonus, coming down from the clouds, they cowered in fear. For they could see how majestic and powerful He was, and were ashamed to be in His presence, ugly and formless as they were. And when He first landed upon the world they screamed in terror, for they thought He had come to rip them to shreds and devour them. And they began to crawl away in fright, wishing to escape him, and many of them burrowed under the earth to the Caverns of Solitude, where they spent their days wallowing in shame and self-pity. These Things would eventually come back to the world as the Uruk-Hai, and wreak the worst destruction of all, but that is a story for another time.
When Dragonus saw the First Things, He was filled with pity for them, for they were so miserable and wretched. And He called to them with His great voice, like a gong of brass, saying, "O small and frightful things, why do you flee from me? I do not wish to harm you, for I feed only on light and heat, and have no desire to kill such small and helpless things!"
And those First Things that had stayed behind heard His voice, and stopped trying to escape, for they now knew He would not hurt them. But still they feared Him for He was so big and powerful, and spoke to him saying:
"O mighty beast, we do not flee from you because we fear you will harm us. We flee from you because you are so mighty, and we are ugly and misshapen things. We do not deserve to be in your presence, for we are ashamed of ourselves and the world we live in, even though it is all we have to call our own."
"Nonsense!" said Dragonus as He looked upon the flat and barren world in front of Him. "It is not right that you should be so miserable, and all this world should be so flat and lifeless, when the universe is so full of wonderful things! It is in my mind that I should take this world and make something out of it, so that it might be like a jewel in the cosmos."
"What can you do to change this world, O Great Dragon?" asked the First Things. And they were filled with wonder, for they had never heard of anything that could do such things.
"Watch and see, O First Things!" cried Dragonus. "Behold what power I have, and how I can change you and this world for the better! I shall give you new forms, so that you need not be ashamed of yourselves, and give you a new world carved from the old, so that you will be happy always."
And so Dragonus spread His wings, so that they touched the sky, and lifted into the air to begin His work.
First, He beat His great wings and blew a wind upon the grey mist above, so that it all parted to reveal the sky above. And in that wind were the clouds formed from the mist, all packed together so that they would not cover everything as they once did. And that is how His Wings made the sky.
Second, He took a deep breath and spat a great Fire into the sky, so that it lit up all the world. And when it reached the highest it could go, it became a great shining ball that began to crawl lazily across the sky, so that sometimes the world was in light and warmth, and at other times in darkness and cold. And that is how His Fire made the sun, the night and the day.
Third, He took from His body Scales of shining silver, the like of which is not found in the world today. And He threw them up into the Sky, so that they stuck to it and glimmered, and a scale from His great belly grew shining white and began to crawl across the sky. And that is how His Scales made the moon and the stars.
Fourth, He unfurled His mighty Tail and began to beat it upon the earth below him, with great strength. And wherever it struck it pushed the earth downwards or upwards, forming mountainous peaks or great valleys. And sometimes it swept the land, forming flat plains or deserts instead. And that is how His Tail made the earth.
Fifth, He blinked His great eyes, and let his Tears fall from them. And wherever these Tears landed, clear water gushed up from beneath the earth and formed mighty pools. Some flowed down from the mountains and formed rivers to feed these pools, and little by little the pools grew bigger and bigger, until they formed lakes and oceans. And that is how His Tears formed the water.
Finally, he blew a gentle Breath along the new world below him. And wherever His Breath touched the earth, the first grasses and trees sprouted and grew, and the first flowers bloomed. And when His Breath touched the First Things, they began to change shape and take on marvellous new forms. Some grew wings and became birds, flapping their way into the sky. Some grew small and became the first insects. Some grew legs and became the first beasts of the land. And others grew fins and became the first fish. And that is how His Breath formed the plants and animals.
Then Dragonus, the Maker, said to the animals and birds, "Look, I have made this world for you to live in, so that you will no longer be miserable. Rejoice, First Things, and play in this gift I have given you!"
And the animals and birds and fish and insects all gave thanks to Dragonus, and went away to play on the land and in the sky and in the sea. And in those days all the animals lived for a very long time, and were all good friends with each other and ate. The wolf was friends with the deer, the salmon was friends with the bear and the weasel was friends with the basilisk. It would be a long time before many of these friendships would be brought to an end, and the One would write the new laws of the world, but that is a story for another time.
And so Dragonus yawned and flew away, for He was very tired, and found a cave many leagues deep in the side of a mountain. And He crawled into it and went to sleep, the first of his many Great Sleeps to come.-------
Some notes on the text:
- "First Things" is not the accurate translation from the Dragonian - the proper word would be "First Ones." It is assumed the change was made to differentiate the First Things from the One, the central deity of the One Faith alongside Dragonus.
- "Aether" is just one of the possible translations from the original text - the word can also mean void, or nothing, and is also the Dragonian term for outer space. Aether is often spelt as "Ether" in some translations.
- Whilst the Caverns of Solitude exist as a real place, many take it to be a euphamism for Hell. This is debatable, as the One Faith usually avoids depictions or mentions of Hell or satanic figures.
- Some scholars argue that it was the Claws, and not the Tail, that shaped the world. This is due to confusion over wherever the original word translates into one or the other.
- Some translations, especially in Drow culture, omit the scale of the belly being made into the moon. To the Drow, the belly of a dragon is an unclean place, and it is the one portion of it they will not eat. Associating it with the moon, their primary god-figure, would not be a wise move!
- Unlike the Behemoth and Leviathan of Christianity, the Basilisk is an actual creature on Porphyrion. It is noted for its virulent poison despite its diminutive size.
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