The Humans tell many tales of the creation of the Cosmos. One of the oldest such stories deals with Tiamat, the Primal Dragon Mother, and how she and her brood of monsters were conquered by Marduk and the forces of Order. Variations of this tale are told again and again in human cultures across the globe, differing only in the details.

For an Age of Ages, beneath the Eyes of the Sun, the People were the Guardians of the Land. With hearts of fire and heads held high, they strode proudly 'cross the Land. And the Land prospered in the People's care, and the People prospered with the Land, and so it
was beneath the Eyes of the Sun, for an Age of Ages.

But other eyes watched from beyond Beyond, and coveted the Land and its bounty. They came to the Land, and drank deep of its Power, and, drunk with their stolen might, said to the People, "Bow before us, for we are gods."

The People laughed in their pride and power, and answered, "We are the Children of the Sun, and our hearts are fire! This land is ours, and we are its Guardians! What are gods, that we should bow before you?"

The Newcomers in their anger took the soil in their hands, and the earth rose against the People. Mountains rose and valleys buckled, and as the Land cried out in protest, the People took refuge in the seas.

And again the Newcomers said to the People, "Bow before us, for we are gods!"

The People laughed as they dove and played amidst the waves, and again they answered, "We are the Children of the Sun, and our hearts are fire! 'Though the earth might rise against us, this land is still ours! What are gods, that we should bow before you?"

Now the Newcomers shook with rage, and they strode into the seas, and the waters boiled with their wrath, and raged and howled and tore at the People, and the People rose into the skies.

And once more the Newcomers said to the People, "Bow before us, for we are gods!"

And now the People screamed their defiance beneath the Eyes of the Sun, and cried, "We are the Children of the Sun, and our hearts are fire! 'Though the earth might rise against us, and the seas might howl with rage, this land is still ours! We have soared beyond your
reach--what are gods, that we should bow before you?"

The Newcomers railed and cursed, and reached into the skies, and storms and winds roared across the Land. But the People danced amidst the clouds, unharmed and unafraid, for the heart of the storm is also fire, and the sky is the realm of the Sun, and the Newcomers had no power that could touch the People there.

The Sun looked down upon the Land, and wept to see the earth stolen from its Children, and the seas howling with rage. And the People gathered the Tears of the Sun, and made nests of cold, hard fire in the mountains that touched the sky, and there were safe even
beneath the stolen earth.

And so the Newcomers conferred among themselves, and said, "If none shall bow before us, then what of our power, what of our might? How shall we enjoy this stolen bounty if none shall reassure us of our splendor?"

So they brought forth minions, and bade them spread across the stolen earth, and bow before them, and call them gods. But they forbade these minions to strive skyward, for they knew that then they would be beyond their power.

But Men are willful creatures...

transcribed from the Songs of Dragonkind
by Sir Talmurion Seamist