Before the World, there was nothing. There was not even Void, for there was nothing of substance to set it against and say, "There is void". But there came into being a Thing, at the heart of the World which was not yet made; an Egg, huge and mottled with many colours. It lay in the Void, which the Egg created by it's own being, cradled in the Silence which had not yet been named.

And the Egg cracked open, and the noise of it's breaking came into the Silence and spoke a word, so that the Silence also was named and broken. Then Time came into being, for the word spoken was, "Begin."

Out of the Egg crawled five Dragons. Looking about themselves, they saw the Void and it draw back as they perceived it and thus they made a space in the Void, in which to set the World; and their breath made the Void around them bright with stars. Their names are lost in the beginning of Time, but they are known to us by their forms and by the words they spoke.

The first of the Dragons to hatch from the egg had scales of burnished brass, edged with flickering fire; his claws were flame and his eyes were as rubies, glowing in the Void. He looked about and saw the Void and that it was cold and empty. Then he spoke a word and the word was his own name and with it went forth part of his own being into the Void. When the word came into the Void, it was a word of Fire. And with that word came into being fire and lava; and also the Salamanders, children of volcanos. And the word he spoke was set in the Void as the Fire which burns at the heart of the world.

The next of the the Dragons to hatch from the egg had scales of burnished bronze; his claws were sharp edged like glittering mica and his eyes were as jet. He looked about and saw the Void and that it was without substance or form. Then he spoke a word and the word was his own name and with it went forth part of his own being into the Void. When the word came into the Void, it was a word of Earth. And with that word came into being the rocks and earths and mountains and plains and the gems and gold of the earth; and also the Dwarfs, children of the mountains. And the word he spoke was set in the Void, surrounding and taming the Fire.

The third of the the Dragons to hatch from the egg had scales of verdigrised copper; his claws had the luster of pearl and his eyes were as sapphires. He looked about and saw the Void and that it was still and without sound. Then he spoke a word and the word was his own name and with it went forth part of his own being into the Void. When the word came into the Void, it was a word of Water. And with that word came into being the springs and lakes and rivers and oceans and the bright-scaled fish which live in them; and also the Dolphin, children of the sea. And the word he spoke covered the barren face of the world, girdling the Earth.

The fourth of the the Dragons to hatch from the egg had scales of silver; his claws were hard and sharp as diamond and his eyes were as many-faceted crystals. He looked about and saw the Void and that it was airless and without voices. Then he spoke a word and the word was his own name and with it went forth part of his own being into the Void. When the word came into the Void, it was a word of Air. And with that word came into being the air and speech and birds and the dreams of all living creatures; and also the Elves, children of the Moon. And the word he spoke covered the World, Earth and Sea alike.

The last of the the five Dragons to hatch from the egg had scales of finely wrought gold; his claws were lances of golden light and his eyes were as emeralds. He looked about and saw the Void and that it was barren and without life. Then he spoke a word and the word was his own name and with it went forth part of his own being into the Void. When the word came into the Void, it was a word of Life. And with that word came into being sunlight and the plants and animals of the Earth; and also Men, children of the Sun. And the word he spoke filled the World with life.

Then the Dragons were well pleased with the home they had built amid the Void. And having spoken their own True Names to make the World, they found their being was spent and they said, "Let us enter this World we have made and sleep there, that our own words may come back to us and refresh us." The Dragon of Fire went into the heart of the World to sleep, and with his own being keep the Fire hot. The Dragon of Earth slept under the mountains, in all the deep places of the World. The third Dragon, the Dragon of Water, made his bed in the depths of the ocean, his sleeping thoughts running in all the waters of the world. But the Dragons of Gold and of Silver set themselves above the World, to watch over it even in sleep.

But when the five Dragons had departed to rest in the homes they had made, the Egg stirred again. And from it's shards crawled the last Dragon, the sixth Dragon.

He was a Black dragon, yet also bright. His scales were of well-forged steel, edged with all the colours of the rainbow. His claws were of obsidian, sharper than any sword in the world and his eyes burned with a cold flame. Smaller and weaker than his brethren, he had lain longest in the Egg. And being young and eager to leave the Egg and look about them, his brothers had heeded him not, but trampled over him, tearing his wings and scales with their claws.

Yet, laying near to death in the Egg, his brothers words came back to him from the Void and by hearing them he drew new strength. In the echoes of the word of Fire he heard burning and ruin; in the echoes of the word of Earth he heard earthquakes and the lust for gold and gems; in the echoes of the word of Water he heard drought and flood; in the echoes of the word of Air he heard nightmares and lies; in the echoes of the word of Life he heard famine and pestilence.

And when he came forth form the Egg and looked toward the World his brothers had made, he spoke a word and the word was his own name and with it went forth part of his own being into the World. When the word came into the World, it was a word of Darkness. And with that word came into being the terror of Endless Night and the perversion of his brother's Words; and also the Shades, children of the Darkness.

And the last Dragon, the Black Dragon, sleeps not, for he has no home in the World. Awake, he moves at times through the World, seeking to turn it to his own liking. He passes through the heart of the World, and his brother the Brass Dragon of fire stirs in sleep, and the Fires at the heart of the World spill forth to it's ruin. He moves through the deep places of the Earth and the Copper Dragon moves but does not awaken, cracking and shaking the Earth. Walking through the depths of the sea, he disturbs the dreams of the Bronze Dragon of Water and the sea rises in storms or drowns the land. And when he moves through the sky, the Sun and Moon, the Dragons of Gold and of Silver, are darkened by his passing.

For the Black Dragon turned his eyes to the World with both lust and hate; he desires ever to possess it and thus to take his brothers' names from them and have power over them, yet ever he fears the power of their names, who have from the first been greater than he.