Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons will change the history of the many worlds of Dungeons & Dragons. Come and hear an elegy for the First World.
Dragons are woven into the tapestry of Dungeons & Dragons’ many worlds. After all, they’re right there in the name. But in the upcoming book, Fizban’s Treasury of Dragons, we get a glimpse of just how integral they are to the many worlds of D&D. We’ve heard whisperings of some of the lore– talk of the First World, a world that came before Faerun, before Oerth, before humans and elves and their gods.
We’ve already gotten a look at the book’s table of contents. Today, thanks to a preview spotted on Youtube, we get a look at a poetic interpretation of what that means. And this mythic poem carries huge implications for the background history of all of the worlds of D&D. Check it out.
Breathe, dragons: sing of the First World, forged out of chaos and painted with beauty. Sing of Bahamut, the Platinum, molding the shape of the mountains and rivers; Sing too of Chromatic Tiamat, painting all over the infinite canvas. Partnered they work in the darkness; partnered, they labored in acts of creation.
Breathe, dragons; sing then of Sardior, ruby-red jewel they made in their likeness; Sardior, first-born of dragonkind, labored alongside Bahamut and Tiamat. Shaping the dragons they crafted; dragons metallic and dragons chromatic. Breathe, dragons–draw in the life-gift breathed into you at the dawn of creation.
Breathe, dragons; sing of the outsiders, war-bringer gods with their mortal adherents; teeming they came to the First World, seeking a home for their legions of followers. Mighty in magic and numbers, conquering deities seized their victory. Fallen was noble Bahamut, Sardior hid in the heart of creation.
The poem goes on to talk about what happens– but in the story, you get a sense of the world that came before. A World-That-Was, if you will. In it, Bahamut and Tiamat labored together to create a world, first creating Sardior, a ruby dragon made in their likeness, and together they made all dragonkind.
Everything changed when the fire nation gods of mortals attacked. The “outsiders” are implied here to be all the other gods that make up the humanoid/mortal races. Elves, dwarves, orcs, lizardfolk–everyone but humans are mentioned by name here. Apparently, there is some great war that raged on during which Bahamut fell, Tiamat was entombed forever in torment (until she got out), but then, dragon gods being what they are, they managed to return, make an uneasy peace? And now the seeds of the First World are scattered through all existence.
A fact we’re sure will be explored in more depth in the book itself. But this changes everything about the way D&D’s multiverse works.
Happy Adventuring!
Source: Bell of Lost Souls
