"Terrible, powerful, awe-inspiring, and altogether destructive, they are the first and will undoubtedly be the last forms of life to ever walk upon this world" - Cassian Mordus, Chief Librarian of Freedholme.
Origin
Dragons are creatures formed purely of magic and were the first form of life to appear on Urth. The energies responsible for their creation originated with the arrival of the Draconis meteor during the age of the elementals. Carrying with it significant amounts of the radioactive element elsium, in addition to an assortment of other mineral elements, the energies unleashed by the impact of the celestial body with Urth caused a chain reaction that resulted in the fusion of three critical catalysts: Elemental energies, Mineral elements, and Radioactive energy that would later be recognized as Magic.
With thousands of tons of material ejected into the atmosphere and superheated infernos raging at the impact site, oceanic waters rushed in to fill the crater left by the impact. In a flash, the combination of elements coalesced, and in the swirling mass of chaos the first dragons took shape. From the metals carried in the meteor, the Platinum Greatwyrm Bahamut arose. From the remains of slain elementals arose Tiamat of many colors. And from the remaining energies arose Anorath the prismatic, the Diamond Wyrm.
It did not take long for the physical forms of the progenitor dragons to manifest once their consciousnesses came into being. Each dragon marveled at their own greatness, seeing and knowing the absolute perfection in their forms. They took flight, intent on surveying the world that lay before them. During their explorations they each learned of the elements and became acutely aware of the magical energies swirling about the ley lines of the planet. They each bathed in the energies of the magic coursing through the planet and knowledge flooded their minds. In an instant they each became aware of the multiverse, the numerous and varied planes of existence, and for a brief moment glimpsed a vision of what lay in store for their nascent world.
Anorath saw a vision of a world ever in conflict, where life would be destined to struggle until the end of time itself. While the vision disturbed him, he knew that ultimately a world in balance was one that must always exist in conflict, with no single party or entity gaining true mastery over others. This startling truth wracked Anorath's core, but it brought him peace in knowing that although there would be an eternal struggle, in the end, life would endure.
Bahamut awoke to a vision of a world teeming with light and life, where beings of all shapes and sizes wanted for nothing and lived in a world of order and plenty. The vision did not come without a price however. In it he saw that this world would only be possible if all the forces of righteousness and order were to unite to eradicate evil in a final climactic war to end all wars. What he did not see, unfortunately, is who or what would be involved in the final conflict.
Tiamat on the other hand, received a gift that she never wanted. In her vision she glimpsed a world wracked by chaos. Mortals, doomed to an existence of futility, would unleash a cataclysm wrought from the combined destruction of the forces of the Void and Hell. The Infernal Waltz, the great conflict between the greatest evils would spill into the material plane and in doing so, destroy all of dragonkind, including Tiamat. Horrified, she vowed to never allow mortals the chance to let this future come to pass.
Although each dragon received a vision, none of them spoke to the others regarding their dreams. Instead, Bahamut and Tiamat immediately laid plans to see their own version of the future take place. Anorath, on the other hand, made no schemes, content to let events play out as he believed they would and to that end, assisted his kindred in their works.
Brood of Bahamut
Bahamut wasted little time in acting upon his vision. Working in tandem with Tiamat, he found that she produced eggs that when touched by his breath would activate and give birth to wyrmlings. To his dismay, he found that all his hatchlings were males, so he and Tiamat agreed to a deal: She would impart a portion of her magic unto Bahamut, allowing some of his brood to randomly emerge as females capable of laying eggs. In exchange, Bahamut instilled upon Tiamat the lifegiving properties of his breath, allowing her to hatch broods on her own.
The first of his wrymlings emerged as Golden dragons, fully instilled with his ideals of justice and goodness. Next came the Silver dragons, followed by the Copper, Bronze, and Brass dragons. To these initial broods, Bahamut divulged his grand designs of order from chaos, heralding the mortal races, and preparing for the inevitable final battle against the forces of evil.
Brood of Anorath
Once Bahamut and Tiamat begun work on their broods, they soon found that Anorath was a willing and ready partner to both dragons in their works. Anorath prepared dens for the new broods by charting areas of potent ley energies for his kin to set up dens for their children, allowing them the greatest chance of success for survival in the still elemental-dominated world. For his efforts, Anorath was given both the gifts of the dragonsires: the gift of lifegiving breath and the gift of female progeny. Tiamat, in an effort to sway Anorath to sympathize with her interests, also granted six eggs to him so he could begin his own brood. Anorath bowed his head in gratitude, but promised to remain steadfast in his neutrality, favoring neither her while swearing also to never favor Bahamut. Taking his newfound clutch of eggs, soon the first of the reclusive gem dragons would emerge. First came the Amethyst Dragons, followed by the Emerald, Crystal, Sapphire, and Topaz dragons. Like their sire, these dragons strove for balance in all things, content to see the universe play out as it would without (excessive) meddling.
Brood of Tiamat
Tiamat was not initially pleased with her role in Dragonkind. At first thought, she saw herself damned as the ever-shackled matriarch of her progeny, doomed to lay eggs for all eternity so her kin may breathe life into them to produce more of her kind. She soon saw an opportunity to free herself from her burden when she noticed Bahamut's melancholy at never being able to produce daughters. Without hesitation, she struck a bargain with him and gave of her energies unto his breath, allowing him to create female dragons with his lifegiving breath. In return, she asked only that he share the same lifegiving properties with her. In his gratitude, Bahamut did not hesitate to share his gift.
Empowered with all the abilities required, Tiamat immediately set about in creating a new brood that would be loyal to her mission to preserve the interests of her species. The first and greatest of her creations, the mighty Red dragons soon emerged, followed by the terrifying Black dragons, then White, Blue, and Green wyrms.
The First Brood
Little is known about the first brood of dragons from before the sharing of Tiamat and Bahamut's gifts. When asked, both Tiamat and Bahamut are known to transition into an extremely rare and vulnerable melancholy in which a glimmer of sadness and longing can be detected, but only for the most fleeting of moments. Conversations with the most ancient of Gold and Red dragons have revealed that the initial brood was a mixture of dragons of all types, including platinum and chromatic dragons in the images of their forebears. Their stories imply that soon after their birth, they set about trying to put order to the chaotic nature of the elementals and in doing so attracted the attention of the outer planes of Hell and the Void. In their battles with Elemental Lords at the peak of their power, the magic unleashed by the First Brood tore the barriers between the planes and fiendish denizens of the Nine Hells spilled through, followed quickly by other portals heralding screaming and raging demons from the Void. Though this small invading force was no match for the might of the first brood, their presence unsettled both Bahamut and Tiamat. Today, the most Ancient Dragons speculate that it was this fiendish invasion accelerated the aging of the first brood through corruption, leading to their premature deaths.
