The God Dragon
Birthday present for a friend. I took inspiration from several creation myths. Where Christians focused on day/light and Tolkien focused on Sound and music, I decided to go with colors and art
in honor of my friend. I also took some of the style from Gilgamesh to try and give this a feeling like it had been an oral tradition before being written.
The first being in existence floated in the void. A magnificent creature of infinite size and colors so varied and brilliant that one cannot comprehend their full spectrum; this was the God Dragon. The universe flows through his glorious form, for all of reality stems from him, and he is intrinsically connected to all of reality. With immense skill and craftsmanship, he brought forth the cosmos. Beautiful nebulae, galaxies, stars of all sizes and colors appeared under the God Dragon's commands as he painted the blank canvas of the void to his own desires. Through constant creation, alteration, removal, and creating again, the God Dragon created his masterpiece. But as he observed the result of his endeavor, he felt it to have no meaning if no other existed to observe it with him. The God Dragon desired a companion, one to make his own artistic creations within the larger Masterpiece and to enjoy the wondrous sights he had so carefully created.
The God Dragon took the colors from his own body and assigned them each a unique property. With Brown, he created earth and soil, a sturdy base to support all others. With yellow, he created lightning, eager to light up the night sky in dazzling bolts. With Blue, he created water, teaming with life. With white, he created snow and ice to decorate the mountain tops and winter months. With hues of red, he created fire, bringing warmth and comfort to those who needed it. With green, he created grass and leaves to adorn the landscape. With black, he created shadows and darkness to bring contrast to all things. With colors unseen, he created the wind and air, swirling and flowing with invisible motion. With these elements, he crafted together a second being, a form of fur and flesh from which all canines are given resemblance to. The beast trailed with eight tails, each representing the eight powerful colors given by his master, and for this was named Element Dog.
Element Dog observed the Masterpiece existing all round him and became awestruck with its immense complexity and wonder. He sought to witness the entirety of this work of art, and with his elements he created a rounded surface adrift in the Masterpiece. With brown he created the structure to hold all others. With blue, he created the oceans, rivers, and lakes to fill the holes of his land. With white, he created the frozen peaks and caps. With hues of red, he created the fiery core to give his planet life. With green, he created grass and leaves to feed the creatures who would share this land under him. With colors unseen, he created the sky to seal his creation away from the void. With black, he created the night as a gateway to see even a glimpse of the Masterpiece. With yellow, he created lights in the sky so that the beauty of his own work could be seen during the night. But as he observed the result of his endeavor, he felt it to have no meaning if no other existed to observe it with him. Together, with the direction of the Master and the powers of his Apprentice, they created the beasts to live on this land and look up to see the Masterpiece around them.
Among the vast infinite of the Masterpiece, however, another entity came into being. With his ceaseless reworking, doubt, and displeasure with imperfection, the God Dragon had created a force opposing his own. When a project became flawless, this being urged to corrupt. When a project was forming, it sought to mislead it. When a project began, it wanted it to be abandoned. From this being comes all doubt to artisans, for it is the defiler of perfection, the slip of the hand on the canvas, and the block to all creators. It was a part of the God Dragon, yet stood against all his thoughts. This greedy creature witnessed the creation of Element Dog and the art created by him. With the colors of Element Dog, it would be able to alter the Masterpiece of the God Dragon, erase what had been created, and distract the God Dragon from creating further. This nameless entity knew the power of black and its contrasts. It approached the Element Dog in the guise of the God Dragon and requested the use of black to change the Masterpiece, but the Element Dog grew suspicious and fled. It clawed at the Element Dog and seized the black tail with one hand. Its other hand grabbed for the red tail, but caught only fur before Element Dog escaped and returned to his Master.
Using the black tail and the red fur, the nameless inversion of the God Dragon created his own tainted mimic of Element Dog. This dog burned with hatred and lurked in shadows unseen, secretly corrupting the work of the Element Dog he was derived from. With brown he created quakes and landslides to shake apart the planet. With yellow he drew the lightning and its destructive power to the ground. With blue he formed floods to wash away life. With white created the coldness of death and barren wastelands. With hues of red, he formed volcanoes and wild fires. With green he twisted plants into vines, thorns, and weeds to steal from those around them. With colors unseen, he created storms and whirlwinds. With black, he created fear of the night and clouded lives to evil.
Element Dog grew angry at the twisted machinations of his counterpart. Time and again they battled, transforming the planet's shape and laws with their colors and ultimately causing destruction. Finally, Element Dog defeated his enemy and banished him to the core of the planet to be imprisoned by the two elements he stole, and thus his enemy was named Hell Dog, the evil ruler of all corrupted souls. The God Dragon approached his Apprentice with great sorrow. "You have defeated your enemy, yet not without cost. You have permanently altered the work I had charged you with in your overzealous pursuit. I fear I may have given you power beyond your control, power that can be misused if stolen from you or manipulated by evil while in your hands. I am sorry my Apprentice, but the world has become darker, and you have become dangerous. To ensure your safety and the continuation of my Masterpiece, I must strip you of the colors you were born from." Element Dog wept at these words, but knew his Master's words were true and just, and he accepted his fate.
However the God Dragon did not wish to fully erase Element Dog from his universe. He took hold of each tail Element Dog possessed and separated him into his colors. With brown he created Earth Dog, composed and unswaying. With yellow he created Lightning Dog, energetic and random of thought. With blue he created Water Dog, serene and mysterious. With white he created Ice Dog, calculating and lethargic. With hues of red, he created Fire Dog, passionate and quick to anger. With green he created Leaf Dog, patient and calm. With colors unseen, he created Wind Dog, spontaneous and care free. God Dragon sheltered these seven parts of his Apprentice and scattered them among the planet he had created, each hiding within their own elements until the day when they are summoned to abolish Hell Dog and continue their work on their part of the Masterpiece.