The Book of Water [antikvár]

IN THE BEGINNING, and a little after . . . In the Beginning, four mighty dragons raised of elemental energies were put to work creating the World. They were called Earth, Water, Fire, and Air. No one of them had power greater than another, and no one of them was mighty alone. When the work was completed and the World set in motion, the four went to ground, expecting to sleep out this World's particular history and not rise again until World's End. The first to awaken was Earth. He woke in darkness, as innocent as a babe, with only the fleeting shadows of dreams to hint at his former magnificence. But one bright flame of knowledge drove him forth: He was Called to Work again, if only he could remember what the Work was. He found the World grown damp and chill, overrun by the puniest of creatures, Creation's afterthought, the ones called Men. Earth soon learned that Men, too, had forgotten their Origin. They had abandoned their own intended Work in the World and thrived instead on superstition, violence, and self-righteous oppression of their fellows. They had forgotten as well their primordial relationship with dragons—all, that is, but a few. One in particular awaited Earth's coming, though she had no awareness of the secret duty carried down