Before the beginning four great eggs lay amidst the void. When these eggs hatched, they burst into showers of fire and ice which filled the void, and four great dragons emerged. These dragons were Chaamat, Behiimat, Siisat, and another which has no name. But when the dragons met each other, they fought. In the battle, the three killed the fourth one.
When the others saw what they had done, they mourned. Siisat flew into the sky, too angry at their siblings to face them. Behiimat dismembered the body and they and Chaamat used it and the shells of their eggs to create the world. When they were finished, Chaamat descended into the depths to mourn their shame, and Behiimat flew to the most remote land they could find. The blood of their sibling dripped from their claws, fertilizing the ground. And from that blood grew all the living things of the world: plant, beast, mortal, and lesser dragons.
— The Tale of the Four Eggs
This story is told by many Elven and Goblin peoples, although the details vary from telling to telling. The passage above comes from one of the more popular transcriptions of the tale. Other versions add details about the nature of the void and the eggs, or the reason for the fight between the dragons. Many versions change the nature of the conflict. One has Chaamat alone kill the fourth, as well as Siisat. Another has the fourth one be the instigator of the violence. In another, the fourth dragon is stillborn and there is no conflict.
The first mortals are always the same caste as the people who are telling the story, whether they are elves, gnomes, firbolg or goblins. They were formed in a deep cavern, their creation hidden from both Chaamat and Behiimat. But they found their world dark and barren, so they chose to search for a new home. In their search they saw spiders crawling into a tiny hole. They grabbed hold of the spiders’ tiny legs and the spiders pulled them through the hole into the bright land under the sky. Here they found all manner of food and beautiful things, and most decided to stay. Some chose instead to bring the great things they found back into the caves.
The stories do not agree on whether non-elf peoples descended from these mortals. Some give long origin stories for peoples like the humans or the saurians, descended from these first mortals as well. Others say that those peoples were created in other places, but always after the first mortals emerged from the underworld.
The children of Chaamat, Behiimat and Siisat mated with the lesser dragons, with mortals, and with daimons from beyond the void. Their children conquered the living creatures of Inannak and placed the mortals under their rule. They forced all creatures to serve them, punishing without justice those who failed. From among these gods, seven eventually rose to power over all Inannak. They sought out Chaamat and Behiimat and slew them to ensure their rule was ended. They could not reach Siisat, who had flown beyond the stars.
From amidst the mortals they found a few who pleased them more than any other, and adopted them as their seconds. Thus arose the first high elves, and later the nobles of the other peoples. These great ones ruled over their people, enjoying the wealth and power the gods had granted them. In return they delivered punishments and rewards to the people as required by the gods to maintain order.