The Light was first, before any shape or form, there was the light.
The gods stepped out of the Light first, without shapes or names, just being. But the gods were conscious of themselves, and decided to give order to the world. They assigned names to each other, and each gave himself a form of appearance.
Everything else was still void, bathed in Light but devoid of content. Thus the gods began to shape the world, each as he desired. Aeons passed while the gods formed and re-formed and created the world from the Light.
As the gods created the world, they desired for other beings to inhabit it. They created all the fish and birds and animals and enjoyed their company and inquisitiveness for a long time. Soon, however, every creature had settled into its place in the world, and the gods became bored with their creations. Instead of inhabiting the world, they had become a part of it.
So the gods went about creating a new creature much more similar to themselves then all the others ones. The First Ones. A race not unlike man, but stronger, smarter and not subject to aging. These beings soon became the pride and joy of the gods, as they built cities and formed nations. They invented art and magic for themselves, and the gods were surprised as they had not given them these gifts. Like before, the gods were ultimately disappointed, for the First Ones did not inhabit the world, either, but made it their own.
But not all the gods thought the same way. Some wanted to let the First Ones be just as they were. Others wanted to eradicate them as a failure and try again. Yet others wished to change their creation over time. And thus, the gods went to war, and with them those creatures each had put into the world. The First Ones, as the gods joint creation, did not know where to stand. So they, like the gods who created them, split along lines of opinion.
With fire and sword, spell and claw the war was fought for many lifetimes. Uncounted creatures on all sides perished. Alliances forged and betrayed, forests burnt and mountains razed, the world would never be the same.
After a long time, the gods saw that they were destroying their creation, and slowly they put an end to the destruction, withdrawing to their places in the clouds to keep the fight amongst themselves only. The First Ones had been decimated and were not numerous enough to fill the cities and nations they had built. But only some of the gods were mindful to their plight, and none were willing to replenish the numbers of the First Ones beyond what their natural growth provided.
As the war among the gods waged and waned, there were periods of intense fighting which were felt even in the world and other times at which the gods relented and talked amongst each other. During one such time, they agreed on the creation of another race of men, weaker and softer than the First Ones, and subject to the suffering of old age. With these limitations, they had agreed, these new creatures would not consider themselves rulers of the world, but only its inhabitants.
And still, the gods could not agree on a fate for their first creation, and ever continued fighting amongst themselves.
Created by the gods in their image, but with many weaknesses and disadvantages, mankind is more fruitful than the First Ones, to make up for their mortality and limited lifespan. And so man soon outnumbered the First Ones, and yet remained in reverence of them always, for a First One is a powerful presence and can beat a simple man in any game or contest.
Mankind soon spread over the world, and as the First Ones took notice, they began to give man their inventions of culture and technology, and soon cities once again began to appear in the world, built according to the plans and methods of the First Ones, but by simple men. And the First Ones came to be the noble rulers of mankind.