It all ended with a dead Dragon

As was said in the beginning, the "Heroes of Once" were a quite unusual adventuring group, which turned out to be the best thing happening for this worlds prolonged existence as we know it. The aspects of democratic governments around the globe was just implemented a short 160 years ago, and even though most realms just stayed inside their common grounds and within their borders, real communication was scarce beyond the general messenger. And since the common folk and most organizations, like mercenary groups or merchants, did not care about the races or people they belong too, the sovereigns had a difficult time adhering to new standards. So it was rare seeing one of the rulers talking to anyone else besides important messengers or other rulers. With this in mind it becomes clearer how much influence the heroes had, who not only had recurring audiences with the King of Humanity Jonathan Morley Adamus de Payne I, but even made contact with the King of Elves Khiiral Theyarus'lool Urimys, who was known for being quite reserved and not very welcoming of strangers.

So the Heroes of Once managed to gain enough influence to advise the two known reigning kings in the south-west region of Ibalania and were welcomed as their guests. The now known kingdom of the Dwarves, Kheg Khuldor, was later founded by one of the members of that group, as the first surface dwelling dwarves on this continent, instead of this race living underground, in a place called Nekk Khuldor, far away from anything that happened above. The dwarves were not involved in the fight against the demonic dragon Zeoldoras.

As the dangers were approaching and the deeds of this vile creature were more and more crucial, the heroes needed assistance from their allies, from friends they made on their journeys and from the kingdoms they won over. After they found the lair of the dragon and gained the knowledge how to defeat it and seal the portals to the Shadowfell, from which the demons and devils entered this world, they came up with their plan. They had the solution to saving this world from annihilation by the evil forces, they only needed some manpower.

So by gaining the trust of two of the most powerful men in this continent, they managed to get them to work together, with all the other races, to make a joined military group, dedicated to defeating the evil henchmen. A first alliance, that was strong enough to survive until now, that was born from need but stayed through friendship and camaraderie. The two kingdoms, that existed peacefully side by side but ignored each other now joined forces to defeat one common enemy.

And with an army at their back and the safety of the people in trustworthy hands, the Heroes of Once made way to the dragons lair, ready for their last battle and with hope in their hearts to see the next dawn again.

We as the heirs of the life, people back then gifted to us, can only assume the terrors the shadow dragon Zeoldoras bore in the hearts of all living beings. As a servant of Dispotis, his sole purpose was to destroy the world as we know it, and open it up to the evil creatures lurking in the lower planes, to let them overrun it and finally reign above them all as the Messiah of Terror.

If this dragon ever existed as anything else than the vile creature he was known later on, is lost to the ages. Maybe Zeoldoras was once a normal dragon, that got corrupted by incomprehensible powers and had no other choice than to follow this corrupted path. But whatever is the truth, it won't change the fact that he is still known as evil incarnated. As fear itself. And as the darkness in all our hearts. But a few centuries ago he was more than those concepts. He was real. And the most dangerous threat.

So when the Heroes of Once realized, that they had to stop the dragon before it was too late, they gathered their allies and readied themselves. They knew where this monsters lair was. A place, deep underneath the earth, even deeper than the old dwarves dared to mine, lied the beast inside his cave. Surrounded by the demons and devils he commanded, and accompanied by the death he basked in. And he knew they would be coming. He knew they wanted to kill him. And he was prepared. For no living person can kill something intertwined with the realms of the gods. But let them try. A mere group of adventurers, fighting against the champion of the most powerful god.

The Heroes, standing before the Dragon and his army, knowing full well how impossible this fight could be, were determined. They fought endless battles. They met so many people. And they loved their world. They were not ready to see it die. And with this resolve, they readied their weapons and spells and attacked.

It was not the first time they fought demons and devils and they came prepared. The church of the Triage gave all of them, but especially their paladin, a plethora of holy weapons to fight with. Even if it just were some arrows bathed in holy water, they had more than enough to destroy the bodies of the demons and devils. All the while, Zeoldoras kept watching them. And when finally the last of his minions fell, he laughed. He laughed grotesquely. He congratulated them on their will to fight. And he made them an offer. If they surrendered, they will be spared. Yes, they would be made into demonic beings, but they could still live, and not dies a horrible death. But with just a smirk one of the heroes told him off. Only someone afraid of losing would make last minute offerings like this. And they were sure to live - with his slain body rotting down here.

Zeoldoras roared at them, a sound coming straight from the depths of all hells. And their fight began.

They already knew about the dragons immense power and near infinite stamina. The fact that they were underneath the surface, inside a cave almost as big as the kings castle of Leramar, they had a hard time hitting this dragon without destroying too much of their surroundings. Especially the non-magicians had a hard time doing anything. There are just so many stones you can throw. But after seemingly endless rounds of wearing Zeoldoras down, hitting him with spells and shooting arrows, the dragon had no choice but to finally land and prepare his biggest attack. This was the cue and the heroes only chance to strike with all their might. And so they did. All of them attacked at once, dodging the dragons desperate attacks with his claws. And finally, the dragon lay before them, lifeless, motionless, and in a puddle of black ichor.

But a shadow dragon, the champion of a god at that, cannot be killed in this realm. They are far too intertwined with their gods realm, so the material plane is nothing more than a playboard for them.  When the heroes looked at each other triumphantly, his body began to pulsate. Like a heartbeat, the whole cave quaked as well. As long as there was nothing binding the Dragon to the material plane, he would just revive his body using the evil powers from another realm where his god reigned.

The dragon pulsated, preparing his body for the energy funneled to it from his gods plane of existence, to revive his decaying flesh once more, this time to defeat the insects that dared fighting him. His soul flashed, fueled by even more hatred and evil.

This was the moment the Wizard from the Heroes of Once waited for. We can just assume, how he gained the knowledge of it, but he knew exactly what he had to do. As long as there was nothing binding the dragons soul to this realm, they could not defeat and finally kill it. And the only solution to this was binding the soul to himself. That wizard, who is known as Psagaros Falcin, used his final trump card, sadly smiling to his companions and waving them goodbye, not enough time to actually speak some parting words, a single tear rolling down his face, and connecting his magic to the dragons very essence. As soon as that contact was made, his body fell to the floor, his very own soul battling the dragon's, leaving behind just the husk of his body.

With just mere seconds realizing what just happened, the Heroes looked puzzled, angry and even scared, when the gigantic body of Zeoldoras moved again. Quickly getting back on his feet, staring down at their fearful faces, then laughing again. Oh, why were they so surprised? Did they really think they, mere humanoids, could defeat a godly being like himself? No, that was not possible. They should have known this. They eve went as far as sacrificing one of their own. How foolish they were!

The remaining heroes just stood there, staring at the dragon, than back to their dead friend. It seemed like they lost. The dragon standing before them, with nearly all of his power back. And they were down one. That was when the hero, that smirked before, laughed even louder than the dragon did. It might be correct. Their friend died. But he died to give them another chance. And even as foolish as they were, they haven't lost yet. For they still all have their hope. Their hope for seeing another dawn.

As soon as he finished talking, there was another pulse, coming from deep within the dragons body. A light, blue and golden at the same time, lightning up the whole cave, for just a mere moment. Without the need to communicate even further, the Heroes of Once readied their weapons and spells again and with yells of encouragement attacked the evil monster once more.

And when their attacks seemed fruitless in their first fight, this time every hit, every spell, had an impact. Slowly but steady they backed the dragon into a corner, while the beast was screaming and clawing and biting for his life, feeling that his immortality was gone. With his last power, Zeoldoras tried to bite down the Paladin of the group, with the name Marin Tallhart, who instead held his sword high above his head, shouting the name of his now dead friend, and drove the blade far into the dragons skull, before his maw could close around him.

Once again the Heroes stood upon the dead body of the shadow dragon. But this time, even after minutes of staring at him, his body did not pulsate. Instead the remains of that monster slowly began to wither away. Far too long did that vile beast lived in their realm. The body, that was long dead, now perished without the evil source of energy keeping it alive. Still standing there in silence, the reality of what happened not kicking in just yet, but dawning on the minds of the heroes. Nearly at the same moment all of them turned around, quickly rushing to their friends dead body.

He sacrificed himself. He became the absolute immolation. Not just for the group, not just for his friends. But for the whole world. For the people they all met. For the friends they made along their way. For the dawn they all wanted to see again. And for a future everyone but him will come to enjoy.

We don't exactly know a lot about what happened to the Heroes of Once afterwards. With the deaths of Zeoldoras, as well as their friend, this was the last adventure the group went on. But they brought back this world's happiness. They showed them true friendship, true bravery, and true compassion. They were the heroes that wanted to see the world, and fell in love with it. To the point that they risked it all to save everyone. You and me included. And this whole world, this new peace, and all those friends we now have, it all began with a dead dragon.