The Tale of the Dead One and the Dragon of Life

Two Continents

A long time ago, far to the south, there was a continent devoid of any life.
The beings born there were far from being alive. Some of them traveled across the ocean's floor, and their every step killed everything around them. They discovered that even if one of them died, they would reform themselves back at their home, it just took them many years to come back.
One of them, who stayed back on their land, was stronger than his kin. As such, weaker ones gathered around him and he became their ruler.
At the same time, to the north, there was a second continent.
It was protected and loved by Dragon. The biggest mountains were dwarfed by her and she was so full of life, everywhere she took a breath, was soon covered by growth. Wherever she was, nothing could die.

The War

Years passed, and the Dragon spent her life peacefully.
Till one day, she smelled a terrible thing. The decay started spreading on her land, with one of the dead things. She dealt with it fast, killing it with her breath, and the land started to regenerate.
However, the trail leading to the ocean and the same smell coming from there interested her.
So she started to fly to its source, killing others dead on her way. At some point, she reached the southern continent.
Ruler of the dead was fascinated by the magnificent beast that flew into his territory, but as she was killing his subjects, he had to retaliate.
That's how the war that would last for a few centuries had started.
The dead were weak compared to the Dragon, so they died time and time again. Even when the Dragon thought she killed them all and returned to her land, a century or two later they would come back to attack her.
But their numbers dwindled. The dead knew they couldn't fight her in their state, so every time they died, they would give away some part of themselves to their lord.
Until he was the only one left.

The dance of Life and Death

Years passed, and the king of the dead learned more and more about how the Dragon fought. The same went for her.
At some point, their fight started to resemble a dance more than a battle.
Their last dance lasted for a year. During that year they both saw the beauty of the other. They fell in love.
Both tired, they stopped their fight.
For the next thousand years, both of them would get close to the coast of the other's territory and watch each other. The dead lord even learned how to suppress the aura of death, his kind naturally emanated. Just so he could be closer to Dragon and see her home.

Two Adventurers

One year, the Dragon came to the Dead One and told him about a new kind of beings living in her land.
The sentient races.
For the next thousands of years, they watched those beings.
And then they decided to take their form and live with them. They became adventurers.
She - his spear, he - her shield.
Unfortunately, thanks to his bad luck, he would die often during their travels. But every time, she waited for his return. And with his every death, their legend would grow.

The Bridge and a Tear

The Dead One awoke in his land after one of his deaths. This time was different than the others. He knew something bad has happened during his absence.
When he rushed to the ocean, he saw a giant bridge made out of plants coming from the direction of the northern continent.
He ran for days.
As he placed his foot on the surface of the northern continent, he understood.
During his absence, his lover was killed.
The bridge was her final doing. It was like a hand reaching out to him, asking for help.
And he was too late.
He felt anger. He wanted to find the culprit so much, he stopped controlling his aura. He went inland, killing everything around him.
But with every step, he noticed he was destroying everything the Dragon has loved. So his anger turned into despair, and with every step, his aura decreased until the trail he has left became a Tear made out of the dead land.

According to many legends, after that, the Dead One disappeared, dissipated in the air, and no one saw him again.
But there are also other legends that say he still tries to find her killer.
Sometimes, when the dead are raised as undead, they will stop in their track and look around as if searching for something or someone.
And whenever some bard tells the tale of two lovers, it always seems like there is one more person in the room than it was a moment before.

Dragon's resting place

After her death, the body of the Dragon petrified and was soon covered by flowers and moss.
Now it looks like an enormous mountain, that's green all of the year.
There's a long, narrow, straight hole leading to where her heart would be as if she was hit by a spear or an arrow.
There are rumors that anyone who tries to take a fragment of her body can heal their wounds and sickness with it, but soon will be stalked by the shadow that will take their life.

The bridge between life and death

Not many people travel to the southern continent, as it still is a place where nothing lives.
However, it is said that when the couple enters the bridge and starts to go along it, the farther they will go, the longer their love last.
As getting across it can take months, no one really ventures that far.

To this day, the myth lives on in the songs of the bards and the massive amount of works of art all around the world.
Every year, in Viatys, the city of a thousand faiths and in many lesser cities, actors put out a play that shows the events which are described in the myth.

Southern Continent

According to researchers that traveled there, both the soil and air of the southern continent are full of negative energy.
However, for some reason, the health or growth of anything that comes there from the other parts of the world isn't impacted in any negative way.
Just no new life can be created there.

If one would bring and plant any kind of flora there, they would still continue their life cycle.
They couldn't, however, spread in any way.
If brought back from the continent, they regain their ability to multiply.

Pools of life

During the war between the Dragon and the dead things, there were multiple times, when the Dragon has been wounded.
To this day, the pools of her blood can be found all around the southern continent.
Any sick or hurt body part that is submerged in them will be perfectly fine in just a few seconds.
However, one has to watch out, as contact with the Dragon's blood that lasts even a few seconds too long can lead to major drawbacks as the organs of the affected one are filled with too much vitality, and can prove fatal.