Tragedy of Eradikus

Earadikus was a young, ambitious green dragon. He set out to
take his place in the great game of Xorvintaal, and found that he was, in fact,
exceptionally good at it. Within a few short centuries, through a combination
of his own skill and misfortune befalling his opponents, he had amassed a far
larger treasure horde than any dragon his age has ever held. He played deftly
and aggressively, coercing enemies to destroy themselves, enticing humanoids to
pay him tribute, clueing adventurers in on the whereabouts of his rivals’
hoards… Word of his success and the value of his horde started to spread
amongst other dragons, and with it, so spread jealousy, hatred, and plans to
destroy him and seize his treasure.

Eradikus, a greedy and jealous dragon himself, was aghast
when he heard from his spies of the
number and prestige of those now gunning for him; he was being plotted
against by dragons of every color and age, including even some incredibly
powerful and ancient ones.

Eradikus immediately began attempting to make allies,
selling off portions of his hoard for promises of solidarity and security. Try
as he might, though, he came to the point at which he never felt safe. He had
made some progress in dealing with the other greens, the blues, and the
metallic, but he knew the whites, the blacks, and especially the reds were
always going to be wildcards for him. No proud red dragon would rest while a
green half his or her age sat atop a larger hoard; their promises were
worthless. Eradikus began devoting all of his assets into defense.

Thinking long-term, Eradikus began studying Necromancy. If
he found servants that he deemed indispensable, the dragon would murder his own
precious warriors, to then raise them up as undead minions that wouldn’t lose
their efficiency with age, tire, or wither up and die, as humanoids so often
do. Throughout his studies, Eradikus found the secret to dragonic eternal life.
He noted the spell, but didn’t intend to use it until he was older and
stronger.

In his rush toward protection, Eradikus lost his offensive
edge; maintaining the very quality that had helped him achieve so much had
become one of his lowest priorities. As a result of his mad greed and paranoia,
he ended up losing everything…

With all of his servants undead, his pieces became easy for
other dragons to identify. A web of lies was easily spun to entrap him. His
agents came to him and informed him of news that a black dragon to the south
was moving to a new lair, and its hoard would be transported via a series of
caravans. Eradikus knew that the rules of Xorvintaal forbid dragon vs dragon
combat, which is why dragons do not raid each other’s lairs directly. But they *do* allow a dragon to raid another’s lair
if the other *isn’t there, thus avoiding*
the forbidden combat*. If the horde was in transit, Eradikus believed the*
black would most likely be following the caravan, protecting its treasure.

Protection of his own lair his primary concern, he did not
bother setting a safer, more convoluted offensive plan in motion. He gathered
what minions could fit on his back, and flew to the supposed location of the
black dragon’s lair. Upon his arrival, he was ambushed.

Flames showered down upon him, quickly destroying his
minions and melting the webbing of his wings. A huge red dragon attacked from
overhead, pummeling the now-grounded green. Eradikus attempted to flee, but the
airborne red easily caught up with him, and continued its assault with its
claws and teeth, in addition to its fire. Eradikus scrambled to the mouth of a
cave too small for the red to enter, shrieking curses and accusations of
cheating. As he backed further into the cave, he recalled hearing the red
chuckle “you had better tell the referee” just before a concentrated jet of
flames spewed into the cave and began melting his flesh.

With his last ounce of strength, and no suitable item to use
as a phylactery, Eradikus attempted to enact the ritual that would transform
him into a Dracolich by sealing his soul into his own charred bones. No one can
say if he was successful, or if the red who murdered him paid any price for
killing another dragon… but perhaps somewhere… in some dark, forgotten cavern,
rests the sealed away spirit of Eradikus the green dragon… murdered by his own
kind, and beaten at the game that made him great.