Sure! I'd be happy to continue the story.  

With a deep breath, Kelden stepped forward and entered the portal. As he did, he felt a rush of energy surround him, lifting him off the ground and carrying him through the air. He closed his eyes, feeling the wind rushing past him as he traveled through space and time.

When he opened his eyes again, he found himself standing in a beautiful, lush forest. Trees towered above him, their branches reaching towards the sky. Birds sang sweetly in the trees, and a gentle breeze rustled through the leaves.  Nothing like the war-wary world he left behind, nor even anything like the Dark Woods he stood in but a moment before.

As he looked around, Kelden noticed that the forest was teeming with life. A family of deer grazed nearby, while a group of rabbits played in the underbrush. Further off in the distance, he could see a pack of pure white Dire Wolves surveying the forest from a mountain outcropping.

Suddenly, he heard a soft rustling behind him, and then the sound of a mass of tree branches parting. Kelden turned to see a group of dragons approaching him. They were unlike anything he had seen yet -- their scales glinted iridescent in the sunlight, and their eyes shone with wisdom and understanding.  Eyes that didn't seem to show even a trace of the sadness of those dragons he had spent so much time with in the Dark Woods.

They greeted Kelden warmly, welcoming him to their home and introducing themselves. Almost as if they were expecting him.  He couldn't see how, though -- the dragons of the Dark Wood seemed so intent on hiding this place from him, despite all their willingness to share.  

These dragons told him of their ancient history, of how they had been driven from their homeland by the cruelty of humanity. But also of their mistakes of the past, of overconfidence and hubris and greed that lead to the suffering of all.  As he listened intently, Kelden's thoughts drifted in and out of his own world.  These stories were not so different after all.

But now, the dragons said, they had found a new home here in this enchanted forest, where they could live in peace and harmony with nature.  Kelden listened intently, captivated by their stories and their beauty. He realized that he had stumbled upon something truly special - a world that existed outside of the boundaries of human society, a place where dragons and other creatures lived freely and without fear.  Kelden wondered how this could be.

The dragons hesitated.  One dragon finally spoke up, an older one who bore great scars, answering with but one phrase before taking flight:  The Great Sacrifice.  The others nodded to each other and one took Kelden with its wing and thrust him upon its back and followed.  Kelden gripped tightly to the shimmering scales and felt sick, having never in his life been so high off the ground.

Just as unease turned to exhilaration, they landed, but a short flight away, on the outcropping, the Dire Wolves scattering with a howl.  They did not seem to fear the dragons, or show aggression, but instead deference.  It was becoming clear to Kelden that even the largest beasts of the land respected each other here, far from the might-makes-right ways of his own world.

But neither this nor the flight were what the dragons brought Kelden here to see.  As he looked up, he saw the most magnificent sight he had seen yet.  An image of a dragon of immense splendor, carved right into the mountain itself with claw and tooth.  Its wingspan nearly the width of the mountain itself, far more grandiose and imposing than any structure he had seen in his life, or even imagined.  The wizened visage of this monument looked down upon the forest, directly at the portal Kelden had come through, with a stern expression.  A look of warning, that sent chills down Kelden's spine.

As Kelden recovered from the awe, the dragons surrounding him began to explain.  As the humans of his world began to turn the war in their favor and breach dragon strongholds so long ago, many dragons turned cold and even more brutal, their eyes alight with vengeance, and sought to fight and burn humans and retake their hoarded tresures.  But some dragons rebelled, wanting to rebuild elsewhere. A few even suggested making peace. This angered the dragons who wished to fight even more.  Much as they had subjugated humans before, these dragons attempted to force all dragons to battle and pillage. 

And so, dragon turned on dragon, something that had never before happened.  Kelden could now see an unfathomable sadness well up in the eyes of his new dragon friends, as they recounted this part of the story.  The older scarred dragon let out a roar for the fallen, followed by the other dragons, and even howls were heard from the Dire Wolves.

Kelden sat down, now quite sad himself, but also perplexed.  It still did not explain how this place came to be.  But the dragons after a long while, began to speak again.

The fighting between dragons had caused more suffering and destroyed far more of the strongholds than even the humans ever did.  Those dragons that could, took this opportunity to flee.

They tried first to plead with the Great Dragon of the Deep Sea for assistance, but she admonished them for involving themselves with humans, and blaming them for the human warships that now trouble the surface of her waters.  She wanted nothing to do with humans or any dragons involved with humans. And she told them it was hopeless to fight, anyway, even if they had her help. However, she offhandedly suggested, with a glint in her huge fishy eye, that if they intended to continue fleeing, they *could* find shelter to north.  And with that she dove back into the Depths.

And so the remaining free dragons, having no other options but to fight or perish, fled to the north of Ardin.  It was cold and inhospitable, but it offered a refuge.  For a time, anyway.  Until word travelled from the northern settlements and huge armies and mercenaries and bounty hunters all spread north, intent on eradicating the last of dragon-kind.  Wide-eyed, Kelden was on the edge of the rock he sat upon with anticipation for what happened next.

And so the last of the fleeing dragons continued to be pushed further and further north.  Until they came to the Land of the Long Night, where the days get so short that nights run together, and winter lasts the entire year but for a few days.  This was a place where humans would not go, yet it was also no place for dragons to live. In their despair the dragons gave up an began to look for a place to sleep for eternity.  Kelden had to remind himself it was just a story and hold back from shouting at the dragons he was imagining to keep going!

However, the frozen cave the fleeing dragons found to rest their final rest was not empty.  In fact, it was very much occupied.  To their surprise, before them was an immense sleeping dragon, bigger than any thy had ever seen, even the Great Dragon of the Deep Sea. He was covered in icy scales and his snores shook the whole mountain every hour or so.  An older dragon of the group spoke up, telling of legends he had heard of a great grandfather dragon to the many clans, one who lived on an icy peak of the tallest mountain.  It was said this dragon tired of the petty squabbling of the younger dragons and flew even farther north, and went to sleep where he would not be disturbed. It was also said this dragon would rise once a year to make the north wind, and being only awake one day a year, the dragon might outlive 300 generations.   

The dragons spent some time debating what to do.  Just then, the first rays of the yearly sunrise spread throughout the cave, and the ancient dragon awoke!  The dragons pleaded their case, but were stopped short.  Raising a claw, the ancient dragon said that he had warned their grandparents not to involve themselves with humans.  He also warned them there was only one way to resolve this, and it would take a Great Sacrifice to bring balance once more.  He taught the dragons how to make the portal, how to protect it, and of the Dark Woods, and sent them there.

Before they left, one very young, battle scarred dragon asked the ancient one about the sacrifice.  The ancient dragon replied that their sacrifice would be never to return, but that his own sacrifice will be greater.  The young one tried to ask about this, too, but the only reply was: you'll see.

And so, the dragons set out for the Dark Woods. The ancient dragon instead went to the human armies, and fought them, a distraction for the others' escape. The humans, fearing such a tremendous dragon, used their most violent magic.  The Great Ice Dragon went down in a blizzard of thunder and ice, scattering the humans with a tremendous crash and covering the lands in snow.  But he was defeated, his wings  broken, and he was soon captured. He suffered at the hands of the humans, but they had gotten their prize: the largest, and--so they thought--the very last dragon.  

With that, the other dragons were able to escape through the portal, except for a few, who stayed in the Dark Woods to guard it secretly. And the survivors of those who fought instead of fled, rejected the new peaceful land, and so joined the Great Sea Dragon in the Depths;  human legends are told of them as ship-eating sea monsters.

Kelden now understood.  And yet, despite the wonder of it all, he couldn't help but feel a pang of sadness. For more than just the dragons.  Though he was surrounded by beauty and magic, he knew that he would eventually have to return to his own world, to face the challenges and hardships that awaited him there.

But for now, he resolved to enjoy every moment of his time in the dragons' world, and to learn as much as he could from these wise and ancient creatures. Who knows, perhaps one day he might find a way to bring some of their magic back with him, heal his own world.
spam fails_task lang_mismatch pii not_appropriate hate_speech sexual_content quality toxicity humor helpfulness creativity violence