In this blog post, I’ll summarize the background of Dragon Raja’s founding and how the events that stemmed from it intertwine with the protagonist’s party’s journey.

Background

The story’s past dates back 300 years. The legendary knight Rooterino and the archmage Hendrake liberated humanity from dragon rule and founded the nation of Vaisus. Until then, humans had been forced to submit to the Dragon Lord, the mightiest of all dragons, but this founding event has continued to influence the world right up to the present day.
Halstein, who saved the Dragon Lord during the founding of the nation, was granted the right to the title of “Raja” (descendant of the Raja) for 300 years as a reward. As a result, the Halstein family gained immense power and established itself as the preeminent noble house in Vaisus.
A “Raja” refers to a special being capable of connecting humans and dragons. Rajas are rare; they recognize one another, and any dragon that has formed a contract with a Raja must obey the Raja’s commands. The relationship between the two transcends that of a simple master-servant or interpreter; they share a part of their mental world to such an extent that a sudden change—such as the Raja’s death—can drive the dragon mad.
The story is set at a time when the bloodline of the Rajas is on the verge of extinction, approximately 300 years after the nation’s founding. At this point, Vaisus is at war with its neighboring nation, Zayfun, and its national strength is steadily waning. The Helnt, the protagonist’s hometown, is a remote region of the country that has long suffered under the tyranny of the black dragon Amurtat.
The story truly begins when Katselprime, the white dragon of the Vaisus royal family, and the heir of the Halstein family are dispatched to Heltont.
To summarize once more, a “Raja” is an extremely rare being who serves as a bridge between humans and dragons, and Rajas can recognize one another. A dragon that has formed a contract with a Raja obeys the Raja’s commands, and the two share such a close mental bond that any change in the Raja can directly affect the dragon.

The Beginning

Katsel Prime and his Raja—the young master of the Halstein family—are dispatched from the capital in response to persistent petitions from the village of Heltant. Taking this as an opportunity, the lord reorganizes the Amurtat expeditionary force. Key figures, including the young master’s father, participate in this campaign.
The protagonist, Huchi (Chojang), becomes the assistant to the enigmatic blind wizard Tyvern and is tasked with protecting the village after his father volunteers for the expeditionary force and departs. One day, as a reward for saving Tyvern from monsters that attacked the village, Huchi receives a pair of magical gloves—the OPG Ogre’s Power Gloves—which grant him superhuman strength.
The campaign ends in failure, and Amurtat takes the commander sent by the king, Count Hurichel, Lord Heltont, and the remnants of the army—including Huchi’s father—as hostages. Amurtat demands jewels worth 100,000 sel, and to secure them, Huchi sets out on a journey to the capital alongside Karl, the plenipotentiary representative, and Sanson, the captain of the guard.

Plot

Huchi and his party continue their journey, encountering various incidents and people at every turn on the road to the capital, Impel. The first companion they meet is Iruril, an elf with pointed ears, who later joins the party.
Along the way, the party suffers the ordeal of being captured and imprisoned by a vicious baron who wields power through his arena and by the fake archmage Afnaidel. Furthermore, when Zayfun’s schemes during the war threaten to turn the fiefdom into a sanctuary of Geden, the god of disease, the party devotes its efforts to saving it.
During this journey, they meet Edelin, a troll and high priestess possessing sacred powers, and work alongside her to save a village ravaged by disease. They thwart Zayfun’s heinous scheme—in which he drained the children’s mental energy to sicken the domain—and arrest Zayfun’s spy, Unchai.
On their way back to the royal castle, they meet the charming female thief Neria, who joins their party. The party also travels with Gilsian, a peculiar lone adventurer riding a bull; his bull is an enchanted steed, and the reason Gilsian keeps rambling is that a magical sword—which thinks and speaks like a human—constantly talks to him.
It is revealed that Gilsian is actually a deposed crown prince who abandoned the throne to run away because he loved adventure. As their group grows, they arrive at the capital, only to find that the gemstones have already run out.
The reason for the shortage was that the dwarves had been unable to work in the mines. Behind this lay the fact that the dragon Kradmeser, who had been slumbering in the Brown Mountains, was about to awaken. Meanwhile, the Marquis of Halstile harbored plans to seize Kradmeser for himself.
The party must set out to find the Raja who can subdue Kradmeser. Since the Raja’s bloodline has been severed, Halsteil and the party find themselves competing to find the same person—a girl believed to be the marquis’s abandoned daughter. Nexon also gets involved, turning it into a three-way battle, and it is eventually revealed that Nexon was a traitor.
Nexon became a traitor because his family suffered persecution following the sudden death of Kamyu, the former Raja of Kradmeser, prompting him to join forces with Zayfun to plot the overthrow of the state.

Climax

The girl, known as Reni, was not with Vaisus or Zayfun, but in the small maritime nation of Ilse. The party finally secures her and prepares to head for the Brown Mountains, but Nexon kidnaps Reni and heads for the Great Labyrinth, aiming to make a pact with the Dragon Lord.
On their way to the Great Labyrinth, the party enters a fantastical realm known as the Forest of Eternity. In this place, a state of panic causes the self to fragment, splitting memories and identities; it is a dangerous space where most people, upon seeing their other selves, attempt to kill one another. The Forest of Eternity is notorious for being nearly impossible to escape once entered.
The party only realized the true nature of the Forest of Eternity after entering, but they managed to pass through it by the skin of their teeth thanks to the Iruril, a race that embodies harmony. In the process, Nexon’s self-identity fractured, causing him to lose a part of himself.
The horror of the Forest of Eternity bears repeating. The self completely fragments, memories are split, and most people develop extreme hostility upon encountering their other selves, leading them to kill one another. Consequently, the Forest of Eternity is known as a place from which it is difficult to escape once entered, and the party’s arduous passage was made possible only through their harmony with the Iruril.
After many twists and turns, the party encounters the Dragon Lord inside the Great Labyrinth and, in the process of escaping, grows stronger and acquires many gems. Later, they take Lenny to the Brown Mountains to meet Kradmeser, but their contract with Raza fails, and they end up fighting Kradmeser directly.
After a fierce battle, the party emerges victorious, but Gilshian falls in the process. Amidst a mix of sacrifice, growth, and loss, the story races toward its conclusion.

Conclusion

After the journey ends, everyone goes their separate ways, and the protagonist, Huchi, finally returns to the village of Heltant. On his way back, he unravels the enigmatic knots he first encountered, one by one, as he heads home.
After speaking with Huchi, Kradmesser promises to depart for the west and leaves. Meanwhile, with the safe return of the hostages—including Huchi’s father—a “Magical Autumn” lasting about three months descends upon the village, bringing the story to a close.
This demonstrates how the founding of the nation 300 years ago and the legacy of the Raja are deeply intertwined with the present-day war and the characters’ personal journeys, leading to an ending where both personal growth and national conflict are simultaneously resolved.