The moment the cave entrance sealed shut, the mother dragon turned toward them.
Her golden eyes shimmered in the dim light.
The strange symbols on the ground seemed to reflect an eerie blue light, spreading in a slow ripple beneath their feet.
Weston swallowed hard.
Uh, guys, should we be worried?
Before anyone could answer, the mother dragon lowered her head, her voice, filling the air not with sound, but with something deeper, something that hummed in their bones.
You should not be afraid.
You were meant to find this place.
Maddy, Weston, and Eloise stood frozen.
It wasn't just their ears hearing her.
It was their minds.
The dragon's gaze flicked toward the carved symbols.
This cave stands over the ruins of an ancient city.
A city that was once filled with people like you.
Suddenly, the ground beneath them changed.
The rocky floor faded, replaced with swirling mist.
Images appeared in the air.
Tall stone towers, golden domes, and streets filled with humans and dragons walking side by side.
This was the lost civilization.
Weston's eyes widened.
Whoa!
Maddie took a step closer.
The images shifted, faster now, as if rewinding through time.
She saw people building and laughing and flying on the backs of dragons.
And then, all of a sudden, the images went dark.
A great shadow spread across the land and the people vanished.
The dragons disappeared and finally the city itself crumbled, sinking beneath the desert.
Eloise felt a chill.
What happened to them?
The mother dragon's voice was softer now.
Magic was once strong in this land, but as centuries passed, people stopped believing.
And the city fell, sealed away beneath the sand.
Now its last traces of magic are almost gone.
Maddy frowned.
And when it's gone?
Then the last of the dragons will vanish with it.
The three kids exchanged uneasy glances.
Okay, Weston said slowly.
That's bad, but what does that have to do with us?
The dragon turned, looking toward the newly hatched baby dragons.
Some were breathing tiny puffs of fire.
Others shimmered like they were half invisible.
One let out a little sneeze, and a sudden gust of wind sent pebbles scattering.
These hatchlings were not supposed to be born for another hundred years, the mother dragon said.
Something has disturbed the balance.
They're far too young to survive on their own.
Maddie glanced at the tiny dragons.
They were all looking up at her, at Weston, at Eloise.
Some blinked sleepily and others wobbled on unsteady legs, chirping softly.
They're adorable, Eloise whispered.
The mother dragon lowered her head to meet their eyes.
The three of you proved yourselves worthy when you saved my child today. and now you have a choice.
To restore the balance, you must find the three enchanted stones in the Lost City.
If you succeed, you will be granted a gift, one that hasn't been given to humankind in centuries.
If you retrieve the stones, you may take a dragon with you.
Weston's jaw dropped.
Wait, what?
A dragon.
Each of you will choose one.
You will take them into your world, where they will grow and awaken the magic that was lost long ago.
If magic is to return to the world, it must start with you.
Maddy, Weston, and Eloise stood there, stunned.
A real dragon?
Eloise whispered.
Like, as a pet?
Not a pet.
A companion.
A part of you.
Maddy's heart was racing.
This was insane.
It was impossible.
And yet somehow, it felt right.
She took a deep breath.
Okay, well, what do we have to do?
The mother dragon lifted her massive wings and pointed to a hidden doorway in the rock.
As the oldest of the three siblings, Maddie knew she would be the first to find an enchanted stone.
The dragon, Weston, and Eloise stood there and watched as Maddie stumbled through the door.
And once she had walked through, she tripped and landed hard on her hands and knees.
And she could feel that the ground was smooth stone.
She quickly pushed herself up, spinning around, only to realize she was alone.
The cavern had disappeared.
The mother dragon was gone and she couldn't see Weston or Eloise anywhere.
She could see walls of sandstone towering on both sides of her, stretching high above.
It was a maze.
She started walking until she turned a corner and then another, and each time the walls seemed to shift the path, rearranging itself behind her.
No matter which way she went, the exit was nowhere in sight.
She couldn't find a way to get out.
Maddie's heart started beating faster.
She had always been the leader, the one who had to figure things out, but now she had no map, no way of knowing what was ahead.
She took a slow breath.
Come on think, think.
The mother dragon said they had to find three lost stones in the ancient city.
That meant there must be a way to find at least one of them here.
She closed her eyes and then, deep in her chest, she felt it something was pulling her in a certain direction.
She opened her eyes, took a step forward, not based on what she saw, but what she felt.
The air was shifting and the walls were still moving.
But this time she didn't hesitate, she ran forward.
But then, just when she thought she had hit another dead end, the walls disappeared.
There was a clear path in front of her now, and in the middle of that path sat a smooth, shiny stone about the size of a tennis ball.
She had done it!
This was the first of the three enchanted stones.
She picked it up and began walking along the path which brought her right back to where Weston and Eloise and the dragon were waiting for her.
The three kids celebrated and cheered, but only for a moment, because they all knew the job wasn't done yet.
Now it was Weston's turn.
Weston groaned as he struggled to his feet.
The dragon pointed to a new hidden doorway in the wall, and as Weston walked through it, he found himself standing on the edge of a massive pit of shifting sand, and on the other side, a dimly lit doorway waited for him.
But the problem was, there were no bridges, no ropes, nothing to help him get across.
Well, how was he supposed to get to the other side?
Suddenly, a gust of wind sent the sand rippling.
Weston felt his stomach twist, and then he remembered the vision.
The Lost Civilizations.
Those people had lived with dragons, which meant maybe the answer wasn't in the sand.
Maybe it was in the air.
So Weston took a deep breath.
He took a few steps back and then started running forward and he jumped.
And as it went soaring through the air just for a second, he thought he wasn't going to make it.
But then a gust of wind lifted him.
It wasn't strong, but it was enough.
He felt his feet land firmly on the ground on the other side of the sandpit.
And then sitting in front of him was the second enchanted stone.
He picked it up and then he walked through the dimly lit doorway where he found the dragon and Maddie and Eloise waiting for him.
Weston was out of breath, but he was grinning.
Now it was time for Eloise to find the third and final enchanted stone.
So she stepped into a third hidden doorway that the dragon showed her.
And on the other side, she found a dark chamber lined with mirrors.
It looked like a mirror maze.
She could see dozens of versions of herself staring back at her, but one of them she knew wasn't a reflection.
It was the path through the maze.
So she walked carefully, watching carefully to find the right way out.
And after slowly moving through the maze, she stepped forward to the last turn, where she found the third and final enchanted stone waiting for her.
She picked it up and walked through the doorway at the end of the maze, where she stepped into the light and found the dragon, Maddy and Weston waiting for her.
All three of the kids cheered and gave each other high fives, as they all felt the mother dragon's voice.
You have proven yourselves.
Now it's time for you to choose.
They looked down at the baby dragons as they all chirped with excitement.
Maddie chose a sleek black baby dragon that could make the two of them disappear and then reappear at will.
And Weston picked a golden dragon with wind-like wings that could fly him anywhere he wanted to go.
And Eloise picked a shimmering silver dragon that could breathe a special kind of magic upon any object and could transform it into anything Eloise wanted.
And as they each cradled their hatchlings, still not fully realizing the incredible special powers they each had with the dragons they chose, the mother dragon looked at her babies one last time.
This is not goodbye, little ones.
One day you will return to me.
And then the cave filled with light and the next thing they knew, they found themselves standing back on the desert trail with the sun dipping below the horizon.
The dragons were curled up in their backpacks, fast asleep.
And as the three siblings looked around, suddenly they could see their parents from a distance.
They had finally found the kids and they were making their way over to them.
Thank goodness they had been found.
And as they began walking toward their mom and dad, Weston let out a shaky breath and said Did that all just happen?
Maddie looked at her dragon and it stirred with its eyes glowing.
She smiled.
Yeah, it did.
And somehow she knew this was only the beginning.
Hey there, Storyland fans!
If you love these magical adventures, I've got some exciting news.
The Storyland Collection Volume 1, Tales of Magic and Wonder, is now available as an audiobook.
It's packed with all your favorite stories in their true chronological order, professionally remastered for the best listening experience and without any ads between stories.
You can find it on audiobookscom, the Spotify Audiobooks Marketplace, Apple Books Hoopla, Google Play and Audible.
Just search for Storyland, all one word, And you should be able to find it there.
And if you're looking for even more magic, check out Luke in the Magical Marker, my brand new, first ever illustrated book, now available on Amazon.
It's a perfect read for kids who love creativity and adventure.
And one last thing.
If you like the podcast.
I'd love for you to leave a review on Apple Podcasts.
It really helps more listeners discover the Storyland podcast.
Thanks again for listening and I'll see you in the next adventure.
