The Magical World

Once upon a time, the world was full of unicorns...

And pixies and nixies and goblins and trolls were as common as porridge. Every cobbler's shop had its own shoemaker elf. And sailors returning from sea, spoke of mermaids and sea serpents they'd seen with their own eyes.

...But somewhere between the mythic past and the modern-day present, all of the fairy tale creatures seem to have vanished without a trace.

Where are they now?

Perhaps all the griffins and dragons and legendary beasts of yore were hunted to extinction by the heroes and knights and dragon-slayers of yore. Perhaps all the elves and gnomes and goblins - their habitats threatened by the encroachment of humankind - were forced to pull up stakes and withdraw to remote villages high in the mountains or deep in the forest or hidden in subterranean caverns.

Or maybe they simply tucked their pointy ears up under their caps and moved to the City...

The Magical World

This is the world we live in - (you know the one I'm talkin' about) - the world that lies right outside your front door. Jake Long takes us into the hidden corners of our own world to discover secret places known only to the elves and trolls. And, of course... Dragons.

Dragons

They are the most powerful of the magical creatures of legend and, as such, were long ago appointed Protectors of the magical realm and all its denizens - a responsibility which sometimes requires them to intercede in conflicts with humankind.[1] Based on those fleeting encounters, wild stories about Dragons have popped up in the mythology of almost every race and culture on Earth, with one notable exception.

The Land of America, a fairly young country in the world, has no Dragons in its history. But as more and more magical creatures have immigrated from all over the magical world, the time has finally come for this new world to have a Dragon of its own. A 13-year old skate kid from New York named Jake Long.

. . . Dragon Up!

[1] In fact, the negative stereotype of dragons as ferocious damsel-snatchers stems entirely from a single unfortunate incident in medieval Europe. But the fire-breathing monsters of European lore are really only the tip of the dragon-berg. In China, dragons are considered benevolent spirits who control the wind and the rain. In Japan, they are shape-shifters who sometimes appear to lost travelers in the form of wise old sages or helpful young maidens with a good sense of direction. In fact, Dragons appear to have been many things to many creatures over the centuries. But no humans have ever gotten the whole story... until now.
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