Catalan Dragon Fantasy
The Dragon Beneath Montserrat
Laia finds a dragon scale among the stones of Montserrat and follows its warm glow into a cavern beneath the mountain. She has been hiking with her father’s old sketchbook, searching for the ruined chapel he drew before his disappearance. The scale shines whenever she approaches the mountain, and its surface carries the same spiral mark that appears on the final page of his notebook.
Inside the cavern, Laia discovers a dragon guarding a secret older than the villages scattered below. The creature is called Ardan, and he is larger than a farmhouse, with copper wings folded against his sides. He does not breathe fire. Instead, his breath reveals memories in the rock: ancient people and dragons meeting beneath the peaks, exchanging promises beside a spring of golden water.
Ardan explains that a forgotten pact is failing. Humans once promised to protect the mountain’s hidden springs, while the dragons promised to guard the valleys from storms and fire. Greed broke the agreement generations ago. A group of treasure hunters has begun digging beneath Montserrat, disturbing the stone seals that keep an ancient force asleep. If the final seal breaks, a cloud of living ash will cover the region.
Laia is frightened, but Ardan recognizes the pendant she wears. It belonged to her father, who was not lost in an accident as the village believed. He became the pact’s last human keeper and vanished while trying to repair the broken seals. His sketches are actually instructions, and Laia must finish the work before the next sunrise.
With Ardan guiding her through hidden valleys and sunlit ruins, Laia learns to read the mountain’s language. They cross a narrow ledge above the clouds, descend into a forest where stones hum like bells, and meet a family of shepherds who remember old stories about dragon shadows. Laia also discovers that the treasure hunters are led by her father’s former companion, Bernat. He believes the pact’s magic can make him powerful enough to control every valley.
At the final chamber, Bernat breaks the last seal. Ash rises from the ground, forming a giant figure with burning eyes. Ardan attacks, but the creature feeds on dragon fire. Laia realizes the pact cannot be restored through force. She places her father’s pendant in the spring and speaks aloud the promise written in his notebook: humans and dragons must protect the mountain together, not possess it separately.
Bernat refuses to surrender and is swallowed by the ash, while Laia and Ardan combine memory and courage to close the breach. The golden spring returns, and the dragon scale loses its heat. Ardan offers Laia a place among the keepers, but she chooses to return to the village and teach others what has been forgotten. From then on, people protect the mountain, and dragons are seen at dusk above the peaks. Catalan Dragon Fantasy celebrates mountain legends, courageous heroes, ancient dragons, and the enduring power of friendship.
