The Hidden Kingdom

The Hidden Kingdom Plot Summary

Introduction

In the shadowed depths of a volcanic island where sulfur chokes the air and molten rock flows like blood, Glory awakens to the reality of her captivity. The young RainWing dragon, stolen from her tribe and imprisoned by the mysterious NightWings, finds herself bound and muzzled in a cave overlooking rivers of lava. What she discovers here will shatter everything she thought she knew about her peaceful rainforest home and thrust her into a destiny she never asked for but cannot escape. This is the story of a dragon who refused to accept the limitations others placed upon her. Glory was never meant to be part of the great prophecy that would end the war tearing apart the dragon world. She was a replacement, a mistake, a RainWing forced to live among dragonets destined for greatness while being told she would never measure up. But when her tribe faces an enemy that threatens to destroy their very way of life, Glory must choose between the safety of anonymity and the dangerous path of leadership. Her journey from outcast to queen will test not only her courage but her willingness to embrace a destiny entirely of her own making.

Chapter 1: The Lost Dragon: Glory's Return to the Rainforest

Glory had never felt the sun on her scales the way it was meant to be felt. After six years trapped in underground caves with guardians who despised her, the warmth of the rainforest canopy was like discovering she had been starving without knowing it. The other dragonets of prophecy followed her through the humid air, their wings catching on vines as they struggled to navigate between the massive trees. She was coming home, though she had never seen this place before. Her egg had been stolen from here when she was still unhatched, taken by the Talons of Peace to replace a SkyWing dragonet who had died. For six years, she had been reminded that she was the wrong dragon in the wrong destiny, a RainWing pretending to be what the prophecy demanded. The village materialized around them like something from a fever dream. Vine walkways stretched between platforms hidden in the canopy, draped with flowers that glowed like captured starlight. Dragons moved through the trees with liquid grace, their scales shifting colors as casually as breathing. When they spotted the newcomers, they simply vanished. Then the darts hit. Clay collapsed first, the big MudWing toppling like a felled tree. Tsunami managed a curse before her eyes rolled back. Sunny and Starflight dropped where they stood. Glory spun in a circle, searching for attackers she couldn't see, until a raspberry-colored dragon materialized in front of her, grinning. "Hello," said Jambu, lowering his blowgun. "I'm your brother." The words hit her harder than any sleeping dart could have. Glory stared at this cheerful, pink dragon who claimed to share her blood, feeling something crack inside her chest. She had dreamed of this moment, of finding her family, of discovering she belonged somewhere. But as Jambu explained their casual approach to kinship, how eggs were communal property and parents were whoever happened to be nearby, those dreams crumbled like ancient paper. When they reached the village center, Glory met Queen Magnificent, a dragon so spectacularly uninterested in ruling that she could barely remember why Glory had come to see her. The queen lounged in a nest of flowers, her sloth draped across her neck like living jewelry, and listened with half-closed eyes as Glory tried to explain the urgency of their mission. There was no urgency here. There was only the approaching time for sun-naps, and the gentle suggestion that Glory might want to try some fruit. The other dragonets were arranged on platforms like decorative objects while their hosts debated whether visitors needed to be conscious for meals. As Glory settled into her first real sunbath, letting warmth soak into scales that had never known such luxury, she felt a terrible understanding creep over her. This place was paradise. It was also a trap.

Chapter 2: Mysterious Disappearances: Uncovering the RainWing Abductions

The sloth appeared on Glory's shoulder like a small, furry conscience. It had chosen her, Jambu explained with delight, and now she would have to name it and care for it forever. Glory tried to ignore the creature's plaintive eyes as she questioned her brother about the missing RainWings. "Missing?" Jambu tilted his head with genuine confusion. "Are some dragons missing?" Mangrove was the only RainWing who seemed to understand that dragons could actually disappear. His partner Orchid had vanished three weeks ago during a routine fruit-gathering expedition. Others had gone missing too, but most of the tribe simply assumed they had wandered off or decided to try living somewhere else for a while. Why worry? There were always more RainWings. Glory felt something cold settle in her stomach as the scope of RainWing indifference became clear. Twelve dragons had vanished in the past year. Twelve members of their tribe, and no one had bothered to look for them except Mangrove, who was dismissed as a complainer. The breakthrough came when Glory investigated a suspicious tunnel hidden behind a boulder near a fetid pond. The hole led somewhere it shouldn't, somewhere that made her scales crawl with wrongness. When she and Clay emerged into blazing desert heat, she realized they had traveled impossible distances in mere minutes. Magic had torn a hole between the rainforest and the Kingdom of Sand. Someone was using this passage to move between kingdoms undetected. Someone who had reasons to visit the rainforest that had nothing to do with admiring the scenery. The dead sloth by the waterfall told its own story. Its wounds were dragon-made, infected with some slow-acting poison that had taken days to kill it. Glory studied the bite marks while her new pet sloth chirped mournfully from her shoulder, as if it understood that something was hunting its kind. That night, they heard it moving in the darkness. Something large stalked through the undergrowth, breathing with the rasp of damaged lungs. It found the dead sloth and devoured it with wet, tearing sounds that made Glory's scales try to shift to the color of shadows. When morning came, only scattered fur and blood-soaked leaves remained. Glory made her decision with the grim certainty that had kept her alive through six years of abuse from their guardians. Someone was taking her people, and none of the other RainWings cared enough to stop it. If she wanted to save the missing dragons, she would have to do it herself. The trap was simple. She would be alone in the forest, exactly the kind of target the creature seemed to prefer. Her venom would protect her when it struck. She told herself this plan made perfect sense, even as a small voice in her head pointed out that her last several brilliant ideas had nearly gotten her killed.

Chapter 3: Behind Enemy Scales: Captured in the NightWing Kingdom

The blow to Glory's head sent stars exploding across her vision, and when she woke, she was being dragged through mud in a canvas sack that smelled like death and smoke. Her mouth was bound with metal, her claws wrapped in thick cloth, her wings tied to her sides. The wrongness feeling pressed against her scales like a physical weight. She was pulled down a tunnel that shouldn't exist, through passages that bent space and reason. When she tumbled out of the sack onto a pile of rotting furs, the air itself seemed poisoned. Sulfur burned her nostrils. Heat radiated from stones that glowed with their own malevolent light. "Another one?" The voice carried casual cruelty. "Didn't you get the message?" Glory's captor wheezed when he breathed, his voice distorted by old injuries. "Yeah. Easy catch. She was all alone in the forest. Stupid like all RainWings." Through the cave mouth, Glory could see a landscape torn from nightmares. Rivers of molten rock flowed past her prison like liquid agony. A massive volcano dominated the sky, its peak crowned with smoke and flame. Black dragons moved across the hellish terrain like living shadows, their scales glittering with silver that caught the red glow of lava. This was the secret home of the NightWings, the tribe that claimed powers of prophecy and mind-reading. They lived in this place of ash and fire, and they had been stealing RainWings. A small voice chirped beside her, and Glory turned to see a tiny dragon with enormous dark eyes. Kinkajou was barely three years old, one of the missing dragonets whose disappearance had been dismissed as a training accident. She had survived here for eighteen days, kept alive to demonstrate her venom for NightWing scientists who studied their prisoners like laboratory specimens. "They take us to the fortress," Kinkajou explained, pointing at the structure built into the mountainside. "They make us melt things. They collect our venom in bowls. Some dragons don't come back." Glory felt rage building in her chest like pressure in a volcano. Her tribe was being harvested. The NightWings had discovered that RainWing venom could be useful, so they simply took what they wanted. They killed the ones who resisted and kept the others as living weapons to be drained whenever convenient. The metal band around her mouth prevented her from using her most dangerous weapon, but it could not silence her fury. She began working at her bonds with methodical determination. When the guards came to feed her, she would be ready. The dead, rotting prey they offered was crawling with maggots, but that was not what made Glory's stomach turn. It was the casual contempt in their voices, the way they spoke of RainWings as though they were livestock instead of dragons with families and dreams and the right to live free. She looked at tiny Kinkajou, who had maintained her optimism through weeks of captivity, and made a silent promise. No more RainWings would disappear. No more would die alone and afraid in this place of smoke and hate. First, she had to escape.

Chapter 4: A Daring Escape: Flight from the Volcanic Isle

The feeding time gave Glory the chance she needed. When the scarred NightWing used his spear to unlatch the metal band around her muzzle, she moved faster than striking lightning. Her venom caught him across the wings and back, sending him screaming toward the cave entrance. The second guard tried to pin her down, but Kinkajou appeared from nowhere with a perfect shot that sent him tumbling into the dark abyss at the back of their prison. Glory's claws made quick work of her remaining bonds. "We're leaving," she told Kinkajou. "Right now." But their cave was separated from the rest of the island by a river of molten rock. The lava flowed like liquid death between them and freedom, too wide to jump and hot enough to melt dragon scales from a distance. Without a way across, they were trapped as surely as if they remained in chains. That was when Clay arrived. Her friend descended from the smoke-choked sky like an answer to desperate prayers, his brown scales already singed from the heat but his eyes blazing with determination. Glory had never been so grateful to see anyone in her life. She climbed onto his back as more NightWings converged on their position, drawn by the sounds of battle and the screams of their wounded guards. The flight across the lava nearly killed them both. Clay's tail brushed the molten surface and Glory felt him shudder with pain, but he kept flying. Behind them, Kinkajou's tiny wings beat frantically as she struggled to keep up with their desperate pace. The tunnel entrance was guarded by four NightWings with wicked-looking spears. They had clearly been expecting this escape attempt. Glory rolled off Clay's back and into the middle of them, her venom spraying in deadly arcs. One guard fled screaming with his scales smoking. Another stumbled into the fire they had built to warm themselves. Clay seized burning coals in his fire-proof talons and flung them at the remaining guards' faces. The smell of scorched scales filled the tunnel as they fought their way past the defenders. Glory grabbed one of their spears and used it to carve through the last of her wing bonds. They plunged into the tunnel that would take them home, flying through twisting passages that bent reality around them. Behind them, she could hear pursuit, but it faded as they reached the far end of the impossible passage. When they burst into the rainforest, Glory breathed air that smelled like flowers and life instead of sulfur and death. Rain fell on her scales like a benediction. But even as relief flooded through her, she knew this was only the beginning. She had seen what the NightWings were doing to her people. She had left behind dragons who depended on her to save them. Orchid and the others were still trapped in that hellish place, still being tortured for their venom. Glory looked back at the tunnel entrance, hidden in its tree, and felt destiny settling around her shoulders like armor. She was done being told she didn't belong in prophecies. She was done letting others decide her fate. The RainWings needed a queen who would fight for them. And she was going to take that throne.

Chapter 5: Royal Challenge: The Contest for the RainWing Throne

Queen Magnificent was examining her claws when Glory burst into the royal pavilion. The queen's sloth opened one sleepy eye, decided the interruption wasn't worth full consciousness, and went back to snoring. "I found them," Glory announced. "The missing RainWings. They've been kidnapped by the NightWings and they're being tortured for their venom." "Oh, how unpleasant," Magnificent said vaguely. "Well, I'm sure they'll turn up eventually." The casual dismissal hit Glory like a physical blow. She had risked everything to bring back this information, had barely escaped with her life, and the queen responded as if someone had mentioned rain clouds on the horizon. "Fourteen dragons," Glory said, fighting to keep her voice level. "Fourteen members of your tribe are suffering in caves, being drained of their venom, some of them already dead. And you think they'll just turn up?" "It's only fourteen dragons," Magnificent said with a shrug. "There are plenty of others." In that moment, Glory felt something crystallize inside her chest. Her whole life, she had been told she wasn't good enough, wasn't the right dragon, wasn't meant for greatness. But she had never met a dragon less suited to rule than the one sitting before her in a nest of flowers. "Queen Magnificent," Glory said, spreading her wings wide, "I challenge you for the throne of the RainWings." The ancient dragon called Handsome explained the rules with obvious relish. This was clearly the most exciting thing to happen in the tribe for decades. Instead of a fight to the death, RainWing queens were chosen through contests that tested the skills their people valued. Five competitions, each designed to showcase a different talent. Glory looked at the team Magnificent had assembled: four other queens who rotated the throne between them like a shared toy. They were older, more experienced, and they had decades of practice at the challenges they would face. Magnificent was so confident of victory that she wore her smugness like jewelry. Glory chose her own team from the RainWings around her. Jambu for his tree-gliding skills, despite his tendency to get distracted by shiny objects. Mangrove because Orchid was still missing and he would do anything to save her. Kinkajou because she was brave enough to face dragons ten times her size. And Tamarin, a blind RainWing who knew flowers better than any dragon alive. The contests began at sunrise in the Arboretum, a natural amphitheater formed by interwoven branches high above the forest floor. The entire tribe gathered to watch, more interested than Glory had ever seen them in anything that didn't involve sleeping or eating fruit. Jambu lost his race when sloths mysteriously appeared to tangle him in vines at the crucial moment. Glory ground her teeth but said nothing. Cheating was apparently another RainWing tradition. Tamarin found the hidden flower using nothing but her incredible sense of smell, tracking a single blossom through an entire garden filled with competing scents. Glory felt a flutter of hope. When it came time for the camouflage contest, Glory faced off against Grandeur, the ancient queen who had ruled longer than anyone could remember. The old dragon hid herself so perfectly among hanging bananas that Glory needed several minutes to find her. But when Glory's turn came, she climbed high into a moss-covered tree and became part of the bark itself. Magnificent cheated again, using Glory's pet sloth to track her location. The sloth had innocently revealed her position, and the queen claimed victory with a triumphant grin. Two contests to one. Glory was losing, and if she lost the next challenge, everything would be over. The missing RainWings would remain prisoners. Her tribe would continue to ignore their responsibilities. And she would have to live with the knowledge that she had come so close to making a difference. The final contest would decide everything.

Chapter 6: Queen Glory: A Reluctant Ruler's Rise to Power

The venom targeting contest should have been a disaster. Kinkajou was barely three years old, her aim was terrible, and she was facing Grandeur, whose precision with venom had been legendary for decades. The little dragonet stood before the painted targets with tears of frustration glittering in her eyes. "All those dragons," Kinkajou whispered to Glory. "It'll be my fault if we never see them again." Glory knelt beside her smallest teammate and felt something shift inside her chest. For six years, she had been told she was not good enough for prophecy, not important enough to matter. But this tiny dragon believed in her enough to risk everything. "You're the kind of dragon who always tries your best," Glory told her. "That's all anyone can ask." Grandeur shot her venom with the accuracy of centuries of practice, hitting the center of each target with casual precision. But when it came time for the final shot, a sloth tumbled from the trees, directly into the path of her venom. Kinkajou leaped forward to save the harmless creature. Grandeur's venom splashed across her wing instead of the target, and the little dragon collapsed screaming as acid ate through her scales. Glory didn't think. She grabbed the nearest leaf, dipped it in her own venom, and pressed it to Kinkajou's wounds. The acid stopped spreading immediately, neutralized by Glory's own poison. The crowd gasped. Glory stared at Grandeur, understanding flooding through her. Their venom had canceled each other out, which meant they were related. Grandeur was her great-grandmother, descended from the original line of RainWing royalty. But more importantly, the ancient queen was looking at Glory with something like respect for the first time. "I forfeit," Grandeur announced, her voice carrying across the silent amphitheater. "This dragonet wins the contest." She turned to face the assembled tribe, her scales shimmering with authority. "Behold your new queen. Queen Glory of the RainWings." The cheering that erupted shook leaves from the trees. Glory stood frozen in the center of it all, hardly daring to believe what had just happened. She was queen. She had won. But even as her subjects celebrated around her, even as Jambu bounced around in circles of pink delight and Sunny beamed at her from the watching crowd, Glory's mind was already racing ahead. She had the throne now, but that was only the beginning. Fourteen RainWings were still imprisoned in the Night Kingdom. Her people still needed to learn that they could be more than decorative garden ornaments. The war that was tearing apart the dragon world was coming closer to their borders every day. She had wanted this crown to save her people. Now she had to prove she was worthy of wearing it. As the celebration continued around her, Glory looked toward the hidden tunnel that led to the volcanic island where her subjects suffered in darkness. Soon, very soon, she would lead an army through that passage. The NightWings had made a terrible mistake when they chose to prey on her tribe. They were about to discover that the RainWings had found themselves a queen with fangs.

Chapter 7: Gathering Storm: The Looming War Between Tribes

Clay's return shattered Glory's moment of triumph like a stone through crystal. The MudWing crashed through the canopy, his eyes wild with panic, leaves and broken branches trailing from his wings. The celebrating RainWings scattered as he landed hard on the Arboretum floor. "Starflight's gone," he gasped, his chest heaving. "He went to the NightWing tunnel. I think he's trying to warn them." Glory felt ice form in her veins despite the tropical heat. Starflight, with his desperate need to believe the best of his birth tribe, had finally made the choice she had dreaded. He had chosen the NightWings over his friends. "How long?" she demanded. "Hours," Clay said miserably. "I found his note this morning. He thinks he can negotiate, convince them to release the prisoners peacefully." Clay's expression made it clear what he thought of those chances. Glory's mind raced through the implications. Starflight knew their plans, their numbers, their capabilities. He knew that Glory was now queen and could command an army. Worse, he knew exactly how unprepared that army was for real warfare. The NightWings would be waiting for them. Around the edges of the Arboretum, her subjects were beginning to understand that their celebration was over. Scales shifted from joyful golds to worried greens as the reality of their situation sank in. They had a queen now, but they also had a war. "We attack tonight," Glory announced, her voice carrying across the platform. "Before they have time to prepare." Tsunami stepped forward, her battle scars gleaming in the afternoon light. "I'll train them," she said simply. "I'll teach them to fight." "There isn't time," Mangrove protested. "Most of these dragons have never used their venom on anything more dangerous than fruit." "Then they'll learn fast," Glory said, her scales rippling with the dark colors of storm clouds. "Because the alternative is leaving our people to die in NightWing prisons." She turned to face her tribe, these dragons who had elected her queen without truly understanding what that would mean. They were looking at her with expressions ranging from excitement to terror, waiting for her to tell them what to do. "Listen to me," she called out, her voice echoing off the living walls of the amphitheater. "For too long, we've been content to hide in our trees while other dragons make decisions about our world. We've let others fight their wars, solve their problems, choose their destinies. But that ends today." The golden light of the setting sun painted her scales like armor as she spread her wings wide. "The NightWings think we're weak. They think we're useless. They steal our dragons and torture them for their venom because they believe we're too lazy and too stupid to stop them. Tonight, we're going to prove them wrong." A ripple of determination passed through the crowd like wind through leaves. Dragons who had never lifted a claw in anger began to nod. Scales shifted from worried green to the fierce orange of flame. "We're going to war," Glory declared. "And we're going to win." In the distance, beyond the canopy of their hidden kingdom, storm clouds were gathering on the horizon. Lightning flickered in their depths like a promise of the violence to come. The rain that had nurtured the RainWings for centuries would wash away the blood of their enemies. Glory looked toward the tunnel that would carry them to battle and felt prophecy shifting around her like living things. She had never been meant for the great destiny that would end the war between the tribes. But perhaps she had been meant for this smaller, more personal destiny: to save her people and prove that even the most peaceful dragons would fight when their families were threatened. The war was coming to the rainforest. But for the first time in her life, Glory was exactly where she belonged.

Summary

Glory's transformation from unwanted substitute to warrior queen represents more than personal growth; it embodies the awakening of an entire people. The RainWings, dismissed by other tribes as decorative and useless, discovered through their new queen that even the gentlest dragons possess the capacity for terrible fury when those they love are threatened. Glory's venom, once a secret weapon hidden beneath camouflaged scales, became the symbol of a tribe ready to defend itself. Her crown was earned not through birthright or prophecy, but through the willingness to risk everything for dragons who had been forgotten by their own kind. The volcanic kingdom of the NightWings, with its rivers of molten rock and caves filled with tortured prisoners, stands as a monument to the corruption of power without accountability. Their secret harvesting of RainWing venom reveals the darkness that festers when one tribe believes itself superior to all others. As Glory prepares to lead her people into the realm of smoke and shadow, she carries with her the hopes of every dragon who has ever been told they were not enough, not important, not worthy of their own destiny. The war between the kingdoms has found a new battleground, and the outcome will determine whether kindness can survive in a world that mistakes gentleness for weakness.

About Author

Loading

Tui T. Sutherland

Sutherland explores the transformative power of storytelling by intertwining modern narratives with classic tales. Her work often reimagines familiar themes, such as in "This Must Be Love," where she updates Shakespeare's "A Midsummer Night's Dream" to a contemporary high school setting. This approach not only makes her stories accessible to younger audiences but also deepens their engagement with literature, allowing readers to see age-old tales through a new lens. By crafting stories that resonate across time and culture, she aims to spark curiosity and a love for reading in children and teenagers.\n\nFocusing on children's literature, Sutherland employs a vibrant storytelling method that combines humor and empathy, making complex emotions approachable for young readers. Her books, including the "First Friends" series for beginning readers, emphasize the importance of friendship and discovery. These stories serve as stepping stones for children, fostering an early appreciation for reading and helping them navigate their own experiences. The author's skillful integration of engaging plots and relatable characters helps cultivate lifelong readers who value both entertainment and education.\n\nBeyond individual enjoyment, Sutherland’s body of work contributes to broader conversations about cultural exchange and the universal appeal of stories. Her ability to blend various cultural influences into her writing reflects her diverse background, having lived in multiple countries during her formative years. This multicultural perspective enriches her narratives, offering readers a glimpse into different worlds while emphasizing shared human experiences. Her collaborative project, "Seekers," with Erin Hunter, further exemplifies her commitment to expanding her storytelling reach and inspiring a global audience. Through her books, Sutherland not only entertains but also educates, connecting readers of all ages to the vast tapestry of human stories.

Read more