The dragon was real.

Brandon stood face to face with a beast a hundred times his size, complete with massive flapping wings that kept it afloat. The monster’s mouth gaped and roared a noise that sent shivers through every part of Brandon’s body, deafening him to everything around him.

Moments before, he had been ready to claim victory—but now he realized there was no way to win against such a creature. It began gurgling, and he knew that in seconds, flame as hot as the sun would disintegrate him where he stood.

Still, he held his ground, sword raised. Something inside him swore he had a chance. But he didn’t.

The dragon leaned in very close to Brandon—less than a foot away. The Californian could feel the beast’s fiery breath. And then, it spoke.

“Ahhh... the great Brandon of Los Angeles.” The voice was evil and deep, with a liquid quality and a stench of kerosene. “Your children do you well. They work hard. They will serve Dominus well for many years to come.” The beast chuckled—nothing funny in the sound. “And you… would you prefer to see them and join in the work? Or die like the coward you are?”

Brandon was frozen. He was lost and didn’t know what to do. But only for a moment. In an instant, he dove off the castle wall, sword-first, destined for the brow of the dragon. But the beast was much quicker than Pierce expected. It drew its head back and laced the area with fire from its boiler-like stomach.

Brandon fell to his death, engulfed in flames.

Days earlier, Brandon was just a normal dad trying to bond with his three kids on a camping trip to Yosemite. Myra, the oldest—sharp, resourceful, and fiercely loyal—sat up front, while her younger brothers, Jason and Chris, bantered in the backseat.

On Highway 41, headed for their destination, they encountered a sharp curve—just as a deer darted into their path.

In a moment, the SUV plunged into a hidden river system beneath the earth, swallowed by a cavern so vast it defies physics. The vehicle was drawn toward a deafening waterfall, spinning, sinking, and then swallowed whole.

Brandon found himself separated from his children and befriended by an old man named Madliff—a cloaked relic of another time who knows nothing of cars, coffee, or phones. He offers Brandon a fire, a strange tea, and cryptic comfort: “No one dies here… not easily, at least.”

Meanwhile, the children awaken in darkness, prisoners in a damp cave, barely lit by flickering torchlight and thick with the smell of sulfur. They are terrified. Myra clings to resolve. Jason clings to sarcasm. Chris prays they’re just dreaming.

But the truth claws its way to them fast: they were carried here—by something with talons. A dragon. A real dragon.

Brought through winding caverns, they find themselves under the rule of a cryptic and dangerous man in fine robes and finer lies. He says they’re guests. But the locked doors and lack of windows say otherwise.

Back in the cave, Brandon meets Kolb—a giant of a man with arms like tree trunks and a personality that hits just as hard—and the twins, G’nore and G’nare, quiet in speech and even quieter on their feet. Mike, oddly named for the land he lives in, gives his ability to the effort. Then there’s Tol, a man who could strike a match with a knife thrown from 100 feet. They pledge themselves to Brandon’s cause: to rescue his children from whatever dark force rules the place.

And Brandon? He’s no warrior. He’s a lawyer. He jogs. He avoids confrontation. He is a pacifist. But this world isn’t asking him to fight—it’s demanding it. Kolb tells him bluntly, “Before we set your children free, you will become a master of the staff and sword… or die trying.”

Brandon begins to understand: this isn’t a rescue mission. It’s a war.

Ketchwood—the realm they’ve fallen into—is a land that time forgot. A place ruled by whispers of old ways, enslaved by a despot and tyrant named Dominus, and haunted by beasts that should only exist in storybooks. There’s no cell signal. No exit. No rescue team coming.

But the people of Ketchwood—tough, loyal, and slightly unhinged—are ready to fight. And Brandon is beginning to realize: so is he.

As they prepare for the journey into the valley to confront the Sheriff (the strong arm of Dominus), Brandon uncovers truths that shake him. The dragon isn’t just a monster—it’s intelligent, ancient, and aligned with Dominus, a force that hungers for more than power. The Sheriff isn’t just a tyrant—he’s a slave master, collector of men, and possibly something far worse.

And Brandon? He’s not just a dad who crashed his SUV. He may be the key to undoing centuries of darkness.

The journey to save his kids will take him through massive caverns and ancient ruins. He will learn to fight and help lead a rebellion long smothered but not extinguished.

All to set Myra, Chris, and Jason free from… who knows what. Brandon doesn’t yet know—but he’s determined to find out.

As Brandon and his cohorts traverse the dangers of Ketchwood Valley, he becomes more determined not to fail. He becomes more skilled in swords and strategy.

He will use weapons, intelligence, understanding, humor, and sarcasm to achieve his plan to save his kids.

He encounters more than he ever thought existed. And more and more proof comes that he knows far less than he believed he ever did about the worlds around him.

But he knows this much:

He will find them. He will bring them home. Even if he has to face dragons, Dominus, or evil itself.

Even if it costs him his very breath.