“Moonstruck” Maia, or Maia the Reckless, from “Dragon Rider”. Written and illustrated by Cornelia Funke.
“There were twenty-three of us,” she said, “but I am the only one left. Maia the Reckless, they always called me. Moonstruck Maia.” She shook her head sadly.
Firedrake turned to her. “What happened?”
“They didn’t go out anymore,” replied Maia in a low voice. “They stopped flying in the moonlight. And very slowly, they changed. I warned them. I said forgetting the moon is more dangerous than the golden dragon. But they wouldn’t listen to me. They became tired, sluggish, bad-tempered. They laughed at me when I went out in the moonlight or flew over the lake on nights when the moon was full. They were forever repeating the old tale of the golden dragon who would destroy us all if we didn’t hide from him. “Careful,” they used to say when I wanted to go out, “he’s out there. He’s lying in wait for us.” But he never was. I told them so. “Remember,” I said, “remember there’s another story, the tale of the dragon rider who will come back on the day when silver is worth more than gold, and with his aid we will defeat the golden dragon.” But they only shook their heads and said the dragon rider was dead and gone and would never return.” She looked at Ben. “I was right, though. The dragon rider has come back.”
