Nostalgia for a time that never existed.

I want to imbue Sometimes a Dragon with a sense of nostalgia.

I've mentioned that the theme is memory -- and nostalgia is a part of that.   When I think about Lord of the Rings or Narnia, they are suffused with a sense of nostalgia.  Times were magical in the past Middle Earth.  In Narnia,  as the kids grow up they forget the magical lands they once visited.

So how do you infuse nostalgia?

One, you can be direct.  That's what, "Once upon a time" does.  That's what "Long ago and far away" does.

Secondly, I'd think you'd do it by having the characters be nostalgic.

Three, you try to show how glimmering and mythical the past was, through memory.  And well, through evocative writing.

How else?

It can't be too direct.  Nostalgia is a soft feeling, fuzzy, warm.  It can't be forced.

Anyway, that's the direction my thoughts are taking.