Issy: It was a lovely day in the palace, and throughout the whole kingdom of Isdrid. Everyone was preparing for Queen Laithel The Second's fortieth birthday. It was a big milestone that caused a tremendous boost of morale all throughout the kingdom.

Queen Laithel sat on her golden throne with the morning light making the gold and the jewels on her throne sparkle. The throne room was a symbol of great wealth and power. There were large windows on the east and west sides of the room which allowed the glorious sunshine to shine through. Tapestries filled with the royal family's history decorated the walls, showing scenes like when King Felix founded Isdrid or when King Theo conquered the evil kingdom of Gongu. My favorite tapestry was of the first Queen Laithel looking over the peaceful kingdom of Isdrid. The tapestry was the most beautifully crafted out of all of them. The floors of the large throne room were white marble laced with gold.

Queen Laithel was a sight to see herself. She had long, lucious, dark brown hair. Her eyes were a bright blue that showed kindness and wisdom to all it looked at. With skin fair and smooth, she looked as young as she did when she took the throne. Entangled in her hair was a large crown. Her crown had pearls and emeralds wrapped in gold with fine details of leaves. The gold looked like vines and went high above her head and met at a single point at the top. The dress she wore today matched her crown. The dress was an emerald green gown with the middle section being gold, continuing all the way up to her square necklines. It was traced with the finest gold lace. For Queen Laithel, this was just a normal dress for a normal day.

Next to Queen Laithel was her husband, Prince Consort James, and her daughter, Princess Orly. Prince Consort James was loyal to his wife and to the kingdom. He had dusty brown hair, turning gray. His eyes were kind and blue. Princess Orly was an independent young woman. She was about seventeen years old. Her beauty was told about through all the thirteen kingdoms. She had strawberry blonde hair with perfect long waves. Her skin looked smooth and ornate. Her hands, light and delicate. She was in search of a husband. A couple months ago, she was courting Prince Alaxas, now King, but that fell through.

"Issy?" Queen Laithel summoned me. "Can you please go fetch the planning book for my fortieth birthday? I would like to look over it."

"Yes, your highness," I quickly bowed and scurried out of the room to my office.

I was Queen Laithel's secretary and assistant. She took me in to work for her when I was orphaned at age ten. Now, I am eighteen and I still work for her. My parents died in a mining accident, mining for gold. I owe it to Queen Laithel that I am not living homeless on the streets of Goldon, the city I grew up in and the capital of Isdrid, which is where the palace is located.

I quickly popped into my office to grab the planning book. My office was small but cozy. I had a little fireplace and a comfortable chair. My desk was little and made of unpolished wood. Stacks on stacks of books and papers covered up one of the walls. The planning book was thankfully laying right in the middle of my desk so I did not have to search hard for it.

I exited my office with the book and started quickly back to the throne room, trying not to keep the queen waiting too long. Suddenly, I heard loud screams and shouts coming from down the hallway. I found those sounds to be a bit odd. A stream of people came running down the hallway, running frantically. I ran to the throne room as fast as I could. Before I could enter the room, I was pulled aside by someone into a doorway. To my surprise, it was Queen Laithel!

I started to speak but the queen put her index finger to my mouth, signaling me to be quiet.

She whispered, "Don't speak. They will hear you. We are in a dire situation. Isdrid has been taken over by Mordum. There is no way to stop them, they have powers on their side, great powers. My throne has been compromised. Listen carefully, take this book and find the man it talks about. He is the only one who can save us."

"I found her!" A man dressed in black armor with a thick Mordum accent shouted.

Queen Laithel shoved the large and heavy book into my arms.

The man roughly grabbed Queen Laithel and started dragging her away.

"Find him, Issy! Save our kingdom!" Queen Laithel yelled out as she was being dragged away.

More men in black armor appeared outside the throne room to grab me. The only thing I could do was turn and run away as fast as I could. I did not look back, not once. I scurried down a flight of steps and out the large doorway. The bridge thumped as I crossed it. I kept running, running, and running all through the city until all I could see were grass and trees, just to be sure I was out of the city for good.

I collapsed to the ground. The book, landing with a thud beside me. My legs felt numb. My breath was fast and heavy. I ran away from the only life I had known.

After a few minutes of staring up at the blue sky, I finally got up. I grabbed the heavy book and looked at the title, written in gold. It read: Legends of No One.

I remembered this book from when I was younger, learning about the heroes of Isdrid. The events of the story happened when I was a baby but I was too young to remember it. Legends of No One was a book about a young man who saved Isdrid with the help of a fearless female warrior. They saved Isdrid from an evil spirit called Octevis. The spirit Octevis was one of the most powerful of all spirits with its eight shadow tentacles and gaping mouth with rows of teeth. After Octevis was defeated, the unknown young hero and the warrior disappeared without a trace. No one knew their names so they titled the story Legends of No One. The story was considered a legend because not all believed that there was some mysterious hero and a warrior that saved all of Isdrid. Most believed that the past monarchs had mercy on us and got rid of Octevis. So the story remained a legend, waiting for someone to prove it. I believed that it was true. It's nice to think that heroes like that exist. I hope they do because Isdrid is being invaded and right now they are the only hope to save the kingdom.

When I opened the book to the first page, a map came out. It was a map of Isdrid. It had a red dot in a forest by the sea a little north of Goldon and a line leading to it. I think Queen Laithel must have slipped this map for me so that I would be able to locate the unnamed legends named in the book.

I unclipped the compass necklace around my neck, my prized possession and the only thing I have left from my parents. I started heading north, trekking through the bright green grass that Isdrid is known for. Hopefully I was headed in the right direction.