• The stairs led to a single vast room. Shelves lined every wall and stood in organized rows in the space between the walls. The whole place was a vast library. The shelves stretched ten feet tall and wide. Each shelf was filled with books organized into colors, almost a different color on every shelf. Every color and every shade of color was in that room.

    To her left were a table and two large leather chairs. Old and worn, the brown leather was thin in places and some of the stuffing was peeking out of small holes. One of the chairs was occupied by the man the Blind Cat had called Geoff. In his hands he held a book with a cover the same color and shade as his blue suit and turban. On the table sat another book of the same color, a quill was wriggling across it's page, writing frantically. If she weren't in Nowhere Land, Keller probably would have been surprised at such a sight.

    Geoff looked at her and rested the book on his lap. He pointed to the chair at his side and Keller sat down.

    "Nowhere Land has changed while you have been away Keller." He said looking at her.
    "Who are you?" She asked. "And where am I?" He smiled and glanced down at the book on his lap.

    "You are in my home. This is the library, it takes up most of the house. It would be hard to find a room that did not have a bookshelf or two in it. The only rooms that are currently unoccupied by the books are the bathroom and bedroom. As for who I am, I have several names. The Blind Cat knows me as Geoff; the man with the blue suit. Others know me as Ash; hermit of the western woods. Some call me Lucian and know me as a magician. Very few know my real title and no one in this world knows my true name. I am the Story Keeper. I am the guardian of Nowhere Land’s history, the custodian of its secrets. I know everything is happening and has happened in Nowhere Land since it began."

    "What happened to this place? Nowhere Land wasn't like this when I came the first time." She asked. Geoff, Ash, or whatever his name was, indicated the book in his lap.
    "I was just reading about your adventures when you were here first time. Not a lot of people come to Nowhere Land twice. I had been here several years when you arrived."

    "What do you mean?" Interrupted Keller.

    "The people of Nowhere Land are eternal. They grow old, die but then are reborn, young and healthy. It is Nowhere Land that changes not them. But we story keepers do not come from Nowhere Land, we come from Earth. I was originally from Earth just like you, I took over from the last story keeper ten years ago now. One day a young man or woman will come along and they will take over from me and I will be allowed to return home.
    "Time has no meaning here you know. Which means when I leave I will return to wherever and whenever I want. I will go back to my wife and children, just moments after I left."

    Keller nodded along in silence. She had figured out that Nowhere Land had no time. She had managed to return to her tutor merely an hour or so after she'd left when she'd actually spent days in Nowhere Land. The story keeper continued.
    "Each different color represents a different story keeper. Each book records one year of Nowhere Land history. If you looked through this library you would find some keepers stayed here for ten years, some twenty. One even stayed for almost seventy years."

    Keller looked at the thousands of books in the library, how long was Nowhere Land’s history?
    “Nowhere Land changed two years ago. There was a war. Do you remember who was in charge when you were last here?" He asked. Keller nodded the memory of a large but kind woman with dark hair and olive skin entered her mind.
    "The Empress of the East, Raksha." Keller confirmed. The story keeper nodded.
    "The Queen of the West rose with her armies and started a war, which the Empress of the East couldn't win. Her husband, the Eastern Emperor is missing; no one knows where he is. Her husband lost, her army defeated the queen fled and is now living in a small cabin in the eastern woods seven days travel from here. She is now the Eastern Maiden, her title was lost when her crown was taken.
    "The Queen of the West is young and violent. Unfortunately the Western King is much older than her and is cannot leave his bed let alone stop her tirades... Hence her already rage and frustrations continue to make her increasingly destructive and that in turn is having the effect on the Nowhere Land you are seeing today. The inhabitants are blood mad and have insatiable appetites. You will need to be careful about whom you encounter when you go looking for the Eastern Maiden." He paused and let Keller come to terms with what he had just said.
    "Hold on, why do I need to look for the Eastern Maiden?" She shouted at him. The Story Keeper closed the book on his lap and looked at her seriously.
    "The current ruling of Nowhere Land is upsetting the balance. The rising general frustration is continuing to rise and soon it will begin to tear Nowhere Land apart. The Eastern Maid needs to be restored to the throne, she needs to become queen again and you are the only one in Nowhere Land that is able to stay clam and not let their blood boil with rage."
    "What about you? Why don't you go looking for her?" She shouted. He shook his head.
    "I am a story keeper, I watch and record. I am unable to directly interfere with the natural course of Nowhere Land. I should not have interfered to get you here, but I did because it is for the greater good of Nowhere Land. Keller you are the only hope for this world. You must take this quest to find the Eastern Maid and restore her to the throne or Nowhere Land will cease to exist in just a few years."

    Keller fell into silence. This was a serious matter, the fate of this magnificent place that had brought her such happiness when she was young hung on her shoulders. If she failed then Nowhere Land would be lost and destroyed. But she also knew she couldn't just leave it, Nowhere Land was getting worse, changed and twisted by the violent nature of its queen. What choice did she have?
    "When do I begin?"