On little more than rumors and lies, Franciso Vazquez de Coronado traveled up from Mexico in search of Quivira, one of the seven legendary cities of gold. For years, he and his army pushed to the north. Many of his men were killed. Disease, bitter cold, and marauding tribes all conspired against him, but Coronado persisted.

And when, at last, Coronado found Quivira, his disappointment was too profound for words. The towns of Quivira were little more than thatched huts and fire pits. And so, Coronado simply turned about, leading his army back to the south.

What Coronado couldn't have known was that he had been within feet of a hidden underground passageway to the only city of gold there ever truly was, the true genesis of every imagined golden city and every fountain of youth: the kingdom of Isidora.

The Quivira tribe had not told Coronado because they knew that, even if they had led him into Isidora, the gold he had sought would be useless. The truth, known only to the Quivira elders, was that gold was the least of Isidora's treasures.

The real treasure of Isidora was the nature of the land itself. Once a man arrives in Isidora, he will not remember the value of gold. He will not remember the value of anything, for what matter. From the empty streets of its ancient, golden capital spreads the land of Isidora, a land without memory, where every need is met and every sadness is forgotten.

dedicated to all my loved ones.=)