"Mama, when can we get out of this sun?" Drago whined as he shaded his eyes with his hand. Sabine was walking next to Hapi trudging her little, tired legs forward she was exhausted but kept moving. Lucinda looked to her suffering children and grimaced. They had been walking for days and were running dangerously low on food and water. Lucinda had made the elderly ride horseback and the youth walk so that they would be able to move faster but to no avail. Even she walked upon the hot unforgiving sand using her husband's spear as a walking stick. The waste appeared to go on forever.

"Nisa!" Sir Gray cried out as he galloped towards them. Lucinda had been against the idea of letting Sir Gray scout the lands after losing Aljack but he insisted. Now the man rode with a smile on his face and nearly breathless. Lucinda could think of only one thing.

"Enchantos?" She questioned and the man nodded his head. Lucinda turned to her exhausted people and lifted the spear into the air.

"My people, tonight we rest in the land of Enchantos!" She shouted and the Igneous people cheered and the twins quickly ran to join their mother. After two more miles they all arrived at the imposing gates of Enchantos. To Lucinda's surprise there were already people standing at the gates waiting to great them. Lucinda figured that the guards had seen them crossing the plain and alerted the higher officials. A large man stood before twenty soldiers. He was smiling and had a gold ring on every other finger on both hands, his hair was slicked back and shone white in the glistening sun. Lucinda licked her dry lips and prepared to speak to the man.

"Hello, my dear wanderers. You have arrived to the land of Enchantos, the soul oasis in the Valley of Death. I must admit that I am surprised that you have managed to make it this far. From my experience people only chance this desert if they are running from something or to something. So, my dear strangers which is it?" He asked curiously as we motioned to the city that was hidden behind the largest walls Lucinda had ever seen. Lucinda cleared her dry throat and stepped forward. She was dusted red from the dust and her hair hung limply around her face that hand grown slightly gaunt since they began their journey.

"I am Lucida, Nisa of the Igneous clan. We run from no one, only seek a port that will spend us a across the great coast to the royal city in Fiore." Lucinda explained and the man let out a booming laugh.

"And why, my dear child, would a chief wife want to sail to the royal city?" He question bemused by Lucida's request.

"I am not just a chief wife. I am the heir to the Silver Throne. My name is Lucinda Heartafilla, but you may know me as the mother of dragons." She said her voice growing stronger with each passing minute. The man paled for moment but tried to play it off with a smirk. Lucinda knew her reputation had traveled and had hoped that it would have traveled into the waste. She smiled in know that it did.

"Yes, I have heard a great deal of you. You are the woman who cannot be burned. While I am honored to be able to meet your acquaintance I am afraid that you may not enter the city." He said and Lucinda's heart dropped to her stomach and she clenched her teeth.

"Sir, we wish you no trouble. When I reclaim my throne I will reward Enchantos greatly for your kindness in taking me in." She bargained. The man walked towards to Lucinda and looked from her to the children that held onto to her skirts.

"You mean if you reclaim your throne. Your name and reputation hold power but look at your army, if you can even call it that." He said and Lucinda refused to look down upon her people so she glared at this cheeky merchant.

"Names do not win wars, armies and money do? Which brings me to my next question, do you have any money that you can purchase a boat with?" Lucinda shook her head, she thought of the gold that lay at the bottom of the lake with the bones of her brother. The merchant sighed and was about to say something else but another man interrupted him. He was cloaked in the finest robes that Lucinda had ever seen.

"Now, Makko where are your manners? How can Enchantos be known as the greatest city there is or was if you turn away everyone that comes to visit?" The man stood next to the merchant, Makko who was looking annoyed and smiled brightly at Lucinda.

"Forgive my friend, Nisa. He is a bit wary of invaders finding their away into our city and to his defense the Igneous are known for being particularly ruthless. But I see that these rumors are just that, rumors. Come, the city awaits" The man said motioning for them to follow and Makko turned to him grabbing his arm.

"That is not your decision to make, Bacchus. They have no money and therefore will deplete of us of some of ours. We are no charity." Makko argued and Bacchus frowned at the man.

"Then they won't deplete money from us. I will cover all of their expenses and they will be taken into my care." He said and he extended his hand to Lucinda She eyes the hand carefully. The dragons were tucked safely in their individual cages that the horses carried along with the elderly and her children were each by her side. Lucinda's greatest fear was that any of her children, scaled or skin, were out of reach and would be entangled in enemy hands. So she analyzed this man, this Bacchus' hand; was he friend or foe. She would have to risk it to find out, she couldn't risk her people's lives in this heat any longer. So she took it and Bacchus smiled.

"Welcome to the greatest city in the world" He said and lead them into the slowly opening gates