The desert was hot. Caius had never truly known what the heat felt like until he had crossed the Arri desert with the group of merchants. Throughout the entire trip he had hidden in one of the wagons with a blanket over top to avoid the sun's rays. After the passing of each day, he had slowly become more accustomed with the weather. Although he still preferred to avoid the sun whenever possible. His outfit was appropriate for the weather, or so he believed. His long black hair had been tied up in a ponytail, he had chosen a light blue loose tunic and some light gray pants to go with it. However, he did not choose to bring loose white clothing and only understood now why such clothing would prove to be useful.

When they made it to the tropical oasis, relief was not a strong enough word. The desert had not only threatened to kill him physically but also creativity. There were hardly any colors in the desert. Just the sand, sun, and the sky. That was it! The bright greens, blues, and reds of the oasis breathed new life into him. The merchant group followed a worn path through the tropical forest and stopped at the sight of a gate and a door. Caius' green eyes filled with excitement and anticipation to see the city. What magical wonders did the city hold within its walls? He looked up to see a grand castle towering in the distance. The stone structure of the castle combined many designs from all over Canelux, few which Caius recognized, yet with these designs was able to be the most unique of them all. 

"Come on jewelry boy." One of the merchants grabbed his arm and pulled him through the gate, "You'll get to see more later." 

They entered Sularia and went straight to the Afthonia Bazaar to begin trading. Meanwhile, Caius had bought himself a map to find the best places to trade and make new jewelry pieces. His first stop would have to be at a jewelry stall. Before deciding to come to Sularia, the jewelry maker had done his research. Rosenites had plenty of jewels and rare gemstones. Water was the most precious item to them. He could not offer water or anything like that. However, he did have fully made jewelry from outside of the city. Each one had a different design and the people at the stall would be able to have less work to do while still having good products. After all, a jewelry maker did have to spend a lot of time in front of a hot forge to make the metal pieces of the product. This would give them a day or two off. In exchange, he would ask for the raw material to make the jewelry. A backpack rested on his shoulders and was filled to the brim with all sorts of items to sell. His mind was deep in thought, not paying attention to his surroundings. 

"Attack!" A random voice screamed. 

Before Caius even had the chance to look up, he was tackled to the ground. Panic flew through his head as he looked up to see his attacker was…a child. An adorable redheaded girl with green eyes and dimples. She was trying to pin him down. Suddenly a swarm of children began piling up on his chest and pinning his arms down. They were all girls. He didn't mind being tackled by boys or girls. But he had forgotten for a moment the odd more female than male ratio of the city. The leader, the redhead girl, stood up on his chest and let out an evil cackle. 

"We have conquered the enemy." She said, "What do you have to say for yourself, enemy?"

"H-hi?" Caius said with partial confusion and partial worry, "Don't hurt me…please."

Suddenly two mothers came to Caius rescue. The first mother got the children off of him while the second one helped him up. They apologized and he told them not to worry. After that adventure, he managed to get to the jewelry stall. He was able to barter for some new materials then looked to his map to see where he needed to go next. The White District. Rumor had it that there was a good forge to be used there. Perhaps he could trade with something and get some time with one of the forge's to make some metal bases for some crowns and bracelets. Caius was not paying attention to where he was going, as his eyes were focused on the map, and he ran into a wall. Dropping his map, he put his hand up to his face. His map fell into a pile of dirt. When he finally managed to dig it out, it was completely unreadable. A sigh escaped the man's lips as he folded up the map and dumped it into his bag. 

"No worries," He told himself quietly, "I'm close to the White District. I'll be there before I know it."

Little did he know, he was already in the White District. He searched around the streets until he found himself in a large yard full of dragons. Knowing that this was NOT the place he wanted to be, he turned to leave. Before he could, a pair of jaws snatched his backpack and by extension him. When he looked around he saw it was a dragon. Fear made the jewelry maker freeze. The dragon flew around proudly with its new helpless toy until it landed in front of a woman. 

"Help." Squeaked Caius.