The Source of Magic - Plot Summary

Plot Summary

Characters of The Source of Magic
Primary character	Bink
Major characters	Humfrey Crombie Grundy Chester

On his way to Queen Iris's masquerade ball in honor of Trent's accession to the throne one year before, Bink is attacked by a floating sword, which he deflects using his talent of protection against magical harm. At the ball, he is attacked again by an unseen enemy. Finally, Bink confides in King Trent, who decides to remove Bink from harm's way by sending him out on a mission to find the source of magic of Xanth. To help him, King Trent sends Chester the Centaur and the soldier Crombie. Crombie is turned into a griffin by King Trent, whose magical talent is the ability to transform living things.

First, the party heads to the Good Magician Humfrey's castle, to ask his advice about their quest. When they tell him they are attempting to discover Xanth's source of magic, Humfrey decides he wants to come as well. They come across Beauregard the Demon who tells them they should abandon their quest, as it could result in the destruction of all magic in Xanth. At this time they also find Grundy the Golem, whose talent is understanding any language. This is particularly useful because Crombie in griffin form can only speak in squawks, which Grundy is able to translate.

On their quest, they meet many obstacles, including a Siren, a Gorgon whose face turns men to stone, madness itself, a dragon, tangle trees, and an ogre. Bink narrowly escapes all enemies through a series of seemingly circumstantial events, due to his talent. Eventually they find the source of magic - a demon named X(A/N)th imprisoned deep below the surface. Bink is faced with a moral dilemma, to let it be free and destroy all magic in Xanth and act against the Brain Coral, or to keep it against its will. He eventually lets the magic go by freeing the demon, but is convinced by Cherie Centaur to go back and look for the demon again, hoping to convince it to stay. After some negotiation, the demon agrees under the condition that the magic shield which separated Xanth from Mundania will protect him from foolish intruders.

Upon Bink's return home, he discovers his son Dor possesses a magician calibre talent - he can talk to inanimate objects.

Xanth series by Piers Anthony

First series	A Spell for Chameleon The Source of Magic Castle Roogna Centaur Aisle Ogre, Ogre Night Mare Dragon on a Pedestal Crewel Lye Golem in the Gears Vale of the Vole Heaven Cent Man from Mundania Isle of View Question Quest The Color of Her Panties Demons Don't Dream Harpy Thyme Geis of the Gargoyle Roc and a Hard Place Yon Ill Wind Faun & Games Zombie Lover Xone of Contention The Dastard Swell Foop Up in a Heaval Cube Route

Second series	Currant Events Pet Peeve Stork Naked Air Apparent Two to the Fifth Jumper Cable Knot Gneiss Well-Tempered Clavicle Luck of the Draw Esrever Doom Board Stiff

Characters	List of Xanth characters Magicians Family of Merlin Family of Ebnez Family of Humfrey Centaur family Goblin family Gourd Mundanes Other characters

Geography of Xanth Companions of Xanth Letters to Jenny

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