Books In Short
The Xanth Series
By Piers Anthony

Summaries by Corina "Tyigra," tygercat@hotmail.com

Book #7: Dragon on a Pedestal

Chapter 1. Ivy League
While traveling to Castle Roogna, Irene has a vision: A statue of Imbri and a statue of a dragon on a pedestal, with something terrible between them. Humfrey reveals that the Time of No Magic gave the forget spell in the Gap a fatal jolt. Mutated forget-whorls are spinning off, and the Gap Dragon is running rampant. The dragon attacks Castle Zombie and a zombie saves 3-year old Princess Ivy, only to run into a forget-whorl and forget where it put her.

Chapter 2. Humfrey's Horror
Queen Irene goes to Humfrey's castle for help, only to discover that Humfrey's been turned into a baby! He had been getting water from the Fountain of Youth when the Gap Dragon attacked. Hugo, his retarded son, flung the water on the dragon but got Humfrey too. Now magician and dragon are babies, and 8-year old Hugo is lost in the uncharted wilderness as well as Ivy.

Chapter 3. Yak Talk
Lost in the jungle, Ivy befriends a talkative yak and explores the woods. Come nightfall, she realizes she can't remember where she came from. The yak steps into a forget-whorl and runs off. Ivy gets hurt and cries, alerting the hungry baby Gap Dragon.

Chapter 4. Zora Zombie
Irene, Chem, Grundy and a zombie search for Ivy. They trace her trail, but the King Cloud that Irene pestered on her trip to Humfrey's returns with a vengeance. Huddled under an umbrella plant, they hear a bomacon coming. The bomacon dragon bites the zombie and, finding it disgusting, leaves. Grateful, they learn that the zombie's name is Zora, and that she killed herself when her true love was false. The only thing that will bring her closer to life is love.

Chapter 5. Coven-tree
Her parents don't think Ivy's talent is magician-class, but they don't realize how powerful it is. Whatever she thinks is true is true. Ivy believes that the Gap Dragon will be her loyal companion, and so he is. She fawns over him, naming him Stanley Steamer and placing him on the proverbial pedestal. They spend the night in a tree and climb to the top in the morning. They find a strange museum up top, called Coven-tree. They travel from tree until Ivy tries to take a plant from the Date Palm. They are frozen in place, for the plant is thyme.

Chapter 6. Xanthippe
While searching for Ivy, Irene, Chem and Grundy run into and are hypnotized by a witch named Xanthippe. She owns the thyme plant and is holding Ivy hostage until Irene breeds with her handsome son, Xavier, and Chem with his magnificent hippogryph steed, Xap. They manage to convince Xanthippe to let them to a different service, to get past the great bird Simurgh to the Tree of Seeds and bring her the seeds of Doubt, Dissension and War. Xap leads he way, but is forced to carry Zora Zombie.

Chapter 7. Hugo Award
Ivy enhances the thyme until its time is up and she is freed. She finds Hugo and enhances his brain and magic; before he had only been able to conjure bad fruit, but now he can conjure fruit that's edible. Stanley defeats a bugbear and Hugo protects them from the King Cloud, Cumulo-Fracto-Nimbus. They run into a cave only to discover that it's the lair of a monster!

Chapter 8. Tisi, Alec & Meg
Irene sets up camp and learns that Xavier's talent is zapping things. Chem seems interested in Xap, and they go off to "scout" together. At dark they are visited by Tisiphone, Alecto and Megaera: the Furies! The Furies are dog-headed old witches who try to blame everyone they meet of parricide. Irene, Xavier and Grundy are overcome with guilt over how they treated their parents (or creators) and are about to beaten with the Furies' poisonous whips when Zora takes the blow. The Furies have now power over her, for she never neglected her parents. They each throw a curse: that something so bad will happen to the cursed one that they will wish for death. Grundy gets hit, but Zora takes both Irene's and Xavier's. Indebted, they let Zora sleep in the tree house with them.

Chapter 9. Parnassus
They journey on to Mt. Parnassus and Grundy is bitten by a dipsas. His thirst becomes unquenchable and he wishes he were dead--the curse of the Furies. Xap and Xavier take him to the winespring of the maenads to cure him, while Chem, Irene and Zora continue. They run into the Python--nemesis and delight of females everywhere-and are caught in his gaze until Zora breaks their view. They flee until they regroup with the others, who are being chased by the maenads: wild, bloodthirsty nymphs. The Python and maenads attack each other, leaving the group free to continue until they reach the home of the wise Muses. Thalia, muse of Planting, helps them by providing ivy to climb to the top of the mountain. Irene, Xavier and Grundy climb up and reach the Simurgh, a giant and powerful bird. At first she is angry when she learns what they came for, but then decides to give them the seeds of Doubt, Dissention, and War, along with one of her feathers. She then lets Irene have all the seeds she can catch.

Chapter 10. Cyclopean Eye
Ivy, Hugo, and Stanley are still in the cave when dawn comes. The monster, a Cyclops, bellows at them and they attack in fear until Stanley steams his eye, making him cry. Saddened, Ivy makes friends with him. His name is Brontes, and he lost his brothers Steropes and Arges when they were banished by the Sky. Ivy enhances his eye until he has x-ray vision and can see his brothers a few mountains away. Thankful, he gives them a bone that can summon him, and they continue on. They run into Glory Goblin, sister of Goldy, who has left her tribe to seek romance.

Chapter 11. Dread Seeds
The group leaves Mt. Parnassus but carrying the Dread Seeds affects them. They have Zora carry them, since they don't work on her. They run into the Furies again and Irene grows and Honesty plant, causing the Furies to curse themselves when they remember that they neglected their own parent. Later, Zora's first curse takes effect as she falls into a love spring and sees Xavier. The second curse, intended for Irene, happens as well. The Gorgon had brushed a forget-whorl and was wandering around barefaced. Zora looks and is turned into stone, and an angry and grieved Xavier kisses her. The statue softens and returns to flesh, but healthier then her old decaying self. Zora and Xavier say their goodbyes and fly away together on Xap.

Chapter 12. Glory Goblin
Glory reveals that she is in love with a handsome male harpy, Hardy. Ivy enhances Stanley's hearing so he can hear the Mouth Organ, a noisy instrument Hardy Harpy lives by. The ancient enemies are reunited, only to be captured by a band of goblins that followed Glory. Hardy is put through a rigged trial with Hugo, Ivy, and Glory stalling as Defender, Witness, and Prosecutor while Stanley chews through his net. Hardy is sentenced to be burned at the stake, and Glory is forced to light the fire. To everyone's surprise, she leaps onto the pyre with him. Ivy enhances them until they discover their hidden talent: alone they are magicless, but together Glory and Hardy can become invisible! They help their friends escape and fly away.

Chapter 13. Hardy Harpy
Irene, Chem, Grundy and the Gorgon are captured by harpies who want them to use their talents to find the goblin band. When they do, a three-way battle begins until Hardy and Glory appear. Irene creates a room out of wallflowers and has Gorbage the Goblin leader and Haggy the Harpy leader come in under truce. Chem argues for interspecies marriage, relating her own experience with Xap. At last they agree to call off the war and throw a big party. Gorbage tells Irene that when he was dancing with one harpy he started to fly--another interspecies talent. Haggy gives them a hollow feather they can blow if they ever need harpy help.

Chapter 14. Fire and Steam
Ivy, Hugo and Stanley run into a drake--a small fire-breathing dragon! Ivy enhances Stanley but it's still a terrible fight. Tired, they take a nap only to be awoken by a "zzap" sound. Hugo identifies the flying silvery worm as a wiggle! It's a wiggle swarm!!

Chapter 15. Lady Gap
Irene and company run into the Gap Dragon, full-grown! Irene slows it down with plants until she traps it with a dragnet. They realize it's not him; it's a female gap dragon who's been looking for him. Then they hear the wiggles... Gorgon and the Lady Gap dragon stay and kill wiggles while Irene and Chem look for the children. Grundy flies an airplane from an airplane plant to spread the word and warn the Simurgh.

Chapter 16. Wiggle, Wiggle
Ivy and Hugo try to find a way to destroy the wiggle nest. Hugo notices a spot where his flying fruit run out of control and realizes it's a forget-whorl. Ivy and Hugo stay behind Stanley as he flaps his wings to blow the whorl, which protects them from wiggles. Gradually they get in sight of the nest, but a deep ravine is in the way!

Chapter 17. Community Effort
Irene questions Brontes the Cyclops, then returns to the swarm. Soon everyone is fighting the wiggles: the drake, the harpies (summoned by the feather whistle,) the goblins, Brontes and his brothers, Xanthippe and company, the Furies, the monsters-under-the-bed, the Simurgh, Python, and Maenads, the Zombie Master and Hiatus, wild animals, and troops sent from Roogna. They close in the circle until they can see Ivy, Hugo and Stanley, but they can't get any closer!

Chapter 18. Hero Dragon
Hugo throws fruit into the ravine until there is a ramp across it. However, as Stanley blows the whorl across, King Fracto tries to blow it off the ramp! To save them, Stanley jumps to the side and blows it back up, leaving himself exposed. As wiggles shoot through his wings and tail, Hugo blows Fracto up with a pineapple. Stanley blows the whorl to the other side, but has been holed in the neck and no longer has enough strength. Finally he holds out his wings, jumps into the forget-whorl and leaps into the nest. The oncoming wiggles stop, and Lady Gap dragon lifts the injured baby Gap dragon out of nest and whorl. They're immune to the forget spell, but Stanley is dying. The Simurgh drops down one of her feathers, which Ivy taps on his wounds, healing them. Zora, who's been almost restored to life by love, reveals that her talent is aging things faster. With Ivy's enhancement Humfrey will age ten times as fast, and the Lady Gap dragon will fill in while Stanley ages. And at last, Ivy and Irene are reunited!

Back
1