The majority of this text is an extended excerpt from Terry Brooks’ fantasy novel, A Princess of Landover, which centers on the rebellious princess Mistaya Holiday who flees her parents after returning home to the magical realm of Landover. Mistaya attempts to avoid an arranged marriage with the ambitious Lord Laphroig and a forced education at the mysterious library, Libiris, but she is guided there by the enigmatic Prism Cat, Edgewood Dirk. Once inside, she allies with the indentured youth Thom to stop the exiled wizard Craswell Crabbit (His Eminence) and his henchman from using stolen magic books to unleash demons from Abaddon. This conflict culminates in a chaotic confrontation involving a magically conjured dragon (Strabo), ending with the villains’ disappearance and the restoration of Libiris. A brief, separate excerpt is included from Bearers of the Black Staff, which introduces the wounded Sider, who possesses a powerful black staff and relies on his savior, Deladion Inch, for information about the mysterious world he has awakened into. Both excerpts establish complex fantasy settings where magical beings and political intrigue collide.

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“What did the council decide on item 42?” — answered with the speaker and the moment.