The Land of Xanth I Trivia Quiz

Answer: The Source of Magic

Although Dor's first major appearance is in "Castle Roogna", he makes a cameo appearance in the final chapter of "The Source of Magic" as a newborn infant. Bink observes that Dor's magical talent is communication with inanimate objects, which seems to be a Magician-class talent. Each person born in Xanth has a magical talent of some sort, ranging in strength between Magician-level to "spot-on-the-wall" (literally).

It is suggested that talents don't usually conclusively appear until the person is beyond infancy. Earlier in the novel, Bink was willing to go on the King's quest because he was content to get away from his wife (and Dor's future mother), Chameleon.

He felt (perhaps unfairly) that Chameleon being pregnant was making her cranky.

Answer: Centaur Aisle

In "Centaur Aisle", King Trent and Queen Iris (accompanied by Bink and Chameleon) have traveled to the land of Onesti (on Earth's Crimean Peninsula) to negotiate a trade treaty. The land of Xanth is on Earth, but usually inaccessible from Earth except at various points that appear periodically at different locations (usually peninsulas). Xanth, itself, is shaped like a peninsula most would describe as resembling Florida (the state where author Piers Anthony) resides.

In the books, residents of Xanth refer to the land outside as Mundania (often Drear Mundania in the early books).

Some features of Xanth seem to correspond to Florida (as shown on the map found in many of the books). For instance, Centaur Isle is in the south of Xanth, roughly where Key West would be for Florida.

Answer: A Spell for Chameleon

During the course of his journey, Bink meets three women: Fanchon, Wynne, and Dee. From his perspective, Fanchon is very intelligent, but very ugly, while Wynne is very beautiful, but very dumb. Dee is of average intelligence, and average in appearance.

It is not until later that Bink, who is not always that bright himself, realizes the three women are the same person, who by the end refers to herself as Chameleon. Throughout the course of a month, her intelligence grows as her beauty shrinks and then her beauty grows as her intelligence shrinks.

This is considered her magical talent, even though it occurs automatically and is not under her control. The concept of the character of Chameleon has been criticized over the years as being very sexist, perhaps leading to her only being an important character in the first book and largely out of the picture after the sixth book.

Answer: Castle Roogna

When twelve-year-old Dor is transported back about 800 years into the past of Xanth, he meets Jumper the Spider. Inside of Castle Roogna there is a tapestry that shows the history of Xanth. Since it is a magical tapestry, the images move and the story advances through time.

When Dor is sent into the tapestry, he is shrunk to the size of the pictures of people in the tapestry. The spell also pulls in a spider who is on the tapestry at the time, though the spider (about the size of a fingernail outside of the tapestry) is man-sized inside of the tapestry.

At the end of the book, the two separate. A few years later, Dor finds some of Jumper's descendants, who talk about the Adventures as family history passed through the generations.

Answer: Centaur Aisle

Perhaps it would have been too much of a giveaway to say that Arnolde is a centaur. Centaurs feel that magical talents are appropriate for "lesser" creatures such as humans, but the possession of them by centaurs would be offensive. When it is accidentally discovered that Arnolde possesses the talent of projecting an area or "aisle" of magic around himself that would exist even in Mundania, he is exiled from the main centaur community in Xanth, Centaur Isle.

After this, it is discovered that all centaurs possess magical talents.

This causes quite an uproar amongst the centaurs.

Answer: Castle Roogna

A spell is used to transport Dor (and Jumper) approximately 800 years into the past of Xanth. During their visit they see an uncompleted Castle Roogna and meet several people, including the namesake king. The relationship between Xanth's timeline and Earth's timeline is unclear.

When Bink and Chameleon travel to Mundania in "A Spell for Chameleon" the time is uncertain, although probably the past compared to when the book was written (1977). In "Centaur Aisle", which takes place about 17 years later in the Xanth timeline, Dor and the others travel both to the 20th century and the Middle Ages while in Mundania.

Answer: The Source of Magic

X(A/N)th is one of a group of nearly all-powerful beings who are constantly in competition in various games that raise and/or lower status. At some time in the past, he became trapped in what would later be known as the land of Xanth. During their journey, Bink and the others find the trapped demon. Bink, given the choice, chooses to free the demon, who immediately leaves Xanth.

This has extreme consequences, as it turns out that the magic that infused Xanth the land is caused by a leaking of a small percentage of the magical energy of the Demon X(A/N)th.

The prospect of a magicless Xanth seems a horrible prospect to its inhabitants. Fortunately, Bink is able to convince X(A/N)th to voluntarily return.

Answer: Castle Roogna

When Dor travels back in time to past Xanth, he meets Millie the Maid before she became a ghost. In the past she meets and falls in love with a magician named Jonathan, who has the power to turn corpses into zombies. When Millie is discovered dead near the end of the novel, Jonathan despairs and hangs himself, managing to turn himself into a zombie. Back in the present, a spell is used to restore Jonathan to (almost) life. Millie and Jonathan marry and move to his castle where they start a family.

Answer: Centaur Aisle

By the time of "Centaur Aisle", it is clear that Magician King Trent has been grooming Dor to be his successor for some time. He tells Dor that he (Trent), along with Iris, Bink, and Chameleon, will be traveling to Mundania to arrange a trade treaty.

Other people have been told that the the King and Queen are enjoying a brief vacation. Dor is left as acting King, who will be able to draw on the advice of Good Magician Humphrey and the Zombie Master. At first, Dor is able to make mostly good decisions.

As time goes on, however, and Trent and the others do not return, Dor and his friends decide he need to travel to Mundania to rescue them.

Answer: A Spell for Chameleon

When the book begins, The Storm King (identified many books later as Aeolus) has decreed that any human who has not shown a magical talent by the age of 25 must leave Xanth forever. As Bink approaches that age, he goes to Good Magician Humphrey to find out what his talent is. Humphrey is able to determine that Bink has powerful magic, but not exactly what it is. Bink is, therefore, exiled.

By the end of the book, Bink and Trent are able to determine that Bink's talent is immunity to direct harm from magic.

The talent keeps itself hidden since, if it were known, Bink's enemies would use use non-magical means to harm Bink (to which he is susceptible.