Those explanations do make sense. The Verdict I was refering to was the one
case where Bink oringinaly met Dee, where it was decided the he did not rape
her. A truth spell on them both would have easily solved the problem. But now I
have came up with an explanation of my own. Humfrey possesed the truth spells
and most likely the spell is unique. Humfrey could have casted the spell on
them, but it would cost atleast a years service.



--- In piersthread@yahoogroups.com, "Erin Schram" <schramparents@...> wrote:
>
> tankseburn asked some questions about changes in Xanth and about events in "A
Spell for Chameleon":
> > Recently I have been reading "A Spell for Chameleon",
> > the very beginning of the Xanth series. I have noticed
> > that there are definite differences on how Xanth
> > appears in the earlier books than how it seems in the
> > later books. I have read some of the Visual Guide and
> > realize puns had not taken over until the third or
> > fourth book, but more than that the puns are different.
>
> I will answer in-novel first.
>
> Xanth as chronicled in the days of the Storm King and King Trent is different
from Xanth in the present day because people made progress. For example, in the
last days of the Storm King, the King's Road from North Village to South Village
had fallen into terrible disrepair, so that even a short trip from North Village
to Gap Village was dangerous. But in the present day, construction of enchanted
paths along with enchanted campsites and safehouses all over Xanth has made
travel quite safe and convenient. The humans have alliances with many deadly
species that used to prey on them, and the goblins of Goblin Mountain have
become much more civilized under the reign of Gwenny Goblin. Traveling farther
has made people aware of many more species than were commonly found among
isolated villages of olden days, and those exotic species have exotic pun-like
names.
>
> Some mysterious changes occurred in Xanth that had no explanation at first.
Invisible giants used to be only 30 feet tall, but later they grew to 300 feet
tall. It turned out that a protective enchantment around the Region of Madness
had released more magic dust into Xanth and it had affected the growth of the
giants (reference: Geis of the Gargoyle). Likewise, the Adult Conspiracy used to
be a polite code phrase for not discussing certain matters in front of children,
but it became a major enchantment that had the power to Freak Out men if they
spotted a woman's panties. The blame for that falls on Princesses Ivy and Ida,
who believed in the Adult Conspiracy too much and inadvertently amplified it
with their Magician-level talents of Enhancement and Idea (reference: Pet
Peeve).
>
> > First when Bink met Humfrey he had to ring a bell to
> > summon him, and then he was described as elf-like, not
> > gnome-like. Humfrey's Challanges differed to. The
> > challenges were generic. They could have been meant for
> > anyone, while his later challenges were somewhat
> > specific to the querant, so that only their abilities
> > would allow them to pass.
>
> Bink had never seen a gnome at that time of his life, so he did not recognize
that Humfrey was more gnome-like than elf-like.
>
> Good Magician Humfrey had a smaller staff working for him when Bink first
visited than he does in the present day. This left him with fewer resources to
customize his challenges to the particular querant. The smaller staff was
because dangerous travel limited the number of querants and because Humfrey
hated managing staff. Once he married, his wife could handle the staff and
Humfrey altered the challenges to be less discouraging and more enlightening.
>
> > Also I noticed that there was a easier way to accomplish
> > the verdict. Why not just use a truth spell so that
> > neither could lie?
>
> I am sorry, I do not know which verdict you are talking about.
>
> > Another thing I noticed was Humfrey's answer to the
> > Manticora about souls couldn't be true. He said "That
> > only those who possesses souls are concerned about them."
> > This can't be true because Bria Brassie and Marrow Bones,
> > who did not have souls, wanted them because they wanted
> > to stay in Xanth.
>
> Humfrey used simple language. A demon who trades in souls accounts for souls
as a commodity. Bria and Marrow wanted souls because they needed them to avoid
fading out. The Manticora cared about the status of his own personal soul. All
three forms of valuing souls--accounting, wanting, and caring--can be described
as caring about souls, but only that last kind of caring proves that a person
has a soul. Simple language could be misunderstood; however, the Manticora
understood what Humfrey meant, so he was satisfied with his answer.
>
> > I also noticed a problem with the Shield. In chapter 7,
> > it talks about anything that touches the shield dies
> > immediatly, but then why was only the branch that touched
> > the shield of the Beechnut Tree die, while the part that
> > didn't touch it stayed alive?
>
> King Ebnez, who enchanted that stone, was a considerate and careful man (we
see him in a historical scene in Currant Events). He had no desire to needlessly
kill Mundanes who merely touched the Deathstone Shield with a fingertip. His
goal was to stop their invasions by killing those who forced their way past the
shield. Thus, it makes sense that the Deathstone Shield kills only that living
flesh that actually passes through it. After King Ebnez died, the people of
Xanth had only word of mouth about the exact effects of the shield, and the
retelling exaggerated it to immediate death on the slightest touch.
>
> A lot of contradictions in Xanth are cleared up by understanding that the
inhabitants of Xanth are often mistaken about how magic works. They make their
best guesses about exotic magic, like we Mundanes make our best guesses about
new technology that we did not study in school, and sometimes they guess wrong.
>
> Time to switch hats and give the out-of-novel explanations.
>
> "A Spell for Chameleon" was one of the first books published under the Del Rey
imprint, which greatly expanded the market for good fantasy novels. Before Del
Rey opened up that market, readers were more accustomed to standard fantasy
elements such as elves, dragons, and unicorns. Few writers made up fantasy
worlds from whole cloth. So Piers Anthony populated Xanth mostly with standard
fantasy creatures like most of the other writers did. He did throw in a few
pun-based creatures, but I think that was because he needed to fill some
ecologicial niches that were not covered by folklore, such as harmless magical
plants. Compare Xanth to J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth in which the most unusual
creature was a walking, talking tree.
>
> Two things changed about Xanth after that. First, the series gradually evolved
from a fantasy series for adult readers to a fantasy series for young adults.
Thus, the series could handle a lot more humor and whimsy. Puns fit right in.
>
> Second, the readers started suggesting puns for Xanth in their letters to
Piers Anthony. He generously tried to incorporate as many reader-suggested puns
into his Xanth books as he could manage. That encouraged the readers to send him
even more puns. So the first few books had author-invented puns used where
necessary. The later books had reader-invented puns used wherever possible. It
was quite a change, but Piers Anthony made it work.
>
> Erin Schram
> Ogre Mathematician
>