child are killed in a traffic accident. Ben sinks into depression and no longer gains fulfillment through the law firm he established with his best friend, Miles Bennett. Seeing a Christmas catalog advertising a fairytale kingdom for sale, he purchases it for $1,000,000 in a desperate hope to find something meaningful again. The kingdom, called Landover, turns out to be very real and in need of a true king to restore it to its previous splendor. Ben is challenged at every step by a number of characters, all with seemingly different motives. He is eventually able to gain the respect of the citizens of Landover and establish himself as the true High Lord. Questor Thews Questor is the court magician, and one of Ben's most trusted friends and advisors. He is the half-brother of the wizard Meeks, though Questor has taken a different path in his life, choosing to serve Landover and its king, rather than trying to control them. Frequently described by Ben as looking like a "scarecrow", with "patchwork robes", Questor's command of his magic is somewhat questionable, as his spells frequently backfire or have unintended consequences. Questor was responsible for transforming Abernathy into a Wheaten Terrier to disguise him from Michel Ard Rhi, the old king's son, but has not been able to turn him back. Despite his many mistakes, he has fought with the dragon Strabo and come out the victor (if only once, due to an emergency, and winning via a non-ending itch; this was, however, after a fair amount of fighting beforehand, including quite an ice storm that he summoned upon Strabo, and some rather odd misfires, such as a rain of flowers). Meeks Meeks is the half-brother of Questor, and the one responsible for selling Ben the magic kingdom. He appears as a grizzled old man missing his right arm, and is in fact a very powerful wizard. Meeks came into possession of the medallion that identifies the kings of Landover and developed a scheme to repeatedly sell the kingdom with it. A buyer would purchase the medallion for access to Landover, and then when the victim either abandoned the kingship as too difficult or was killed, Meeks would retrieve the medallion and re-sell the kingdom. His plans were thwarted by Ben Holiday when Ben was able to successfully claim lordship of Landover, and cut Meeks off from the kingdom. Abernathy Abernathy is