She confesses her love to Alodar in the first part of the book, but Alodar does not clearly reciprocate until the final chapter. Feston, antagonist in the first part of the book. His father Festil is a nobleman in Vendora's service. They take full credit for the queen's escape from a besieged fortress, ignoring Alodar's important contributions, leading the queen to name Feston as an official candidate suitor. Basil, antagonist in the second part of the book. One of his henchmen steals an alchemical potion from Alodar and uses it to gather a vast wealth of gems for Basil. This gives Basil sufficient leverage to court the queen. Duncan, a magician appearing in the third part of the book. He completes a ritual on an artifact discovered by Alodar, making it into a powerful talisman. This causes the queen to name him yet another official marriage candidate. Kelric, an elderly sorcerer who instructs Alodar in the fourth part of the book. Handar, a wizard placed in suspended animation. In the fifth part of the book, he instructs Alodar in the basics of wizardry. Disciplines of Magic A primary focus of the plot is upon the five magics of the title: Thaumaturgy, Alchemy, Magic, Sorcery, and Wizardry. In the system devised for the trilogy, each discipline allows the user to perform magical actions within a particular set of rules. These rules are specified after the table of contents and are also stated within the narrative. Listed below are the basics of each discipline: Thaumaturgy Thaumaturgy is governed by the Principles of Sympathy and Contagion. Through the Principle of Sympathy, a thaumaturge can manipulate matter and energy on a grand scale by simulating the intended effect on a smaller scale. For example, lifting up a large boulder by picking up a smaller, yet similar stone. Thaumaturgy is limited by the energy required to perform the work. Drawing too much on their body’s energy can kill the thaumaturge, so they draw it out of their environment (like from a fire or a spinning wheel). No sympathetic connection is perfect, so some energy is always lost. Through the Principle of Contagion, they can reduce the amount of energy lost by using an actual piece of the target. Thaumaturgy is performed by reciting incantations, which bind the energy to the simulation. Thaumaturges often protect these incantations by speaking nonsense syllables around the words of power