Sergei Lukyanenko’s "Fidget," a summary Automatic translate

"Fidget" is a children’s and young adult fantasy novel by Sergei Lukyanenko, published in December 2010 by AST. It is the second and final novel in the Trix Sollier duology, a sequel to "The Clunker." The book is structured as an adventurous quest with distinctly parodic overtones: the author generously weaves allusions to real history, anecdotes about court politics, and irony at fantasy cliches into the magical adventures.

Loneliness on Old New Year

Trix Solier, a fifteen-year-old apprentice of the wizard Radion Shchavel and a henchman, celebrates the holiday alone in a magical tower above the town of Bosgard. Shchavel has left for a mage’s chapter and left Trix with the task of rewriting outdated spells. The boy is languishing: teleportation is a struggle, experiments in culinary magic end in an upset stomach, and on the festive evening, the tower is empty except for the little fairy familiar Annette, who is in love with Trix and dozing discreetly in the pocket of his robe.

The only random distraction is a bronze key found under the windowsill, which opens a secret desk drawer. It turns out to be empty, which rightfully infuriates Trix. But then deafening bangs are heard from the tower roof.

Dragon on the roof

A young orange dragon named Elin Abulla Mumrik, a Samarshan about ten meters tall with a wingspan of twenty meters, lands on the roof, mistaking Trix for Sorrel. The dragon first tries to burn the unfamiliar mage, then agrees to play riddles — a custom for the first meeting between a man and a dragon. Trix won 3-2: the last correct answer was air in an empty box. Having learned the dragon’s secret name, he bound Elin with a spell to cause him no harm.

It turned out that Elin had flown to Shchavel for help: the dragon race has a debt of honor. Since Shchavel was absent, the debt automatically passed to his apprentice. So Trix, almost before he could react, found himself obligated to fly to Samarshan and "save the world."

Flight to Samarshan

Elin admitted that riding a dragon was shameful — humans would immediately take advantage of it and start exploiting dragons like living carriages. Nevertheless, he agreed, swearing Trix to secrecy. The scales on the dragon’s back parted pleasantly, creating a warm hollow — better than any bed — and the pair set off southeast. Annette refused to remain alone: as a familiar, she would perish away from Trix.

Dear Elin explained the nature of the threat. A certain Alhazab, the leader of a nomadic tribe, declared himself the Transparent God and, in a matter of months, conquered all of Samarshan except the capital, Dahrian. No later than a month later, the tribal council will appoint him Grand Vizier to the helpless Sultan Abnuwas. According to the General Treaty, concluded a thousand years ago, the dragons are obligated to fight at the Vizier’s side three times in a millennium. The first time was seven hundred years ago, the second one hundred and sixty years ago. The third is inevitable — if Alhazab comes to power, the dragons will be forced to burn the kingdom of Trixa, who in turn will destroy the dragons themselves. Alhazab, in turn, will receive a devastated world practically without enemies.

Elin’s family and new mysteries

At the Three Wells Oasis, a small lake among the palm trees in the desert, Trix was met with an unpleasant surprise: Elin, it turned out, had acted without his parents’ permission. In human years, that was one hundred and fifty years, but in his own mind, it was exactly fifteen, making him a teenager. His giant dragon parents — an orange father and a green-and-yellow mother — received their son with a scolding, initially planning to eat Trix for safety. His demand to play a team-versus-team riddle game saved him: Trix prevailed again, sparing his life and earning the right to the whole family’s help.

Dahrian: Politics and Vitamins

In the capital of Samarshan, Trix met Grand Vizier Ablukhai — an educated man who had maintained peace with the kingdom for many years — and the court jester Sutar, as well as Sultan Abnuvas himself, who was kept as a prop by his entourage. Princess Tiana also came here — an accident that greatly complicated Trix’s situation.

A real duel unfolded on the theater stage in Dahrian: the vitaminist Gavar attempted to bind Alhazab with a spell of suspended time, sealing him forever within the tent. The Transparent God proved stronger than any classical magic. Simple spells flew off him like water, but his own spells manifested instantly and with devastating force: Gavar was stretched in mid-air, as if bound. Trix attacked Alhazab with a "medical" spell, listing all four bodily fluids. The Transparent God winced and sent the boy "to the very heart of hell."

Hell, fog and conversation

Trix awoke in a milky-white fog — no pain, no fire, and with a mild headache. A presence was nearby. This was neither the northern nor the southern version of the afterlife — rather, a kind of borderline state from which, as it turned out, it was possible to escape.

The denouement in the palace

Upon his return, Trix witnessed an unexpected turn of events. Vizier Abluhai urged Trix to accept the inevitable: the only way to stop Alkhazab was to summon the dragons, but then the fire would destroy the fertile fields, the mines, and thousands of people. The sacrifice was too great, and Trix could not accept it. Then Sultan Abnuvas himself, gentle and docile in appearance, intervened, declaring that it was better to open the gates and worship the Transparent God rather than resort to bloodshed.

The vizier decided to take advantage of this and outflank the weak monarch. But Abnuvas was ahead of everyone: he addressed each of the guards by name — inquiring about the commander’s daughter, the private’s newly rebuilt house, and recalling the carpet he’d given them. The guards arrested the vizier. Regretfully, Abnuvas ordered both the jester Sutar and Trix himself taken into custody — as a "gift" to the Transparent God — and ordered Tiana escorted to his chambers. The old jester, being led away, looked at the sultan with admiration: "The boy has grown up. A true sultan!"

Trix kept his cool and managed to evade the guards, who were wary of the foreign wizard. Ultimately, the battle was decided, with Trix sided by both Elin’s family and unexpected allies among the Samarshani. Alkhazab, despite his incredible strength, faced an opponent he hadn’t expected: a restless boy who thrived not so much on magic as on his wits — the same wits that help him solve riddles, open empty boxes, and find keys where no one else would think to look.