The Colour of Magic

The Colour of Magic, published in 1983, is a fantasy comedy novel by Terry Pratchett and the first book in the Discworld series. Only 506 copies were printed in the first British edition. Pratchett called it "an attempt to do for the classical fantasy universe what Blazing Saddles did for Westerns."

The story is set on the Discworld, a flat disc carried through space on the backs of four giant elephants—Berilia, Tubul, Great T'Phon, and Jerakeen—who stand on the shell of Great A'Tuin, a massive star turtle. The disc has oceans, continents, cities, forests, and mountains.

The plot begins in Ankh-Morpork, the Discworld's largest city. The main character is Rincewind, an incompetent and cynical wizard. He is hired as a guide for Twoflower, a naive insurance clerk from the Agatean Empire who is visiting Ankh-Morpork. Because gold is abundant in his homeland, Twoflower is extremely wealthy compared to locals. Rincewind tries to flee with his advance payment but is captured by the Patrician of Ankh-Morpork, who forces him to protect Twoflower to avoid provoking an invasion by the Agatean Emperor if the tourist dies. After thieves kidnap Twoflower and take him to the Broken Drum tavern, Rincewind rescues him with the help of the Luggage, Twoflower's indestructible, enchanted, sentient chest. Before this, Twoflower convinces the tavern's landlord to take out a fire insurance policy at an inflated valuation. The landlord burns down the tavern to claim the money, and the fire spreads, destroying all of Ankh-Morpork. Rincewind and Twoflower escape in the chaos.

They travel toward the city of Quirm, unaware that their adventures are the subject of a boardgame played by the Discworld's gods. A mountain troll summoned by Offler the Crocodile God separates them. Twoflower ends up at the Temple of Bel-Shamharoth, a being opposite of both good and evil, while Rincewind is imprisoned in a dryad-inhabited tree, watching events in the temple through a magical portal. They reunite when Rincewind escapes through the portal, and they meet Hrun the Barbarian, a parody of sword-and-sorcery heroes. Bel-Shamharoth attacks them, but they escape when Rincewind accidentally blinds it with Twoflower's magical picture box. Hrun agrees to travel with them in exchange for heroic pictures.