after the visit of queen lurline to mount illuso and the casting of the powerful enchantment that prevented king umb and queen ra from leading their mimic subjects in the destruction of oz, queen ra had at first raged and fumed and wildly vowed vengeance on queen lurline and princess ozma. then, as the years passed by, the evil queen spent more and more time lurking in the secret cavern, studying the ancient sorcery of the erbs, employing her black arts to follow events in the history of oz and plotting the destruction of the fairyland.