From The Primer, Princess Nell Crosses the Trail of the Enigmatic Mouse Army Summary

While Princess Nell wanders in the country of King Coyote, she comes upon a clearing in the forest that appears to be the product of a huge army of mice and cats. Apparently the mice are using the cats as mounts. She remembers having once encountered a strange mouse looking through her papers. She trapped it and the mouse insisted on learning her name, but Nell did not answer and the mouse was later found dead.

Nell goes out to the Leased Territories to visit her brother Harv. He now lives in a shelter, attached almost permanently to a breathing tube linked to a matter compiler. This mechanism allows him to breathe correctly as he lies down on a...