Ninth Age: 27 Geline, Year 865,471
And so, it happens again. A new age is upon us, and there's nothing left in my power as a Sage to stop the progression.
I write this as a desperate plea. As a last-ditch effort to reverse evil's vise hold from our blessed planet before The Evil One takes over. If she succeeds in taking over, the world, as we now know it, will cease to exist.
I wish to pour out my thoughts and my heart on this subject, but time shows written history will go against my wishes. So, please come to my temple, and we will discuss the issue and potential solutions free from historical corruption. Let the Four Directional Stonekoopa of the north, east, south and west guide you.
I hope to see you soon, even if not in this realm.
Tenebris, Sage of the Cosmos
Return of the Four Sages
Book 1
Royal Flush
Summertime approaches the Mushroom Kingdom; while each land of the mystical continent faces devastating heat waves during the dog days, they all pale in comparison to the Koopahari potion of Desert Land. From the terrible humidity-influenced heat indices of tropical southern Desert Land to the baking dry heat of subtropical northern Desert Land, the perilous Sun plagues the Land with its angry rays much to the annoyance and suffering of its denizens.
Still, despite the unfavorable conditions, four determined journeyers sojourn through the rolling hills of the Koopahari accompanied by a large ostro-pulled wagon. The piercing heat, tornado-like dust devils and sudden haboobs fail to scare them away from their desires of uncovering the many secrets of the familiar, yet strange Koopahari.
A middle-aged green-shelled koopa troopa, none other than Professor Kolorado, guides both the wagon and the expedition. Multiple years since Mario's time in Koopa Village past, but Kolorado's unquenchable lust for treasure and adventure remain if not intensified. Despite needing to be rescued by Mario during such events, he never found the need to learn to better his fighting until Mario found his father dead in Hooktail's Castle. Ever since that fateful discovery, Kolorado's also been training in multiple fighting styles such as mixed martial arts.
"According to Frankly, it should be... Around here? Are we at the right spot, Goombella?" Kolorado questioned the pink goomba next to him.
"We're close! Maybe a few miles off! Where else do the eyes of the Four Directional Stonekoopa cross? It's literally IMPOSSIBLE for it to be anywhere else!"
Like Kolorado, Goombella's also a staunch adventurer, but such a trait only transpired after she aided Mario in defeating the X-Nauts and the Shadow Queen in their world-takeover scheme. Ever since those events, Goombella finished her Bachelor's in Archaeology and her Master's in Archaeology and is now a Ph.D. student in Archaeology and Ancient Studies with Professor Frankly as her advisor. She spends her time adventuring with either Frankly or Kolorado, uncovering the many mysteries of Plit and its ancient civilians. Desert Land's no exception; her desire for knowledge and discovery trumps her want for an air-conditioned study area.
"I hope you're right. Many mysteries of Desert Land and the Dry Dry Desert area will be answered by the Temple of Tenebris, once we find it," Kolorado stated before turning his head towards the back of the wagon, "Get the spades in easy reach, and get the guns ready in case animals or bandits threaten us."
One of the figures, a blue-shelled koopa troopa, gives Kolorado a thumbs-up before reaching for and cocking a hunter's rifle. The koopa troopa, Kooper, aspires to be a world-famous archaeologist like his neighbor Kolorado, and for many years after Mario's visit to Koopa Village, Kooper's been interning for Kolorado. Wanting to move further up the rungs, Kooper then decided to get his Bachelor's in Ancient History and Archaeology at Koopa University, where Kolorado's research laboratory's based. Ever since graduating, he's also been traveling with Kolorado and Goombella on their excavations and research, although he's not as experienced as the two of them.
The fourth figure, a dark-scaled koopa portraying a grey head and shell, smirks at the rifle's cocking before he grabs his camera and starts filming Kooper. While the koopaling, Morton Koopa Junior, doesn't delve into overall archaeology like the other three, he's also the only one of the group who understands the ancient language of Desert Land, having picked up the ability after being interested specifically in ancient Desertlandian history. Morton doesn't enjoy being involved in his father's conquests, but would rather focus on developing documentaries and news stories for his budding television network, TV Koopa. He knew that, somehow, this trip and its resulting documentary will boost the TVK viewership and make it successful.
"Now, don't do this at home," Kooper warned, staring at the camera as he further explained, "Every excavation project has the chance of being overrun by bandits. This is why we carry these weapons with us."
Morton nods his head before filming more of the desolate desert landscape and acting as a narrating voice.
"And so, deep in this desert the archaeologists go, hoping for answers for questions they might not even have right now. So much history lies in the rolling sand dunes; they know that much," Morton voiced before Goombella starts screaming at the others.
"This is it! The gazes of the Four Directional Stonekoopa all line up right here! Let's set up camp and dig!"
The four unload a basic tent from the wagon and pitch it, followed by a giant awning placed above the suspected site of the temple, according to the Stonekoooa. They then unload their basic archaeological tools: spades, specimen brushes and a trowel, among others.
They all dig beneath the awning, enjoying the cool shade the tarp provides. Only loose sand fills the site, with the every-now-and-then excitement that comes when one archaeologist finds a stray desert beetle.
Day turns to night, and the characters decide to throw in the towel for the first night. During this time, Morton films the leisurely activities the other three perform, such as telling ancient ghost stories and double-checking to make sure the location's right. They also dine on rice and beef jerky (as they cannot have fresh meat in the desert, other than perhaps wild animals) during their meal breaks.
Day 1 turns into Day 2, then Day 3 then Day 4. Each of the four dug for hours on end, but none of them found anything ancient or remotely interesting. By the time Day 5 passed, a large hole beneath the awning contrasts with the flat surface just outside the awning's boundaries. Piles of sand excavated from the site now blend in with the several other dunes. The group's unsure of whether this site even contains a temple, but they're also determined that the area's correct. That night, they promised each other that they will only dig for one more day before giving up. After all, they already used up a third of their stock of water; they cannot afford to stay much longer than another week.
During Day 6, a day first started with pessimism over the mission as a whole, their hard work pays off. During one of his digging shifts, Morton pierces a solid substance. Hoping for the best, he digs around the solid surface and found the surrounding area to be diggable.
"Guys! I found something!" Morton gasped, unearthing part of a brick wall. Hearing the call, the other three dash towards the excavation site, amazed at how well-preserved the brick is.
"Oh wow! We found the Temple of Tenebris! This is seriously an archaeologist's life-long dream!" Goombella jumps up and down, squealing.
"Yeah!" Kooper joined in on the excitement, also eager to excavate more of the site.
"Wow. These bricks are something else," Kolorado mused as he grabs a trowel and a specimen brush, "This isn't material used during the beginning of the Twelfth Age or even the Eleventh Age. We're dealing with something truly ancient here. This could very well be the Temple of Tenebris. I'll need to investigate these bricks."
"When was it built?" Morton questioned as he grabs his camera to film Kolorado.
"The Temple of Tenebris was rumoured to have been desecrated around the beginning of the Dark Ages. The Eleventh Age is only one leg of the Dark Ages; the other being the Tenth Age, which started around 145 thousand years ago. So, this temple right here? It must've been built during the preceding Ninth Age. That's how old it is."
"Neat," Morton nods as he films the brick wall, "Let's continue!"
Despite their excitement and hope, as the excavation continued, only remnants of the brick wall remain. No treasure of any sort appears in the Temple, contrary to lore. Still determined, Kooper and Kolorado continue digging, hoping the temple's deeper than anticipated, while Goombella and Morton discuss the current events to contribute for the documentary.
"I hope we find something…" Goombella voiced to the camera, "Ancient lore states that the Temple of Tenebris contains some of the most important treasure the world will ever know."
Morton considers the information before offering an idea, "Maybe it was stolen by bandits? Ancient armies?"
"This land doesn't look to have been disturbed for thousands of years, so no, I don't think so," Goombella disagreed, "But maybe this treasure… Is different. Maybe it's not gold, but instead, maybe it's knowledge of some sort that we don't know. After all, the Ninth Age was all rad; we can seriously learn from them."
"True," Morton stated before asking another question, the camera still rolling, "To inform those who are curious: what was the Temple of Tenebris, exactly?"
Goombella takes off her archaeologists' cap and pushes her blonde hair back with one of her near-invisible hands, "The Temple of Tenebris, as indicated in its name, was for an ancient figure, Tenebris. Tenebris, we theorize, was a Koopan magician of some kind. Lore states that he oversaw the Cosmos; from the lining up of planets to the monitoring of stars, that was Tenebris' field. Because astronomy was so important to ancient culture, Tenebris was highly regarded as a demigod; thus, the temple was built for him, and he ruled a prosperous ancient city. If we find this temple and any artifacts within it, we can solidify this theory. I'm excited about this, honestly! It's the big break, finally!"
"That's cool," Morton commented, planning not to add his less formal comment into the future documentary. Being a fan of Desertlandian history, Morton's also excited to perhaps witness the solidifying of Desertlandian tales and folk stories. As he ponders more questions to inquire Goombella with, jubilant calls erupt from Kolorado and Kooper.
"Guys! Come here! We found something!"
Heeding Kooper's cry, Morton and Goombella rush towards the excavation site and gasp at the newfound object: a chest, appearing to be made of granite, rests in conjunction with one of the temple's walls. Due to the erosive nature of the desert sand, scratches cover the granite, but the sturdy chest shows no damage. Considering the chest laid undisturbed for millennia, the chest's mint condition impresses the characters.
"This could be the treasure!" Goombella screamed before dashing onto the site and thrusting the chest open. The chest contains no gold nor precious metal of any kind, but rather a bundle of tatty ancient scrolls and a white-rodded wand with a black onyx tip. Being an archaeologist and loving new information, Goombella beams at the discovery as she unrolls the scroll bundle, revealing four ancient manuscripts. One manuscript contains only strange, rune-like scribblings, while the other three have eight stars drawn on them.
Unable to understand the language nor the symbolism, Kolorado and Kooper give the manuscripts a puzzled expression. Morton, meanwhile, finds fascination with one of the star-drawn manuscripts and the wand. Wanting to study the findings more, he takes both and walks towards the wagon.
"Get the other scrolls and meet me at the wagon. We'll investigate these."
The three others follow Morton's lead, each holding onto a mysterious manuscript. As they arrive at the wagon, they each lay their manuscript flat on the wagon's back, preparing them for Morton to transcribe and translate them.
"This civilization used magic like ours did. We can confirm that part of your theory, Goombella," Morton commented, holding up the wand, "This wand looks just like ours do, and I'm sure it has the same power, at the very least. But this could also be THE Wand of Tenebris also. I need to investigate this wand if you three don't mind; as a Koopa, it's easier for me to do so. It's crazy how Koopan traditions kept for this long."
Pocketing the wand, Morton moves on to the manuscript he picked up. He studies the ancient text written just above the eight stars and nods at the writing.
"This one says, 'The Elder Gods'," Morton translated before giving the others a puzzled look, "Wait. The same Elder Gods that every other ancient civilization obsessed over?"
"I think so," Kolorado nodded, "The ancient civilizations believed there were seven Elder Gods, and the Star Spirits are simply their mouthpieces. I don't know why eight are drawn considering there are seven."
Morton attempts to soothe out the crinkles in the manuscript, hoping to find more hints about what this thing portrays. However, he notices the paper crinkles in eight stubborn areas, each area housing a star. These weren't ordinary bulges; he knows from other related documents he found within Desert Land.
"There's more to this document than the drawing," Morton remarked, "I think you know this already, but many manuscripts in Desert Land have these bulges. Desert Land used to be a kingdom based on magic. I think these bulges might not be simple crinkles, but rather indicators of a portal! They can be activated either by a koopa's claws or by magic."
Goombella and Kolorado exchange fascinated looks. Knowing those two and their frequent journeys to Desert Land, they no doubt have documents also containing a form of portal.
"What better way to preserve history than have us witness it ourselves?" Kooper questioned, agreeing with Morton, "That's awesome!"
Morton grabs the attained wand from his shell and stares at it. The wand's onyx tip shows reactionary signs as the koopaling hovers it closer to the manuscript. Yep, definitely magic; this must be a portal. Morton then touches the manuscript with the wand's tip, resulting in a slew of blue, magic-like particles of light shooting from the manuscript.
"W-what happened?" Kooper stuttered, at a loss for describing the occurring mystical process.
"I... I don't know," Goombella shrugged, "It could be... Like, a magical document, like how the Magical Map was."
"It appears that way- ACK!" Kolorado attempted to clarify before the blue light then intensifies, expands and engulfs the quartet. About half a minute later, the light then dies down, but the four are now gone; only Morton's still-rolling camera remains.
G'day, and welcome to my old idea, yet new series, Return of the Four Sages!
I must admit, I have numerous inspirations for this story, both when I had this idea as a sequel to Shards of Love (back in the mid-2000's) and as I actually type it up now (and no, this is NOT a sequel of Shards of Love; it's not even based in the same canon universe I use). Here are a list of such inspirations:
Amongst the biggest ones were my personal political studies of Communism, Capitalism, Socialism, Anarchism, Communalism and Distributism, and the worst case scenarios of all these ideologies. I do not endorse any specific socioeconomic belief and I won't urge such beliefs in this story, but I feel like these ideas may be implemented into an isolated/resettled society to try to form a utopia found within a stereotypical 22nd-century society.
Other post-apocalyptic dystopias, such as 1984, Brave New World, The Hunger Games, Fahrenheit 451 and Divergent, offer me different viewpoints of when these perfect societies go downhill. You'll see MANY references to these stories in here, albeit in a unique, Mario-esque way.
Unlike many of these stories, I also wanted to include the PROGRESSION from a seemingly-normal setting to one where the dystopian matter begins to kick in, and I wanted to make it sound more logical and clean (although possibly not realistic in Earth terms). I couldn't have done this without the likes of apocalypse-themed websites such as PA Forum, Two Journeys, Cosy Catastrophe, multiple stories on Ashtales and other apocalypse conspiracy websites I found concerning weather, solar flares, earth changes, Sun novas, and pole switches, among others.
Another major part of the series, societal resettlements, worldbuilding (especially ones setting colony on Mars), and the advancements of such societies, was inspired by several novels and short stories, such as Greg Bear's The Forge of God, J.T. McIntosh's One in Three Hundred, and many of Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles short stories, among several others.
Other important inspirations in this series include references to Sages and lore. Much of the concept of the Sages come from Avatar: the Last Airbender (especially towards the end of Book 1 and pretty much all of Book 2), Mario and Luigi: Seven Sages (this game is THE reason why I reference Sages rather than anything else, and this provides the basis of Sage actions in Book 2. M&L:SS is a fanmade RPG made in 2009; it's great considering it's unofficial), Paper Mario (especially N64, GCN and Wii versions), other M&L games such as Bowser's Inside Story, and Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. Many, many other inspirations exist, especially when I'm too passive to look for them, but when they pop up, I'll try to give credit.
Anyway, thank you for reading! Reviews are appreciated.