The nine Koopalian artifacts are ancient artifacts that were originally given to the nine star children, and possess great power. They, and their users, are, as follows:
1. Firebrand – Mario/Bower Jr.
2. Thunderhand – Luigi/Ludwig
3. Blizzardstrand – Peach/Lemmy
4. Bag of Infinite Possibilities – First Wario, then Yoshi, and finally Waluigi/Larry
5. Gloves of Strength – First DK, then Wario/Roy
6. Cuffs of Courage – Bowser
7. Brooch of Brashness – First Peach, then Daisy/Wendy
8. Ring of Rejection – First Peach, then DK/Morton
9. Soles of Speed – Yoshi/Iggy
Legend of the Star Children
The seven star children, Mario, Luigi, Peach, Yoshi, Donkey Kong, Wario, and Bowser, each had potential to wield one of the nine artifacts. They were not granted this potential until adulthood. They had first been given their artifacts at the same time, when the youngest finally reached the age of 18. Mario had been given the Firebrand, Luigi the Thunderhand, Peach the Blizzardstrand, Yoshi the Soles of Speed, DK the Gloves of Strength, Wario the Bag of Infinite Possibilites, and Bowser the cuffs of courage. The last two items, the Brooch of Brashness and the Ring of Rejection, were given to Peach for safe-keeping. The first to misuse his item was Wario. As such, the others confiscated it and gave it to Yoshi for safe-keeping. However, he complained that he did not have an item, and as they always needed to have one nearby, he was offered the ring or the brooch. He blatantly refused both items. DK then decided to give Wario the gloves and accept the ring for himself, as he never used the gloves and didn't particularly care about which item he got. He rarely wears the ring. Things were more complicated with the arrival of Daisy and Waluigi, the last two artifact holders. They were given the Brooch and the bag, respectively.
However, Mario and Luigi left the Mushroom Kingdom when they were babies, and did not receive their artifacts until five years after their return. They are the only ones who still hold their artifacts.
Legend also continues that the descendants of one of the nine would also have equal, if not greater, potentiality to wield the artifacts. Thus, a few months after Ludwig was born to Bowser, the Koopa King decided to test out his abilities with the artifacts, starting with the Firebrand and the Thunderhand, seeing as the other artifacts were already owned by the other six and he did not want to relinquish his own cuffs, or raise suspicions.
His first attempt with the Firebrand was a blatant failure, causing Ludwig to burn his hand in the process. However, the Thunderhand was a great success, and Ludwig could control it with great ability, as well as controlling the drawback of the artifact perfectly.
Bowser's second child, Lemmy, failed with the Firebrand as well, getting the same results as Ludwig did. Bowser was unsure if he should attempt to take the other artifacts, at least without knowing which one his second son could control. It was when the three of them were on vacation on Blizzard Mountain that Bowser discovered Lemmy's adoration for snow and ice, leading him to conclude that the Blizzardstrand was the correct artifact for him to use. Bowser ended up stealing the Blizzardstrand from Peach, who had very little success with controlling it, and gave it to Lemmy. He quickly learned how to use it, and ended up being a better user than Peach.
Bowser did not attempt to take any more artifacts until a year after his daughter Wendy was born, when Morton had just been hatched. Jealous of her oldest brothers' abilities, she demanded her own. Bowser conceded, and, ignoring the Firebrand for the moment, he slowly stole the other artifacts from the others, to test them out on his children. Roy proved adept with the Gloves of Strength, Iggy excelled with the Soles of Speed, Wendy was best suited for the Brooch of Brashness, and Morton's strength was the Ring of Rejection. Bowser, being pleased at his children's successes, realized that there were only three artifacts left: His, the Bag of Infinite Possibilities, and the Firebrand.
As legends state that the bearer of the children would maintain his own artifact, Bowser concluded that his next child would have to control either the Bag or the Firebrand, though he was not so eager to test out the latter, after what it had done to his first two children. Therefore, when Larry was born, he eagerly gave him the bag. Which Larry could greatly use. Unfortunately, it was around this time that the Mario brothers showed up again, due to the fact that he had kidnapped Princess Peach, as she had discovered that he had taken her artifact and was going to warn the others, as well.
Also unfortunate was the fact that, when the Mario brothers arrived, Larry was still not born yet. Bowser, desperate to have seven children to fight instead of six, and to see which artifact Larry would control, decided to do something drastic. He forced Kamek to speed up their aging by three years. Kamek warned that this would force them to be the same age for three years in the future. Bowser agreed to this consequence, and thus, the Koopalings were three years older during their battle with the Mario brothers. After the defeat, they were reverted back to their old selves, and Larry hatched in time for their next battle with Mario and Luigi, three years later. However, for the first year of this, their birth orders and personalities got all messed up, and the spell accidentally led to an entire change in the mushroom kingdom. It took a year to fix it, but it resulted in the Koopalings becoming Bully, Big Mouth, Cheatsy, Kooky, Kootie Pie, Hip, and Hop.
Returning to the first battle, Peach managed to secretly gather the artifacts from the Koopalings after each defeat. They had given them to her for safekeeping, unknowing that they were what she wanted and that they could greatly help them defeat the Mario Brothers.
In any case, once free, Peach spoke with Wario, DK, Yoshi, Daisy, and Waluigi and they agreed that they would have to hide their artifacts to avoid them falling into the wrong hands.
Peach hid the Blizzardstrand with the Ice Piranha, Renegade, in the Ice Palace.
Yoshi left the Soles of Speed with the Shy Guy tribe on his Island.
Donkey Kong decided to place the Ring of Rejection in the Yoshi Sphinx in Dry, Dry Desert, leaving the abnormally large Chain Chomp, Barak, in its protection.
Wario was very reluctant, but finally gave up the Gloves of Strength to the Bob-Omb King on top of the Rocky Cliffs.
Daisy was sailing to Sarasaland when the Brooch of Brashness tumbled into the sea, taken by a giant Blooper to a sunken pirate ship.
Finally, Waluigi gave the Bag of Infinite Possibilities to the Bandit King, who guards it in his hideout in Darkland.
The hardest challenge to overcome was the fact that Ludwig controlled the Thunderhand, which was not a physical item, but an attainable ability. A double agent in Darkland discovered that Bowser would take over Dinosaur Land shortly after Larry was out of his egg again, and Peach took this opportunity to bring the now depleted Thunder Spark from the Oho Oasis to Yoshi's care. He also managed to trick Ludwig into touching it, causing him to lose his artifactual ability.
Mario and Luigi finally gained their abilities years later.
Bowser Junior is the only one who has never used an artifact, though by process of elimination, he is the user of the Firebrand.
The Thunderhand and Firebrand can be transferred by hand-to-hand contact. The power will be halved in each user, before slowly building itself back up to full power. They grant lightning and fire abilities, respectively. Each artifact has a drawback to using it, which is very hard to control. Only Ludwig has done so perfectly. The Firebrand causes the user to be suspicious of everything their enemy does, and subsequently attempt to thwart it. The Thunderhand amplifies the user's cowardice.
The Blizzardstrand is the sister ability of the Thunderhand and the Firebrand, and has its own respective Palace in the mountain bearing its name. Though, unlike its brothers, it's a physical object, not an ability that can be gained, and is the only artifact that can actually reject its user if it is misused. Temporary strands can be removed from the Blizzardstrand and used for a while, before they fade away and regenerate. A permanent transfer must be an equal division of the Blizzardstrand, which will build back up, like its brothers' abilities. The Blizzardstrand grants the user ice abilities. The drawback is that it causes the user to become completely dependent on others in a crisis.
The Gloves of Strength can be used separate from each other, with equal strength. They enhance the user's strength, but also amplify their greed. Roy has come close to perfecting this.
The Cuffs of Courage are the only artifact with only one user, though they can be used separate from each other. They increase the user's courage, determination, and confidence, but amplify the user's arrogance and pride.
The Soles of Speed can be used separately, and quicken the user. But, they also amplify gluttony, and this does not necessarily refer to the gluttony of eating, either. It could be gluttony of power, as well.
The Ring of Rejection, the Brooch of Brashness, and the Bag of Infinite Possibilities are the only artifacts that can only be used by one person. The Ring enhances the user's flexibility and ability to dodge. It can also render the user invisible when they are frightened or in peril. It is the least used artifact, and Morton and DK both have almost mastered it, regardless of the fact that they rarely use it. The ring amplifies the dependency on defense, as well. The Brooch increases attitude (as in, take-no-prisoners kind of attitude) and decreases fear, but it amplifies vanity and selfishness. The bag provides an endless amount of items to the user, but increases the dependency on items. Larry has nearly mastered this item.
The nine artifacts are all extremely powerful, and dangerous. They can be wielded by either the nine star children, or Bowser and his offspring. Curiously, the entire legend centers on Bowser, as he is the only one who need not share his artifact. It is possible that he is the one who chooses which group of wielders is stronger, though this is all just a myth…