A/N: Uh, hi. I guess it's kinda awkward to introduce your first story, huh? Anyway . . .

I'll mostly be posting Nintendo-based stories, usually about franchises with fairly expansive stories. This, of course, leads into the elephant in the room: This is a fan Paper Mario story. It's been done to death, I know, but I still hope no one is turned away simply because of the topic.

Without further ado, let's get into this.

Ahem!

Today, I'm going to tell the story of the Aether Kingdom.

Long ago, they say there was an ancient nation known as the Aether Kingdom.

The kingdom prospered with the power of seven magical gemstones.

But one day, a fierce demon appeared and nearly destroyed the entire kingdom.

The kingdom's remains live on in another kingdom, the Starlight Kingdom.

And the tale of the Aether Kingdom . . . starts here.

Prologue: Legend of the Lost

Mario was awoken by an almost-too-familiar voice: "Mail call!"

Groggily, he got out of bed, quickly wolfed down a Nutty Cake for breakfast, and walked outside to get the letter. Before opening the mailbox, he took a moment to look around. He was still adjusting to his new house, and missed Luigi, who had taken the old house after Mario bought the new one. At last, he got over his nostalgic feelings and sat down to read the letter.

Dear Mario,

I've been invited to the Starlight Kingdom by Professor Clev R., an esteemed archaeologist researching the kingdom's origins. This sounds like a fantastic opportunity to learn about the culture of one of our closest neighbors, not to mention see all the beautiful sights! I've heard that the kingdom's capital city, Starlight City, is especially beautiful! I'll be with Toadsworth at the Toad Town port, so meet me there at noon. See you there!

Love, Peach.

A couple hours later, Mario had packed up his hammer, a hundred coins, and a spare set of clothes. He grabbed a Shroom Choco Bar for the road, took the short walk to Toad Town, said goodbye to Luigi (who had been invited to take a vacation of his own), and met up with Peach and Toadsworth.

"Oh! Hello, Mario. How have you been doing?" Peach asked.

"Same as always; Any day you're not kidnapped is a good day for me," Mario replied.

"Master Mario! Please don't offend the princess in this manner," Toadsworth exclaimed, angrily tapping his cane into the ground.

"Oh, Toadsworth, it doesn't matter. We'd better get going soon. Clev R. expects to see us by three," Peach said. The trio hopped onto the boat, greeted by a Toad who introduced himself as Cap N. Within a few minutes, they had set off and gotten settled in.

"I do hope that we don't get tangled up in another world-saving adventure or suchlike, Master Mario. We've already had countless vacations go wrong. Isle Delfino, the Beanbean Kingdom, Rogueport, Pi'illo Island, Prism Island . . . We don't want this one to make half a dozen," Toadsworth said.

"Stop being such as worrywart! What can go wrong in such a peaceful land? They say there's so many sights to see . . ." Peach said. Her chastisement of Toadsworth soon devolved into a rant about their vacation schedule.

" . . . and on Wednesday, we HAVE to go to Mt. Sakura! It's the tallest mountain in the whole Starlight Kingdom! The cherry blossom trees are beautiful, and the architecture is incredible! Then on Thursday, we'll visit Cloudcrash Island, a floating island above the clouds! If we're lucky, we'll even get to see the famous Cloudcrash Hotel! Oh, but when are we going to visit High Noon Ranch?" Peach blabbed, oblivious to the fact that Mario had fallen asleep and Toadsworth was watching tourism videos. She probably would have gone on all day, but luckily, Cap N. soon yelled, "ATTENTION, PASSENGERS! We have arrived at the Starlight Kingdom. All passengers going to the Starlight Kingdom (i.e. All of them), please disembark!"

Mario, Peach, and Toadsworth soon got off the boat, only to have their jaws collectively drop.

"Why, Starlight City looks simply DIVINE!" Peach exclaimed.

"Whoa. This is just . . . Wow," Mario said to himself.

"Indeed, this place is incredible, Master Mario!" Toadsworth responded.

None of them were particularly wrong. Starlight City was simply incredible. Most notably, the city was enormous; Much larger than either Toad Town or Rogueport. The buildings all looked new and brilliant, yet maintained a sense of antique beauty. The roads were similar, and some of the plazas had beautiful paintings on them, most depicting an ethereal landscape surrounded by seven colorful stones. Additionally, canals ran through the entire city, with gondola services claiming to take riders anywhere in the city. Luckily, Mario and co. didn't need to take a gondola, as an elderly Toad in glasses spotted them and cried, "Princess! Thank the Star Spirits you got my invitation! I was beginning to worry the postal service had lost another letter."

Soon enough, the gang was talking to each other outside what appeared to be Clev R.'s house, along with Clev R., the elderly Toad they had met earlier, and his assistant Goombriana, a young Goomba girl with a light blue cap and blonde hair.

"Yes, the Starlight Kingdom is truly incredible," Peach said.

"It is, isn't it? What fascinates me the most, though, is the origin of the kingdom. Legends say it was once called the Aether Kingdom, and it was founded by an ancient people using a set of seven magical artifacts: The Aether Gems! With these gems, they were able to perform an astounding feat: Briefly enter the rift between dimensions known as the Aether and alter the fabric of their world! They built the entire kingdom like this! But then they just . . . disappeared. They say that the Aether Gems were left behind, but almost no one knows where. Myself, I've been researching them for over fifty years, and I don't know where even one is hidden! There are rumors that . . ." Doogley began. However, he was cut off by a strange being in a red and purple uniform running up to him and tackling him from behind.

"What the . . ." Mario began. He wasn't able to finish that statement, as three more red-and-purple beings jumped out from an alley and nabbed Toadsworth, Peach and Goombriana. The fourth was followed by a much larger being in a similar uniform, though this one had no trace of red on him. Instead, his uniform had a purple and black motif, with a crescent moon emblem on the front. He laughed a stereotypical evil laugh, but it somehow felt much scarier when it was appropriate for the situation.

"HELP ME!" Peach cried.

A/N: Cliffhangers ahoy!

Just so everyone knows, Mario would be mute if this were a real game, as per tradition. I'll point out other inconsistencies as they come up, and most are for story purposes.

Anyway, I hope everyone enjoyed the first part. I'm just getting started . . .