Disclaimer: Several characters, which are not yet mentioned, are the property of Nintendo (if you're reading this, then you can probably venture a guess who they are). The rest of them belong to me, in some way, shape or form, unless otherwise noted. This disclaimer is probably implied, but now it's explicit. Thank you.
Preface
"Once, perhaps, there was a time when all nations would be afraid to set foot on these lands. Afraid that they would see us, bearing down upon them with axe, club and claw. A berzerk horde that would rend them from limb to limb in the frenzied defense of our home. But they fear us not. The rampaging army is no more, the bloodlust that once filled our veins is spent. The blood of the mighty Koopa had spoiled over the years, and the power we once had has waned into nothingness. Gone are the fearless, deathless warriors, replaced with tired, frightened farmers. We had become weak, and because of it, "they" came.
Masked warriors from another world. They came in full force. Only the ancient and feeble had the knowledge and desire to battle them, and it was because of this that we were driven from our ancestral home. Driven into strange, foreign lands. The pressures became too much for us. Our clans fragmented, and even our families, once the focal point of civilization, splintered and dispersed. Slowly, we Koopa began to die, fading from common to rare, and even turning into myth. Destined to become a mere story told to children at bedtime.
And it is so that I now stand on the sacred soil of my ancestors. It is so that I have abandoned my own, still stable family to their fate. It is so that I have revived the old battle fury from deep within my soul It is so that I am destined not for the path of myth, but for that of legend. It is so that I will fight for the survival of my people at the cost of everything dear to me. Once, I feared the darkness that had stolen from my people their home, their lives, their souls, and it sent me running for my mother. Now, that same darkness shall fear me. It shall fear all Koopa. And we shall fear nothing. Not even the great specter of death."
-Bowser, The Great King of the Koopa
I
In the beginning, the land was green and filled with life. Plants and animals were in abundance, and peace endured throughout the world, much of it still unexplored and blanketed by the fog of the unknown. Just as the mists hang thickly in the morning and concealed the world from sight, so is this bygone era called the Age of Mists.
It is not know how long the Age of Mists lasted. The oldest of records and stories have been seen and told time and time again and so, it is believed that the land was fertile for twenty thousand years before civilization began, and perhaps even longer. The lands to the north were cold and uninviting, while the lands to the south were dry and inhospitable. But to the east and the west were homes to towering mountains and unending fields of green. The lands to the west belonged to the Toadstools. They were a diminutive and civilized people, not unlike mushrooms, who were simple in nature and peaceful of demeanor. Their interests lay in shaping and weaving. They would make fine vests and houses and conduct experiments of all sorts. The lands to the east were those of the Koopa. They were taller than the Toadstools, but not by much, and were not unlike turtles of great size. They were a simple and peaceful but wild people who lived in the shadows of the great mountains. They would hunt the animals and eat the plants, and would dance for the spirits. It was just as this that life persisted for ten thousand years, until a great and dark shadow moved through the sky and the Dying began.
The great dragon Nelfem came into the world from beyond the mists, and laired himself in the tallest mountain to the east. The moment he landed upon the peak, the rocks themselves turned black, drained of life and empowered with dark magic. The Toadstools, safe in their machinations in the west, saw this abomination and named it the Black Gate, for they believed it was a doorway through which evil would enter the land. The Koopa prayed for answers, and each one sacrificed their most valued possession in apology to the spirits, but found that their guides had abondoned them. All around the primitive tribes, the land began to die, lush grasses turning to sand and water becoming poisonous. Only the strongest and most adaptable animals survived, and in time, they grew into twisted parodies of their former selves. The Toadstools were certain that it was the end for their neighbors, but the Koopa themselves proved to be a strong and adaptable people. They grew larger and more powerful. Their shells became as strong as steel, and they grew iron-hard horns, spikes and claws. Their weapons became more vicious as did they; it was the beginning of their battlelust. Frightened by these shocking changes, the Toadstools retreated even further to the west to protect themseves from the corruption that the great shadow had brought. This would be the last contact between those people until the next age.
As Nelfem's influence spread and infected more of the land, the Koopa grew even stronger in response. The bond between families, long the focal point of their people, solidified and drew them even closer together. Among them, a select few rose above the rest as possessors of truely exceptional might, and they would become the kings and champions of their people. It is so that this era is known as the Age of Heroes. This age would last for another thousand years until the Koopa's greatest hero, Roy, climbed to the top of the Black Gate to challenge Nelfem. Infuriated by the young warrior's insolence, Nelfem lashed out with his claws and belched flame, expecting an easy victory. Hardened by his battles with the perversions living in the Scarred Land below, Roy did not prove to be the weakling Nelfem had thought he was. The battle raged on for ten days, until with his last breath, Roy swung his axe and cleaved the mighty dragon's head from his body.
For two days, Nelfem's head fell, until it struck the earth. Immediately, a great and twisted tree grew that would forever serve to remind the Koopa of the great evil that nested atop the mountain. The dragon's blood rained down upon the land, returning the life essences that had been stolen. Within three hundred years, the waters were drinkable, the animals had returned to their former shapes and the Koopa were once more as they were; simple, unremarkable and peaceful. Only the Black Gate and the ground beneath the leaves and branches of the great tree Nelfem, which had been shielded from the blood of the dragon, remained corrupted, and would be a reminder ever after that these lands were once cursed and scarred. Taking these memories and lessons, the Koopa would strive to ensure that such evil never befell their lands again, and they were careful that a select few remembered the ways of war. Others still discovered that a kind of magic had been awakened in the world, and began to study it so that it could be shaped into a tool to forever safeguard the world from corruption like that of Nelfem, and so began the Age of Wisdom.
An era of enlightenment, the Age of Wisdom saw many changes in the world. Magic came to be, which the Koopa would study for its properties as a tool of war, to be used should the great evils ever return, and also to ward off sickness of plants and animals alike. They discovered that planting and herding yielded a more consistent supply of food than did hunting and foraging, and so the Koopa became civilized, as the Toadstools had long before. This Age also saw the first explorers venturing beyond the lands of the Koopa, striking out for the distant western lands. It was through this adventuring that a young Koopa named Wendy stumbled upon the Toadstools once more, after walking for ten years. She told them that the great evil was gone, hopefully forever. Still frightened, none but a few would make the journey back with Wendy, and so the Toadstools came to reestablish contact with the Koopa after another ten years of walking.
The Koopa rejoiced at seeing their ancient neighbors once again and a grand feast was held to commemorate the occasion. But the Toadstools had become greedy and envious over the centuries. They saw naught but a land of gold, ready for the taking. Bidding their farewells to the Koopa, they walked ten more years back to their people, insisting that they would tell the others and the two would be friends once again. They told their people of the great prizes to be had, and so the Toadstools, who had themselves become adept at fighting, awoke their great war machines and marched east. Making a pre-emptive strike, they caught the Koopa off-guard and their campaign began an easy start. But they had underestimated the Koopa, for when their armies struck back with both weapons and magic, the Toadstools quickly decided that this land was not worth the loss of life, and retreated back to the west. And so, after four hundred years of enlightenment, began the Age of Decline.
The Koopa isolated themselves from the world and from their magic, believing the bloodshed to be punishment from the spirits for dabbling with the evil magics. Without their magics to aid them, their crops and herds yielded less, and they were forced to make due, unable to properly support their population. They worked harder and received less benefit, and so grew distant to the world, focusing themselves on the bonds that held their families together. Once more, the Koopa became a simple people, content to live as they had thousands of years in the past. So they did for five hundred years, until the Black Gate once again brought evil into the world.