Introduction
Ahem!
Allow me to tell you the story of the seasons.
For as long as anyone can remember, the seasons have come and past in an endless cycle.
From winter to spring, spring to summer, summer to fall and fall to winter they ebb and flow forever.
And, in a world different from our own, there exist two lovers.
This world is a perfect world with everything living in perfect harmony.
The inhabitants of this world all possess great power, but their love is so great and vast that it creates a special connection between our world and theirs.
The seasons are this connection.
Like a lover's dance the seasons glide by, each allowing the other to take the lead.
Held together by the bonds of their love, our world is intricately connected to theirs.
Without them, the seasons would end and our world would be sent into chaos.
An endless winter would befall it. There would be no warmth, no heat, and no love.
Nothing would survive the bitter cold.
This is why the only way to reach their world has been long since sealed away.
The location of the gate between our world and theirs is kept in utmost secrecy.
Nobody even knows where it is, or how to open it if they had even found it.
Perhaps, in the end, not knowing is best.
PAPER MARIO : THE DANCE OF SEASONS
The moist and heavy summer breeze blew into the window of Mario's house. It was one of the hottest summers the Mushroom Kingdom had ever had. AC units had been out of stock at the Toad Town market for several weeks, but other than that, everything was good with the kingdom. The princess was safe; Bowser was nowhere to be seen, although his absence was suspicious of course. It was a year after Mario had been dragged along on a treasure hunt to Rougeport that ended up being a mission to save peach from being possessed by an ancient demon. As per usual, any sort of vacation always turned out to be another mission to save the world. Mario shrugged it off, though. As much as a hassle the princess was, he didn't have much else to do with his time anyways. He sighed at the memory, not sure if it was a sigh of contentment or remorse. Just then, a voice called from out on the porch.
"MAIL CALL!" yelled Parakarry. He shoved the letter in the mailbox and flew off to the next house.
"I've got it," said Luigi. For some reason, it was always Luigi's job to get the mail. He wondered why, but then lost interest after coming back inside with a letter.
"It's from Princess Peach! I'll read it to you, bro...Ahem..."
Dear, Mario
You are cordially invited you to come along with Toadsworth and I for a vacation! I recently found out about a great place far, far away from here, and it has sunny beaches, snowy mountaintops, dewy meadows and treehouses in a giant forest! Interestingly enough, it seems as though this region has all four seasons right near each other, is that not intriguing? I'd be delighted if you would come along – and between you and me, I'd rather it not just be me and Toadsworth! We're leaving today at noon by hot air balloon, so pack quickly!
P.S. Luigi can come along too!
Sincerely,
Princess Peach
"You didn't have to read it in her voice, bro. Kind of creepy."
"Sorry, bro. But anyways, what do you think?"
"What do you think I think? Let's-a-go!"
"It's 11:50," said Luigi. "Shouldn't we pack?"
"Eh, no need," said Mario. "We wear the same thing all the time anyways."
The bros left the house in a heartbeat and headed over to the castle, walking briskly. The princess always made rather spur of the moment decisions like this one, leaving little time to prepare. At 11:59, they arrived at the castle.
"Oh good, good, you're finally here!" exclaimed Toadsworth. "Quickly now, we mustn't keep the princess waiting. The hot air balloon is ready to go, out in the courtyard."
He ushered them hastily through the castle and out into the courtyard where Princess Peach was waiting in the hot air balloon. Her small, delicate body standing in the giant, overwhelming hot air balloon was quite the funny sight. Toadsworth, Mario and Luigi stepped into the basket.
"Ready?" said Peach.
"Now, now princess, let's go through the safety checklist before taking off—"
"Let's go!" she exclaimed, and cut the cord tethering the balloon to the ground. Quickly, they rose upward into the bright blue sky. In mere minutes, they were high above the castle, floating lazily through the clouds. Toadsworth was having a minor panic attack, checking everything to make sure it was correct. Peach seemed to ignore it.
"Alright. Now that we've gotten situated, let us get a heading in the proper direction," said Peach. She pulled out a compass and held it in her small, white gloves.
"We need to go west, and we should arrive in several hours," she said.
"The princess sure is quite the navigator, isn't she?" said Toadsworth. "I told her we could use the plane, but she insisted on getting there this way..." Mario and Luigi just nodded.
"Now that we're all set up, I can elaborate more on the details of our destination," said Peach. "It's called Tempora. It's a region way, way west from here that's divided up into four regions, one for each season. There's Verion for spring, Aestasi for summer, Autumnus for autumn and Hiembri for winter."
All of their expressions were blank.
"Those are quite...uh...interesting names Peach," said Mario.
"The people there are quite different, at least that what it said about them in my research. They're sophisticated...modest! And polite and mannerly too. They know the meaning of being fancy!" said Peach.
"So in other words – boring," said Luigi. She eyed him wearily. "Uhh, I mean, boring to people who don't have respect for such things!"
Mario whispered to Luigi. "Nice save, bro!"
"Anyways...as I was saying, there are four regions that represent all the seasons. Right in the middle, there's a fantastic town where they have huge festivals, and parades and there's just so much to learn about their culture! I propose that we start in Tempora Town and visit each region for a couple of days, one by one. There's bound to be a ton of interesting sights to see and things to do."
"It should only be about twelve hours until we arrive!" said Princess Peach, with much enthusiasm in her voice.
"Ohhh, yes princess. The hot air balloon idea was so much better than taking the airplane. We can enjoy the same beautiful sights, but for ten times longer..." said Toadsworth.
After several long hours later, they were finally approaching Tempora. Peach's descriptions didn't do much justice to the grandness of the landscapes they were flying over. It really was split up into four quite distinct regions, but the immensity of each of them was completely staggering. Way off in the distance they could see a steep, snowy mountaintop that peeked up through the clouds. At its base was a bright green forest and towards the east, where they were flying over currently, there was a big grassy plain and a moon-shaped cove along the shoreline. Up towards the north there was an autumn forest. Peculiarly, the trees were yellow, red and orange. But from their height, it all seemed to just be one blob of color. In the center of all the regions was the town. It sprawled out in all directions, taking up a corner of each region.
"Isn't it all so beautiful?" said Peach.
"It's so majestic!" said Toadsworth.
"It's-a pretty nice view!" said Luigi.
They brought the hot air balloon down and descended into the Tempora Town. The architecture of the buildings was astounding. The scale of everything dwarfed Toad Town in comparison. Huge columns held up giant roofs, and intricate carved archways loomed over the wide streets of the town. The streets were made from cobblestone, with patterns representing the seasons laid out in them. In the very center of the town there was a big, open area with markets and lots of people of all different varieties talking and walking together. It was a very lively place.
"I...suppose we can just land here. Did anyone see a helipad or something?" said Princess Peach. Toadsworth just continued to look anxious.
"Guess not. We're landing!"
The balloon floated gently down into the center of the town square. The people seemed slightly amused, but after a few moments went quickly back to whatever it was that they were doing. With a soft thud, they had finally arrived at Tempora Town.
"Amori...Amori! You must wake up, Amori! Something terrible has happened!"
"...Vallus? What is it? What's wrong?"
"There isn't any time to linger, we must leave now! Come with me before we lose each other."
"Lose each other? Vallus, please tell me what is going on...I'm frightened. What's happening?"
"Please, Amori. With all the love in my heart, I tell you that we must go! Quickly now, give me your hand and let's head out the door before it's too late. There isn't much time left before it happens!"
"Before what happens?"
"The gate...the...oh there isn't time! Amori, please! We need to leave!"
"...okay Vallus...I trust you. You know I do."
"Thank you, my love. I promise I'll explain soon. I love you, Amori."
"I love y—"