Long ago, when the Koopa Clan was still young, the first Koopa King was crowned. He raised two twin sons with the hope that one of them would carry on his legacy. One son was brave, strong, and loyal. His father began training him to become the next Koopa King. The other son grew jealous and hateful of his brother, and in an effort to gain his father's favor, he learned and practiced dark magic.
His remarkable talent granted him powers beyond what any of the Mushroom World had seen. His abilities were so strong that they existed beyond the boundaries of simple dark magic. The prince called this newfound dark power Ebon Magic. The Koopa King's magikoopa advisors saw the prince's talent as spectacular, but they also saw a darkness brewing within his soul that would never be quelled. Although his power was mighty, his hatred was stronger. It would consume him, the kingdom, and then the world. They advised the Koopa King to stop his son before he became too powerful.
The Koopa King was enthralled with his son's ambition, however, and crowned him as king. In an angry storm of unbridled hatred and ugly jealousy, the newly crowned King slayed his father as punishment for initially choosing his brother as heir.
The magikoopas knew the kingdom's only salvation was the other Koopa Prince. They devised a plan to neutralize the dark King and seal both his soul and the Ebon Magic within his brother – the only remaining heir to the throne. With magic and a little brute force, they successfully slayed the dark King and sealed the Ebon Magic within the prince, who was then crowned.
All was quiet for a time. The King had children and the kingdom witnessed a prosperous decade. But the kingdom's greatest prophets all foretold an event most troubling: the evil soul sealed within with King would reemerge – not in him, but in another Koopa of royal blood.
They prophesied that the seal keeping the evil king's soul and the Ebon Magic dormant would break in the next millennium In 1,000 years, a royal Koopa harboring the resting soul of the evil king would be born. That Koopa would be capable of wielding the Ebon Magic and dragging the kingdom and the entire world into black chaos…
"Eeh hee hee! This Book of Ebon is exactly what I have been needing! I have chortles just thinking about it. All of it will be for Fawful!"
Fawful quickly closed the old and dusty book and fit it into his bag. With a small comment about how it was snug as a bug under a rug, he turned around and hopped joyfully over the twitching bodies of groaning Toads. Breaking into the Forbidden Book Shelter hidden under Toad Town had been easy, especially with Bordon along for the ride.
"BORDON! Come! We are leaving to plan for a date with Bowser Castle! But first we are needing to read more of my… new… and not so shiny… book!"