Prologue

There once existed a peaceful kingdom, where everyone lived in bliss and harmony. No one was angry at each other for a substantial amount of time, and everyone was more than happy to help those who needed it. Almost every day was bright and sunny, and not even rain nor inclement weather could dampen the denizens of this land. There was a princess who ruled this kingdom. She was forced to take the leadership at the young age of 15, because of her parents', the king and queen, had mysteriously vanished. She didn't remember spending any time with them and believed she had lost them at an even younger age. Though she was doubtful that she would be able to keep the peace, she instantly won the hearts of everyone for her selfless ways and charitable nature. She would help out everyone who was in need, and always looked out four her subjects. For the next five years, the kingdom continued to thrive in tranquility, most accepting influences from other places and adjusting to new ways of life. This peace, however, was not to last long.

Shortly before the disappearence of the king and queen, there was one reptilian creature whose heart was filled with evil and hate. He despised the princess' ways when she took the crown, yet he immediately fell in love with her, although he didn't always understand why. With a greedy heart, he managed to gather others who wanted the princess out and formulated a new empire, bent on evil ways, with him as king. On the princess' 20th birthday, during the celebration in the capital's square, this ruthless ruler, along with some of his followers, stormed the party and took the princess away. The citizens had never faced something like this and were unable to stop him.

At around this time, two brothers were working on some damaged pipes in the sewers under the streets of Brooklyn, New York. The two of them were known throughout the city for their excellent plumbing ability. They were willing to repair small leaks or large problems at an affordable price. Unfortunately, this kind of humble attitude provided them with little money, and they were just able to scrape by. They also had lost their parents at a young age, leaving them to fend for themselves. Through this, they developed an extremely tight brotherly bond that lasted through their late 20s.

On this particular day, they often caught sight of small reptilian creatures emerging from an abnormally large pipe they had not noticed. They ignored it as being a hallucination after two long hours of work. Before they could finish the job, they looked up once again to see about 25 of these creatures surrounding them, ready to attack. All of a sudden, they felt a sense of courage run through their body and together, they disposed of the creatures and sent them retreating from the pipe from where they came. The brothers became intrigued by this and decided to follow them through the pipe.

After crawling throught the dirty pipe for about ten minutes, they emerged in another sewer. They found the way outside and stood around in the blazing sun, which they considered weird since it was a very rainy day when they had entered the Brooklyn sewers. The two brothers decided to walk around a nearby town and were taken aback by its inhabitants. The people walking around were not really people, but rather small creatures with what appeared to be large spotted hats but were actually part of them. They were just under four feet tall and the children were even smaller. Although the town itself was seen as a tranquil plae, the citizens were in an uproar.

One old creature with a large white mustache, walked up to them and asked for help. The two brothers listened as he told them that some evil creatures had kidnapped their fair princess in the middle of a celebration and someone had to go get her back. The smaller and chubbier of the two brothers looked up and saw the white brick castle with the red roof and three spires just outside the city. He admired its beauty, but he became transfixed at the effigy of the princess adorning the stained-glass window near the top of the castle. He saw the princess with beautiful white skin and flowing blonde hair, wearing a pink dress and matching blue earrings and brooch. Unlike the townspeople, she was human. Before he could think, he found himself volunteering to rescue the princess. His timid brothers and the other inhabitants urged him not to go, telling him that the monster was at least seven feet tall and had an armored shell as hard as steel, but he ignored them and went on his way.

After a day-long travel, he arrived at the monster's lair, which stood at the edge of the gloomiest forest imaginable. As he began to get nearer, he encountered more of the same creatures that he and his brother had vanquished eariler. Using his athletic skills and maneuverability, he easily defeated them and those that he encountered along the gloomy hallways of the castle. After all was said and done, he opened the door that led to the throne room, and there, in the middle of the room was the same princess he had seen in the window. Although he had subconsciously considered her beautiful from the effigy, he found her even more attractive in person. The princess was delighted to see him after being there for a few days. As he began to untie her from the post on which she was held prisoner, another door in the back of the room slammed open, causing the man to turn around in surprise.

There stood the monster, just like the townspeople had described, only he looked more menacing up close. The monster became angry and ordered the man to back away or face a horrible death. The man naturally refused and engaged in battle with the creature. The monster charged at the plumber, 800 pounds of pure might. Unfortunately, the man dove out of the way, and the monster crashed into the wall, bringing it down. He turned around and opened his massive mouth as if to swallow him but instead let out a burst of flames from his belly. He began scorching everything in sight as he tried to make himself some fried human for dinner. The man continued to run around the room, unable to land a blow on the brute. He backed himself against the wall and waited for the monster to approach. The monster saw this opportunity and lifted one large claw and swiped it down at the puny human, only to dig it into the wall, making him unable to move. The man quickly ran to the adjacent wall, jumed high into the air and kicked off the wall. He used this power to deliver a mighty kick upside the monster's head. As the man and princess watched, the creature began to sway with weakness before falling down to the concrete floor, knocked out cold.

When he was sure that the monster was defeated, he quickly untied the princess, who thanked him very much for his heroism. She offerd him a most gratifying reward, but the man rejected it. Together, they walked back to the castle where they were greeted with cheers and applause. A celebration was ordered to celebrate the arrival of the kingdom's hero. The next day, despite the pleas of the princess and people, the brothers ventured once more into the sewers to find the pipe from whence they came, but they never again to find it. They were not disappointed, however, and decided to make the town their new home. They were given a home at no expense to them, and the two continued to work together to prevent the monster from ever taking over the kingdom. News of their heroic acts spread quickly, and the two became known throught that world.

The townspeople did acquire one unique tradition in which they often wished upon the stars, which most of the time worked. This is because of the legendary Star Spirits, seven wise and powerful spirits that sat above the world and watched it day and night to keep it from major harm. After the kidnapping of the princess, they began to gratify the restless people with wishes that were almost always granted. The only exceptions were wishes of greed and selfishness or of impossibility and irrationality. This is why the monster's heart came to loath the dieties, for they never granted his desires. They were able to grant the wishes by use of a powerful rod called the Star Rod, in which rested a large amount of magic. They also took their time to protect this sacred treasure from falling into the wrong hands.

It was now a few years after the first kidnapping of the princess, for she was kidnapped frequently by the monster and rescued by the man. The Star Spirits had gone through a whole day without receiveing a single wish. They kept constant watch over the Star Rod and talked about the events that had recently occured. As they conversed, the orb containing the Star Rod began to shimmer and glow. Before the Star Spirits could ask, the light intensified and filled the whole chamber where they resided. After a few seconds, the light dimmed, but the orb continued to glow. Eldstar, the oldest of the Star Spirits, floated to the orb and peered inside it for an answer.

"Well," asked Mamar, "what do you see?"

Eldstar kept watching as the other spirits joined in.

"It...it's another evil that will plague the kingdom," replied Eldstar. "A cold-hearted man shall come to this world and join forces with the evil one to take over the kingdom."

Skolar jumed right in.

"That's terrible," he said. "We can not let this happen."

"Eldstar," inquired Misstar, "what do we do?"

"Patience, Misstar." said Eldstar, not taking his eyes from the orb.. "No one has any need to worry. This man will also be sent here with other who oppose his evil way and..."

He was cut short as the orb returned to normal and the Star Rod was visible again.

"Well, that's a good thing, right?" asked Klevar.

"Of course," said Kalmar. "If those others oppose him, I'm sure they will be able to stop him."

"Maybe..."

The six other Star Spirits turned to Eldstar.

"Maybe...they would fail."