Chapter 1
In utter blackness rumbled the voices of unholy gods.
"Bring me the scepter and the Mushroom Kingdom shall be yours."
"Your word means nothing to me. I demand a sign."
"Then a sign you shall have. The hearts of the Reishi will not be with the Princess. With the Koopa they shall ally."
xxxx
General Iwata awoke with a gasp. He continued to breath heavy and sweat as he replayed the dream in his memory. The King must know! He bound off his sleeping mat and rushed to ready himself to see King Hiroshi. Moments later the samurai general was sprinting from his tent toward the palace in full gear.
Sunlight glinted off the gold outlines of his red armour. On his right breast was the golden outline of a mushroom that looked like two ears facing each other, one larger, one smaller, on the same stalk. This was the crest of the Reishi.
He ran down the greenest hill bespeckled with bright red tents. Conflict was brewing and the Reishi Samurai had encamped on their own border near the king's secondary palace. In the distance, wide topped mushrooms nearly as big as mountains marked the border. On the other side, the Mushroom Kingdom.
Guards moved aside as the General ran up the stairs of the palace and through the first set of giant wooden doors, through the large dining hall draped with banners of beautiful calligraphy, and finally through the last set of wooden doors with a burst into the council chamber. Immediately the King, who was sitting with a party stood up at the intrusion.
General Iwata bowed.
"My Liege."
"What is it?! Is the Koopa? Have they invaded?" demanded the King.
"No my Liege. I have had a dream."
An older, short man with a glasses and a grey mustache and a large head made to look even larger with a giant mushroom shaped hat common among the people of his race, stood up, curious at the excitement.
"What is it?" said the Toadsman in a western accent. "What is he saying?"
Toadsmen, or Mushroom People, did not speak Reishi. King Hiroshi put out his hand to deflect his foreign guest's questions and continued with his own questions for the general.
"Did you say a dream? General, I will have you know I am in the middle of …"
"If I may, my Liege," Iwata interrupted, still bowing. "I believe it was an omen. A dream from the Seven Spirits."
"Go on then."
"I dreamt we were flanked from the west and the south by forces of the Mushroom
Kingdom and forces of the Koopa."
The King laughed.
"That is no dream, General. That is our present reality, as you know."
The King was getting upset.
"This here is Ambassador Toadsworth of the Mushroom Kingdom. We were just discussing this dilemma and were negotiating a possible solution. I would have you not interrupt me for such a little thing as this. Please tell me there's more."
"Betrayal."
This gave the King pause.
"You may stand."
Iwata stood.
"Who betrays whom?"
"I dreamt we sign an alliance with the Mushroom Kingdom to scare off the Koopa. I dreamt that as soon as the Koopa retreat, the Princess orders an attack on the
Reishi."
"Somebody please tell me what he is saying!" demanded the aggravated ambassador. He was ignored.
"I dreamt that after the Princess invades, the Koopa King returns and rescues the Reishi."
"What you're saying has serious implications. We are talking about a potentially bloody war in which we have yet chosen a side. What makes you so certain that the dream was from the Stars and not from a bad mushroom? The Koopa would not be my choice ally. They are as unpredictable as Chain Chomps."
"The Stars told me so. I heard one of their voices. And then the Spirits showed me a sign in the sky. I drew it on parchment when I woke up."
Iwata retrieved the folded parchment from within his armor and handed it to his king. The king unfolded it.
"Do you know what this is?" asked the King.
"I do not."
"This is...was...my family's secret signet used to verify letters from each other. Only my blood knows this symbol. And I am the last of my blood."
The king set the parchment on a table and calmly addressed the guards.
"Guards, arrest the ambassador."
Toadsworth, who could only follow the conversation as far as he understood the language was shocked and indignant to find guards grabbing both of his arms while others pointed weapons at him.
"What the blazes?! What is this? Unhand me at once! What did he say? I am an ambassador of the Mushroom Kingdom. I came here in peace! This is an act of war! The Princess will have no choice but to retaliate!"
"General Iwata," said the King, "take him to Bowser as a token of our allegiance."
xxxxx
Hundreds of soldiers stood guard at each of the Mushroom City gates, most of them men and Toadsmen, some of them of the Koopa race.
"Halt!" said one of the soldiers to and old Koopa woman pushing a cart of fruit toward the gates. "The sun is setting. We are about to raise the drawbridge and lock the gates. You'll have to stay in Enoki Village for the night.
An old, cracked yellow beak protruded from the woman's dark hood. Besides her turtle-like hands, it was all that could be seen of the creature beneath the cloak.
"Please," croaked the Koopa, "I am old woman. I have brought these melons all the way from Yoshi Island. I am too tired to travel any more. And too poor for an inn. My niece lives in the city. She is expecting me."
The soldier hesitated.
"Very well."
The soldier yelled out some commands and the drawbridge which only just began to be drawn was then lowered back down.
"Do you have anything besides Yoshi Melons in there?" the soldier asked.
"Nothing else," answered the Koopa.
The soldier trusted the old woman enough to avoid doing a thorough search through the cart. The soldier let her by and she passed through the gates into the city.
Not too far from the city gate was a small park on a hill. There was nothing in the park but a small lawn with two benches and some sort of exotic pavillion. The lawn was hedged in by shrubs except for where it led out, down the cobblestone path to the street.
The Koopa woman pushed the cart into the pavillion. The pillars of the pavillion were made to look like stone trees, the tops of which formed into a hundred leafed branches all intricately interweaving with each other, forming a sort of stone lattice top.
The floor was made from stone as well. There was dais in the middle with four handles protruding from its side in each direction. The top of the dais was a tile mosaic of a seven pointed star.
The old hag reached under her cart and withdrew a knotty wooden walking staff. At its top was a black translucent sphere gripped by knotty wooden tendrils. She raised the staff over the cart and all the melons raised up into the air and suspended there. As she lowered the staff, the fruit lowered onto the floor. At the bottom of the cart lay several colored glass or crystal items as large as serving trays. She raised her hands again and the crystals lifted. They were seven and each shaped the same. Stars with seven points. Each star a different color crystal. The sorceress waved her staff about, putting the stars in a certain order. When they were the way she wanted, she guided them each to the upper sides of the pavillion. There were slots in the branchy lattice work that fit the crystal stars. By the power of her staff, she slid them each into place.
By now the sun was down and the moon was out. The sorceress held out her staff to test where its shadow fell on the dais. Since it was to her liking, she continued with her enchantment. She put all her weight into one of the handles and began, slowly at first, to turn the dais. Only the sides of the dais moved. The top stayed still. As she pushed round the dais, the stone tree pillars and the branch-like top spun on some inconspicuous track in the opposite direction. The sound of stone grinding stone could be heard. As the crystal stars moved in circles, they would catch the moonlight at a certain angle and cast it in a new color upon the dais. Unseen gears moved, causing the pavillion sides to spin faster than the dais handles.
When the stars were casting light at the proper intervals, the witch stopped pushing the handles. The star studded trees continued their orbit though the handles had ceased theirs.
The witch climbed to the top of the dais and stood in the rapidly changing colored light. The tile star mosaic beneath her feet suddenly began to illuminate and a pale, blue-ish light rose from the circumference of the platform. The Koopa leaned into her walking staff and disappeared.
xxxxx
Matthias had fantasized about joining the Nebulus Guard since he was a small Luma hearing tales of their legendary feats during the Wishing War a thousand years ago. He had endured the rigorous training as soon as he was old enough but that training did not prepare this 17 year old Star Spirit for this. This waiting. This boring tetium. This nothingness going on and on.
The brown skinned youth with the shoulder length braids stood with spear in hand, side by side with Jesper, the rugged old spirit who had actually fought in the Wishing War. They were stationed before the Star Door, a stone pavillion that was made to look like trees overshadowing a dias. The Star Door was the only thing on the small island floating in the cloudy night sky. This island was bridged to the rest of the floating city of Star Haven by a wide stone road. The Star Door was the only way into Star Haven and therefore seemed to Matthias most likely for action.
But this was not action. He was only four hours into his career and already he was wondering if he spent his life wishing for something he didn't really want.
Matthias opened his mouth to express his discouragement when suddenly the platform within the pavillion began to glow. At first he thought it was his imagination. But then an energy the color of pale moonlight shone up from the Star Door and there was no doubt that this was actually happening.
The two Nebulus Guards poised their spears for a confrontation. An old Koopa woman appeared in the Doorway. She hopped off the platform, walking staff in hand.
"Come no further."
Jesper's old rugged voice was confident as he approached the intruder.
"How did you enter through this door? What business do you have here?"
The woman jerked her staff at the guards. "Fear overtakes you!" she said.
Immediately Jesper dropped his spear and became incorporeal, as spirits can do, and took flight down the road, wearing fear like noose. Matthias stepped back, nearly dropping his own weapon. He had never experience such fear in all his life. He slowly raised his spear again but the witch cast again the same spell.
"Fear overtakes you!"
This time he dropped his spear. His dark skin faded into a glowing, blue-ish translucence, his face looking as if he was staring into his own death. He too flew down the road. Being incorporeal, he did not need to use his feet. He just glided above the long stone walkway toward the floating city as fast as he could.
When he was far enough away, he stopped and looked over his shoulder.
He could see the folds of the witch's cloak begin whip in a wind he couldn't feel. She held aloft her staff and floated into the air. The sphere at the tip of her staff ignited into a furious flame. She then proceeded to draw a large circle of flame, nearly as wide as the road itself. No time to waste. Matthias fled to the city.
The courtyard was alive with curious energy. The seven guardians, Queen Rosalina herself, and a few dozen bystanders and guards surrounded Jesper, trying to get answers from him. But he was curled up in a fetal position, pale, and unable to speak, let alone stop shaking. When Matthias entered, all looked to him.
"We're being invaded!" Matthias' voice was shaky. Fear still held him but did not cripple as it had with Jesper.
"A sorceress has come through the Star Door. She is opening a portal!"
"Impossible!" said Rosalina. "The door cannot be opened without the Crystal Stars and they are hidden all over the world at the bottoms of oceans and deserts. I hid them myself!" It's not that she disbelieved. She just couldn't guess how it was accomplished.
"There is no time to waste!" Eldisar, the old head of the Guardian Seven shouted to his commanders. Fire burned his experienced eyes. His long white beard swayed in the wind as he moved this way and that giving orders. "Commander Vax, take a troup to meet our enemy on the road. Commander Staves, surround the courtyard and man its walls with archers. Guardians, Queen, we shall stay here with the Star Rod."
The Star Rod floated encased within an enchanted glass in the middle of the courtyard.
Matthias attempted to join Captain Vax's troup but as he came upon Star Road, he found he could not shake the fear spell that was upon him. He gripped his sword and watched from a distance. He could see that the fire circle emitted black smoke, all of which twisted into a vortex in the center of the circle. The vortex stretched into a sort of tunnel made of smoke. An opening appeared at the end of the tunnel as the tunnel itself began to shorten and compress. Within a moment, the tunnel had completely compressed and the opening to the other place was just beyond the ring of fire.
The first thing anyone could see and hear coming from within the portal were brights lights and great roaring. Motorised Cycles. Four of the monstrous vehicles, mounted by the turtle-like Koopa, roared onto Star Road, their headlights disorienting the Spirits for a moment. The Cycles were armed with Bill Cannons on each side. Thwunk, thwunk, thwunk. The massive caliber bullets launched into the oncoming soldiers. As each missile-like projectile was fired, another dropped from a slide into the cannon. Each slide carried six Bullet Bills.
Most of the Star Spirits were already incorporeal for reasons of speed, and so the Bills shot through them as if through a cloud. But a few had turned corporeal in order to attack. The Bills exploded upon impacting with the solid spirits and somewhere in the sky, their stars went out.
As the mass of Nebulus Guard clashed with the four biked Koopa, some of the Spirits materialized just in time to have their blades or spears make contact with bike or rider. The others didn't risk it and passed through them. The materialized weapons had little effect. Koopa shells are nearly impenetrable and their skin is durable. Sparks flashed as blade slid against the metal of the cycles. One Koopa did earn a laceration across his tricep.
Emerging from the portal behind the cyclists, were a variety of footsoldiers including Reishi Samurai, hammer wielding Koopa, spear toting Koopa, and air support from ParaGoomba. Goombas were wicked little creatures. The aggressive beasts were as tall as a man's waist and were mostly a misshapen head, smaller at the top, larger at the bottom, and covered with brown peach fuzz, with a small, menacing face right in the middle. Their oversized mouth was ringed with razor sharp fangs. The creatures usually wabbled with a great deal of speed on clawed feet that were attached without legs to the rest of its body. But these that came through the portal were ParaGoomba. They were winged and therefore twice as vicious.
Trailing the two dozen invaders was the King Koopa himself. He was of a different race of Koopa. He stood about ten feet tall; his shell covered in spikes, his face and dragging tale similar to a dragons. He was one of the last Koopa Dragons, former rulers of their world.
Flying above them all was the witch, casting magic into the fray.
The clash with the footsoldiers was far more successful. They had more time to plan when to flesh out and when to ghost out.
Koopa, Reishi, and Goomba swung, jabbed, and charged the spirits but were rewarded with nothing more than a swoosh through the air, sometimes throwing them off balance. The Nebuli would then materialize and thrust their weapons into their foes. The invaders were swatting at flies they could hardly hit and dodging and blocking strikes they couldn't be sure they were going to receive. The Star Spirits could not materialize a weapon within a solid substance, otherwise they would have had more of an advantage. But every time they did become corporeal, they became as vulnerable as men but with less armour than their enemy. And much less skill and experience in fighting.
The Reishi lept of the thick railing into the air with superhuman agility. They flipped and spun and brought down wrath with all the trained beauty of a master artisan. Their katana blades glinting in the moonlight as they sliced the air. The Koopa trained in the way of the hammer turned what would be a basic building tool in the hands of others into a deadly weapon. Though the hammers were made of malidiom, a black ore as heavy and dense as iron, the Koopa were not slow or clunky in their delivery of blows. When they were able to make contact with a spirit, stars flickered out in the sky. There was no getting up. On occasion, they would let one hammer fly and them summon it back. Malidiom was an ore disciplined Koopa could magnetically manipulate. They could cast it and call it but couldn't freewill wherever they liked.
In their incorporeal form, the Star Spirits could rise into the air in order to descend with all their weight into the churning mass upon the bridge. But often, the ParaGoomba would swoop in on their descent like a hawk after jumping fish.
All the while, the sorceress blasted fire balls this way and that and summoned lightning strikes here and there. She would cast a healing spell on Koopa or Reishi that took a nasty strike. When Nebuli got close enough, she would cast her staff forward and say, "Flesh conceals you!" causing them to become solid at least as long as it took for them to consciously make themselves incorporeal again. This second or two was deadly for the Stars. By now the cyclists had reached the end of the road and turned back around to join the battle. Their Bills spent, the riders now wielded spiked maces. One Spirit took a mace hit as he chucked his spear into the spokes of a cycle, flipping it, sending the rider flying. Another Spirit pushed his sword between the shell and arm of the fallen and disoriented rider. Yet another Spirit dematerialized just as one of the remaining cyclists was about to run him over. The biker hit a ParaGoomba instead. Its pressurized gelatinous insides exploded under the pressure of the tire, launching the bike up and toward the railing of the bridge. The bike hit the bridge while the rider went over and fell who knows how many miles down.
Bodies littered the bridge. Koopa, Nebulus Guard, Goomba, Reishi. Whatever this conflict was about, it was worth many a life. And many a twinkling star in the sky. There was only a dozen of the invaders left this side of the portal but each one had the potential of taking down several Spirits. The odds were not in favor of the stars.
A command was shouted from someone somewhere and a second wave of invaders marched through the portal.
"Retreat! Retreat!" cried Commander Vax when it became obvious he was not going to win this battle. "To the courtyard! Join the others. Defend the Queen and Rod!"
All the Nebuli dematerialized and flew back to the city.
Matthias, who had been spectating all of this was the first to flee, still unable to fully shake off the fear spell.
By the time King Koopa's army marched into the city, all of Star Haven's inhabitants had turned incorporeal for their own safety. Not too far into the city, where the road split, a large raised courtyard sat atop a shallow pyramid of stairs.
Beyond the courtyard was a palace, the upper deck of which was lined with archers.
As the army came to the stair, a hundred arrows were set free on their deadly errand.
The sorceress lashed out with her staff and shouted "Gust!" A strong wind gust blew from behind the Koopa army misdirecting the arrows to random location over and beyond their targets.
On top of the courtyard, gathered the remaining Nebulus Guard, ready to lay down their lives to protect Queen and Rod. Standing before all of them at the edge of the stair were the seven Elders, the Guardians.
Queen Rosalina broke protocol and stepped up beside the Seven to address the invaders.
"Come no further, Bowser, King of the Koopa! You stand before the Seven Guardians of Worlds. You do not stand a chance."
"Do not bluff with me, Queen," rumbled Bowser. "I have seen much suffering in my world but never respite from any spirit. The fairy-tales have exaggerated your power and your self importance is embarrassing."
Bowser stepped onto the stairs.
"Attack!" Eldisar commanded the remaining three dozen soldiers. As one they flew down the stairs coming upon the Koopa king. With a single breath of fire, the entire force of attacking spirits were consumed. Many were incorporeal and so passed through the fire and Bowser himself. But others were not so fortunate.
The mass of spirits zipped around and through the Koopa King like disturbed bees in a tree, materializing and striking whenever possible. But neither spear nor sword could do anything but annoy spike shelled, dragon as he progressed up the stair.
The Queen and the Seven Elders retreated to the center of the courtyard to protect their sacred Star Rod.
As soon as Bowser reached the upper flat, the Nebulus Guard was called off the attack. It was pointless.
Rosalina stepped inside the force field protecting the Rod. The Elders stood in front of it with hands extended to unleash their power if it came to it.
"Show me your power!" Bowser demanded. He did not miss a beat, walking toward the protected Star Rod. He gave a fiery blast from his scaled snout. Having dematerialized, none of the Seven were hurt but their bluff was revealed. They stepped back behind the enchanted glass case.
Rosalina pointed the Star Rod at Bowser.
"The power of the Seven Suns are not with their spirits. They are here, to be wielded as one by one!" Rosalina was shouting. "One more step and I will unmake you!"
He took one more step and waited so that all could see the lack of power in the relic they all put their faith in.
Rosalina turned incorporeal in order to stop her nervous sweating. Bowser's fists clenched. The air sizzled and popped around him as if an energy was building and concentrating on this single spot.
Bowser slammed his fist into the glass-like force field. It shattered in a million directions, each shard glowing with blue colored magic. For a moment it seemed to rain blue luminescence in all directions around the Queen who held her arms over her face as if it would actually hurt her.
The Rod fell to the ground.
Bowser retrieved it. It was as tall as a man and masterfully crafted from an ivory colored substance. It was topped with a seven sided dark glass. Each of the seven corners were hidden behind tree shaped ivory. The seven trees branched out to form a canopy of branches with seven small colored crystal stars amidst them just like the Star Door. Within the dark glass shone seven tiny spheres of light - like little suns.
Bowser turned and addressed the city.
"Star Haven is now under the occupation of the Koopa."
"Never!" Matthias dared to shout. His head was reeling from what he just witnessed - or more from what he just failed to witness. His defiance was more an attempt to summon up hope than true conviction. "We will never submit! And you can't make us! You can't even touch us!" His voice creaked and betrayed his lack of faith.
"Kamela, the cards," ordered Bowser.
The sorceress withdrew seven magic cards and fanned them out before her. She hovered up and over the stairs to her king, displaying the cards to the Elders.
"Spirit cages! Nebula Burning!" Eldisar swore. "But how…."
It was all he could get out before Kamela tossed the cards. Each card absorbed one of the Star Spirit Elders into itself before falling to the ground. Kamela reached out her hand the cards returned to her.
A disgusting pride emanated from the amphibious king.
"Your Queen has proven herself powerless," he boasted, "and your elders are captive. For the sake of your elders, it would be best to submit to your new leadership. Your Queen will henceforth answer to General Glabb." The monster motioned to a Koopa who made his way up the stairs.
"Any sign of rebellion and an Elder will die. That is a promise."
xxxxx
"General? A word, if I may?"
Star Road had been cleaned out. The dead and wounded were cared for and now all those that had no reason to stay were walking back to Kamela's portal. One of General Iwata's samurai were whispering to him, careful that no one would overhear. The General nodded for him to speak.
"If the Stars commissioned us, why are we fighting them?"
Now the General looked around to see that he would not be heard.
"Do not be deceived. We are not fighting them. We are playing into their hands. Bowser is a fool. He knows nothing. The Stars can create and destroy galaxies. Bowser thinks he has won a victory over them. But be assured, this is all part of their plan. I do not pretend to understand what their will is. If they want us join Bowser in his folly, so be it. Let us not lose faith."
The samurai sighed and appeared to take his leader's advice, setting his face like flint to press through his own doubts.
xxxxx
Matthias watched with disbelief as he saw all the weapons of Star Haven taken through Kamela's portal along with the cards that imprisoned his Elders. Kamela had closed the portal and set up in its place a lampstand lit with a magic fire, perhaps to re-open the portal from the other side if needed.
It couldn't really end like this, could it? In one fell swoop, his world was turned upside down, his beliefs rocked to the core, his city conquered, and his heroes fallen from their pedestals.
Kamela was walking back to the Star Door. She was probably going to remove the Crystal Stars from the other side so that people in the Mushroom Kingdom couldn't use the door. He had heard that most of the Koopa did not get along with most of the Mushroom Kingdom.
No! He refused to believe it! Contrary to everything he witnessed, he would not except that it was over. Contrary to everything he was taught, he would not believe he was just a simple star incapable of doing what others couldn't.
The brown skinned teen grit his teeth, knowing that what he was about to could risk the lives of his elders.
He flew at his fastest speed over Star Road right toward Kamela. If only he could take her staff, he could turn things around.
She must have seen his reflection in her staff topper because she turned around before he could stop himself.
"Flesh conceals you!" she shouted.
Matthias was now flying through the air by the shear force of his momentum. He was going to crash into her. But no, she swung her staff with magically increased strength and bludgeoned him across the side of the head. This redirected his remaining momentum over the side of the bridge into the moonlit clouds and the miles of freefall.
He would have regained his spirit form if he could. Instead he just fell and let gravity take him. Star Road and the Islands of Star Haven grew smaller above him while blackness crowded the edges of his vision. It felt like a dream watching the encroaching blackness overtake his disappearing homeland. Suddenly the dreamlike state faded into a true dream. And total darkness.