prologue-part 1
Ahem, today...
I'll tell you the story of the great heroes...
Legends tell of mysterious heroes that resided in the hallowed halls of a secret sanctum.
These legendary heroes were able to be summoned at any time to serve and protect the citizens of our fair kingdom.
A pillar of defense to the many vulnerable treasures that the Mushroom Kingdom has and an offense to the many enemies that would try to steal them.
There was a hero, bold and brave, who would courageously stand before any opponent and strike him down with miraculous displays of his fiery power.
And there was a hero, wise and mighty, who would seek new knowledge to create and share the greatest of inventions, crafted with lightning accuracy.
Time and time again, all evil and crime was a mere figment of a word-smith's imagination...until the Koopas came and brutally defeated the heroes who had stood as such amazing forces of justice.
As quickly as they came, the Koopas left and the Kingdom was left defenseless...
A fragile peace began and lingered for the next hundred years.
The end of this century of silent peace is where our story begins...
Not a single sound was being made around Mushroom Castle. The air was still, the sounds of nature missing in an almost unnatural, but pleasing way. The Minister stepped out into the dark balcony and smiled in his natural, calming way.
He liked being alone, despite the charade of friendliness and social prowess he used in the presence of others. He loved everything about night: the gentle quietness, the glimmering stars, the subtle relaxing spell that darkness put the Kingdom under a magic bliss.
He took a whiff of the air in the kingdom he ruled and found it as fresh and pleasing as ever. Taking a glance down, he saw that the silent stream was flowing down through the cracks between rocks to flow into a larger river still far off. Yes, he would rule this kingdom and try desperately not to let it go.
Not for the riches, the power, the prosperity he used to raise and care for his family, but instead for the intense attraction hie had to self-sacrificing service. He smiled again and smelled the familiar burning sound that he knew so well from the many times his wife had tried to cook.
'Haha! What a great lady! She's cooking breakfast at three!", he thought before realizing his wife was never up that early. Taking a wary look downwards to the ground, the Minister had a shock when he saw a group of unruly Toads carrying pitchforks and other farming utensils shuffle quietly out of the main hall, while a few hummed softly with torches.
The Minister took a glance behind him, back into the lighted confines of his private suite. His broad smile quickly turned into a frown as he saw the red blaze slowly eke its way up the hall. He raced forward into the broad hallway and up towards the bedroom of his daughter. Only slightly slowing to enter the room, the Minister heard a shriek of pain and a flustered Toad came bolting into the doorway.
"Minister Toadly! The castle is ablaze with some weird fire! We've tried putting it out and we've called the Toad Town Fire Department! I need to escort your daughter to safety. Follow me to the makeshift rescue center if you want to live!", the Toad yelled before grasping the young lady currently in the arms of Minster Toadly and exiting before Toadly could get a word in edgewise.
"WAIT! What about my wife?", Toadly yelled into the hallway before he got pushed in the other direction by a throng of panicking Toads. He attempted to direct them the other way, but in fear they completely misheard him and pushed forward, a stronger force than ever. They went down several halls trying to open doors that could lead to freedom, but they lost their gusto as no doors granted salvation and the temperature continued to rise.
As for Minister Toadly, he was dressed in thick heavy pajamas, and found the entire experience to be incredibly uncomfortable. He stumbled through the crowd and found himself in large circular room, being slowly surrounded by fire. Ironically, he thought of how he thought he could protect his family from death and doom and here he was the one needing protecting.
Steeling his nerves, he rushed forward into a pocket in the ring fire that was getting ever smaller...and smaller... and then...
"Alright children, that's enough of that story, eh? Let's pick it up tomorrow, alright?,"said the wizened old toad who Mushroom Capital children knew only as 'The Narrator'. Despite the cries of protest that rose from the crowd of children that found themselves flocking to the Narrator each week to hear another story of the Kingdom's past, he smiled, waved them off and stepped back off into the shadows.
As the crowd gently dispersed, the two famous brothers Mario and Luigi stepped forward. They had been listening to Narrator's story as well and Mario was deep in thought. Luigi had dozed off slightly, but he was ready for some action that didn't involve a boring story.
"Hey, Mario! Mario...MARIO!", Luigi screamed, shaking Mario out of his deep internal monologue. "What did you think of the Narrator's story? Pretty cool, huh? Sound like us kinda. You have fire, I have lightning. You're a good fighter, I'm a good inventor. Can you imagine meeting those guys? That would be awesome, bro."
Mario agreed, and that is when his adventure began.