Sitting around a warm, comforting fire across from the newly acquainted Moss, Mario and Luigi patiently awaited the wisdom that the ancient Sage had offered to share. The tremendous fall courtesy of Ruin had left the brothers expectedly shaken and confused, neither knowing what their next step should be. Comforted only by the modest campfire and the words of the kind of Sage the heroic brothers sat in silence side by side gazing into the dancing orange flames before them.

Luigi looked around the house casually from where he sat. The awkward silence was beginning irritate him, so he decided to break the tension. "Moss, how did you know where to find us? This jungle is pretty big."

Moss was standing behind a table carved from the wood of the great tree's stump. Reaching into the sleeve of his tunic he retrieved Mario's fallen red cap. "I had a hunch that I'd have visitors today."

Mario caught his cap as Moss tossed it over to him and stared at the 'M' symbol emblazoned on his iconic hat. The letters 'M' and 'L' had become synonymous as symbols of hope and heroics through the Mushroom Kingdom. But know Mario felt as though he were staring at a lie. "We're some heroes, Luigi. We blew it big time!"

"Do not fret, young heroes." Moss softly spoke as he meticulously thumbed through the pages of a weather worn leather tome. "You have done nothing wrong. The events that have played forth, and those that have yet to arise, had been set in motion eons ago."

This revelation caught Luigi's full attention. "What do you mean? The Princess was always going to get..." He trailed off momentarily and looked over to Mario sympathetically. "The Princess was going to find the mirror no matter what?"

"Precisely." Moss nodded as he stopped on a particular page in the book laid out before him. "You see, the mirror that has been uncovered is in actuality a prison."

"Prison." Mario repeated quietly as the thought of Peach being trapped behind the glass flashed in front of his eyes. "She's imprisoned..."

Luigi put his hand on Mario's shoulder lightly but turned his attention back to Moss. "The mirror is a prison. And Ruin was the prisoner."

Moss nodded as he strolled over to the fire and used a poker to stoke the burning logs.

"Why was Ruin imprisoned?" Luigi tightened his grip on Mario's shoulder, knowing that with each question asked his brother felt all the more lost. "We've seen her powers already, we know she's strong. But what was her crime?"

Bowing his head Moss stood opposite Mario and Luigi, the flames creating an eerie aura around his face and casting a looming black shadow against the wall. "Her crime was existing."

Mario arched an eyebrow at the unusual declaration. "How is that a crime?"

"Her existence," Moss continued the story in a lower, dreary voice. "birthed Darkness across the land." Staring in the fire Moss told the ancient tale to the questing brothers. "Millennia ago; in a time before power and strife shaped the world in which we live, the eight continents of the Mushroom Kingdom were forged from earth and fire. The earliest ancestors of the Mushroom Kingdom explored the continents, establishing civilizations that coexisted peacefully." Stoking the fire a puff of gray smoke swirled into the air overhead like a hanging fog. "As the civilizations grew and prospered the denizens began to bicker about which civilization was superior, for it was believed that the superior civilization was to be the one to rule over the others."

Luigi was completely entranced by the tale while Mario was uncharacteristically frightened.

"It wasn't long before the civilizations began forming armies and allies. The Toads and Humans forged a strong alliance while the Koopas and the Goombas banded together as one. The latter alliance outnumbered the former ten to one which swayed the choices of the other civilizations. The Doogans, Hammer Brothers, Lakitus, Shy Guys and the rest of the civilizations aligned with the Koopas and Goombas creating what seemed to be an unstoppable force."

Mario swallowed nervously knowing that Ruin's origin was about to be revealed, and with this revelation Peach's fate could be sealed.

"The Great War was fought across the eight continents, many citizens; both innocent and guilty lost their lives during the conflict. The Humans suffered the greatest loss in numbers. Only a dozen or so Humans managed to survive the onslaught. The Toads worked tirelessly with their allies in an attempt to shift the balance or power and to save as many of the Humans as possible but it was for naught. That is until one Human, who had lost her family and closest friends, dared to rise against the odds."

"Ruin..." Mario nearly spat the name with a sickening bitterness as an intense anger boiled up inside of him, pushing aside the fear.

Moss turned his back to the fire as he stared at the book still on display resting on the small table. "It was Ruin who chose to use the power of Darkness to destroy the Koopa army. Despite the numerous, adamant protests of her allies Ruin refused to listen to reason. Tapping into the untouched Dark energy that flowed through the air, a power that even the most skilled Magikoopas refused to tamper with, Ruin allowed herself to become an all consuming shadow of her former self. The young Human warrior had become a Dark Sorceress."

Luigi glanced at Mario fearfully as he muttered the words that Princess Peach had translated. "Dark Rumination."

Moss finished the story. "Ruin wiped out a vast majority of the Koopa army, leaving only a realm of raw Darkness that swept over and corrupted the eighth continent into the wasteland that is today." Taking the book in his hands Moss turned back to the brothers and held the exposed pages out for the duo to view the ancient drawing of the same mirror that had taken Peach. "Fearing that Ruin's lust for power would not end, despite the war finally being won, the Toads had sought help from the Magikoopas. Agreeing that Ruin was more of a threat than any one army could ever be the wise Magikoopas combined their magic with the natural resources provided to them by the Toads and Humans, creating the artifact known as 'Dark Rumination'."

"The mirror," Mario realized with a steady uneasiness aching in the pit of his stomach. "was used to trap Ruin. 'Rumination' is another word for reflection. They used Ruin's reflection, her inner darkness, against her."

"Inner darkness..." Luigi shuddered outwardly as he repeated his brother.

Moss closed the book and placed it back on the table. "However, even the combined powers of the Magikoopas, Toads and Humans was not enough contain Ruin's unbridled power. To ensure that Ruin could never escape a spell was cast over the mirror."

"What kind of spell?" Luigi asked curiously. "And why was the mirror hidden in the tower?"

Moss smiled a little as the determination of the brothers revitalized his own optimism. "The Magikoopas cast a spell that would allow the mirror to remain sealed until a being of pure Light of gazed into the glass."

"Peach." Mario's heart was aching as violently as his stomach. "She... Her Light..."

Moss bowed his head sympathetically. "I'm afraid so. The mirror was hidden away in a massive trunk carved from the very wood of this great tree. The Toads agreed to keep the mirror hidden away for as long as their reign of power resonated throughout the world. The responsibility of the artifact was given to the first human to found Toad Town and the Royal Castle that rested in the heart of the modest village. To ensure that it remained undiscovered the King's royal Sorcerer constructed a great ivory tower behind the Castle, nestled deep in the Royal Garden, and locked the trunk away in the tower's dungeon."

Luigi was floored by this revelation. "And it was simply forgotten about? How many other ancient artifacts have been forgotten by history?!"

Mario slammed his fist hard onto the dirt floor and glared into the orange flames. "Why wasn't Peach made aware of the dangers of the mirror? How could this happen?"

Luigi's hand had never left Mario's shoulder. Tightening his grip he did his best to ease Mario's tension. "Easy bro, we'll save her!"

Moss walked over to the far wall hidden in shadows and pulled a piece of bark away, revealing a hidden compartment. "The story of the mirror had been passed on from generation to generation. And with each passing the story changed until it was believed to be nothing more than a legend, then a fairy tale and now a forgotten myth." Pulling a leather pouch from the compartment Moss hand the item to Mario. "Use this."

"For what?" Mario asked as he hesitantly took the offered item. "What are we supposed to do?"

"The mirror," Moss inquired coyly. "was broken by Ruin, was it not?"

"Yeah...?"

"But it did not shatter."

"No."

"It was divided."

"Divided?"

"Into Seven Glass Shards." Moss pointed to the worn pouch resting in Mario's hands. "Retrieve the shards of the mirror, return the shards to the mirror's frame and the mirror will be restored."

"And Peach will be freed?!" Mario asked excitedly as he scrambled to his feet, pulling his shoulder loose from Luigi's hand. "Where are the shards? How do we find them?"

Luigi smirked a little as he saw his brother's fiery spirit reignite. 'Finally! There's the Mario I know!' He thought to himself proudly. 'I knew he'd pull himself together.'

"Patience my young friend, patience." Moss soothed as he pointed to the pouch grasped between Mario's strong hands. "Look inside."

Obediently Mario flipped open the large flap on the side of the pouch and gasped at the glimmering item tucked away inside. "What the...?" Pulling out the item he found he was holding the first of the Seven Shards. "How did...? I don't understand, how'd you find this and do it so quickly?"

"We Sages," Moss explained calmly. "have been keeping watch over the eight continents since the Great War had ended. With our watch comes great wisdom and magic. The Seven Glass Shards were enshrouded with Dark magic upon being broken and separated. Like a magnet the Shards will be naturally drawn to great sources of magic. Find the rest of the Sages and you will find the remaining Glass Shards."

Replacing his iconic red cap upon his head Mario pulled the hat down tightly over his hair and nodded respectfully to the wise Sage with gratitude. "Thank you for your help. We won't fail."

Luigi quickly rose to his feet in singly, graceful motion and stood proudly beside his brother. "Where do we go first?"

Moss walked over to the door of his house and opened it wide. Pointing through the drooping vines to the neighboring mountain range he gave the Mario Brothers the guidance they so desperately needed. "Head West to the Black Mountains. By reaching the peak of the darkest mountain you will encounter the next Sage. He will surely give you the shard you need. Tread carefully."

Stepping outside of the house Mario tightened the strap of the pouch as he slung it over his shoulder. "Right. Ready Luigi?"

"Ready!" Luigi followed his brother as he pulled down his own green cap tightly and gave Mario a reassuring grin. "Lead the way, bro."

"Then let's go!"

With the first of the Seven Glass Shards now safely in their possession the brothers continued on their journey with the green foliage of the Verdant Jungle at their backs. The Black Mountains awaited their arrival in the distance...

...to be continued...