Ninth Age: 27 Geline, Year 865,471
And so, it happened again. A new age is upon us, and there's nothing left in my power as a Sage to stop the progression.
I write this as a desperate plea. As a last-ditch effort to reverse evil's vise hold from our blessed planet before The Evil One takes over. If she succeeds in taking over, the world, as we now know it, will cease to exist.
I wish to pour out my thoughts and my heart on this subject, but time shows written history will go against my wishes. So, please come to my temple, and we will discuss the issue and potential solutions free from historical corruption. Let the Four Directional Stonekoopa of the north, east, south and west guide you.
I hope to see you soon, even if not in this realm.
Tenebris, Sage of the Cosmos
Return of the Four Sages
Book 1
Royal Flush
Summertime fell upon the Mushroom Kingdom, bringing longer and warmer days. While each land of the mystical continent faces devastating heat waves during the dog days, they all pale to Desert Land. From the humidity-influenced heat indices of tropical southern Desert Land to the baking dry heat of subtropical northern Desert Land, the perilous Sun plagued the Land with its angry rays, much to its denizens' annoyance.
Still, four determined journeyers sojourn through the rolling hills of the Koopahari, accompanied by a large ostro-pulled wagon. The piercing heat, dust devils and sudden haboobs fail to scare them away from their mission to uncover the many secrets of the familiar, yet strange Koopahari.
Professor Kolorado, a middle-aged koopa troopa, guided both the wagon and the expedition. Multiple years have passed since Mario's time in Koopa Village, but Kolorado's unquenchable lust for treasure and adventure remained. He never bothered to learn to battle until Mario found his father dead in Hooktail's Castle. Not wanting the same fate, Kolorado trained in multiple fighting styles such as mixed martial arts.
"According to Frankly, it should be... Around here? Are we at the right spot, Goombella?" Kolorado questioned the pink goomba next to him.
"We're close! Maybe a few miles off! Where else do the eyes of the Four Directional Stonekoopa cross? It's literally IMPOSSIBLE for it to be anywhere else!"
Like Kolorado, Goombella's a staunch adventurer, but the trait only transpired after she aided Mario in defeating the X-Nauts and the Shadow Queen in their world-takeover scheme. After those events, Goombella finished her Master's in Archaeology and is now a Ph.D. student in Archaeology and Ancient Studies. She spends her time adventuring with either Frankly or Kolorado, uncovering the many mysteries of Plit and its ancient civilians. Desert Land's no exception; her desire for knowledge and discovery trumped any air-conditioned study area.
"I hope you're right. Many mysteries of Desert Land and the Dry Dry Desert area will be answered by the Temple of Tenebris, once we find it," Kolorado stated. He turned his head to the back of the wagon, where two other figures sat, "Get the spades in easy reach, and get the guns ready in case animals or bandits threaten us."
One of the figures, a blue-shelled koopa troopa named Kooper, gave Kolorado a thumbs-up before reaching for a hunter's rifle and cocking it. Kooper aspired to be a world-famous archaeologist like his neighbor Kolorado, and since Mario's visit to Koopa Village, Kooper's been interning for Kolorado. He decided to get his Bachelor's in Ancient History and Archaeology at Koopa University, where Kolorado's research laboratory is based. After he graduated, he started traveling with Kolorado and Goombella on their expeditions, although he's not as experienced as the two.
The fourth figure, a dark-scaled, gray-shelled koopa, smirked at the rifle's cocking. He grabbed his camera and started filming Kooper. While the koopaling, Morton Koopa Junior, didn't delve into overall archaeology like the other three, he's the only one of the group who understood the ancient language of Desert Land, having picked up the ability after being interested specifically in ancient Desertlandian history. Morton never enjoyed his father's conquests; he'd rather focus on developing documentaries and news stories for his budding television network, TV Koopa. He figured that, somehow, this trip and its documentary would boost the TVK viewership.
"Now, don't do this at home," Kooper warned, staring at the camera as he further explained, "Every excavation project has the chance of being overrun by bandits. This is why we carry these weapons with us."
Morton nodded his head before filming more of the desolate desert landscape and acting as a narrating voice.
"And so, deep in this desert the archaeologists go, hoping for answers for questions they don't even have right now. So much history lies in the rolling sand dunes; they know that much," Morton voiced.
Back at the wagon's front, Goombella screamed as she exchanged glances between the map and the sands below.
"This is it! The gazes of the Four Directional Stonekoopa all line up right here! Let's set up camp and dig!"
The four unloaded a basic tent from the wagon and pitched it. They placed a large awning above the suspected site of the temple. They then grabbed their basic archaeological tools: spades, specimen brushes and a trowel, among others.
The two koopas dug beneath the awning, enjoying the cool shade the tarp provides, while Morton filmed them and Goombella validated the map. Only loose sand filled the site, with the every-now-and-then excitement when the archaeologists found a stray desert beetle.
Day turned to night, and the characters decided to throw in the towel for the first night. During this time, Morton filmed the leisurely activities the other three performed, such as telling ancient ghost stories and triple-checking the location. They dined on rice and beef jerky—the dry, hot environment prevented fresh meat—during their meal breaks.
Day 1 turned into Day 2, then Day 3 then Day 4. Each archaeologist dug for hours on end, but none found anything ancient or remotely interesting. By the time Day 5 passed, a large hole beneath the awning contrasted flat surface just outside the awning's boundaries. Piles of sand excavated from the site blended in with the several other dunes. The group's unsure whether this site even contained a temple, but they're also determined the area's correct. That night, they promised each other they'd only dig for one more day before giving up. They already used up a third of their stock of water; they cannot afford to stay longer than a few days.
Day 6 first started with pessimism over the mission as a whole, with the morning producing nothing. But the attitude changed during Morton's digging shift when he pierced a solid substance. He dug around the solid surface and found the surrounding area to be diggable sand.
"Guys! I found something!" Morton gasped, unearthing the object—a part of a brick wall. The others dashed towards the excavation site and gathered around the object, amazed at how well-preserved the sandstone brick is.
"Oh wow! We found the Temple of Tenebris! This is seriously an archaeologist's life-long dream!" Goombella jumped up and down.
"Yeah!" Kooper joined the excitement, also eager to excavate more of the site.
"Wow. These bricks are something else," Kolorado mused. He grabbed a trowel and a specimen brush, "This isn't material used during the beginning of the Twelfth Age or even the Eleventh Age. We're dealing with something truly ancient here. This could very well be the Temple of Tenebris, old chaps. I'll need to investigate these bricks."
"When was it built?" Morton questioned as he filmed Kolorado.
"The Temple of Tenebris was rumoured to have been desecrated around the beginning of the Dark Ages. The Eleventh Age is only one leg of the Dark Ages; the other being the Tenth Age, which started around 145 thousand years ago. So, this temple right here? It must've been built during the preceding Ninth Age. That's how old it is."
"Neat," Morton nodded, "Let's continue!"
As the excavation continued, only remnants of the brick wall remained, dampening the team's excitement. No treasure of any sort appeared, contrary to lore. Still determined, Kooper and Kolorado continued digging, while Goombella and Morton discussed the current events for the documentary.
"I hope we find something…" Goombella voiced to the camera, "Ancient lore states that the Temple of Tenebris contained some of the most important treasure the world will ever know."
Morton considered the information before he offered an idea.
"Maybe it was stolen by bandits? Ancient armies?"
"This land doesn't look like it was disturbed for thousands of years, so no, I don't think so," Goombella disagreed, "But maybe this treasure is different. Maybe it's not gold. Maybe it's knowledge of some sort that we don't know. After all, the Ninth Age was all rad; we can seriously learn from them."
"True," Morton stated before asking another question, "To inform those who are curious: what was the Temple of Tenebris, exactly?"
Goombella took off her archaeologists' cap and pushed her blonde hair back with one of her small hands, "The Temple of Tenebris was for an ancient figure, Tenebris. We theorize that Tenebris was a Koopan mage of some kind. Lore states that he oversaw the Cosmos. From the lining up of planets to the monitoring of stars, that was Tenebris' field. Because astronomy was vital to schedule-keeping in ancient cultures, Tenebris was regarded as a demigod. Thus, the temple was built for him in the same prosperous city he ruled. If we find this temple and any artifacts within it, we can solidify this theory. I'm excited about this, honestly! It's the big break, finally!"
"That's cool," Morton commented, planning not to add his less formal comment into the documentary. Being a fan of Desertlandian history, Morton's also excited to witness the solidifying of Desertlandian tales and folk stories. As he pondered more questions to ask Goombella, jubilant calls erupted from Kolorado and Kooper.
"Guys! Come here! We found something!" Kooper cried.
Morton and Goombella rushed towards the excavation site and gasped at the newfound object: a granite chest rested, adjacent to the temple's wall. Shallow scratches covered the granite from the sand, but the sturdy chest showed no other damage. Considering the chest laid undisturbed for millennia, the chest's mint condition impressed the characters.
"This could be the treasure!" Goombella screamed. She dashed onto the site and thrusted the chest open. The chest contained no gold nor precious metals, but a bundle of tatty ancient scrolls and a white-rodded wand with an onyx tip. Being an archaeologist and loving new information, Goombella beamed as old papyrus's staleness filled the air. She unrolled the scroll bundle, revealing four ancient manuscripts. One manuscript contained only strange, rune-like scribblings, while the other three had eight stars drawn on them.
Unable to understand the language nor the symbolism, Kolorado and Kooper gave the manuscripts a puzzled expression. Morton, meanwhile, found fascination with one of the star-drawn manuscripts and the wand. He took both and walked towards the wagon, wanting to study the finds more.
"Get the other scrolls and meet me at the wagon. We'll investigate these."
The three others followed Morton's lead, each holding onto a mysterious manuscript. As they arrived at the wagon, they each laid their manuscripts flat on the wagon's back, preparing them for Morton to transcribe and translate them.
"This civilization used magic like ours did. We can confirm that part of your theory, Goombella," Morton commented, holding up the wand, "This wand looks just like ours do, and it probably has the same power, if not more. This could be THE Wand of Tenebris. I need to investigate this wand if you three don't mind; as a Koopa, it's easier for me to do so. It's crazy how Koopan traditions kept this long."
Morton moved onto the manuscript he picked up. He studied the ancient text written above the eight stars and nodded at the writing.
"This one says, 'The Elder Gods'," Morton translated before giving the others a puzzled look, "Wait. The same Elder Gods that every other ancient civilization obsessed over?"
"I think so," Kolorado nodded, "The ancient civilizations believed there were seven stars called the Elder Gods or the Elder Stars. The Elder Stars aren't the Star Spirits; the Star Spirits are lesser gods created from them. I don't know why eight are drawn considering there are seven."
Morton attempted to soothe out the crinkles in the manuscript, hoping to find more hints about what this thing portrays. He noticed the paper crinkles in eight stubborn areas, each area housing a star. These weren't ordinary bulges; he knew from other related documents he found within Desert Land.
"There's more to this document than the drawing," Morton remarked, "Many manuscripts in Desert Land have these bulges. Desert Land used to be a kingdom based on magic. I think these bulges might not be simple crinkles, but indicators of a portal."
Goombella and Kolorado exchanged fascinated looks. Knowing those two and their frequent journeys to Desert Land, they no doubt have documents containing a portal if the assessment's true.
"What better way to preserve history than have us witness it ourselves?" Kooper questioned, "That's awesome!"
Morton stared at the wand. Its onyx tip showed reactionary signs as the koopaling hovered it closer to the manuscript. Yep, definitely magic; this must be a portal. Morton touched the manuscript with the wand's tip, resulting in a slew of blue photons shooting from the manuscript.
"W-what happened?" Kooper stuttered, at a loss for describing the mystical process.
"I... I don't know," Goombella shrugged, "It could be... Like, a magical document, like how the Magical Map was."
"It appears that way- ACK!" Kolorado attempted to clarify before the blue light intensified and engulfed the quartet. About half a minute later, the light died down, but the four are now gone; only Morton's still-rolling camera remained.
G'day, and welcome to my old idea, yet new series, Return of the Four Sages!
I must admit, I have numerous inspirations for this story, both when I had this idea as a sequel to Shards of Love (back in the mid-2000's) and as I actually type it up now (and no, this is NOT a sequel of Shards of Love; it's not even based in the same canon universe I use). Here are a list of such inspirations:
Amongst the biggest ones were my personal political studies of Communism, Capitalism, Socialism, Anarchism, Communalism and Distributism, and the worst case scenarios of all these ideologies. I do not endorse any specific socioeconomic belief and I won't urge such beliefs in this story, but I feel like these ideas may be implemented into an isolated/resettled society to try to form a utopia found within a stereotypical 22nd-century society.
Other post-apocalyptic dystopias, such as 1984, Brave New World, Fahrenheit 451 and Divergent, offer me different viewpoints of when these perfect societies go downhill. You'll see MANY references to these stories in here, albeit in a unique, Mario-esque way.
Unlike many of these stories, I also wanted to include the PROGRESSION from a seemingly-normal setting to one where the dystopian matter begins to kick in, and I wanted to make it sound more logical and clean (although possibly not realistic in Earth terms). I couldn't have done this without the likes of apocalypse-themed websites such as PA Forum, Two Journeys, Cosy Catastrophe, multiple stories on Ashtales and other apocalypse conspiracy websites I found concerning weather, solar flares, earth changes, Sun novas, and pole switches, among others.
Another major part of the series: terraforming, societal resettlements, and the advancements of such societies, was inspired by several novels and short stories, such as Greg Bear's The Forge of God, J.T. McIntosh's One in Three Hundred, and many of Ray Bradbury's The Martian Chronicles short stories, among several others. I also used several terraforming simulations to best guide me through Book 1, Book 3 and especially Book 4.
Other important inspirations in this series include references to Sages and lore. Much of the concept of the Sages come from Avatar: the Last Airbender (especially towards the end of Book 1 and pretty much all of Books 2 and 3), Mario and Luigi: Seven Sages (this game is THE reason why I reference Sages rather than anything else, and this provides the basis of Sage actions in Book 2. M&L:SS is a fanmade RPG made in 2009; it's great considering it's unofficial), Paper Mario (especially N64, GCN and Wii versions), other M&L games such as Bowser's Inside Story, and Super Mario RPG: Legend of the Seven Stars. Many, many other inspirations exist, especially when I'm too passive to look for them, but when they pop up, I'll try to give credit.
Anyway, thank you for reading! Reviews are appreciated.