Ninth Age: 5 Geline, Anno Nono
The Sun set, and a rex shivered as the rainforest's humid air gnawed at her bones. She hated the Rexian Rainforest—the weather was either too cold, too muggy, or too rainy. At least back home in the desert, she could start a fire, but the rainforest's wet wood made that impossible.
She reached a hut, squished among the trees. It was a modest bamboo structure built on stilts tall enough to avoid the major roots and the critters who inhabited them. She climbed the makeshift bamboo stairs and knocked on the hut's door.
"Coming!" a voice erupted. The rex stood patiently on the balcony, taking in the chilled beauty around her. Pulsing insects created ambience all around her, even drowning out rustling leaves from who-knows-what. She smiled—as much as she dislikes the climate, nature always has a way of clearing her thoughts.
The door squeaked open. She turned around and spotted the staring eyes of another rex. The other rex's eyes softened, and he pulled the door open. The male stood a head's length above the female, and two half-meter horns protrude from his forehead.
"Regina! It's been ages!" he greeted.
"It has, hasn't it, Solum?" Regina giggled, "The best thing about that statement is it can be taken literally now."
"Hmm?" Solum tilted his head.
"The Eighth Age is no more. It's dead and gone. Over and out," Regina replied, "The Star Spirits no longer have power over us. We've ushered in Anno Nono: the Ninth Age."
"But…" Regina knew Solum was cautiously optimistic about the news, "Wouldn't this cause a power vacuum? Will the other gods come and battle each other like they did in the Seventh?"
Regina shook her head, "Me and my six friends took care of that issue. The Star Spirits used two wands to rule over the universe. The first one was the Star Rod, which granted wishes to all those loyal to them and their cause. The other is a wand of immense power—power we've never seen before, even during the Seventh Age's God Wars. According to my mystical guide, Karmen, it's called the Celestial Wand."
"Okay… And what powers did it have?"
"Every power used to create the universe. It controlled the Cosmic energy allowing the universe's mechanisms to operate, the Elemental energy giving matter its physical form, the Light energy to guide everything into an optimal state, and the Spirit energy allowing all life to exist. Legend states that the Elder Stars used the Celestial Wand to create our planet, and it's even possible they were created by the Wand."
"So," Solum rubbed his chin, "If I'm getting this right… You guys found the two wands. Do you have them then? Or what happened?"
"I cannot tell you the full details due to possible misuse of some exiled god or their emissaries. I and my six friends kept that covenant with the universe," Regina said, "But long story short: we found powers capable of splitting the Celestial Wand into its four components: the Wand of Light, the Wand of the Spirit, the Wand of the Cosmos, and the Wand of the Elements. We left the Star Rod alone for two reasons: it's powerless without at least one aspect of the Celestial Wand, and even if it did have powers, getting things in life solely through wishes is an absurd abuse of the universe's magic. Lastly, we want a community independent from the Gods. Depending on granted wishes isn't independence—them working for their wants and their needs are. Going with the flow of the universe is perfection, not the bile the Star Spirits forced on everyone."
"I agree," Solum nodded, "That's great news! But what prevents mortals from seizing control using this power?"
"One major thing is the wands control the wand-holders, not the other way around," Regina answered, "Well, not literally like a puppet, but the wand-holder can sense when any imbalance occurs, including by them. Its nagging will be too vexing to ignore. It will hammer their brain until that imbalance is fixed. This makes the wands self-regulatory."
"Well, that's good."
"Oh. Also, if the Four Wands ever cause strife or imbalance, then only the magic of the Seven Mystics can reel it in," Regina added, "I am a Mystic. Even when I fall into an eternal slumber, that authority will still be present somewhere down my bloodline. The same is true for the six other Mystics. The authority of the Mystics will never die."
Solum smiled, "I'm happy to hear, but I reckon there's another reason you came here?" He added, "You could've just written a letter for the carrier pigeons."
"Yes..." Regina breathed in, "You've been a tremendous help to me. I couldn't have known everything I do now without either you or Karmen. And… I want to pay it back," she pulled out a ruby-tipped wand, "Solum, I want you to be the first Sage of the Elements."
Solum stared wide-eyed at the wand before he turned to Regina, "Pardon? Am I qualified? What does this entail?"
"There's no one in this universe more qualified than you," the female rex stated, "You live out here, dependent on nature. You know the climate patterns and the land, and you use that to survive. You understand how nature works, which is a huge step in the right direction towards being its sage. The sage brings balance to this wonderful, delicate process."
"Well… Okay."
"I'm giving you a fair warning, though," she continued, "If you abuse your power… Well, just don't."
"Power's the last thing I wanted. That's why I don't live around anyone," Solum admitted, "But if I need to do this to keep the Gods away, then so be it."
Regina grinned at the acceptance. She laid the wand over both hands and offered it to Solum, who grasped it. A green aura surrounded Solum, and the winds outside slammed against the hut until the weak bamboo door gave way. Countless spirits of multiple species filled the hut, each yearning for the wand Solum held.
"Wow. I feel the power already," Solum remarked, "And what are these ghosts?"
"You are the first Sage of the Elements," Regina announced, "I'm assuming the spirits are the future Sages of the Elements, following your lead and seeking your advice."
She smiled as she eyed each one. Rex, koopa, yoshi, birdo—every kind. But she paid special attention to a specific koopa in the back, bearing a green face and a blue Mohawk.
"And he'll be the Sage during the time our civilization needs the Four Sages the most."
-x-
"Urrrrghhh…"
Larry opened his eyes. He's stomach-down on the ground, unable to move any muscle in his body save for his eyes. His left hand grasped onto the Wand of the Elements—he couldn't feel it, but he assumed the wand was in a vise grip. Was he dead? Was he in a coma? Such thoughts would've caused Larry to shiver, if he could move.
Fear welled up in him as he noticed his surroundings: only smoke permeated around him, and a large fire crackled through the thick cloud. He noticed his sense of touch return when the inferno's intensity gnawed at his face. Now panicking, he tried standing up, but his legs wouldn't cooperate.
"Sage Lawrence… Calm down," Larry heard a voice state. Confused, he looked around, despite his limited ability.
"W-who are you? Show yourself!" the koopaling tried to threaten the unknown source—as much as a paralyzed koopa could.
"I am. Now please calm down, Sage Lawrence," the voice repeated. Larry traced the voice's source to be the ruby-tipped wand in his hand. Larry stared at the wand, intrigued.
"O…Kay… Uhh, Wand, why can't I move?"
"You don't remember, Sage Lawrence?" Larry shook his head, "You're in Madoso Complex, on the Magikoopa Tower's 10th floor. Kamek found you up here then knocked you out while setting the entire floor ablaze. Due to the loss of structural integrity, Floors 11 through 14 collapsed on you due to the fire, which may have... Uhh, 'killed' you, along with anoxia."
Larry stared at the wand in shock before a sudden anger consumed him. Kamek! Kamek tried to kill him! Even through the bout, his body was too weak to stand upright, and Larry was left to only utter curses at his former grandfather-like figure.
"Don't fret, Sage Lawrence," the wand repeated, "His involvement in this conspiracy isn't quite clear."
"HOW? HOW IS IT UNCLEAR?!" the enraged koopaling shouted.
"Please calm down," the wand repeated. Larry heeded the command and inhaled a deep breath, "Kammy's behind all this, not Kamek. Her plan was to have you all build a separate colony, packed with royals, all the star children, and all potential Sages. She then was planning on trapping you guys on this planet while she took over Plit."
"So… You mean…" Larry started, but was interrupted by the wand.
"Yes. This colony, this Complex, was a scam. Nothing but a trap to lure the Elites to Madoso all while the Magikoopas and the so-called 'Reparation' League take over Plit."
"I figured it was a scam. I was just too focused on finding this Wand to reverse engineer the MIDST or hack its source files," Larry nodded, "Where does Kamek play in all this? After all, he was a leader and possibly the most important figure of Council."
"Kamek knew all along," the wand continued, "And that's why he sent everyone back to Plit via a fire."
"Wow," Larry did a silent prayer of gratitude to Kamek before he cut it short, "Wait a minute! Why did he attack me then?!"
"He knew you'd be no exception. You'd flee back to Plit. Back into danger. Instead, Kamek fired a spell on you to make you unconscious, then started the floor on fire."
"At the risk of my life," Larry sighed.
"Kamek knew you are the Sage of the Elements, thus he knew the Sage wouldn't be killed by his own magic. He knew you'd prevent the fire from reaching you, all while you would breathe in clean air in contrast to the produced smoke," the wand explained, "Remember. Kamek's a mighty magician; he may be the strongest non-sage magician living right now. He knows this stuff."
"Wow."
"Kamek's loyal to your family, Sage Lawrence. Even the power of the Wand of Light couldn't change such facts. He knows that you, the Sage of the Elements, are able to overpower the Wand of Light and be immune to the Wand of the Spirit. You're the only one who can stop the imbalance."
Larry cooled down after the explanation, albeit metaphorically. The fire still approached him, threatening to scorch his body, "Where there's smoke, there's fire..."
"Remember, Larry… You're the Sage of the Elements. You have dominion over it. You can control the danger. You can make the best out of the worst," the wand, sensing Larry's concern for the fire, reminded, "Remember that dream you had before you woke up."
"Wait…" Larry replied, "Who are you?"
"I'm the last Sage of the Elements, Pyrydor," the wand introduced, "You have been chosen by us Elemental Sages of yore to become one of us."
"So, that Solum guy actually existed?"
The wand pulsed in affirmation, "Yep. He was the first Sage of the Elements, assigned by Mystic Regina as the Ninth Age reigned in. He went, and many others came and went, before I became the last Sage. Until you, of course."
"Hang on to that thought," Larry did his best to aim the wand at the fire, but to no avail. Through his weakness, Larry focused all his energy into the wand. The smoke seeped into the wand, and the fire's flames followed. Larry felt the wand heat up—the wand even felt uncomfortable, but he's unable to let go of it. As the wand absorbed the plasma, Larry found more mobility in his arms, then his torso, and finally his legs.
"I'd be careful about getting up too-" Pyrydor warned before Larry stood up, "-quick…"
"I'm good. That fire must've been the lifeforce I needed," Larry moved away from the collapsed portion of Floor 10. Debris filled the previously-empty carport-like area, whether rubble from the collapsed walls or burnt, unidentified piles. He crinkled his nose at the still-airborne dust, "How long have I been here?"
"The fire started about a month ago," Pyrydor answered, "The fire's still burning because the oxygen level was too low for everything to burn at once."
"Hmm… So the air recyclers shorted then. Not surprising, as the systems could've easily been hacked, let alone shorted," Larry pondered. He turned his eyes to the doorframe to the elevators, which were shockingly operationable. Then again, from his snooping inside the HQ technologies' operating systems, he knew everything is powered by the outside radiation and Lemmy's solar panels, "Let me survey the area."
"If you insist."
Larry headed to the stairs and descended them. As he approached the eighth floor, he froze as he heard a feminine voice's jumbled messages. It surrounded him, but he couldn't find the source anywhere he looked.
'Larry,' the voice now called his name, 'Larry!'
He widened his eyes as he realized the voice. Rosalina. How is she in his head?
'I'm a Sage... Sort of. I'm actually an oracle who currently has sage-like powers,' Rosalina replied, 'So you're not alone.'
Larry stared at his wand, confused at the latest revelation. An oracle? What's her role in all this?
'We'll talk about how I'm an Oracle after we're done straightening out the situation among your siblings. Speaking of, both Junior and Kammy are in a never-ending quest for power."
"Hmm? Tell me more," Larry started to run down the stairs.
'We both know about the conspiracy,' Rosalina answered, 'But now Junior does, and he's fuming that he was left unaware about it. That is causing him to destroy the world as much as Kammy, and both are in haste to build an empire.'
"And how can we stop that?" Larry reached the fifth floor, but he didn't slow his pace down.
'A third party to the conflict rests in Desert Land, hosted by Lemmy and Toadette. Both empires have their eyes on them, but neither empire wants to face the other's wrath if they overtake Desert Land.'
"So," Larry pieced the information together, "I need to go to Desert Land then. But how can I get there if I can't teleport?"
'That's where the bottleneck comes. The warp pipes sprouted by Morton's magic disappeared since he joined Kammy's side. I would help you with teleportation, but the current wand-holders are creating quite a mess with Plit's magical fields. I don't think it's possible to exercise any magic down there other than what the wand-holders decide.'
"What the wand-holders want?" Larry asked, "How aren't they following the Wands' wants? Aren't we controlled by the Wands?"
'That, I don't know,' Rosalina admitted, 'But it could be because of an immortality spell.'
Larry sighed, "I'll get back to you. I need to think, and survey the rest of the HQ to see if anything here can help me."
'Very well, Larry. Please get ahold of me when you are ready.'
Larry felt the magic wane from his mind. The entire situation didn't add up to him. Why would Kammy do this? What's her reasoning? Likewise, what's Junior's? Lemmy's?
"Man, Pyrydor... What should I even do?"
The wand pulsed, "The possible plans escape my mind at the moment. Do you have the manuscripts still? You can always contact the Star Spirits using that."
Larry stared at his Wand, confused. To him, the manuscripts were only for being confirmed as a sage. They didn't offer any other place to go.
"What do you mean? The manuscripts take me to you or to Dark Land."
The Wand of the Elements pulsed again, but in annoyance.
"No. The manuscripts only lead you to the path of becoming a confirmed sage. Once you ARE the Sage, the manuscripts take you to whom they're intended to be for."
"And what about my dream? They specifically overthrew the Star Spirits—why should a Sage seek their advice?"
"Because the Star Spirits are better than the conundrum we're currently in," Pyrydor stated matter-of-factly.
"Mmm. Okay… Good point," Larry resigned, "First, let me see what's left of this place. Plus… I'm kind of starving."
"... I suppose you still are a mortal."
Larry exited the stairway at Floor 2, and stared at the Magikoopa Tower's empty grocery stores. He didn't see anything salvageable - and whatever was left was too rotten or moldy to eat. He instead walked to the Piranha Plant Tower, but he was too preoccupied in planning how to bring peace back to Plit that he didn't notice a large vine in the Tower until he tripped over it.
He broke from his thoughts, just as his hands broke his fall. Vines covered the floor, leaving enough space only for Larry to tiptoe through. The Piranha Plant Tower stood out compared to the eight abandoned towers: piranha plants and other photosynthesizers flourished. They inhabited the compost bins and fertilizer bags, and they expressed no care about the HQ's inhospitality. Chattering filled the air as piranha plants moved around, whether with their vines or makeshift feet.
"Wow," Larry remarked, "What is this?"
The room silenced as the plants eyed him. They seemed surprised, whether by his beaten appearance or by him surviving in anoxic conditions.
"Larry?" the koopaling heard Petey Piranha's voice as the large plant approached him, "What Larry doing here?"
"Petey! What happened here?!" Larry eyed the room. It stood as an oasis, thriving amid the other Towers' demises.
"Petey stay for great air! Also, Petey stay to protect Sage!"
"Well, I appreciate it," Larry replied, "Is there any food here?"
"Petey have compost and fertilizer!"
"I was hoping for food that's… Uhh, more appropriate for Koopas."
"Petey make sandwich from lettuce leftovers!"
Larry smiled, 'That'd be great."
The chattering around him started back up, and Larry continued pondering over the situation. If the HQ was a scam, then does that mean the Gods aren't a threat? Was that part of the Magikoopas' plans, or is something more sinister brewing under his nose?
"Special sandwich, just for Larry!" Petey placed a medium-length sandwich before the koopaling. Larry thanked him before he returned to his thoughts.
"Hmm," Larry muttered as he bites into the sandwich. The bread must've been weeks old, but it didn't have a stale texture to the koopaling. The tomatoes, lettuce, and onions stayed fresh after who knew how long.
A fogginess entered his mind again. Larry figured either Pyrydor or Rosalina were summoning him, until a foreign, yet all-too-familiar voice filled his head.
'Welcome back, Larry,' it stated.
"What?" Larry gasped, "Roy?!"
'That's me,' Roy responded, 'And we need you.'
"We?" Larry questioned.
'Kammy, Morton, and me. It's time for our Wands to unite.'
Right then, Larry put two and two together. The chaos on Plit, the destruction of the Madoso HQ…
"No! You guys caused this chaos! I'm not legitimizing any of that!"
'We aren't bringing chaos. We're bringing order,' Roy explained, 'Our goal is to create a world for mortals, and just for mortals. Do you want an Age full of gods warring each other or abusing us for their own benefits? Do you want to be controlled by Elder Gods who do nothing but sleep? Or do you want to have a world ruled by other mortals who understand mortality's shortcomings? A world where you pave your own destiny?'
"So, your solution is to overthrow everything?" Larry fired back.
'You're just like Lemmy,' Larry sensed Roy sighing, 'The problem is, the kingdoms will align with Junior's goal. Junior wants to keep the status quo. He wants to keep us enslaved to the Gods. Kammy, Morton and I… We want to make everyone free.'
"Well…"
'Trust me on this one, Larry,' Roy's voice flowed through him like venom.
"I guess… Our overall goal as Sages is to prevent divine intervention after all, right?"
'Exactly. I'm glad you got it.'
"But I'm not treating anyone like the Gods treated mortals," Larry added.
'Fine by us. This part may hurt, but it's necessary for mortality's mission. It's part of our Wands becoming one with each other.'
"Huh?" Larry asked, but Roy didn't respond back, "What-"
Larry paused as his wand-wielding hand cramped. He tried to clench his fists to massage the uncomfortable condition, but he couldn't even squeeze his hand.
"Umm..." Larry staggered, "Roy?! What's happening?"
No response. The cramping extended up Larry's arm, and his limb twitched and heated up.
"Roy! What's happening to me?!"
By now, Larry's entire body twitched. The koopaling feels capillaries within him burst from the increased pressure. He felt a massive migraine develop, crystallizing his vision while his own cries magnified their intensity in his ears. Barrels of sweat drenched his Mohawk and descended from his forehead, cooling his burning scales.
"Sage Lawrence? Sage Lawrence?! Break out of it!" Larry heard Pyrydor's voice ring within his ear. He felt his own sweat sizzle away as the painful, uncomfortable condition only deteriorated into pure hell.
The koopaling heard his wand speak to him again, but his mind couldn't focus on any of its senses anymore, other than the pain.
Roy's voice filled his head again, addressing him and saying something about the numbers four and seven, but Larry couldn't comprehend the message.
Right then, everything went black.
Notes: Thanks everyone for the massive support the past few months! The story and Book 1 both took off more than I expected it to, and I'm happy to see! I'll be on a slight hiatus until mid-January (I'm... sort of participating in a video game competition mode that ends then) but I should update both this and SOL afterwards!