NOTES: It's July, so you know what that means: it's the time of the year where I suddenly reappear! This is also the halfway point of Book 2, but I'm hoping I can finish this before next July, rather than a year-long hiatus again, hah. We'll see though.
This was a fun one to write. I hope you enjoy!
The world was perfect.
Or, rather, the world seemed perfect. Wars, famine, and tragedies darkened the lands, and chaos plunged every inhabitable square meter of inhabitable land into an abyss.
But the coasts, isolated from the happenings, became an oasis. The ocean's blue swaths offered a welcomed contrast to the land's red-hot demeanor. In its setting, the world just felt perfect.
And from that isolated peace, the beach felt… Alien. A desirable alien paradise.
Lemmy kicked up the fine sand, his eyes closed as he inhaled the salty air. The waves flowed like foamy clouds and crashed like thunder—its bass contrasting the squawking seagulls' treble. He smiled—for he knew the current joy from experiencing the inner land's pain.
He opened his eyes. In the distance, a pink mushroomer walked alongside the beach's waves. She wore a white one-piece bathing suit, but she dipped only a toe into the ocean, seemingly too cold for her liking.
Lemmy grinned. "Toadette!"
She turned around, and her twinkling eyes stared at him in near-surprise before her initial shock melted into a happy smile. She ran from the coastline and hugged him.
"Lemmy! You're safe! And you returned!"
Lemmy returned the hug. Although he's well below average height for a koopa, Toadette's head conformed to Lemmy's shoulder perfectly—as if specially designed with her in mind, and they were meant to be.
"Of course I did," Lemmy replied, his voice soothing, "I'd never leave you."
Toadette giggled, and Lemmy wrapped a protective arm around her. They stood together as the Sun set, ending another day of uncertainty and cementing its legacy into their minds. By now, the stars shone in their glory, and the waves seemed angrier as the sky darkened.
"I love this, don't you?" Toadette sighed in happiness.
"I love every second," he replied. His grin only strengthened, "I want to spend every moment of my life like this."
He felt the toad shake in his arm, but he couldn't tell whether she's giggling or trembling in fear.
The koopaling frowned. "... Toadette?"
"Lemmy, open your eyes!" she giggled.
"Huh?" Lemmy looked around. Above the water, a black hole spawned, and the water thrashed as the black hole sucked in each stream. The sand kicked up, and a massive sandstorm swept over the couple. Lemmy cuddled Toadette closer to him, but as sand hammered his eyes and he released her to rub them, Toadette flew into the black hole. The last thing Lemmy saw from her was her calm, meditative, eyes-closed state.
-x-
"Lemmy!"
Lemmy opened his eyes. He wasn't on the beach, but in a damp prison cell. No black hole or flying sand tormented him, but only the cell's unkempt mold. He looked up and saw Toadette above him, her face a deep shade of pink. His eyes widened: did he really dream about her? Did she hear anything he said? How could this have happened? She's his boss, for crying out loud!
"Toadette…" Lemmy sat up and avoided eye contact with her, "Uhh, how much did you hear?"
She giggled—the same giggle she did twice in his dream. Lemmy sighed; he knew the answer.
"It was so poetic," she smiled.
"Yeah," Lemmy scratched his head and turned himself around to hide his developing blush from her, "Uhh, sorry."
"No, don't be!" Toadette reassured him, "Larry knocked you out real good back there. You probably have a concussion. It's understandable!"
"Yeah…"
Toadette cleared her throat. "I don't know where we are, Lemmy, but…" She gestured toward the cell besides theirs, "We have company."
Lemmy turned around and gasped as he laid his eyes on Iggy. He sat adjacent to the bars in the fetal position, glaring at the ground as if attempting to burn a hole into the stone as an escape method. Wendy lay beside him, most likely asleep.
"Iggy?!" Lemmy gawked, "And Wendy?"
Iggy turned from the ground to Lemmy, but the glare never left his face.
"So, Lemmy. How does it feel to be captured by the same enemy you supported?"
The anger in Iggy's eyes stood out, but Lemmy also sensed hurt from the younger koopaling. Lemmy frowned—when Iggy's hurt, he's hurt.
"I never joined them when it came to all this," Lemmy said.
"Then where were you for all these months, you traitor?!"
"I was kidnapped, okay?!" Lemmy shouted back. He took a deep breath before he continued, "I was blackmailed into their society, but I did my best to let you guys know."
"Let us know?" Iggy's curiosity intertwined with his anger, "How?! Nobody heard from you!"
"But you have. Remember that voicemail Pom Pom got?"
Iggy's eyes widened. "How did you know about that?"
"Because I'm the one who sent it."
"W-what? You… you sent it?" By now, the anger dissipated from Iggy's voice, replaced only by his curiosity.
Lemmy nodded. "We had a meeting to discuss the economy after the markets crashed. Our goal was to manipulate the markets then blame it on Dark Land, but I couldn't do it. I didn't want to see you or Junior hurt. I wanted to tell you guys directly, but I knew calls were monitored. So, I got Toadette's help to find a phone number that wasn't monitored, but was also close to you guys. That's how Pom Pom got it—the Society never suspected a thing from her. So, I recorded the voicemail, then we both fled to Desert Land."
"Hmm…" Iggy thought, "It's not our fault we didn't know it was you."
"I don't blame you, Ig. But all I ask for is forgiveness, or at least understanding," Lemmy begged, "I never wanted to see my best bro hurt."
Iggy groaned. "Fine. Only because we have common enemies in Larry and Roy," he looked up at Lemmy, "What now?"
Lemmy shrugged. "You're the brainiac. Plus, my head hurts too much to even think."
"I got nothing. We're captured, and Junior's trapped in a crystal," he sighed, "They won."
Lemmy did a double-take. "Crystal?"
Iggy only shrugged.
"I think we still have hope-"
"They won, Lem," Iggy lamented, "They won. All of us are jailed."
Lemmy remained quiet, not wanting to upset Iggy more than he already had. Instead, he moved to the cell's corner and leaned his head against the dirty brick wall, lamenting his predicament. He's trapped in a cell with a mushroomer who probably thinks he's a perverted creep, and next to his brother who hates his guts. Great.
Unlike the other Koopalings' Dinosaur Land castles, Larry's castle fell victim to time rather than to Mario. But it still stood tall and stable, and its spirit enticed Ludwig to stay and reminisce in the memories of much simpler days.
He couldn't believe the Dinosaur Land invasion happened over twenty years ago. He remembered he turned twelve just days prior, and he wanted to practice his fire breathing—a male koopa's rite of passage into adulthood.
He understood his five siblings' castles, but Larry's castle threw the eldest in a rut. Ludwig always remembered him as an innocent four-year-old—much more innocent than either he, Roy, or Junior were at that age.
But this castle shattered that mere ruse. It showed Larry's love for fighting via sneak attacks rather than by force. His castle would've tested Mario's stamina more than any others' would, if Mario only went his way. A line of abandoned blocks littered the ground, no doubt part of Larry's scheme to force Mario to the ceiling. Even they sat lifeless in the aged castle, pushed off and ignored by the generation since.
Ludwig sat by the blocks and leaned back on them. He pulled out the three manuscripts that he, Morton, and Bowser used since the beginning, but rather than the Wand of the Cosmos, Ludwig would need to use Larry's koopa wand.
Ludwig pulled out the wand. He stared at it and equated it to the four legendary Wands of the Elder Gods. Every piece of information he learned about them came from accompanying either Morton or Bowser with manipulating the manuscripts. Being busy with his former Excogitate Leader title, Ludwig never delved into the manuscripts alone, and according to Larry, Roy, and Morton, each person might see a different vision from each manuscript.
He needed to explore them.
He turned his focus to the eight stars laid out on the first manuscript, and he tapped the wand's tip on it. A blue flash flooded the castle and specks of blue light surrounded Ludwig, who closed his eyes and entered a meditative position as the lights pulled him towards the manuscript.
Ludwig reopened his eyes and stared wide-eyed at a basalt wall stretching to both his left and his right for miles on end. A gate, guarded by two koopatrols, stood amid the wall, and a gravel path led toward the mysterious entrance. He followed the path until he reached the gate, where the koopatrols glared at him.
"Identification."
"Ludwig von Koopa," Ludwig stated, confused at the koopatrol's request.
"You claim to be a Koopa? I need your ID," the koopatrol commanded.
"I don't have an ID. I'm from the Twelfth Age."
"Nice lie. We're still in the Ninth Age, intruder," the second koopatrol growled, "Now scram, or we'll get the army!"
"Wait!" Ludwig cried, "I can show you! This wand took me here!"
The koopaling retrieved Larry's wand from his shell. The koopatrols stared at the shimmering wand before they exchanged shocked expressions. After a moment of silence, the koopatrols opened the gate.
"Is that a Light-based wand?!" the first koopatrol cried, "We're sorry for holding you up! Please, come in!"
Ludwig entered the city, amazed and bewildered at the architecture. Like the wall, basalt buildings constituted much of the city, although granite's also well-represented. The roads, paved with large marble chunks, provided a smooth surface for the ostro-pulled wagons and their occupiers. Aqueducts flowed above him and branched into multiple arteries before they traveled down the alleyways and into each building.
A massive community garden, packed with workers picking ripe fruit and harvesting vegetables, laid to his left. He salivated at the variety of produce before he turned right, where the local marketplace sold their goods, from koopa shells to goonie meat. Although this city's like Tenebris's, it also had its own charms.
Ludwig continued straight, exploring alley after alley. He peeked through the residencies' open windows; they're either empty, or they hosted a family preparing their harvested food for a meal. He smiled; even if he loved technology, he also loved this time period's simplicity and gratitude.
After coming out the alley, he found another main road clogged with ostro traffic. Each ostro cart's rear carried varieties of fish; the fishermen must be going to the market to sell their goods, or even give them away. He crossed the road, cautious to not upset the ostros or their drivers with his decision. On the road's other side, Ludwig gasped at the building before him.
The city's castle. He assumed it's the city's castle anyway. But it's familiar; too familiar. It's a castle he's seen numerous times through pictures and drawings. The fortress, built with obsidian, consisted of a large, main portion before it split into four separate towers towards the top, each tower symmetric in size and shape.
He approached the castle's doors and held out his wand. The intrigued koopatrols glanced at the wand and opened the double doors.
Ludwig's even familiar with the castle's inside. Cold stones made up the walls, while a deep crimson carpet covered the floor. Multiple torches latched onto the stone walls and illuminated a consistent radius around them. This castle reminded him too much of Bowser's Castle shortly before its renovation. Could that renovation be related to this manuscript's vision?
Too focused on the décor, Ludwig didn't notice where he was until he heard a throat-clearing. He turned from the room's regal designs, red drapes and gold-trimmed furniture to the noise's source.
A tan-scaled, near-elderly koopa female lounged on a velvety throne, a smile implanted on her peach face. Jet-black hair leaked from her gold-and-obsidian crown while her freshly-manicured pink claws tapped on the throne's armrest.
"Who are you, citizen?"
"Why, salutations, Your Majesty," Ludwig bowed, "I'm Ludwig von Koopa."
"Hmm?" the koopa queen murmured before she sat up, "Another Koopa, I see."
"Correct, Your Majesty," Ludwig pulled out his wand, "And I have this."
The queen stared at the wand and nodded her head, intrigued by her visitor. "Let me see that."
"Yes, Your Majesty."
Ludwig handed the wand to the figure, who peered at the wand and attempted to find any imperfections within it. After a few minutes of twirling it in her hands, the queen gave it back to Ludwig.
"This is a legitimate wand, descended from my power," the koopa queen smiled, "Greetings, Ludwig. I'm Aurora Koopa, queen of Lumina."
Wait... THE Aurora Koopa? His apparent ancestor?
"Aurora?" Ludwig gasped, "As in… The mother of Dark Land's civilization?"
Aurora raised a brow. "In some visions, I did see myself as a figurehead in the future. I'm honored by it, but formalities won't matter compared to the devastation your society will face."
"That's precisely why I came," Ludwig said, "We need your wisdom. During our time, the Magikoopa Assembly abused the Wand of Light's power."
Aurora hummed. "I noticed the Magikoopa Assembly's gain even in my lifetime. The Assembly's only been around the past few years, yet they've already gained a large following. I fear I'll be the last worthy Sage of Light before they take it over."
"And how about the other Sages? Will they prevent that?"
Aurora shook her head. "The other Sages are gone. The Sage of the Elements, Pyrydor, has passed years ago, while Tenebris, the Sage of the Cosmos, hasn't been heard from in years. The Guardians of the Spirit Wand, whom I believe to be in close cahoots with the Magikoopa Assembly, have been rather inert lately, so I don't ever depend on them, even when Kaelan was alive."
"Hmm..." Ludwig brainstormed, "Why don't you make the Assembly not evil? Doesn't the Wand of Light control the outpouring of good and evil?"
"That's part of our role, yes," Aurora nodded, "But the Wand of Light, when in good hands, cannot force people to be good or evil. As much as the Wand of Light wants to balance these, the Wand cherishes the ability to choose good and evil rather than the results of the choice. Instead, we guide with knowledge so people can identify good and evil better. This is why I fear a takeover of the Wand of Light; whoever misuses it can take away people's agency and brainwash them."
"Noted," Ludwig stated before jumping to the chase, "We have to deal with an abuser in the Twelfth Age, and we don't know if the user's a sage or not. Is there anything we can do to halt this perilous situation?"
"Wait," Aurora interrupted, "How'd you get here, Ludwig?"
"I got here through these manuscripts, Your Majesty," Ludwig replied as he handed the scrolls to Aurora. The koopa queen stared at them before handing them back.
"Oh, yes. That's how we Luxists connect our physical world with the spiritual world," Aurora affirmed, "It's also similar to how we access our visions."
"And how does one have visions?" Ludwig asked.
"The Wand of Light gathers knowledge because it can extend past our everyday dimensions. Viewing these extra dimensions is how Sages of Light and Light practitioners receive our visions."
"Hmm… Dimensions, as in the ones forming the String Theory's foundations?"
Aurora hummed. "Partially. The String Theory rejects both time and freewill as spatial dimensions, whereas we do see them that way: as the fourth and fifth dimensions, respectively," she stood up from her throne and stood beside Ludwig, "Actually, let me show you."
Aurora waved her wand, and a hologram-like projection floated over the empty space. The hologram's screen showed four shapes: a dot, a line, a square, and a cube.
"We have our four basic dimensions right here: the zeroth, first, second, and third," she pointed her wand to the dot on the hologram, "The zeroth dimension is simply a point. Every point is different relative to where it is in space, so the zeroth dimension is considered infinite.
"When two things of the same dimension share a common characteristic, a higher dimension's formed. The first dimension includes two or more of those zeroth dimensional points that form a perpendicular line, meaning the two points share a number in common, whether the same location but different times, or vice versa.
"This trait is shared with the higher dimensions, so long as they intersect orthogonally. The second dimension produces width from perpendicular first dimensional lines, while the third dimension creates depth by intersecting two-dimensional planes. This is the typical understanding of space that the everyday person's familiar with. We usually call these four dimensions the Mortals' Dimensions, because anyone alive can see, control, and manipulate them."
Aurora cleared the slate then summoned a Plit hologram, which cycled among green, brown, and grey. Ludwig studied the phenomenon closer, recognizing them to be forests, deserts, and civilizations.
"Before you is an example of the fourth dimension, or the start of the time portion of space-time. As you can see, our planet has a length, width, and depth. But, unlike what we would see in an instant in space, we can see a fourth measurement. We call this duration, or time. Duration changes the object's characteristics, just like a smaller or larger width changes it."
Ludwig squinted. "So, the fourth dimension's how the object appeared from its creation to its destruction?"
"Correct, all as a single object," Aurora smiled, "Another example are mortals themselves. In the fourth dimension, you can see them as one elongated, snake-like object, from their birth to their death. It's really interesting to see, although Light magic doesn't force you to see people in such ways.
"The fourth dimension's powerful for seeing how past events occurred, as well as possible future events. But it has one weakness: it only takes into account time that actually occurred or will occur, because the fourth dimension's like the first dimension, except on a timeline rather than a spatial line. This dimension's not powerful enough to predict or assume anything diverging from that 'real time'.
"But our real magic comes from the fifth dimension, which we call the Dimension of Possibilities. This dimension is what seers and sages observe during their visions. Here, possible timelines branch out from the fourth dimension's real timeline, depending on free will. This current vision we're in is part of the fifth dimension, because it didn't occur in actuality according to real time, but could've occurred if you were alive during my time period. Let me show you other examples."
Aurora selected the point for the Twelfth Age's December 2012. Three holograms showed up: four smirking Sages, a crown-wearing koopa, and the four Wands beneath a gold crown. "This is your world's future, Ludwig. According to the fifth dimension, we have three possibilities: either the Sages win, your brother wins, or the Sages snap out of their abuse. Each has their own four-dimensional timelines."
"But the fourth dimension already shows the future, correct?"
Aurora shook her head, "The fourth dimension only shows a timeline that would produce the least entropy—time, like water and lightning, chooses the path of least resistance. But the fifth dimension allows us to choose which fourth dimensional timeline we will face. The fifth dimension is a plane, much like how the second dimension is. Think about the second dimension for a few: It contains every line possibility, and it contains every point possibility, but a linear trendline drawn among them all will overlap only one line. This one line overlapping the trendline is real time, and that's the fourth dimensional component we can directly observe. The fifth dimension allows us to view other possible fourth dimensions, just like a second dimensional plane allows us to see other lines. Through our actions and prophecies, we could shift the line that 'real time' will take."
"Ahh," Ludwig said, "In other words, the Sage has the ability to see what happens if each possibility occurred?"
Aurora selected the smirking sages hologram, and a fourth dimensional timeline beamed from it. Ludwig stared at four pillars dividing the world into two societies: one turmoiled with slavery, poverty, and totalitarianism, and the other showered in gold, gems, and every precious thing. In a gold-plated regal castle, four royals lounged on velvet thrones, while servants moved to and fro, eager to fulfill their monarchs' orders. The surrounding city bustled with the planet's wealthiest citizens commercing, buying and fawning over slave-produced artefacts.
"This is the future if the Sages win in their current state," Aurora sighed, "This is a literal view of two differing empires clashing together: the Haves and the Have-Nots."
Aurora touched the koopa king hologram, and a similar grisly scene showed. Darkness spread across the world as a black star orbited the planet. Three pillars lay in ruins, and shadows seeped from the fourth. No markets survived in the world, but only revolutions, battles, and magic abuse. In a lava-surrounded obsidian castle, a red-headed koopa king frowned as he peered over his destroyed society.
"And this is the future if your brother wins. It would be a tough war that will effectively destroy the entire world, but he would win it in the end," Aurora continued.
"Both are… Quite awful," Ludwig shivered.
Aurora nodded. "This is why visions are vital to us, and why the Sage of Light is often considered the de facto leader of the Sages. We know that we have hope for a world run by four righteous Sages, according to the Fifth Dimensions' possibilities. We can observe each possibilities' fourth dimension and indicate why such possibilities occurred. We can then offer a warning against going in that same trajectory."
"But if the Wand is under abusive hands, they can also have visions, correct?"
"They could," Aurora closed her eyes, "In their case, it may be a stellar understanding of the Four Wands' actions, not visions themselves. The current unauthorized holder of the Wand of Light receives their power from a Quartet-like magical connection, not from Light magic. I theorize that if one of the wands break from this connection, then the usurper wouldn't be able to have their vision-like senses."
Ludwig rubbed his chin. "Hmm, I suppose the point that you're attempting to drive is that I must take that weakness to my advantage."
She nodded. "Not 'I' either," she smiled, "But we."
Ludwig squinted at her. "Pardon?"
"I cannot help you militarily," Aurora said, "But I can assist you in other ways."
Aurora closed her eyes and lifted the wand above her head. She then lowered it until the tip stood just above her lips. Her mouth moved, as if speaking words, but no sound came from her. Instead, a gust blew through the throne room, and the previously-bare floors turned into a pub-like setup, fit with countless spirits. They were all different species, from other koopas, to humans, to rexes and mushroomers.
Ludwig studied the spirits. Some waved to him—he returned the gesture—but the others were preoccupied either in conversation, or by thought.
"These are all the past Light Sages," Aurora opened her eyes, "We will use the Light magic that we do have to fill the abuser's head with false visions. This will misguide them, which will allow the rightful Sage to reclaim his wand."
"And who is this rightful holder of the Wand of Light?" he asked.
Aurora and the other Sages stared at Ludwig. They were all different, whether different species, different experiences, or different personalities. They all spoke in different tones and even different languages, but they all spoke one single word—the same word.
"You."