Princes and Plumbers

Legends and trouble

Black clouds roll in over the jagged mountainous horizon brining with them bolts of lighting and the roar of thunder. The air is heavy and damp; It's going to rain, how delightful. Up in a tower spilling over some books, sits Kammy Koopa, well known evil magikoopa sorceress, looking out her open window for a brief break from her work. She smirks as she watches the weather become more treacherous as the sky seems to rip open and torrential rain begins to pour onto the bare earth below. Ah yes chaotic weather, never certain what it will do; that is what this world should be like, chaotic and tending more and more toward that chaos. Well if I can hurry and find what King Bowser needs for his next exploit, maybe we can speed this chaos along. She turns back to her books, browsing through to find a certain legend that the Koopa King is interested in. "Let's see, the Legend of the Seven Stars, no; Legend of the Dark Prognosticus, no; Prophecy of the Beanstar, no; Ah ha!" The old koopa witch exclaims, "The Legend of the Reflectivus Portal! Now the question is does it explain where the ..."

"Kammy," roars Bowser, Kammy marks the page and tucks the book underneath her arm before fetching her broomstick. She flies down the stairs and through the great hall, passing numerous goomba workers busy repairing the castle, until she catches up to the Koopa King who is heading toward this throne room.

"You Highness, how may I help you?"

"I want a full update on your research on the Reflectivus Portal," demands the reptilian tyrant as he pushes open the doors to his throne room then sits down upon his ebony and crimson inlaid throne.

"Well your mighty nastiness, I have found the legend which pertains to the Reflectivus Portal, but have yet to deceiver its location," Kammy responds as she pulls out the book.

"Does it at least have a description of what it looks like," Bowser asks impatiently.

"I haven't had a chance to read the legend as you beckoned me after I found it," Kammy snaps feeling like she has to repeat herself twenty times before what she says sinks in to the Koopa King's head.

"Fine Kammy, then refresh my memory and read what you have found in that dusty old book." The elderly sorceress gently lands on the ground then pulls out her wand and waves it at a small table across the room. Purple rings of magic erupt from the wand and act as a magnet for the table causing it to scoot over to her. She plops the thick gray book upon the table and flips to the marked page. She clears her throat and then begins to read.

"In a land of four resigned a kingdom ran by one princess alone. Although betrothed to a prince of a neighboring land, she coveted another's hand. A talented woodcarver from her land that she had known since childhood; she and the carver shared many memories together and never wished to part. He carved her many gifts and treasures, but her favorite was a standing mirror embellished with the flowers that bore her name. The prince never showed her such affection. One night as the carver and princess were walking in the royal gardens, he pleaded that she be his wife, presenting her with a wooden ring carved from the same tree as the mirror she cherished so much. She immediately agreed and the following day she broke her betrothal to the prince. Heartbroken by the development, the prince visited the kingdom to find the reason for his dismissal from the princess's heart. He stumbled upon the happy pair sitting in the royal garden and swore vengeance on the woodcarver for his loss. The prince followed the woodcarver back to his shop that day and in anger stabbed him through the heart with one of the carver's own tools. A mystic who befriended the princess witnessed the prince's act and reported to the princess. In her agony, she wished for retribution for her lost love. The mystic agreed to grant the princess her wish and instructed her to invite the prince to the castle at sun's set that following day. As told the princess met the prince in her throne room to find that the mirror from her lost carver had been moved into the room. Upon seeing this treasured gift from her love, the princess confronted the prince about his crime. Unable to justify his actions in any other way, the prince replied that he did it for her and the kingdom's own prosperity. Outraged by such lies, the princess grabbed the prince and pushed him out of rage away from her. He tumbled toward the mirror and instead of falling upon it, fell into it disappearing from sight. As the sun sinks below the horizon the mystic appears and seals the curse upon the mirror entrapping the jealous prince within its confines until the day the ring and mirror that started as one unite again. The princess begrudgingly sends the mirror away to a land that no mortal would ever tread, a place where only guides of the sky could reside. As for the wooden key, it was kept to remind her of her first love so she may never forget him. After marrying a worthy and noble prince from a farther land, the princess now queen passed the ring down to her daughter and instructed her to do the same. The ring thus continues to pass through the generations of royal women through to this very day as a symbol of love's perseverance."