Update: 12/24/2013: This is the first revision of the first several chapters of this story. As you will see, there have been absolutely no storyline changes made. I am very happy with how this story has been progressing, but I do admit that a lot of these chapters were posted rather hastily without enough revisions. I hope everyone enjoys this rework of the first chapter. My ultimate goal is to make a story that is both entertaining but is also rich in character development, drama, and beautiful descriptions. More revisions are coming soon, as well as new chapters. (I am currently about half way through Chapter 11.) Enjoy! And your thoughts/comments/criticisms are very welcome and appreciated. I appreciate any feedback I get, as my ultimate goal here is to become a better writer.

Prologue: The Star Road

A calm, clear night sky stretched high above the tranquil lands of the Mushroom Kingdom. During the day, it was usually sunny and bright this time of season, however the temperature tended to drop slightly below average in the evenings, enough to bring relief for the sometimes overbearingly hot temperatures in the afternoon. The sky was a beautiful black canvas dripped with a plethora of shimmering dots of silver light and the full, pale white moon reflected off the crystal clear bodies of water spread throughout the kingdom. Like a large, incandescent bulb of light in the sky, it illuminated the land enough to where someone observing from above could see the majestic landscape that distinguished the great kingdom from its neighboring lands. Tall mountains, deep valleys, rolling green hills, and miles of untouched grassy fields decorated the land, while humble, quaint towns rested quietly in the night. They dotted the landscape in small pockets, as if their maker's had purposely intended not to disturb or deface the natural landscape.

High above the Mushroom Kingdom, in fact higher than the earth's atmosphere, and still even farther in to the vast galaxy beyond, shone a bright star. The star was brighter than any other star in the sky. Many of the people in the Mushroom Kingdom worshipped this star. Some people used it as a guide to return home after a long journey, some prayed to it, others even rumored that it was the center of the universe and the source of all life. Regardless of its true purpose, everyone in the Mushroom Kingdom looked upon it with great reverence, hope, and above all, everyone made their wishes to the star every night.

This bright star was dotted in the exact center of a circle of six other stars. While not nearly as bright as the center star, these six were clearly distinguishable from all of the other stars in the sky, radiating an equally intense and astounding amount of light. Although not visible to the naked eye from the Mushroom Kingdom, in actuality, the stars themselves were all connected to the center star by solid masses of bridges. These bridges were less than paper thin in thickness, but stretched for hundreds of thousands of miles between the stars, and each of the six stars on the outside of the cluster had a bridge linking it to the center star. They were somewhat opaque in appearance, with a rainbow of colors shifting randomly every few seconds. These "bridges" were heavily traveled on by the inhabitants of the seven stars, like a vast celestial highway.

These seven stars in reality resembled planets on the surface rather than large, gaseous balls of fire. From another distant galaxy they appeared to have the same qualities-and indeed even the same shape-as a normal star, however they were completely different on the surface. Vast valleys, tall mountains, and cities seemingly built out of the earth covered the land and the sky always had a clear, gorgeous view of the stars. Everything shone brightly on land, as if the very earth was made of fire and light. Many lands and structures were also opaque in appearance, and had that same shifting of rainbow colors decorating them. Collectively, these seven stars were referred to as "The Star Road".

It was a remarkable sight to behold and the stars themselves were actually much more than just any ordinary stars in the sky. These stars were the homes of the star people, who both worked and lived along the Star Road. They did not look like people, but were in fact star-shaped themselves, very small in stature, and their bodies emanated a bright glow, the same as the lands they resided upon. The star people floated about their paradise peacefully, living their lives with their families in small hut-like homes. They lived blissfully not having any cares, worries or grievances, their full attention fixated on only one thing, their precious work.

The star people's jobs were not just common work, but the most important work in the universe. The star people granted wishes and spent most of their time answering the prayers and dreams of all of the people not only in the Mushroom Kingdom, but in the entire universe. This was not an easy task, but a delightful one to the star people. No matter how hard of a job they had granting a wish, nothing made them happier than to see the faces of all of the creatures of the universe light up when their wishes were granted.

The star people did not always have the power to grant every wish however, and would outright refuse to grant any wish that was selfish, evil, or was made in hate or anger. They were a peaceful people who wished for nothing themselves but only to spread joy, happiness and peace throughout the universe. Most wishes granted were not material wishes, (Although on occasion it did happen.) but rather wishes of good will that came from pure hearts. Most of their work was both delicate and intricate in nature and rather than granting a wish outright, they would use their power to play their intervention a more subtle hand.

The center star was the biggest and brightest of all of the stars on the Star Road. It was also the home of the biggest city in the Star Road, known as the Star Kingdom. The Star Kingdom was the most important of all of the cities along the Star Road. The Star Kingdom housed the Star Temple, where the seven Star Spirits resided. These Star Spirits were the rulers of the Star Road and the protectors of the star people. They were a counsel of seven, who themselves granted wishes but only the most important wishes in the universe. They had resided there for millennia, and ruled the Star Road with great honor, strength and dignity.

The Star Temple itself was a great structure built more like a castle than an actual temple. The temple's tall spires appeared to touch the sky and the inside of the temple had both long corridors decorated with beautiful paintings depicting the honorary Star Spirits and beautiful tapestries on the walls and ceilings. There were statues of the Star Spirits, and plaques hanging from the walls dedicated to the star people who had originally built the great structure. The main chamber of the great temple was the largest and housed the Star People's most priceless possession, the Star Rod. The Star Rod was the single most powerful object in the universe and any being who wielded it was able to grant any wish that they made, becoming more powerful themselves. The Star Rod was a small object, only a foot long. A bright yellow glowing star shape made up its head, and the body of the rod was a light blue coloration etched with other small star shapes into it. Although rather humble in appearance, its bearer would single handedly become the most powerful being in the universe. The Star Rod was not used often, and when it was used, it was only wielded by one of the seven Star Spirits.

Traveling along one of the main streets of the Star Kingdom, a young star was floating along happily towards the Star Temple. He looked the same as any of the other star people, only perhaps a bit smaller. He was naturally star-shaped and tiny, maybe a foot or so tall, and maybe a few inches less wide. He was a bright little star, a brightness emanating from his body, which would completely illuminate even the darkest room. His only other outstanding features were his small mouth and his tiny blue eyes.

The little star was traveling toward the Star Temple with his friend, a fellow star being. His friend looked exactly like him in every way, only his eyes were darker, and his face a bit less pronounced as his. They had been great friends for many years, and spent a lot of time working together to help grant wishes. They floated along together down a long, rainbow colored road towards the temple.

"Hey Twink…" The little blue-eyed star said to his friend.

"Yes?" His friend replied.

"What do you think the Star Spirits called me to the temple for?" The little star asked.

Twink, the dark eyed star, turned to acknowledge his friend.

"Hmm.. Hard to tell really…" Twink replied. "It could be anything. I've heard a lot of whispers around here that they are at the very least very pleased with you."

"Well, yeah. I've of course heard that too, but I just did my duty." The little star said.

"Yes, it was your duty, but you saved us all! You were very brave!" Twink exclaimed.

"Of course, but who held it together up here while I was gone, huh?" The little star asked. "You and the Star Spirits kept everyone safe and calm during the turmoil. Plus, you saved us once too not too long ago. I should think you were the real hero."

"Well, thank you." Twink replied, blushing. "We did the best we could, but if it weren't for you, none of us would even be here right now, and no wishes would ever have been granted again!"

The little star paused for a moment and thought back on the journey he had taken. It had been over ten years ago now, and although to a human being that would have been quite a long time, it felt like only a few months to the little star. He was only four hundred and fifty six years old, which would maybe equate to about sixteen or seventeen in human years, but the Star Spirits were hundreds of thousands of years old. That was very old for even the star people, and he had often wondered what kind of wondrous things the Star Spirits had witnessed in all of those years.

His journey had taken him to a planet called earth, and to a wonderful land known as the Mushroom Kingdom. He met great friends there, lifelong friends who helped him on his quest to repair the Star Road. He traveled to many lands, met many people along his journey, and fought many enemies. When all was said and done however, it had been time for him to return to his damaged home and help rebuild what was almost permanently lost to the universe.

It seems like just yesterday… he thought. Those were desperate times, but the journey was something I will always cherish.

He nodded to Twink and the two continued down the pathway to the Star Temple. The little star looked around the city. Watching the other star people go about their daily business. He saw a pair of stars floating by holding hands-obviously a couple-and gazing at the night sky. He saw a few stars doing some work on one of the larger structures in town, fixing a collapsed roof. It was not an extremely crowded city this late in the evening, but there were still quite a lot of people about.

"The Star Kingdom is looking better than ever nowadays." The little star said. "It's hard to believe the entire Star Road was in complete disrepair only ten years ago."

"Well, you were there." Twink replied. "Once the seven star pieces were recovered, the Star Road basically fixed itself, aside from our homes and the other structures."

"Yeah, true." The little star said. "It's just hard to believe it sometimes when you think back to what it looked like after the attack.

"

"Yes, it's honestly something I'd rather forget though." Twink said frowning.

"As bad as it was, we should never forget." The little star said. "It should always be in the back of our minds that we are not exempt from destruction. We persevered sure, but we can't allow ourselves to think we're invincible."

"Point well made, good buddy." Twink said. "We're here."

The little star stopped as he gazed in awe at the massive building before him. The Star Temple was an enormous structure, while at the same time elegant and beautiful to behold. It was easily three hundred feet tall, with huge columns at the entrance that spiraled in an array of colors. Two enormous spires on each end of the roof and one even larger in the middle seemed to shoot up to the heavens. The building stretched both ways a few thousand feet, and was made of thick stone. The stones were slightly opaque and the light from the earth seemed to dance in a reflection off of the walls. The little star could see Twink and his reflections a hundred times over in those walls. Before them stretched a long staircase to the entrance which had to be at least a few hundred yards long. It led up to the great gates, huge steel rainbow colored doors with a large, bright star embossed on each door.

The little star had seen the Star Temple hundreds of times, but its majesty never ceased to amaze him.

"C'mon Twink, we're going to be late." The little star said suddenly. Twink nodded and followed him up the grand staircase.

The pair made their way up the staircase and the little star grinned in amusement at the thought of the stairs. Sure, they were quite a complement to the actual structure, but he had to laugh at the idea of them even existing. None of the star people actually had feet, they all just floated above the ground in a smooth, leisurely way. The stairs did not serve any real purpose.

As the two stars approached the great gates, they were stopped by two guards. Both looked the same as the little star and Twink, only slightly larger. One of the guards was missing a piece from his left hand and the other had very large, deep green eyes.

"Halt!" The star with the missing piece shouted.

The pair stopped in their tracks, nodding to the two guards.

"Please state your business." The green-eyed star said.

"We were summoned." Twink replied. "We're actually running a bit late, the Star Spirits await us."

Both guards looked them over.

"Yes, you look fine, the Star Spirits await you inside." The green-eyed star said.

"I come here every week Spark. Do you always need to stop us at the gate?" The little star asked.

"Sorry," Spark said apologetically. "But you know it is protocol."

Twink chuckled. "Still as stiff as ever about your rules! And how are you doing Flash?"

The star with the missing left piece turned to Twink.

"Just fine, Master Twink. This ol' arm of mine is a bit worse for wares, but I can't complain too much." Flash said.

"Mind if we get going fellas? We're late enough as it is." The little star said with a frown.

"Certainly, you may enter!" Spark replied.

Flash and Spark nodded to each other and in an instant floated up to two star shaped holes in the doors. They both jumped into them, fitting like two missing pieces to a puzzle and the doors slowly began to open. Flash and Spark were not just the gatekeepers, but the actual keys themselves. Their bodies fit perfectly into the mold of the star "keyholes" and they spun slowly as the doors opened. Once the doors were completely opened, Twink and the little star entered.

"Thanks, guys!" Twink shouted back to them waving as the doors began to close behind them.

"Let's get going." The little star said as he waved Twink onward.

As the two stars walked down the long corridor leading to the main chamber, the little star took in the beautiful artwork on the walls of the great hall. There were very large paintings of the seven Star Spirits, sculptures of some of the stars who built the great structure, and hanging above the entranceway of the main chamber, a large portrait of Eldstar-The leader and oldest of the even Star Spirits-holding the Star Rod.

After a few minutes of walking through the temple, the little star and Twink entered the main chamber. This was the biggest room in the Star Temple and there the seven Star Spirits awaited them. Eldstar was at the front, who was a lot bigger than both Twink and the little star and had long white mustaches hanging from his upper lip. He had big, dark green eyes and bushy white eyebrows hung above them. The lines around his eyes looked embedded into his skin. The other Star Spirits, Mamar, Skolar, Muskular, Misstar, Klevar and Kalmar hovered in a circle around the Star Rod, which was encased in thick glass on a pedestal. The pedestal was engrained with bright shooting stars and had that same opaque coloring that shifted in a rainbow of colors.

"You boys are right on time." Eldstar said, acknowledging the two.

"It's an honor to be here, wise one." The little star said, bowing.

"Hmm… yes. Well, no need for formalities here boys, you both have been here enough, and all of us here know that without you two boys, we very well may not be here right now."

The other Star Spirits nodded in agreement.

"Yes, wise one, we just acknowledge it wouldn't be proper. You are the great Star Spirits, granter of wishes, protectors of the Star Ro…" Twink began to say. He was cut off quickly by Eldstar.

"Yes, Yes, Hmmm…. We know we know, it didn't stop us from being brought to our knees by that tyrant king…" Eldstar replied, contemplative. " Erm… what was his name again?"

"Bowser." Twink said frowning.

"Yes, yes…. Bowser…" Eldstar mumbled. "Any who, that whole ordeal; as well as that incident ten years ago with the Star Pieces, well it's certainly humbled this council, I can tell you that."

The little star and Twink looked at each other.

"Any who… There's something I need to desperately speak with you boys about. We've discussed it at length and this council has now agreed unanimously that both of you boys will be raised to the level of Star Spirits."

The little star felt a shockwave go through him. Him? A Star Spirit?! By the expression on Twink's face, he looked equally shocked, if not more.

"I am… honored, wise one. But, surely I am not worthy, I'm far too young to take this…" The little star said but was cut off quickly by Eldstar.

"There is no rule about there being an age requirement for this. You boys have both done more for this council… no, not even council, not even for the Star Road itself, but for the universe, then we have for all of our thousands of years! You have saved both the lives of our people and the dreams of the entire universe. You have earned this, both of you."

"B… but what about you?" Twink said, obviously still shocked by this whole ordeal.

"I for one am getting too old. I'm afraid there's not much left of this old star to give. I, and Skolar will also be leaving." Eldstar said.

Skolar, floating directly behind Eldstar, nodded in agreement. Skolar was the same size as Eldstar, but was of a deep purple coloring. Bushy brown eyebrows hung above his dark glasses and he had a thin brown mustache on his upper lip.

"We need some youth to the council too. Some fresh minds will do wonders for us." Skolar said.

"I… I'm speechless…" The little star muttered nervously. "Thank you, I will take my position very seriously, and I hereby pledge to defe…"

Eldstar cut the little star off again.

"Ah, no long speeches son. I'm getting a bit too old for that stuff. Let me just make this official." Eldstar replied wearily.

Eldstar lifted the glass cover off of the Star Rod and pulled it free from its resting place on the pedestal. He closed his eyes as he pointed it towards the little star and Twink.

"I, Eldstar of the council of Star Spirits do hear by proclaim that on this day, Twink and…." Eldstar said when suddenly he was interrupted by a loud crashing sound.

"What was that?!" Twink shouted.

"That sounded like an explosion!" The little star exclaimed.

Another loud crash was heard followed by a rumbling sound. In a matter of seconds, the entire temple started to shake, the paintings falling down from the walls. The walls themselves rattled, and large chunks of the stone ceiling started to rain down upon them. The little star jumped out of the way as one large piece landed exactly where he had been floating. Chaos followed as the explosions grew louder and louder. Suddenly, Flash burst through the large, chamber doors and shouted at them.

"We're being attacked!" He shouted. "Quickly, find shelter!"

"We must GO!" Twink shouted to the Star Spirits.

The little star and Twink quickly flew down the main corridor with the Star Spirits right behind them. They paused at the main entrance and gaped at the sight before them. Large holes had been blasted through the walls, and as they looked up, they could see more large pieces of the stone ceiling starting to fall onto the ground. They made for the two large doors at the entrance, but before they could reach it, a very large, shadowy figure appeared at the door. The light appeared to waver at his presence, as if too afraid to unveil the terror that hid behind the darkness.

"MWA HAHAHAHA!" The figure laughed insanely.

The little star, Twink, and the Star Spirits stopped in their tracks as the figure pounded a large object onto the stone floor. It clinked loudly, like the sound of metal on steel.

"Do you know what today is?!" It shouted suddenly. "On this day, I SHALL HAVE MY REVENGE!"

The figure raised a huge hand towards the stars and started shooting rockets out of its fingers at them. The party scattered as the rockets hit columns in the temple, annihilating them in an instant. He shot at the walls, the tapestries, and the ceiling, taking out entire sections of the temple as he entered the corridor.

"RUN!" The little star shouted.

The party ran towards the left, where a large chunk of ceiling fell down right in front of them. They tried to fly up through the hole in the ceiling to get away, but immediately another rocket shot towards them, barely missing and destroying another part of the roof, raining soot all over them.

"We HAVE to get out of here!" Twink shouted.

More rockets shot out from the dark figure as he approached the main chamber of the temple. The mad man destroyed everything in his path as he pursued them. After a moment of dodging rockets and fallen pieces of stone, Eldstar took the Star Rod and thrust it into the little star's hand.

"What are you….?" Twink said as Eldstar shouted over him

"Take it and go! We'll fend him off, you go and get help! Protect the Star Rod at all costs!" He shouted.

The Star Spirits all nodded to each other in turn, and quickly raced towards the dark figure. The little star stared for a moment as the Star Spirits started to unleash powerful magic attacks against the creature. He jumped as a hand touched his shoulder.

"C'mon! Let's get help! Let's GO!" Twink shouted to him.

The little star took a quick glance back at the Star Spirits, who were charging down the dark figure.

Where do I know that voice? He thought. It sounds so… familiar.

The little star raced after Twink as another rocket just barely missed him by an inch. They flew through the temple trying to find some way, any way to get out. Finally, Twink pointed to a very small hole in one of the walls, just big enough for the pair to get through. As he looked back, he could see another rocket flying towards his direction at blinding speed. He saw no sign of the Star Spirits as he flew through the small hole after Twink. He barely made it through the other side when the rocket exploded into the other side of the wall. Fortunately, the wall did not give out, and he was only brushed with a few pebbles from the top of the wall. The force of the blow caused him to fall on his back and the little star felt pain as he hit the hard ground. Slowly getting back up on his feet, he heard Twink gasp as he spoke up.

"By the Star Spirits…" He heard Twink say.

The little star brushed himself off and jumped to his feet. As he turned away from the wall and looked out at the great Star Kingdom, he felt an overwhelming sense of panic, despair and shock hit him.

All was chaos.