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[[File:CountBleck2 SPM.png|100px|thumb|Count Bleck, the last surviving member of the Tribe of Darkness]]
[[File:CountBleck2 SPM.png|100px|thumb|Count Bleck, the last surviving member of the Tribe of Darkness]]
[[File:SPM Nolrem Greeting.png|thumb|left|Nolrem, a descendant of the Tribe of Darkness]]
[[File:SPM Nolrem Greeting.png|thumb|left|Nolrem, a descendant of the Tribe of Darkness]]
The '''Tribe of Darkness''' is a group of powerful beings who broke off from the rest of the [[Tribe of Ancients]] around 1,500 years before the events of ''[[Super Paper Mario]]''. The tribe is known for being a secretive bunch that kept to themselves and forbade marriage outside the clan for fear of diluting their powers. They were also accused of stealing the prophetic [[Dark Prognosticus]] from the Ancients, with some suspecting they intended to use the book to enhance their dark magic; however other stories explain that they did it to prevent the book's power from being misused<ref>Garson and Carson's stories often involved the Ancients and can be found on [http://www.gamefaqs.com/wii/933012-super-paper-mario/faqs/55449 GameFAQs] (Retrieved September 24, 2012)</ref>. [[Nolrem]] is a descendant of the tribe, and [[Count Bleck]] is the last surviving member of the tribe itself, having destroyed the rest of the tribe after [[List of implied characters#Blumiere's father|his father]] seemingly killed [[Tippi|the girl]] he had fallen in love with. In addition, it is hinted that [[Nastasia]] was originally a bat that was transformed into a member of the same species as Bleck, whom she had fallen for, which would make her a member of the Tribe of Darkness as well<ref>Carson's "Of Bats and Men" story tells the tale of how a man searching for his lost love pauses to save a bat from a trap. The bat falls in love with him and transforms into a member of his species, pledging eternal loyalty to him. It is strongly implied that Bleck is the man, Timpani is his lost love, and the bat is Nastasia.</ref>.
 
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The '''Tribe of Darkness''' was a group of powerful beings who broke off from the rest of the [[Tribe of Ancients]] around 2,000 years before the events of ''[[Super Paper Mario]]''. The tribe was known for being secretive and keeping to themselves, so not much is known about them, but it is rumored they lived in a castle deep in a forest. They forbade marriage outside the tribe out of pride and for fear of diluting their powers. They were also accused of stealing the prophetic [[Dark Prognosticus]] from the Ancients, with some suspecting they intended to use the book to enhance their dark magic; however other stories explain that they did it to prevent the book's power from being misused. Because of the accusations, mentioning them became forbidden.
 
[[Nolrem]] is a descendant of the tribe, and [[Count Bleck]] is the last surviving member of the tribe itself, having destroyed the rest of the tribe after [[Blumiere's father|his father]] seemingly killed [[Tippi|the girl]] he had fallen in love with. In addition, it is hinted that [[Nastasia]] was originally a bat that transformed into a member of the same species as Bleck, whom she had fallen for, which would make her a member of the Tribe of Darkness as well.<ref>Carson's "Of Bats and Men" reads: "''Once upon a time, a man went to look for the girl he loved, who was missing. As he passed through a forest, he found a bat stuck in a trap. He set the bat free. It promptly thanked him and disappeared. As he lay down to camp that night, he heard a voice and looked about. [...] There stood before him a woman he had never seen. The bat had transformed into the species of the one she had fallen for.''" It is strongly implied that Bleck was the man, Timpani was his lost love, and the bat was Nastasia.</ref>
 
==History==
==History==
Three thousand years before the events of ''Super Paper Mario'', an Ancient magician used knowledge gleaned from the Dark Prognosticus to create "thinking tools" known as [[Pixl]]s to work around his people's physical limitations<ref>Garson's "Pixls" story explains that the "''Ancients were smart, but not too strong [and] made the Pixls for anything physical they couldn't do on their own.</ref><ref>Carson's "Creation of the Pixls" story reads: "''A powerful magician among the Ancients created them about 3,000 years ago [by] by transferring a spirit into a vessel''" and his "Pixl Uprising's End" story elaborates that "''The master magician had made [the first Pixl] after studying the Dark Prognosticus.''"</ref>. This allowed the Ancients to build a vast civilization, however a thousand years after the Pixls were created, a huge Pixl appeared and used her powers of mind control to turn the rest of the Pixls against the Ancients, devastating them and sparking the decline of their civilization<ref>Carson's "The Pixl Uprising" story explains that 2,000 years before the events of ''Super Paper Mario'', a huge Pixl calling herself the Pixl Queen appeared and commanded the other Pixls to rebel against the Ancients that had become dependent on them and causing great devastation</ref><ref>Carson's "Pixl Uprising's End" explains that "''the power and influence of the Ancients began an irreversible decline''" after the events of the Pixl Uprising, due to them limiting the powers of Pixls for fear of another rebellion.</ref>. A group of warriors, assisted by the other 12 original Pixls, defeated the so-called "[[List of implied characters#Pixl Queen|Pixl Queen]]"<ref>Carson's "More Pixl Uprising" story details the downfall of the Pixl Queen</ref>, and the single surviving Ancient warrior discovered that she had actually been the first Pixl created. In order to prevent the knowledge contained within the Dark Prognosticus from being misused like that again, and potentially causing more tragedies, the Ancient warrior took the book and went into hiding<ref>Carson's "Pixl Uprising's End" reads "''The vanquisher of the Pixl Queen was confronted with an awful truth. It turned out that the Pixl Queen was actually the very first Pixl ever created. The master magician had made her after studying the Dark Prognosticus. So when the last surviving apprentice took the Dark Prognosticus from the queen... He decided to disappear with the book so that this sort of catastrophe wouldn't repeat.''"</ref>, eventually founding the Tribe of Darkness.


Despite their altruistic origins, the secretive nature of the Tribe of Darkness soon earned them mistrust, with some accusing them of stealing the Dark Prognosticus to use it, rather than hide it<ref>In his "Final Tribe of Darkness" story, Carson explains that "''they stole the Dark Prognosticus from the Ancients and hid it [...] Some say they did it to use the book's power to enhance their dark magic... Some say they hid it from others who would use it for evil...</ref>. Despite this accusations, the Ancients recognized that the power wielded by the Tribe of Darkness was an important resource<ref>Carson's "More Tribe of Darkness" story states that "''Their power was considered an important resource by all of the Ancients.''"</ref>, and called upon the tribe when they built [[Flipside]]. Alone, Flipside was unstable, for light cannot exist without darkness, and so the Tribe of Darkness created [[Flopside]], a dark, mirror image of Flipside, thus stabilizing the realm. Nolrem, a descendant of the Tribe of Darkness, could still be found residing in Flopside centuries after its creation, during the events of ''Super Paper Mario''.
Before breaking off, the members of the future Tribe of Darkness were a group within the Tribe of Ancients who possessed more magic power, so they were valued as an important resource to the rest of the Ancients. The reason behind their power's importance has since been lost to time.<ref>Carson's "More Tribe of Darkness" reads: "''They started as a group within the Ancients who had more magic power. [...] Their power was considered an important resource by all of the Ancients. But no one knows why their power was so important now...''"</ref> They held xenophobic attitudes stemming from pride and avoided mixing with other people. In particular, marriages outside their group were forbidden out of fear it would dilute their magic.<ref>Carson's "Tribe of Darkness" reads: "''They avoided mixing with other people out of pride...''"</ref><ref>Carson's "More Tribe of Darkness" reads: "''Fearing their power would be diluted, they forbade marriage outside the group.''"</ref>
 
3,000 before the events of ''Super Paper Mario'', an Ancient magician used knowledge gleaned from the Dark Prognosticus to create "thinking tools" known as [[Pixl]]s to work around his people's physical limitations. This allowed the Ancients to build a vast civilization.<ref>Garson's "Pixls" reads: "''Those wily Ancients were smart, but not too strong. They needed muscle. So they made the Pixls for anything physical they couldn't do on their own.''"</ref><ref>Carson's "Creation of the Pixls" reads: "''A powerful magician among the Ancients created [the Pixls] about 3,000 years ago. [...] These Pixls became widely used as 'thinking tools' for the grateful Ancients. Through the work of many Pixls, the Ancients prospered as they never had before.''"</ref><ref>Carson's "Pixl Uprising's End" reads: "''The master magician had made [the first Pixl] after studying the Dark Prognosticus.''"</ref> However, a thousand years after the Pixls were created, a huge Pixl calling herself the Pixl Queen appeared and used her powers of mind control to turn the rest of the Pixls against the Ancients, leading them to be overthrown and enslaved. Amidst the devistation, the inheritors of the 12 original Pixls defeated the army of Pixls and freed the enslaved Ancients, but only one fighter survived to confront the Pixl Queen. Thanks to the sacrifice of his Pixl, she was defeated.<ref>Carson's "More Pixl Uprising" reads: "''The Ancients were overthrown and enslaved by the Pixl revolt led by the Pixl Queen. In the midst of the ruin appeared the inheritors of the twelve original Pixls. They defeated the waves of Pixl soldiers and freed the enslaved Ancients. [...] They saw their friends fall one after the other in battle, but they persevered. The last survivor managed to make it to the castle of the Pixl Queen. But the Pixl Queen used her powers of illusion to hide. She then unleashed horrific images upon the surviving freedom fighter. One of the Pixls at his side was immune to this, for it could see truth. It helped the survivor fight, and he and his Pixl finally defeated the Pixl Queen. But in the process, the Pixl's game was ended...''"</ref> The last freedom fighter was confronted with the awful truth that the Pixl Queen was actually the first Pixl ever created, and that the magician had made her using knowledge from the Dark Prognosticus. In order to prevent the Dark Prognosticus from being misused like that again, and potentially causing more tragedies, he took the book from her and went into hiding.<ref>Carson's "Pixl Uprising's End" reads "''The vanquisher of the Pixl Queen was confronted with an awful truth. It turned out that the Pixl Queen was actually the very first Pixl ever created. The master magician had made her after studying the Dark Prognosticus. So when the last surviving apprentice took the Dark Prognosticus from the queen... He decided to disappear with the book so that this sort of catastrophe wouldn't repeat.''"</ref> Due to the last freedom fighter being the one to steal the Dark Prognosticus, it is highly implied he was the founder of the Tribe of Darkness.
 
The newly founded Tribe of Darkness disappeared from the Tribe of Ancients and went to live in secret castle deep in forest, far from any outside contact. Despite their altruistic origins, their secretive nature soon earned them mistrust, with some accusing them of stealing the Dark Prognosticus to use it to enhance their dark magic, rather than hide it. Mentioning them became forbidden.<ref>Carson's "Final Tribe of Darkness" reads: "''They did something so bad that mentioning them has become forbidden. I hear they stole the Dark Prognosticus from the Ancients and hid it. [...] Some say they did it to use the book's power to enhance their dark magic... Some say they hid it from others who would use it for evil...''"</ref>


Some time after this point, the Tribe disappeared from the Ancient's watch entirely, instead going to live in a [[Castle Bleck|castle]] in a forest, far from any outside contact<ref>Carson's "Tribe of Darkness" states that "''no one even knows where they went to live, they were so secretive. There are rumors of a secret castle deep in a forest...''"</ref>. Their xenophobia is said to be based on pride at one point by [[Carson]], although they were also concerned that their magic would become diluted if they married outside of the tribe.<ref>Carson's "Tribe of Darkness" reads: "''Long, long ago, they broke off from the Tribe of Ancients to live alone. They avoided mixing with other people out of pride...</ref><ref>Carson's "More Tribe of Darkness" story explains that they "''started as a group within the Ancients who had more magic power. Fearing their power would be diluted, they forbade marriage outside the group.''"</ref> However, this line of thought eventually led to their downfall, as shortly before the events of ''Super Paper Mario'', one of their own, Count Bleck (then known as Lord Blumiere) fell in love with a human descendant of the Ancients. Then, when his disapproving father banished the girl from their world, Bleck opened the Dark Prognosticus and used its power to destroy the rest of the Tribe of Darkness and spark the events of ''Super Paper Mario''.
In their solitude, they still kept their xenophobic customs and attitudes, especially toward humans. However, this line of thought eventually led to their downfall. Shortly before the events of ''Super Paper Mario'', Lord Blumiere, a member of the Tribe of Darkness, fell in love with a human named Timpani, and they both ran away together in hopes of finding a place their love would be accepted. Blumiere's father learned of his son's forbidden love, so he banished Timpani from their world and cursed her to wander through dimensions forever. When Blumiere heard from his father what he had done, he went on a long search after her through the dimensions, which is when he met Nastasia. After not finding her anywhere, he returned home and took the Dark Prognosticus. Despite his father's desperate pleas, he opened it and awaited its command. Blumiere transformed into the evil Count Bleck and destroyed the Tribe of Darkness, leading into the events of ''Super Paper Mario''.


==Names in other languages==
==Names in other languages==

Revision as of 20:00, January 5, 2025

Concept artwork of Count Bleck with his cape remaining closed, from Super Paper Mario
Count Bleck, the last surviving member of the Tribe of Darkness
Nolrem, a descendant of the Tribe of Darkness

The Tribe of Darkness was a group of powerful beings who broke off from the rest of the Tribe of Ancients around 2,000 years before the events of Super Paper Mario. The tribe was known for being secretive and keeping to themselves, so not much is known about them, but it is rumored they lived in a castle deep in a forest. They forbade marriage outside the tribe out of pride and for fear of diluting their powers. They were also accused of stealing the prophetic Dark Prognosticus from the Ancients, with some suspecting they intended to use the book to enhance their dark magic; however other stories explain that they did it to prevent the book's power from being misused. Because of the accusations, mentioning them became forbidden.

Nolrem is a descendant of the tribe, and Count Bleck is the last surviving member of the tribe itself, having destroyed the rest of the tribe after his father seemingly killed the girl he had fallen in love with. In addition, it is hinted that Nastasia was originally a bat that transformed into a member of the same species as Bleck, whom she had fallen for, which would make her a member of the Tribe of Darkness as well.[1]

History

Before breaking off, the members of the future Tribe of Darkness were a group within the Tribe of Ancients who possessed more magic power, so they were valued as an important resource to the rest of the Ancients. The reason behind their power's importance has since been lost to time.[2] They held xenophobic attitudes stemming from pride and avoided mixing with other people. In particular, marriages outside their group were forbidden out of fear it would dilute their magic.[3][4]

3,000 before the events of Super Paper Mario, an Ancient magician used knowledge gleaned from the Dark Prognosticus to create "thinking tools" known as Pixls to work around his people's physical limitations. This allowed the Ancients to build a vast civilization.[5][6][7] However, a thousand years after the Pixls were created, a huge Pixl calling herself the Pixl Queen appeared and used her powers of mind control to turn the rest of the Pixls against the Ancients, leading them to be overthrown and enslaved. Amidst the devistation, the inheritors of the 12 original Pixls defeated the army of Pixls and freed the enslaved Ancients, but only one fighter survived to confront the Pixl Queen. Thanks to the sacrifice of his Pixl, she was defeated.[8] The last freedom fighter was confronted with the awful truth that the Pixl Queen was actually the first Pixl ever created, and that the magician had made her using knowledge from the Dark Prognosticus. In order to prevent the Dark Prognosticus from being misused like that again, and potentially causing more tragedies, he took the book from her and went into hiding.[9] Due to the last freedom fighter being the one to steal the Dark Prognosticus, it is highly implied he was the founder of the Tribe of Darkness.

The newly founded Tribe of Darkness disappeared from the Tribe of Ancients and went to live in secret castle deep in forest, far from any outside contact. Despite their altruistic origins, their secretive nature soon earned them mistrust, with some accusing them of stealing the Dark Prognosticus to use it to enhance their dark magic, rather than hide it. Mentioning them became forbidden.[10]

In their solitude, they still kept their xenophobic customs and attitudes, especially toward humans. However, this line of thought eventually led to their downfall. Shortly before the events of Super Paper Mario, Lord Blumiere, a member of the Tribe of Darkness, fell in love with a human named Timpani, and they both ran away together in hopes of finding a place their love would be accepted. Blumiere's father learned of his son's forbidden love, so he banished Timpani from their world and cursed her to wander through dimensions forever. When Blumiere heard from his father what he had done, he went on a long search after her through the dimensions, which is when he met Nastasia. After not finding her anywhere, he returned home and took the Dark Prognosticus. Despite his father's desperate pleas, he opened it and awaited its command. Blumiere transformed into the evil Count Bleck and destroyed the Tribe of Darkness, leading into the events of Super Paper Mario.

Names in other languages

Language Name Meaning Notes
French Tribu des Ténèbres[?] Tribe of Darkness
German Dunklen Klan[?] Darkness Clan
Italian Tribù dell'Oscurità[?] Tribe of Darkness
Korean 어둠의 일족[?]
Eodum-ui Iljok
Tribe of Darkness
Spanish Tribu Lóbrega[?] Murky Tribe

References

  1. ^ Carson's "Of Bats and Men" reads: "Once upon a time, a man went to look for the girl he loved, who was missing. As he passed through a forest, he found a bat stuck in a trap. He set the bat free. It promptly thanked him and disappeared. As he lay down to camp that night, he heard a voice and looked about. [...] There stood before him a woman he had never seen. The bat had transformed into the species of the one she had fallen for." It is strongly implied that Bleck was the man, Timpani was his lost love, and the bat was Nastasia.
  2. ^ Carson's "More Tribe of Darkness" reads: "They started as a group within the Ancients who had more magic power. [...] Their power was considered an important resource by all of the Ancients. But no one knows why their power was so important now..."
  3. ^ Carson's "Tribe of Darkness" reads: "They avoided mixing with other people out of pride..."
  4. ^ Carson's "More Tribe of Darkness" reads: "Fearing their power would be diluted, they forbade marriage outside the group."
  5. ^ Garson's "Pixls" reads: "Those wily Ancients were smart, but not too strong. They needed muscle. So they made the Pixls for anything physical they couldn't do on their own."
  6. ^ Carson's "Creation of the Pixls" reads: "A powerful magician among the Ancients created [the Pixls] about 3,000 years ago. [...] These Pixls became widely used as 'thinking tools' for the grateful Ancients. Through the work of many Pixls, the Ancients prospered as they never had before."
  7. ^ Carson's "Pixl Uprising's End" reads: "The master magician had made [the first Pixl] after studying the Dark Prognosticus."
  8. ^ Carson's "More Pixl Uprising" reads: "The Ancients were overthrown and enslaved by the Pixl revolt led by the Pixl Queen. In the midst of the ruin appeared the inheritors of the twelve original Pixls. They defeated the waves of Pixl soldiers and freed the enslaved Ancients. [...] They saw their friends fall one after the other in battle, but they persevered. The last survivor managed to make it to the castle of the Pixl Queen. But the Pixl Queen used her powers of illusion to hide. She then unleashed horrific images upon the surviving freedom fighter. One of the Pixls at his side was immune to this, for it could see truth. It helped the survivor fight, and he and his Pixl finally defeated the Pixl Queen. But in the process, the Pixl's game was ended..."
  9. ^ Carson's "Pixl Uprising's End" reads "The vanquisher of the Pixl Queen was confronted with an awful truth. It turned out that the Pixl Queen was actually the very first Pixl ever created. The master magician had made her after studying the Dark Prognosticus. So when the last surviving apprentice took the Dark Prognosticus from the queen... He decided to disappear with the book so that this sort of catastrophe wouldn't repeat."
  10. ^ Carson's "Final Tribe of Darkness" reads: "They did something so bad that mentioning them has become forbidden. I hear they stole the Dark Prognosticus from the Ancients and hid it. [...] Some say they did it to use the book's power to enhance their dark magic... Some say they hid it from others who would use it for evil..."