Riba Lakes

"'[Riba] will bring everyone around him such joy and prosperity. Sooner or later.' - Riba's mother" Riba Lakes is a heroic man who lives in the Mushroom Kingdom. He accompanies Mario on many of his adventures, and the two love each other very much. He wasn't always a hero. Once, long ago, he was just about the most evil man you would ever meet. However, he has atoned for his sins and is now as happy and friendly as any other Mushroom Kingdom resident. If not a little more down-to-earth and cautious.

Appearance
Riba's design was slightly tweaked from his original design in (MARIO) The Music Box to fit the book's artstyle. However, his core defining features remain.

Riba is a tall man who resembles a human. He has soulless gray eyes, white skin, and long-ish, messy, dirty-blonde hair. He wears glasses, a tan business suit with a red tie, brown pants, a white undershirt, and black shoes. Under his shirt, he has a red bloodstone that is the source of his power. Under his hair, he has pointy ears.

His farmer clothes differ greatly from his ordinary clothes. At the start of the book, Riba wears his farmer clothes. He has a dark green cloak, a white undershirt, brown pants that are too short, and brown slip-on shoes.

In his demon form (Abor), he appears with paper-white skin, black spots, large gray eyes, fangs, a long snake-like tongue, and black horns. In this form, he has no clothes due to the lack of need for them. He also grows a tail.

When he reaches his arch-demon form, Giga Abor, he turns into a massive monster that only somewhat resembles himself. His eyes turn red, he gains a snout, and gains nostrils that resemble that of a goat's. He has a long, pointed tail that he can use as a weapon. His demon horns only grow bigger. His black spots disappear.

Early Life (First iteration)
Abir Toadstool (Riba's first iteration), was born in Myceliumalia on his family's farm. Sadly, his parents died in a horrible shooting, giving Abir a fear of firearms. He was raised by his older brother, Edson Toadstool, for the remainder of his childhood.

Abir, due to his parents' death and the trauma that came with it, became a very scared person. He was hesitant to do anything dangerous out of fear of ending up like his parents. He developed many mood disorders and phobias, and struggled to make friends unless his brother was there to help him out. He also became very greedy.

Adult years (First iteration)
When Abir became an adult, Edson moved away to the Beanbean Kingdom to pursue an entrepreneurship in opening up his own item shop. The two never saw each other again, and Abir inherited the family farm.

Abir adopted a Yoshi named Spot to avoid being lonely once his brother moved away. He figured that if he was to have a friend, it should be a pet. Abir always loved animals, even getting sad as a child whenever they had to kill a farm animal. He knew deep down, he wouldn't have good luck with many people socially. So he only kept a few childhood friends close.

Abir would work all day, to make sure he could rake in as much money as possible. He became a workaholic, and often would go many nights in a row without sleep. One day while on a rare break, Abir met a woman named Edith. Abir felt an affection towards this woman he had never felt for anyone before. He knew it would be scarier than anything he'd ever done, but he thought she was worth the risk to pursue a relationship with.

Abir and Edith fell in love instantly. One day, while searching for an engagement ring, Abir found a small child named Len in an alleyway. She offered him a deal on many pieces of jewelry, including bracelets for Edith's children from a failed marriage, a collar for Spot, and two engagement rings, for a price unlike any other: his mortality. According to the child, he would be reborn as long as she needed him for a study on human nature and their actions. He accepted, thinking Len was crazy. He thought he had gotten all of it for free. Little did he know... he just made the best mistake of his life.

Abir and Edith married, and Abir accepted Edith and her kids into the farm. One child, Vanity, would go on to create a kingdom on the mushroom island they lived on: the Mushroom Kingdom. At this point, Abir was an elderly man. He was so proud to see his daughter become a queen. But soon, he died by a gunshot wound, by an assassin from an unknown source.