A/N AUTHORS NOTES: /*Sigh* I guess I had to get this eventually. I decided to rewrite some of my brother's old stories in dedication to his memory. I know that whoever actually followed or read or favourited this will be like "Wait… his…. memory?" Yeah, my brother died sometime in June, 2014 and he left me his abundance of USBs with his tales and his passwords to his accounts… So I feel obligated to rewrite this story (his first and favourite) and ultimately finish it into something that will truly outlast the others. I'll try and stay as true to the original content as possible, but I'll be adding my own spice to the mix; I'll be adding a better personality to Mirage, better humanisation, stronger supporting characters and better detail… so without further ado and to stop my bluh, bluh, bluhing… Here is the REVAMP of "Mirage: Cursed Protector". (P.S. A sequel is not out of the question if this story gets enough likes)/
PROLOGUE: A Curse Is Born
3rd PERSON P.O.V.
Some time ago, in the empire of Mobius, two babies were born. These babies would have both been born during a ceremony that the Mobian citizens celebrated every year; the ceremony of the sun and moon. This ceremony is to commemorate their ruler, Lord Jritanus, and how he kept this kingdom safe from threat for over one thousand years. They do this by celebrating one of the many amazing things Lord Jritanus does; how he raises both the sun and moon every day and night. Their ruler is kind and fair, but firm and stoic when he was to. The ceremony entails having a glorified fair out in the palace gardens and countless of mini-ceremonies (like blessing children with "Marks of Jritan", worship sessions and etcetera). The ceremony has everything from cherry pies to fireworks and everything else in between.
The babies however were different story. They were both born at the same time, but they were born from different mothers and from the same father. They were both struck by pillars of light during the early hours of the fair and were ushered up to the castle immediately to be spirit-weighed. That night, Lord Jritanus came from his royal throne room, to one of his many extravagant dining halls to witness the weighing of the spirits ceremony, this determined if they were pure and would be allowed to continue to live in the empire of Mobius, or be sent far away, never to be seen again. Lord Jritanus was a towering sight; about a head taller than most other hedgehogs, his spines were pointed backwards and flattened down by his crown; his eyes were like clear-cut diamond and his fur was gunmetal grey. He wore a flowing cape of imperial purple and armour boots and gauntlets, like he could be called out to battle at any time. The weighing of the spirits ceremony was in some points redundant in Lord Jritanus' mind, not a single citizen has ever failed the ceremony and he has never had to send anyone away before, so he wasn't worried for his sons at all.
Lord Jritanus asked his most trusted advisor to conduct the ceremony. The advisor was much smaller than most other hedgehogs, though he was a cat, (being usually a head shorter) and made him seem lesser in the immense shadow of Lord Jritanus. He specifically asked for the two babies to spirit-weighed in different sides of the hall for explanations that he only said could be explained with "reasons". On one side of the hall was his wife (the queen) and their son; a slightly greyish-mint green hedgehog with what appears to be a slicked back spinestyle and eyes more yellow than the very sun his father raised. On the other side of the hall however was a poor, clearly sick woman holding his "other" son, a dark-violet hedgehog with a distinctive 5-point spinestyle and tangerine orange eyes. Lord Jritanus, was sick of his wife and her attitude a long time ago and had an affair behind her back, he wanted someone that didn't care for how much money he had. This "child" was a mistake & a blessing in Lord Jritanus' eyes and he hoped that his wife will never find out about him or his affair.
Lord Jritanus asked for his advisor to get on with the ceremony. With an inaudible huff, the advisor did as he was told. The advisor was as aforementioned, really small and was dark-maroon in colour, with white streaks and rather shocking electric-blue (no pun intended) which stood out like a sore thumb. He walked over towards the queen and knelt in front of the child. The queen was a rich shade of emerald green and had orange eyes, attired in an extravagant nightgown. The advisor smeared a paste onto the child's head and, after a quick momentary glance up at the queen for permission, laid both hands on the child and recited a chant that was actually an old soul spell.
When he finished the chant, the advisor was transported into the child's soul. In Mobius, your soul determines your life and no force on Mobius or greater would be able to change that. That is the other half of the spirit-weighing ceremony; to determine what occupation the child should pursue in later life. The advisor, upon entering the child's head, looked around the "room" that was the child's soul to see any significant occurrences. The light was a warm yellow and the sounds that he could hear were something akin to a computer's keys and the sound of what he presumed to be a laser. The advisor was satisfied and physically exited the child's head.
The advisor regained his composure and wrote what he saw and gave it to Lord Jritanus. Lord Jritanus was intrigued by the description of the inside of his child's soul and was even more intrigued on how his advisor knew what a "laser" was. All well. The advisor crossed the room to the other child and his mother. The mother was a shade of crimson red, a lot brighter and more vibrant than the advisor, was clearly sick (coughing up her lungs and sniffing every 20 seconds) and was dressed in a simple worn pair of jeans and a simple shirt with countless holes in it. She herself wasn't ugly by any stretch of the word, but she has seen better days.
The advisor proceeded cautiously over to the violet child and crouched in front of him. He laid his hands on the child's head, after gaining confirmation from the mother, smearing the paste & re-recited the soul chant. When he entered the child's head, it was, at first, quite nice, with the natural brightness and heat of the clearly sunlight; in fact it was actually quite pleasant, the smell of coconuts and mangos and banana and grapes. "Weird", thought the advisor, but then suddenly the lights blacked out & temperature dropped to a little bit below freezing. The advisor, shivering, looked around frantically for a sign of something, anything. He was granted his wish. Two emerald green slits, for which the advisor presumed were eyes, appeared. All he could hear were the terrible, shrill screams of men, women and worst of all, children; all backed up by a high, sinister, maniacal laughter in the background somewhere.
The advisor, shocked with what he seen, backed out of the child's head so quickly that the force of the recoil threw him against a nearby pillar, shaking the entire room. Lord Jritanus hurried over to him and knelt next to him, a steady arm on his advisors shoulder as reassurance. Stiff with horror, the advisor stayed kneeling on the floor for a while. When he finally stood up and regained his composure, Lord Jritanus and himself walked just out of earshot from the others as they talked. 18 minutes had past when they came back to the group. Lord Jritanus walked over to his wife and told her to go to bed now. When his wife asked what the verdict was, Lord Jritanus simply said that they should enrol their child into a technology school when he is old enough. With that, the queen left the room.
Lord Jritanus, with a sombre look on his face, walked slowly towards the mother of the dark-violet hedgehog and told her as carefully as he could, wether accidental or intentional, but still getting the point across, that "their" son would be banished. Like she had got slapped in the face, the mother became overwhelmed with both sorrow and ire. She started sobbing and pleading with Lord Jritanus to rethink his decision. Lord Jritanus, positive with his decision, held out his big, ringed hand for the mother to cease crying, and then he called over his advisor and asked him to explain what he saw in the child's head.
The advisor took a deep breath, picked his word carefully and told her that her child will develop a curse and he knows nothing more, but that her son was the first to ever fail the spirit-weighing ceremony. The mother, with a look of pure horror on her face, argued with both of them, telling them that, their wrong and that there making a mistake. Lord Jritanus, obviously fed up, ordered his guards to seize the child and drag the mother away, carefully however. The mother, racing for the door, was stopped by two big, muscly fox-guards. They snatched the child from her grasp, and dragged the mother kicking and screaming out the door, but before the mother was out the door she asked in a strained voice, where her baby was being sent? Lord Jritanus said, with a grim look on his face,
"He shall be sent to Angel Island, far, far away from us, never to return".