Author's note: In order to make the story good, I'm giving my fic Lalotai a bit more time but don't worry, is all taken care of. I'm glad to hear everything is working fine, I'll update soon all the other stories, promise. The prequel is here and after doing some thinking, I'm going to use elements from that great movie Tarzan from 1999. After all, I have to explain from where that boisterous and bragging nature of Maui comes from but I'll try to keep details from Moana to avoid confusion. And don't worry, Tamatoa fans, he will be there! Our favorite shiny crab will be here. Oh, and I have to give a big congratulations hug to SonChihan for that marvellous story "To the Moon and Back". BRAVO!
Let's go!
1. Lost Child
The Ocean is a mysterious being, sometimes even for us gods. I always thought that, because Tangaroa ruled it, we would never have to fear anything from it but sometimes I realize that is not about fear but things we can't understand. For many centuries, I have watched from high above how this world changed, moved and was inhabited by mortals. It became a strange habit to live alongside these creatures. They are full of greed and seemed to never have enough but their minds always boil with new ideas. I always hoped to understand them somehow but that chance seemed to always escaped me until one fateful day, when the tides of fate put the very thing I wanted in my reach.
It was a day of clear waves and no clouds when I noticed something moving in the waters below me. The ocean was trying his hardest to keep a small object floating but I couldn't make what it was until I saw it was a small bundle made of hair and flesh. Thinking it was just rubbish, I went back to my things until something unusual happened. Something that was going the change the world of us gods forever. It all began when the silence of the ocean was broken by an unfamiliar sound. It was a sound like one never heard before in this part of the open seas. It was a man-cub! Had I known how deeply I was to be involved, I would have obeyed my first impulse and walked away. Mortals carried their babies in large canoes so his mother couldn't be far. Still, the little man kept on desperately crying. I couldn't turn around that second time. Not with such a small creature fighting for his life.
I, Rangi, god of the Heaves, have many children of my own. Many of them are now grown up deities but I couldn't help feeling bad for that poor little thing so I used one of my hawks to pick him up and be brought to me. He was covered in jellyfish and birds have started to try to eat the boy. I also observed that he was premature, borne before his time and yet he was bigger than the usual mortal babies, he looked more like an animal than a man but I could feel greatness in him. Even for someone so small, he had wasted his lungs in asking for help and had reached me. The little man was barely alive but when I brush my thumb against him, he held it still. I made up my mind then and decided to take him in as my own. I breathed life into the boy to keep him in this world and watched over him ever since that day.
I named him Maui and watched him as he grew stronger with every year passing. He quickly became my biggest pride and was always striving for my approval. I knew that he was destined for greatness but I needed him to be ready for the world outside. Fear made me realize that despite being mortal, I didn't want my son to be with his kind. He had been rejected once, what if it happened again? I couldn't do that to him and so, I made up my mind. I took him to see my older son, Rehua, the star god, who gave him the baptism of fire and my wife, Papa, the earth goddess, gave him some of her milk. That changed that little boy into a real immortal, a demigod, a giant among men. I feared for a long while that Maui wouldn't endure such a painful process. His mana had to be changed along with all his mortal features and it was such an excruciating experience that many didn't survive it. He screamed, agonized, tore his skin, trashed, turned, covered in sweat… and lived on. My little boy was now a real demigod who would one day be a full deity.
I was really proud of him and I could tell that he was happy of having accomplished such a feat. Even with all the sweat and tears, he was smiling at me. I thought that now it would be just him and me but fate had other plans in mind.
When Maui turned five, his hyperactive mind began to make questions I couldn't answer and I realized that he missed being with other children. He loved to play with my birds but that wasn't enough. He needed more space than just a patch of clouds so I called on Tangaroa and he accepted to watch over Maui along with his own children. Maui quickly became friends with the other small gods, especially Hina and her brother, Irawaru. They loved to run around the beach and watch other living creatures. They taught Maui the art of shape-shifting and even if he was unable to do it, my little man began to memorize different animals in hopes of one day being able to do so. I was sure that now things were settled but I was far from knowing that Maui had just started to realize how powerful he really was and the long journey ahead of him. A journey that would take him away from me and into the world where Maui was once borne.
First chapter and getting there.
It really got me that Maui had to know the other gods somehow. According to the story, he was raised by Rangi but then I realize that he had to meet Hina and the others while he was little. So I picked Tangaroa, the ocean god, to do the job and served as matai, island chief. The idea of the divine milk comes from the scene of Dragon Ball where Korin, the cat, gives Goku the Ultra Divine Water.
What adventures await the little demigod? How did he meet Tamatoa? And Kuna Loa? How did he get his hook? And Mini-Maui?
The game is afoot!