A Mirage of Victory

Ch 3: The Fall of a Priestess

"I was a high priestess, serving in the temple of Bastet. That was a very high rank, one a woman very rarely achieved in our society. I was the most respected woman in the land, save for the Pharaoh's wife... but I still received some negative scrutiny. I sometimes heard the whispers of my people, scorning me for their own failure to receive blessings from the gods."

"They blamed you for their own shortcomings and bad luck? All because you were a woman?" Jafar's brows furrowed. That sounded very unfair... though he himself had been guilty of belittling women in the past. He'd better not display behavior like that around Mirage.

Mirage nodded solemnly. "As I led worship and taught, and learned about the gods intimately, I started to harbor a desire to be like them. No one criticized Bastet, or Sekhmet, or Isis for being female. They were praised! All because they can do miracles and magic. I became envious. Why shouldn't mortals have access to magic in their everyday lives, instead of waiting on the gods to bless them?

And so, I would approach travelers from other lands, asking them if they knew of any kind of magic. If I learned anything, I would sneak off into the desert at night, and try to practice it in secret. I would be the one to give them blessings and miracles, and they would love me."

Mirage's eyes brightened, as if reliving the passion and determination she had felt when she was young.

"But it wasn't until I met Phasir that I was successful."

Mirage froze then, her heart twisting as she remembered when she and Phasir first met. They had a magical night together, strolling through the papyrus growing alongside the Nile, hand in hand. She had been entranced by him, and he by her.

She had experienced love, the notion that she scorned and rejected today.

"Phasir was a cyclopean seer who knew many kinds of magic. I quickly struck up a relationship with him, and we saw each other often. I'd get as much information out of him as I could, and he never asked why. I practiced his magic alone, and grew stronger every day. I was sure he didn't suspect a thing. Until one day, Phasir confronted me...

He warned me that I couldn't practice such magic with jealousy in my heart. That it would make me 'twisted'. I didn't think he was trying to help. To me it seemed he wanted to control and contain me, like any other man in the kingdom. So I left him."

Jafar listened carefully and completely, far too invested in Mirage's tale to eat any longer.

"One night, I finally felt strong enough to impress my people. With my new magic I chose an image I knew so well, and transformed myself forever. It was a form I knew the people of Egypt would welcome... that of Bastet.

Excited, I revealed myself to the people, and displayed my powers for them. I made their crops grow. I made their livestock double in size. I turned their lodgings into solid gold! I expected them to worship and praise me after all that... but they reacted in fear. I was being shunned all over again!"

Mirage's eyes burned with fury... and pain.

"So let them fear me, I thought. Let them fear me, and suffer."

Jafar leaned forward in his seat. "They didn't deserve you," he swore. "You'd be right to punish them."

"And punish them I did. And I relished their cries of anguish and begs for mercy. I wouldn't be loved, but I would be feared, and no Egyptian would dare disrespect me again!"

The fire in her eyes died out then, and she slumped in her chair. "But the gods put an end to that. They saw it as sacrilege for a sorceress to mimic their appearance and use their likeness for such evil. So they banished me to this place, Morbia. I can never return to Egypt again. This Sphinx- well, and this food- is the only thing they sent here with me, and all I have left of my land. Perhaps the gods remembered all of my years of serving in the temple, and took some pity on me..."

Mirage trailed off and fell silent, her story finished.

Jafar was amazed to learn all of this. All Mirage had ever wanted was to be accepted and loved by her people. When that didn't happen, she learned to crave their hatred of her instead, inflicting damage wherever she could. And now she spreads her misery all around the world, and apparently now, to Agrabah.

"Your people didn't appreciate you before, and they didn't appreciate you when you became stronger... and better. It's their loss." The former vizier encouraged fiercely. "And believe me... All the best leaders in this world are feared."

Mirage's ear's flattened, and she could feel her face growing hot beneath her fur with... embarrassment? She didn't know what she was feeling right now. But it did feel good to finally be praised for her accomplishments and power.

"Now it's your turn," Mirage blurted, seemingly eager to shift the attention away from herself. She boldly locked eyes with Jafar.

"I want to know your story."