Headcanon/Theory: The Emerald Island

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I thought I'd post a short story detailing my headcanon/plausible theory for the origins of Sonic, Tails, Knuckles, and even Eggman, along with other key locations and objects. While this theory is definitely plausible and probably fits somewhat within established lore quite well, I doubt it is intentional or even implied. Still, you should enjoy it.

This is inspired somewhat by the multiple theories about the hidden place murals/ancient aliens/ultimate lifeform/uhh... maybe its better if you just see for yourself.

AAAnnnyyyway, without further ado:

The Emerald Island

On a planet much like our own...

Not much was happening. Humanity had entered a medieval era. They constructed large castles and palaces, and they are pretty unimportant to the rest of the story.

The REAL story takes place on a tropical and magical island stranded in the middle of the ocean. Emerald Island.

It consisted of three landmasses interconnected by shallow streams and valleys, which threatened to break apart at these seams at any time. Nonetheless, it was intact.

To the South was the Dream Shores, a land covered in dreamlike landscapes. Truly, the entirety of the island was fantastical in appearance, but the Dream Shores took the cake with alien patterns and confusing, geometric plant life. There was a simple answer as to why this area was like this, but we will explain that later. 

Comprising the inland interiors and much of the Western shores was the Emerald Hills. Vast valleys were met with towering mountains and volcanoes, bordered by rolling green hills and dense forests. This was the most open part of the island.

Stretching from the North to the South along the East Coast was the Jungle. This was the most massive part of the island. Bordered by the same mountains of the Emerald Hills was a dense jungle with a large bay. In truth, calling all of this land a jungle would be highly inaccurate. The bordering mountains from the Emerald Hills reached so high here that they called upon snow and ice. Despite the magical nature of the island rendering it all but immune to general climate rules, it seems the rain shadow effect was still in play, as the mountains created a small (relatively), localized desert. Still that magical nature created an otherworldy effect, as the wet jungle crept into the dry desert. 

If the strange sets of intermixing biomes, out of place mountains, and the odd appearance of the Dream Shores wasn't enough to convince you of how alien this land really was, than you needed to look no further than the floating garden hovering above the land. Yes, it floated. It's pale yellow stone bricks, constructed into ornate pillars, were overgrown with green creeping vines. It was silent, but seemed alive.

Now that we have outlined the land, let's talk about the lifeforms that came to inhabit the island. 

For unexplained reasons, this land gave birth to a multitude of races. They resembled humans and animals alike. Walking among ground dwelling squirrels and rabbits crawling on all fours were bipedal freaks of nature on a path to sentience - and they were moving quick. Way too quick for normal evolution.

Some races went extinct, some left the island. As time marched on and intelligence peaked, three races were left. Hedgehogs, Foxes, and Echidnas. They didn't resemble the actual animals much, but we'll go with that anyway. 

Other than them, smaller, more normal animals occupied the wilderness, as well as some familiar and some alien plant life. 

As the races developed basic technologies and cultures, they grew together. They inhabited all parts of the island and shared a dream of reaching the floating garden that loomed above them. They extended into the mountains, across the valleys, into the forests and jungles, and even into the deserts. It wasn't until they started to dig that their cooperation faltered. 

Still in a tribal stage, the animal people discovered advanced ruins hidden in the depths of Emerald Island. Ornate palaces, prophetic murals depicting glowing figures, and detailed statues of a certain race. Juxtaposed to that, there were carved faces of bird-like people in the walls and decor. Clearly, they were not the first to inhabit the island. The three races stuck together as they slowly ventured deeper into the hidden cities, but soon discovered objects that would break them apart. The seven chaos emeralds.

Resting nonchalantly on top of an ornate disc in a murky cave under the Dream Shores were seven glowing gems of different colors. Upon touching the gems, the animal people felt extreme power and saw visions of grandeur. Taking a few for themselves, they soon learned of their power. It must have been the reason the island was so unnatural, and why the Dream Shores specifically were so, well, dreamlike. But with great power comes great responsibility, which is a motto that none of the races were going to follow.

Drunk with the promise of power from the gems, the races soon separated into their own parts of the island. The hedgehogs were first to segregate, taking with them three emeralds to the Dream Shores. They decided to go here as a result of where the emeralds were found; perhaps this land held an advantage for the emeralds. 

Soon the Echidnas separated too, taking with them two emeralds to the Jungles. The high mountains provided cover and seclusion for their race. Despite their quest for solitude, their story is far from over. 

Then the unassuming Foxes, who took two emeralds, assumed the land of the Emerald Hills for themselves, as it was all that was left. 

An awkward silence came over the land as the tribes formed. They no longer communicated at all. A sort of Xenophobia brewed within them.

The hedgehogs believed that the murals and statues within the ancient ruins prophesied that they should be the ones to hold the emeralds, as the murals depicted what they interpreted to be a hedgehog, and hedgehogs were the only ones depicted in statues.

The echidnas also believed that the murals depicted them, and sought to have the emeralds for themselves as well. After all, they believed themselves to be the toughest of all the races.

The foxes soon grew contempt with the other races, not on the basis of the emeralds, but because of the split in the first place. Seeing themselves as an outsider to the conflict, they started to believe that they were the ones destined to reunite the island, and seize power of the emeralds.

As a final act of believed superiority, each race constructed small palaces underground, designed to harbor each of the seven emeralds. 

It's still unknown who started it; was it the Hedgehogs and their narcissism, or the Echidnas similar beliefs? Or perhaps the Foxes and their quest to reunite - and rule over - the island? Nonetheless, WAR broke out.

Using a mix of emerald technology and tribal technology, the war raged on. The hedgehogs, with three emeralds, had the advantage, and soon started to stretch their territory out of the Dream Shores. The Hedgehogs wore their emeralds proudly on their chests, being imbued with Chaos energy directly. The lucky warriors who got to possess such power were said to have their spines raise like the hair of a frightened cat. The Foxes defended poorly, and bled territory at an alarming rate, but found solace using the emeralds as power sources for energy generatons and super weapons. And the Echidnas, while having a land advantage with their tall mountains, still fought a losing fight as the Hedgehogs made the island tremble with the might of their three emeralds. The emeralds the Echidnas did have were rarely used, hidden away for safekeeping; they saw religious importance to the gems and didn't want to use their power willy-nilly. The three races, once cooperative, yearning for the floating garden together, now lowered their heads and lusted for menial power and territory.

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Deep under the Jungle, as the war raged above, one crafty Echidna sought an end to this war. Excavating bricks and stone not far from the Echidnas emerald palace, they found a strange, glowing red orb atop a pedestal. They touched it, and they were gone in a flash of light. 

They found themselves in a strange haze. As the haze disappeared, it revealed something to them. They were a mile high in the sky. They were surrounded by clouds, pale yellow pillars, and green creeping vines. They looked over the edge to see the Emerald Island below them. They had reached the floating garden. 

Taking a look around, they found more carvings and statues of birds; very much alike the ones found below. There was strange technology all around them, imbued with glowing colors. Though emptied of all forms of animal life, the Echidna found the place wonderful. But most wonderful of all was the giant emerald. A large, green emerald, the same shape as the rest of the Chaos Emeralds, floated gracefully in between pillars and circular pathways, slowly rotating and reflecting sunlight across the gardens. This could be it, the end to the war. 

Without hesitation, the Echidna touched the Emerald and tried to pull. The Emerald didn't budge as the Echidna increased their grip. All of the sudden, though, the Emerald shrunk into a more manageable size and the Echidna tumbled back with it in tow.

Returning home, the Echidna displayed the Emerald to their people. They told the story of the red teleporter and the floating garden. The Echidnas soon discovered that the large emerald, now named the Master Emerald, was capable of providing its own kind of power. It was also able to transform and neutralize the two emeralds they had. 

The Chaos Emeralds were soon neutralized by the Master Emerald. The Echidnas, being a naturally tougher species, seized the Hedgehogs' and Foxes' emeralds for themselves without much trouble. But instead of conquering the Emerald Island, they drew back into seclusion to their Jungle home. 

The island once again fell silent. The Hedgehogs and the Foxes, now without the emeralds and any morale, had their civilizations begin a slow decay. The races stayed segregated as they once again looked to the sky at the floating garden, which now silently and slowly drifted further away...

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With all seven Chaos Emeralds and the Master Emerald to themselves, the Echidnas begun experimenting on them, trying to find the best ways to harness their power. They constructed multiple small palaces across the island. Slowly uncovering more and more about the Emeralds and their power, they constructed yet another test shrine on a small island. This island was still part of the larger island, but separated by a small river deep in the Jungle. 

Thinking nothing new would happen, they slotted the emeralds into the shrine and recited various prayers and chants. The earth started to tremble as the river bubbled. The small island suddenly rose ten meters into the air. 

Shocked by this revelation, the Echidnas gathered the rest of their kind and recited the same prayers and chants all together. And as they wished, their entire part of the island broke from the mainland and rose high into the sky, on level with the floating garden. The landmass took some volcanoes and mountains from the Emerald Hills and Dream Shores for a figurative crown as it tore into the sky. 

The earthquake that followed blasted through the Emerald Island, tearing it in half. The Dream Shores and the Emerald Hills were now not only segregated by race, but also by geography. They looked on in horror and wonder at the newly formed floating island. The Dream Shores came to be known as South Island as it drifted around the sea, and the remaining Emerald Hills stayed stationary and took the name of West Side Island. 

The floating island was to be called Angel Island by the Echidna chief. But the one chief the Echidnas had soon became two, then three, then four, then five...

And once again, war broke out. This time among the Echidnas themselves. Power hungry leaders desired the Master and Chaos Emeralds for themselves, and they gained followers in this plight. But as the war became more bloody and more costly, the clans unanimously agreed to end the war and leave the emeralds alone to keep the island afloat. They put the Master Emerald and the Chaos emeralds into the original floating island shrine, the one surrounded by the river. The clans stayed separated however as they licked their wounds of the battle.

As the Emeralds found peace in their shrine, Chaos energy was finally free to act as it pleased since the emeralds were found ages ago under what is now South Island. Chaos energy flooded into the surrounding river and gave birth to beings of Chaos and water - Chao. They were peaceful, infant-like beings who lived only to experience the nature around them. The emeralds also birthed a strange, mutated Chao, who hid in wait...

As time passed, one clan of Echidnas, known as the Knuckles clan, began to face hardship. Their part of the island wasn't very rich in life. They started to struggle for food and resources, with the other clans offering no help whatsoever, as they had all retreated into their own sects of the island in order to avoid conflict. A young Echidna, raised in this turmoil, swore to save his people from this destruction. His name was Pachacamac.

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Eventually rising to the role of Chieftan of the Knuckles clan, Pachacamac plotted a takeover of Angel Island in hopes to, like the Foxes of old, reunite the island under one jurisdiction. He plotted this through violent takeover, believing the Knuckles clan to be superior due to their hardships. But he would need a source of power to make it go smoothly... the Master and Chaos emeralds. 

Sonic Adventure plot from here on out, basically. Tikal is there, Chaos is there, etc. Not gonna bore you with too much detail that you already understand.

The shrine responded violently, as Chaos, the guardian of the Chao, took upon the power of the seven chaos emeralds and laid waste to the entirety of Angel Island. Only a small number of Echidnas from the Knuckles clan were left before Tikal, daughter of Pachacamac and Emerald savvy, sealed herself and Chaos inside the Master Emerald. After experiencing the utter destruction at the hands of untamed Chaos energy, the remaining Echidnas swore to protect the Emerald from any who try to abuse it's power again. With their low numbers and declining culture, one could only hope their promise could be upheld for as long as possible. 

Meanwhile, the Chaos Emeralds shot off the island and fell to the sea below. South Island caught a favorable six of them, and West Side Island only caught one. As they landed, though, the chaos emeralds disappeared into their own pocket dimensions as to protect themselves from the power hungry races on the islands. This would prove to be unnecessary, though, as the races had forgotten about the emeralds all together as the generations went by. The culture and technology of the Hedgehogs and Foxes alike suffered as their numbers depleted as a result of the loss of Angel Island and the emeralds.  

As South Island drifts across the sea for another few centuries, it rests somewhat offshore of a large continent, ruled by the United Federation. A man living there, a failing scientist and delusional man, named, you guessed it, Dr. Ivo Robotnik, sought to show the world what he could do with this genius. But he was rejected, called insane, a madman. They wouldn't give him grants of land or proper resources and materials. This stigma was a result of his ancestors.

Over fifty years prior, his grandfather, Gerald Robotnik, aboard the ARK, was able to make several groundbreaking discoveries. He would frequently visit Angel Island and learned from the ruins and remaining civilization of the power of the emeralds. The tale of the Water monster known as Chaos and the murals of a glowing spiked figure inspired his attempts at the Ultimate Life Form...

Also just the plot of Sonic Adventure 2 at this point. He goes insane, Maria dies, Shadow is sent to Earth, yadaydaydaydyaydyayaya....

Looking to convince the people despite his ancestry, Ivo Robotnik sought an unregulated piece of land to freely experiment with his technology. That's when he spotted South Island through a telescope by the beach. 

Overcome with joy, he set out on a personal hovercraft to the island. This would be a fateful encounter for him. Not because of the bounty of the island, but because one surviving Hedgehog wasn't about to let him have his way.

THE END

NOT REALLY THE END, OBVIOUSLY, BUT THE END TO THIS POST.

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So that's the Emerald Island story! I hope you enjoyed it. If you found any lore inconsistencies or have anything to add, reply below. I'd like to hear any additional evidence or branches to this theory, or any questions you might have.

For one, I tried to imply that the floating garden was sky sanctuary, and that it was built by the ancient bablyonians. I admit though, that I never played or experienced the Sonic Riders story too much, and what I know of it is barely surface level; if it doesn't fit, then let me know. I specifically reference birds though also because of the Labyrinth Zone and Aquatic Ruin zone parallels.