Rise of the Guardians: The Water Guardian Debuts

Chapter 1: Casey Aqua

My name is Casey Aqua.

How do I know that?

Well, the Moon told me so.

But that was all he ever really told me.

And that was a long time ago.

On the coast of a pond in the year 1797, a young girl sat, her arms folded over her knees which were pulled to her chest. She stared out across the surface of the pond, a dark blue staff sitting close to her. She sighed and pushed her jet black hair out of her pale face, her sapphire eyes shining sadly. She looked down at her chest. The fatal wound was still there, mocking her about the fact that though it had been fatal, the young fourteen year old girl was still here. Granted, things had changed.

The young girl, when she was alive, had been known as the little fourteen year old sweetheart Cassandra Katherine, AKA Casey, the only daughter of an ailing mother whose father had left them ten years ago. Casey never did anything for herself. Everything she did was only ever for her mother, Nicole Katherine. The poor woman had fallen ill when Casey was only ten and had been ill for so long that caring for her was all Casey could ever be seen doing.

Then one tragic day, Nicole's illness won and took her life. Needless to say, Casey was devastated. Not wanting to face the people who had helped her in whatever way they could, Casey ran and began to live on her own. Of course, sadly, even that failed to work out for the young girl. One day, as Casey was out trying to find something to eat, a band of bandits came and, after a hard struggle, stabbed the poor girl in the chest and ran away, leaving Casey bleeding out beside a frozen pond, her crimson blood staining the snow around her.

Next thing Casey knew, she was waking up perfectly fine. Her chest was still injured but a voice told her that the wound would heal in due time. That was when Casey learned that she had died, but had been brought back and was now the spirit of the water which was Casey's favorite element. Casey had also been given a staff that held all of her power.

Now, Casey sat beside the very frozen pond that she had died at, contemplating what she had done to deserve this. You see, once she had woken up, all she knew was what her personality was, that she had died and been brought back as a spirit, and what her first name was. She couldn't remember who she had been before waking up and that disturbed her quite a bit. The voice said that from now on, she would be known as Casey Aqua, the water spirit.

Casey's head shot up as she heard the sound of cracking twigs. Coming out of the forest were three children, all of who were older then Casey herself. Casey, happy that someone seemed to have noticed her absence, tried to get their attention, but was horrified to discover that the teenagers couldn't see or hear her. That was when Casey discovered that she wasn't even alive really anymore.

Casey spent the next five years getting adjusted to her new powers. She figured out that with the help of the staff she had been left by who knew who, she could control water in nearly all its forms, save ice and snow. She could also breathe underwater quite easily as well as glide on underwater currents. Needless to say, despite the conditions that made her a water spirit, Casey grew to love her powers.

In 1802, Casey met a girl who was also a spirit, but a spirit of nature. Due to her connection with nature, she could see Casey as clearly as the fourteen year old had been before her death. It was on a full moon night when the moon was at its absolute brightest.

"Who are you?" she asked. She wasn't entirely sure that the older girl could see or hear her, but Casey felt there was no harm in checking and seeing.

"My name is Narain, spirit of nature." she answered. "Who are you?"

Casey held out a hand, switching her staff to the opposite hand in order to do so. "I'm Casey Aqua, water spirit."

Narain raised an eyebrow. "Water spirit huh?" she questioned. "Care to give me a little demonstration?" Casey looked at Narain and, smiling, nodded.

"Sure." she said. She turned towards the currently frozen pond. Jack Frost had been by and yet again, Casey had missed the mischievous boy. She wanted to see him so that she could talk to him, but for the last five years had always missed him when he came bringing ice and snow. Casey closed her eyes and raised her staff over the pond, the full moon filling her with strength. Jerking the staff upwards, the water burst from the ice and began to take all sorts of shapes, all of which flew around Casey but avoiding Narain. After several minutes of just making shapes, Casey released her control and allowed the water to fall back into the pond, though most of it just spread over the surface of the ice.

She collapsed backwards onto the ground and smiled up at Narain. "Well?" she questioned, gesturing out with one hand.

Narain shrugged. "Not bad." she answered. "But watch what I can do." Narain turned towards the forest and raised her arms. Immediately it seemed that the entire forest was bending to Narain's will. Casey gaped at the spectacle and then smiled up at Narain.

"That's amazing." she said. Narain's arms dropped and she sat down next to Casey, shrugging.

"It is nice." she said, then she turned and looked at Casey. Her eyes wandered to the still visible chest wound over Casey's heart. "So let me guess: Someone managed to kill you and you were reborn as the spirit of water, am I right?"

Casey nodded sadly. "I really don't remember the details. All I know is that I died in 1797, I'm fourteen years old, that my first name is Casey and what my personality was before I died. Anything more than that is a big blank." Casey set her staff on the snow-covered ground next to her and brought her knees up to her chest, folding her arms over them and resting her chin on her arms. "Really sad to be honest. I'd like to know who I was before I became Casey Aqua, but Casey Aqua is all I know."

Narain nodded. "I wish I could tell you I relate perfectly, but unfortunately, I can't. See, even though I too died before I was made the nature spirit, I can remember everything about who I was when I was alive. I can't relate to be honest." She half smiled at Casey, her jade green eyes shining sympathetically at her as the older girl ran a hand through her messy blood red hair.

Casey shrugged. "I'm learning to live with it to be completely honest." Narain chuckled and nodded.