Rise of the Guardians: stories we tell Ch 1
This story is in no way a sequel or prequel to "the power of imagination." This is a completely new story I came up with. Please enjoy :)
Prologue
Ombric walked at a hurried pace through a secret tunnel in Big Root. The walls were a dark brown stone, laced with the roots of the ancient tree. No one really knew about this passage and Ombric intended to keep it that way.
"Ombric? What is this place?" Katherine asked as she followed behind the old wizard.
"A place for things to be forgotten. Did you bring it?" He asked urgently. Katherine pulled out a black leather bound book with silver detailing, one of Katherine's greatest bindings made specifically to the wizard's instructions. Ombric took the book and moved deeper into the long winding tunnel. Katherine shuddered as they went deeper and deeper into the dark. The place just pulsed with an ominous energy. It finally ended in a great black door bound with iron and silver. With a wave of his hand the door opened to a dark room. Another wave of the ancient wizard's hand set millions of candles alight. A simple pillar with an iron gate around it sat in the center of the room. Ombric carefully set the book on the pillar and began chanting.
"Ombric?" Katherine whispered. He ignored her and kept up his chant. The gate around the pillar began to grow up and around the pillar until it converged over and around the book like great black vines. The book gave a shudder and groan as the iron bands surrounded it. One could've heard the faintest sounds of shouting coming from within the book. Four gems formed at the corners of the newly formed cage. Ombric picked up each gem, whispering an incantation as he worked. They disappeared with slight pops. A key formed in the center of the cage and Ombric pulled it out as well, tucking it into his pocket. He waved his hand and the candles extinguished themselves. He and Katherine exited the room, Ombric locking the door with the key from the cage.
"Are you sure it'll be safe here?" Katherine asked as they walked back to the upper levels of Big Root.
"No one can find this place without those gems or this key. Even then they would need both to unlock it completely." Ombric said, placing a comforting hand on Katherine's shoulder. It never ceased to surprise him how much taller she had gotten since the battle of dreams. "Come now, I believe we have a celebration to attend." With that the old wizard and young storyteller made their way back to Big Root's main room.
Chapter 1: beginnings.
-302 years later-
It had been two years since Jack Frost had become a Guardian and things were peaceful. Jack had new believers by the day and the Guardians were a force to be reckoned with. Spirit, fey, and human alike were existing peacefully. Yes all was peaceful and, for Jack at least, boring!
"I'm bored!" Jack groaned to North, freezing the bell on an elf's hat as it walked by his chair. The elf shook an angry fist at him before going over to stand by North's fireplace to melt the ice.
"Then visit Tooth." North rolled his eyes at the winter spirit.
"She's busy." Jack said, slightly saddened that his girlfriend was too busy to see him, stupid football season. Jack flew up to a rafter in the ceiling, starting a small snow storm from his new perch.
"Bunny?" North tried, "Jack, what is rule about snow inside?"
"Sorry." Jack apologized, stopping the storm, "cottontail 'grounded' me from the warren." Jack made air quotes with his fingers.
"Season spirits?" North suggested. Jack just gave him a look that oozed one word, "really?"
"Right. Why not go explore tundra?" North tried once again, but at once knew the response.
"I've already done that." Jack huffed.
"Go visit Jamie."
"He's in school, and it's hot there."
"Visit Ombric!" North was getting quite exasperated.
"Who? Oh that old far-guy," he changed what he was going to say because of the look North gave him, "he's so… dull."
"He was my teacher, you should give him chance. Never know what you could learn from him." North said picking up the toy he was working on.
"Fine." Jack sighed, desperate for anything, and Santoff Clausen was a more pleasant temperature compared to other places this time of year. North sighed as he continued working on the toy, until a loud crash came from the hall. Quickly rushing to the door, North saw Jack had frozen the floor, causing numerous yeti and elves to fall and slide all over the place. One elf was trying to run which somehow caused him to slide backwards instead. North muttered something in Russian before sending Phil to get some mops.
Jack had tried to fly straight to Santoff Clausen but the wind pushed him way off course. He soon found himself flying over the Black Forrest of Germany. As he adjusted his course a magical looking light caught his eye. Deciding it may be worth it to investigate he dove down into the trees, pulling up a few feet from the ground and landing gracefully. The first thing Jack noticed was how unusually still the woods were. Not a bird chirped, no animals rustled the foliage, heck there weren't even pesky flies buzzing around his head. Even the trees were unnaturally still. A flash of red peeked through the trees, disappearing just as quickly. Jack chased after the movement, catching glimpses of what looked like… a little girl in a cloak?
"Hey, wait up!" Jack called to her. He flew after her, stopping just short of an abrupt cliff. It wasn't that tall of a cliff, but you could still hurt yourself on the way down. The strange thing was that there weren't even skid marks of where the little girl should've fallen. Come to think of it, there weren't even footprints from her. Jack turned back, retracing his steps to where he had first entered the woods. As Jack continued to look through the woods for that trace of magic or that little girl, a haunting tune floated out on the air.
"Fire, earth, water, air, which of these is most fair? Fire, earth, air, water, which of these hinders the globetrotter? Water, fire, air, earth, which of these are filled with mirth? Water, air, earth, fire, which of these made the choice most dire?" A soft voice sang. Jack looked around, trying to see the owner of the voice.
"Hello? Who's there?" He called out, thinking perhaps the little girl was back. The tune stopped and a small fairy flew out of the trees.
"Hi there, where you the one singing?" He asked, offering her his hand as a perch.
"From mountain to tree, I'm glad you heard me." The fairy responded, flying down to Jack's hand. She was taller than any of the baby teeth and more human than avian, her wings looked like those of a moth's and her skin, short hair and wings all matched the color of the bark of the trees.
"Ah, you're the kind that only speaks in rhyme." Jack smiled in what he hoped was a friendly way.
"To meet the one who brings the chill, truly this is a great thrill." She seemed friendly and was obviously smitten with his good looks, just like most every being that got a good look at him.
"It's nice to meet you too. What's your name?" Jack asked.
"Best not to know names, that way no tricks or games." The fairy seemed offended, crossing her small arms in front of herself. Jack suddenly remembered that with fairies and certain spirits, knowing a name meant you had control over them.
"Sorry." He apologized. Both he and the fairy looked up at the sound of a blackbird's caw.
"Best to move along, old chains are no longer strong. Be sure to take stock, and try not to knock. You should tell the old father, he ought to lock things away better." She said before she flew away back to the trees.
"That didn't really rhyme. Huh, that was weird." Jack said to himself. He shrugged and continued his journey. He reached Big Root in nearly no time at all.
"Jack!" Greeted the old wizard, giving him a pat on the back, "how are you my boy?"
"Just fine Ombric." Jack said simply.
"Good good, I have a favor to ask you. Could you freeze this for me?" Ombric said in a distracted manner, holding up a vile of red liquid.
"Uh, sure." Jack said, giving the bottle a light tap with his staff.
"Thank you, please make yourself at home." Ombric offered, focusing intently on the now frozen liquid. Big Root summoned up a seat and refreshments for Jack.
"Cool." Jack said as he picked up a snow-cone. Most of the other treats were of the cooler persuasion. The tree had even opened some windows to allow a breeze to cool the room. Jack wondered why he didn't visit Ombric more often.
"Uh oh!" Ombric said, just before a massive explosion sent everything flying back against the walls.
"That's why." Jack said to himself as he picked himself up off the floor. As he dusted himself off Jack noticed that he was in a part of Big Root he didn't recognize.
"Ombric?" Jack called, but the old wizard didn't respond. Jack sighed and walked along the hall. A sudden breeze encouraged Jack to keep going in the direction he was heading. The hall eventually stopped at a large black door. Curiosity prompted Jack to try the knob, but it was locked. Turning to go back and try to find a different way out Jack heard a click and the door swung open. A thousand candles sprang to life as Jack entered the room. A massive tree dominated the room. Upon closer inspection Jack saw that it was made out of black iron. The thick branches curved in a whimsical way and at the center of the tree was a thick black book. It was secured to the tree, but it looked as if someone had a key then they could open the book easily.
"Open the book." A faint whisper entered Jack's ears. Surprised, Jack looked behind him to see if anyone was there, but there was no one to be seen. "Open the book." Came another whisper. Jack walked closer to the book, the whisper increasing as he did so.
"Open the book!" A final harsh whisper ordered. Jack gently put a hand on the cover, it was surprisingly hard to open. Setting his staff down next to the tree, Jack slid his fingers between the covers and pulled. It was as if the book was made of stone. Jack huffed in anger, grabbing his staff and heading towards the door. The breeze he had followed him in pushed him back. The breeze blew against the book, ruffling the pages and causing the cover to lift a little. Jack approached the book again, this time using his staff to gently lift the edge of the book. It opened easily and Jack leaned forward to read the words on the front page. "Aperta seras, qui semper pulsat?" He muttered under his breath. A scuttling sound came from behind him, making Jack to spin around in surprise. His staff knocked against the iron tree as he raised it, ready to fire. A howl escaped the book, growls, cackles and screams followed after. Jack hurriedly slammed the book closed and flew out the door, the back draft he created closing it behind him. He continued his flight, not daring to look back. He only stopped after running into Ombric.
"Oh Jack, there you are. I dare say that last spell was more potent than I expected. Are you alright? You look like you've seen a ghost." Ombric said looking over the young spirit's shoulder at the tunnel that had just sealed. Ombric took Jack's arm and lead him to the sitting room, glancing back once at the wall.
"It's nothing, what was that spell for?" Jack asked as he and Ombric took a seat.
"It was Merlin's spell for finding lost objects. I guess I added too much dragon dust. Did you need anything?" Ombric asked, taking off his glasses to clean a bit of smog residue off.
"N-no. Just stopping by to say hello. Oh, on my way here I ran into a fairy…" Jack was interrupted by a very excited Ombric.
"Really? Where was it at? What color? Wing type? And was it male or female?" The old wizard stared at Jack expectantly.
"The Black Forrest, black-ish brown, moth, and female." Jack said. Immediately Ombric pulled a book from a nearby stack and flipped through the pages. That's another thing Jack liked about Big Root, the books in nearly every room.
"Did she look like this?" Ombric asked, coming to a page and holding it up. Sure enough it looked just like the fairy he had met. He nodded and Ombric took the book back. The title read, "Omen Fairies." Jack peaked over the wizard's shoulder and read some more. Apparently they only appeared to people who were about to either do something stupid or become part of a quest.
"What exactly did this fairy say to you?" Ombric asked carefully.
"Umm." Jack scratched his head, trying to remember, "something about old chains, and telling an old father to lock things away better."
Ombric paled.
"You didn't touch anything when you were in that tunnel by any chance?" He asked seriously.
"No." Jack didn't know why he lied, maybe it was his inner child that didn't want to get in trouble with an adult. Ombric sighed in relief. The two beings began to chat casually, Jack was surprised at how easy the conversation flowed.
"Well the sun shall set soon, better be on your way." Ombric said as he stood from his chair.
"Yeah, thanks for the food." Jack smiled, quite content. North had been right, Jack had learned quite a bit from Ombric.
Almost wishing he had taken Ombric up on his offer to spend the night Jack flew lazily back the way he'd come. As he flew the omen fairy came out and shook an angry fist at him.
"Did I not say not to knock? Now you've loosened a lock!" She shouted, regaining some composure she flew closer to Jack's face, "the song once sung, shall bring no fun. Remember to look for that book. So begins your quest, I do hope it turns out for the best." She gave him a soft kiss on the forehead before vanishing back into the woods below.
"Crazy little fairies." Jack yawned. It felt like forever but only took a few more minutes to reach the pole. He passed North, and an angry looking Phil, cleaning up the last bit of ice left by the winter spirit. North followed Jack to his room, just to make sure there were no ice trails left behind.
"Jack, how was Ombric's?" The jolly old man asked.
"It was nice. I'll tell you about it in the morning." Jack said, suppressing a yawn.
"Alright, good night Jack. Sweet dreams." North smiled, partially in triumph at Jack having a 'nice' time at Ombric's, and partially because of how almost peaceful Jack looked snuggling into his specially made bed. North had designed it himself, and with a little help from Jack, made sure it was constantly the perfect temperature for whoever crawled beneath its covers.
"G-night North." Jack said. North left the room, closing the door behind him.