The Immortal Clockwork
by Td03
:finished in 1 hour in order to study FAST 0v0
They used to live in the other galaxies before most of them were wiped out by the Nightmares and Shadows that Kozmotiz accidentally released, thus ending the Golden Age and marked the beginning of the Dark Ages. There are others who lived but scattered, and Tsar Lunar, Seraphina Pitchiner, the Guardians and several few others managed to escape into Milky Way, a rather backwater amongst the other galaxies, but surprisingly, Earth managed to evolve, last time they checked it was nothing but hot volcanoes and ocean ragings. They can live there, passing through anything and everything of Earth. They were like the stereotypical ghosts that can just pass through anything. If they want to touch something of Earth, they had to belief that they can touch it, either by consciously or sub-consciously. However, they can never touch a person that that doesn't belief their existence. With some manipulation over parts of Earth and gaining attention from people, they soon were able to interact with people after having the humans belief in them.
Time passed, and peoples' beliefs began to dwindle as the ones who believed told stories of the spirits and legends, and people began to be skeptical and argues of its reality. Mostly those from the places that the spirits rarely ventured to but since they already sparingly came out to see humans, the stories of their 'mightiness' began to be seen as make-beliefs and it got harder and harder to make humans believe in them. Since it was impossible in the beginning to make each and every human believe in them, they decided to keep some small population only, and that was how religions, culturals, and tribes came to be.
Those were the Originals.
Seraphina had always been in tune with nature, and Earth's abundant nature, unlike most planets who were only of one type, made it difficult for her to keep everything in control. There were so many humans spread out evenly and they kill trees, polute oceans, made gasses and fire that she became disoriented from nature's cries and decided to create helpers of her own.
She tossed ideas with Tsar Lunar, who was also thinking along the lines of creating more immortals, and they agreed to do so with the limits that she would only control the elements of seasons, while Tsar would vary depend on the beliefs.
Seraphina decided to limit it to four as she had observed that Earth seemed to have 4 seasons on the whole, excluding the equator who only possess dry and wet seasons. She put those in the category for summer and spring. Using each four elements, she created Spring for Life, Summer for Ripe, Autumn for Fall, and Winter for Last. She had them created to obey only her, only with free wills instead of the fate of mindless drones, which made the Four grateful to her and did their duties.
They were created by Seraphina with elements in their core, so they need not any beliefs from humans. If they belief that they can touch something in Earth, they can, but they can never touch humans by believing they can. They can still make people believe in them, but since they were so busy and was always travelling all over the world, they saw no need to get too attached to a human.
They were called the Spirits of Seasons. And thus, Seraphina was given the title of Mother Nature.
People made and kept some beliefs for years to come. The current Ruler of the Sun, the main planet of Milky Way, Tsar Lunar (who chose to live in the Moon to monitor the only planet in Milky Way that houses living creatures), was in tuned to the very nature of belief. He gained strength from those beliefs and when he saw someone whose personality seemed to represent into these particular beliefs, approached them and asked if they would want to be an immortal to a legend. When they agreed and was fully aware of the consequences; which is to continue to maintain their belief lest they would weaken and die, much like the Guardians after they created their own legends─ Tsar uses his Lunar Magic to transform them. These "newborns" were told of the Guardians, who were the Originals, and they often deferred to the Four Guardians for help on how to maintain belief.
The Guardians themselves had created their own legend amongst the humans. People of all ages believe in them, some stopped while some stayed, but there were always the children who were so enthusiastic and eager for their arrivals. One boy and one girl caught their attention unlike any other, and their relationship with the Guardians were those of a close family to the point that Tsar Lunar decided that they are mature and understanding enough to be turned into immortals, and so, at the age of sixteen, they became Nightlight and Mother Goose.
At some point, Tsar Lunar had enough belief of fairies to convert people into them. There was a woman whom he approached, and she agreed, only if she can be turned into a Faerie Queen along with several of her friends. The woman, Clarion, was a very nice and wise young woman, and Tsar Lunar decided that perhaps he can give her friends a chance, he already observed her life and knew that none of her friends were ill of intent. The problem however, every person had different beliefs of the abilities a fairy has. Tsar only considered making them into faeries, he hadn't counted the possibility of that many types of fairies. Some were tinkers, some were dusts, some were even shit! But since there were some who controls light, water, wind, animal, garden, frost, which are all included in summer, spring, autumn and winter, Tsar accidentally breached his agreement with Seraphina. With some arguments, it was decided that ALL fairies belongs to Mother Nature, no matter what type of ability they have. And after identifying which is which, these fairies, led by their Faerie Queens, became the helpers of her four 'children'.
Including the fairies, they were called the Immortals.
All was well, until that one thing that bring siblings together and tore siblings apart: competitiveness over who's better who's stronger who's who ran wild. Four siblings who had once only had each other now began form friends in the form of other humans, immortals and fairies. Differing opinions created some distance. The fact that they were busy all time of the year means that they soon develop their own priorities and began to seldom seeing each other. One century where they would greet each other in the morning, the next they started to wake up later and missed telling each other 'good morning' to the point that it became awkward to suddenly greet the other again so they stopped, seeing no point in saying the same thing over and over again. Several disputes over some misunderstandings became unresolved, and their differing opinions made it unbearable to talk to the other and they would only meet if they should feel so nostalgic or if there is something of importance to talk about. They were not strangers, but they were not close either.
It wasn't their faults really. They were created as different beings in the first place. Summer was born to represent the satisfaction of life, when nature are at its peak of the time, and Autumn represents their wittling lives, to maintain its precious life. Spring was meant to represent the beginning, thus could never completely agree with Winter who ends her creations once she became too attached to life to let them go for Winter to pluck away.
Then the war came between the siblings. No one knows who ignited them, but both Immortals and Originals stayed away from the family's internal war. None was willing to say anything, and Mother Nature had no comment, but one thing was for sure, Winter died. Winter fairies scattered across the winds, perhaps regretful, perhaps in rage, but they maintained whatever little control over the winter season that has went out of control the moment Winter lost breath.
This tragedy marked Tsar Lunar's second breachment of his agreement. The long drawn out and particularly harsh winter gave birth to a new belief of he legend of an angry winter spirit lashing out. Tsar Lunar was brimming with magic of this new belief and─when a cheerful, loving boy he had been watching over for the past fourteen years died too early in order to save his little sister. Tsar looked down at the rapidly freezing body, and thought.
Not everyone was unaware of why the siblings went into war. It was something so small at the time that he didn't think much of it. Mother Nature herself let him be, so he didn't think he should interfere. He didn't have anything against him. It wasn't his fault he was tempted by the shadows, it wasn't his fault that he ended up as Pitch Black. He could have come to Earth to destroy the Earth, or maybe something as simple as to see his daughter again. If he came here for the latter, the Guardian will stop him again. Aside from their vow to protect children, the Guardians first mission is to stop Pitch Black─or to be more technical, to oppose the shadows controlling Pitch Black.
They weren't exactly sentient, maybe they were, but no one knows for sure and it's not like Pitch would ever indulge them with the knowledge. They seem to possess a free will, but at the same time, they always seemed to be controlled─most of the time, they just seemed to be there. Like they were always there on the corner of your eye or at the back of your mind. Pitch waged a smaller attempt to spread the Dark Ages on Earth, and succeded for a few centuries until the Guardians stopped him. With a horrifying cost: Nightlight died in the battle to save his old hometown people. The Guardians concluded that it was indeed too dangerous for children to combat in the war, and in fear of a second war with Pitch, they kept Kathryn in Santoff Claussen to make sure that she was safe. Who would have known that at a night like any other nights, after goodnight kisses and fun jokes exchanged, Kathryn died in her sleep, for it has been so long since people believe in the Mother Goose as she had never step foot outside to tell stories again. Something... something broke in the Guardians after their deaths, and the Big Four decided that they didn't want to go through the pain for the third time, and the best way to do that, is to never get too attached with any child personally. Which is quite easy, as they were, like the Spirits of Seasons, are always busy.
Their immortal enemy, in the weakened state the shadows has been reduced to from Nightlight's sacrifice, had his mind cleared for the first time in his long life since becoming Pitch Black. Leaving to see his own daughter, he encountered his own 'grandchild' instead. Despite their rather pleasant but awkward conversation, the shadows very nature to invoke paranoia and fear affected Winter. And their coninuous 'secret' family reunions only made Winter worse.
It wasn't Pitch's fault, Tsar thought to himself. It wasn't his fault that he was unaware exactly how the shadows affect the living creatures nearby. It was also his fault for not interfering, disregarding the fact that he couldn't have known how something as wonderful as a 'grandfather' and 'grandchild' reunion could turn into. It was also Seraphina's fault for completely ignoring her father, even though she might probably make things worse if she was affected by the shadows her father is hosting. It was his fault though, Tsar thought, for leaving things be with Pitch whose mind was clouded over with grief and controlled by the shadows again and leaving the Guardians be, busy and unsociable to each other much like the siblings.
But... as he gazed down to the boy who looked so much like Nightlight and whose personality resembled so much like Kathryn, maybe there was something he could do to help the Guardians overcome their grief and help the Spirits overcome theirs. Fully aware of how angry Mother Nature will be after this, but willing to believe that it will all be well in the end, a Guardian and a Spirit, Jack Frost was born.
Look, to me, Jack's 14. My little brother is 13 and he's wayyyy taller than me, than my parents, than most of anyone I know. And I can't say he's an anomaly because other 12-14 years old boys in my middle school are as tall as him and looks as mature, if childish, similar to Jack. If don't agree, well, age is kinda irrelevant when you're an immortal.
I dedicate this one-shot to creatively rant my hatred over the enormous amount of bashings in Rise of the Guardians fandom. Be it the Guardians, the Moon, Pitch, legends and even Seraphina, I can't stand all these bashings that just lumped the legends and spirits as bigoted and conceited people. Come on, people, the sheer potential of Rise of the Guardians fandom(!) and you're undermining them as 'boring councils' and 'spirit bullies'. I hope this inspires you stop bashing the characters. Hating them is fine (Heck I hate reading the Guardians excluding Sandy), but please don't bash them. I read a lot of fics that provided so many great theories that I can just tell the author has done their research but it was a little unbearable for me to read when there's a always a sentence of 'they were shocked' 'they were ashamed' 'he deserved better' 'they're all just selfish and got their reputation stuck in their heads'. It's legit, but having them as a focus and smearing them all over is a bit much. Not that I can dictate on how you feel. I can't even dictate how I feel, so it's hypocritical of me to command you to never bash. But I do hope some of you won't with this.
This is the last time I'm posting a new story for a long long time, as I'm going to focus on finishing my existing ones (BE PREPARED FOR AN UPDATE OF AoE RIN-CHAN AND 07-Ghost GOD'S EYES) and I've a chemistry test tomorrow first thing in the morning, and math test next, and english presentation next, and an exam for fifth semester of high school next week. Wish me luck (by reviews ^_^)!