Hey y'all! So in record time I have the next chapter although, it ended up stretched out more than I had planned so the contest is still going on since I did not get a chance to introduce the character that I was asking y'all to guess. Though I did leave a clue to what they're identity could be in the chapter, y'all just have to watch for it. I'm sorry I cant say more because it will spoil it.
Disclaimer: I do not own anything in relation to Disney's Atlantis franchise, Dreamworks Rise of the Guardians, or The Guardian's of Childhood novels.
Now on with the story!
"I still cant believe that North- Russian North- is from Norway. Does that confuse anyone else?" Aster asked as they looked over the boat railings at the approaching dock.
"Well how De Luna said, nothing is as it seems. I bet he knows why the village is in Norway and he didn't want to tell us because North may want to tell us." Tiana answered leaning on the railing as she watched Jack have a discussion with Tooth about something in Atlantian.
"Maybe, still strange though." Aster stated looking down at the ocean waves and trying not to lose his stomach.
"Aster!" A voice screamed out making everyone on deck jump. Aster turned and saw Porc coming toward him with an angry look as well as a smug looking Baby Tooth on top of his head.
"Yeah, mate? Ya got a problem?" Aster asked stifling the laughter that wanted to come out. Tiana though had no such reservations and burst out laughing along with Jack, though he hid it better.
"Your bird is the problem. It was cute at first but now she wont leave me alone and she keeps eating my fruit! Just get her to stop!" Porc answered waving his hands to get Baby Tooth. Which worked for a few seconds until he stopped moving his hands and she landed down again.
"Well I'm sorry but she really likes you. But if its really bugging you, I'll make sure she stays with either me or Jack." Aster told Porc whistling out a low note that prompted Baby Tooth to fly over to perch on Aster's shoulder with a croon.
"Yes that would be much better." Porc stated before turning around ranting in french. Once he was gone, everyone burst out laughing once more.
"That just made my day!" Tiana cried out wiping tears from her eyes before she reached out to pet Baby Tooth.
"Yeah, me too." Aster agreed.
"Hey, I think we're docking!" Jack cried out rushing to the railing, though he almost fell over because of how fast he was running almost giving Tooth a heart attack. The rest of the group looked and saw that he was right. The dock that they were headed to was a small town that wasn't necessarily a town. The town had two docks, three boats and about 10 buildings.
The plan was that once they docked they will use a horse and cart to take them to the isolated village of Santoff Claussen that was a bit further inland. Though they have no idea what they will be facing they were prepared. Tooth and Jack were completely strapped with hidden knives and daggers. Although Aster saw that Tooth had strapped on two scimitar sword on each side of her hips. Tiana had a few throwing knives strapped on her wrists and a handgun strapped to her thigh. Porc also had a rifle that he carried in a case and a large hunting knife. Aster himself had a few throwing knives, a pair of boomerangs, and a quarterstaff with a short sharp blade at the end.
Other than Tooth and Jack, everyone's weapons were given to them by De Luna. Though Aster wondered how De Luna knew that he could use these weapons, but then again he did know his grandfather so he could have mentioned it to De Luna.
"Alright. Everyone, lets unboard." Aster ordered. The others nodded and followed him, though Porc had already unboarded and was speaking with a man wearing a dark winter coat with a hood . They were at Porc side just as the conversation between the two men finished.
"Nagork here says that De Luna has arranged our transportation and he has everything ready to go if we're ready to leave." Porc told them as the man gave them a nod. Aster stared at the man because for some reason the man would not look them in the eye and that just unnerved him.
"Well, we're all ready to go so, lead the way." Aster stated crossing his arms. The man nodded and turned to lead them to the cart and horses that De Luna had told them would be waiting for them. The group shared some glances, also unnerved by the man, but pushed back their feelings and followed the man, though Jack and Aster took up the rear of the group to speak privately.
"This man is very strange. He wont make eye contact or even talk to us." Jack stated in Atlantian as he kept an eye of their guide as well as their environment.
"I agree. I believe that he may be hiding something or perhaps he is just uncomfortable with foreigners. Lets just make sure to watch him." Aster replied also keeping an eye on the man. He could even see that Tooth was watching him from beside Tiana, she was even lightly touching the blades strapped to her side.
"Another reason to be suspicious of this man is that he had no reaction to seeing us armed. Its like he is used to seeing weapons all the time and this is a small village, why would they all need weapons? What would they need to defend themselves against here?" Jack added as he saw how there was no one walking around and there was just dead silence other than the sound of their group walking.
"Your right mate. It does seems like he's used to being around weapons and perhaps they really are defending themselves against something. Maybe its the same thing that is causing problems with North's village." Aster replied as they got closer to the large cart that would be pulled by four Fjord horses that were grazing on some grass as they waited for someone to put them to work.
"Perhaps you are right. So just what are we facing?" Jack asked. Before Aster could answer though, they arrived next to the cart. The man turned toward them, finally making eye contact with them, and began to explain how to work the cart.
"The cart is very simple to operate and the horses are strong and dependable. Do not let their size fool you, they are the best for this job. From what your employer explain, to get to this village your comrade is in, you will need to follow the main road out of town until you hit the heavy woods a few miles out. There should be a small trail, you will need to follow it until you no longer can." The man explained with a slight accent that neither of the group could really place.
"So what do we do when we cant follow the trail any more?" Tiana asked in confusion.
"I can not help you with that. That is all I know of how to get to this village. The village is not well known to any of us, I can not explain." The man hesitated trying not to say more. Yet before they could ask anymore the man turned around and walked away despite the groups attempts to get him to turn around and explain more.
"Well, I guess we wing it when we get to the end of the trail." Porc stated before moving to sit on the driver seat and control the reins.
"That was very strange." Tiana stated moving to the back of the cart with her duffle bag and Baby Tooth, who had flown off Aster.
"I do not trust that man. How do we know he gave us the correct directions?" Tooth growled out moving to sit next to Porc who looked surprise to see her there for he had expected her to sit in the back with Tiana and the others.
"We have to trust that De Luna trusted him. Besides, it doesn't seem like there is a lot of options for guides in this town." Aster replied as Jack and him entered the back of the cart with the rest of the luggage.
"Still this whole mission is so strange. I wonder what North's village is like." Jack added as he sat down and leaned against the wall of the cart. Once Porc saw that everyone was on board and so was all their luggage, he snapped the reins and started to head down the main road to get exit the town.
"So, what do we have planned to do when we arrive at the mysterious village?" Porc asked after a few minutes of quiet silence, though Jack and Aster were talking in hush tones and from the way Aster was pointing things out, Porc guessed that he was explaining things to Jack.
"From what I understood, North is having trouble and so we will provide assistance as well as perhaps neutralize the threat." Tooth answered as she polished one of her blades, though she kept scanning their surroundings.
"We don't even know what this threat is and we don't even know where the village is at? We need more information. Did North tell anyone anything about the village and what its like?" Aster asked as he stretched his arms above his head with a groan.
"Well he said that he once tried to rob the village but ended up saving them from a bear and getting healed by them when he got injured. I was sure he said the village was in Russia because of the Cossacks and that Ombric, who taught him about medicine and was the leader of the village, saved him from his lifestyle. Maybe another bear is attacking them." Tiana answered leaning her face on her fist.
"Yeah I remember him telling me that when we were traveling to find Atlantis, the night before we met Jack." Aster remembered thinking back to that day.
"Oh, so before your camp caught on fire? I remember seeing you all sitting together eating something." Jack recalled with a grin.
"Stalker. But yeah, that's all I really remember him saying about his home." Aster stated throwing a smile at Jack who returned it while Tooth just snorted at the stalker comment.
"Other than the bear thing that Tiana mentioned, that all I know really. He doesn't talk about his home or past much." Porc told them and then added, "Hey I think I see the trail. No wonder people don't know about this village, I was looking for the damn trail and I barely found it. How do these people get supplies?" Everyone looked ahead and saw that Porc was right. A few feet in front of them there was a dense forest and a small trail could be seen and it looked like their cart would barely fit through the tight opening in the trees. If anything their cart will be rubbing its sides against the trees.
"Maybe they're self-sufficient. Well full steam ahead." Aster said as Porc ordered the horses to go a bit faster. Before too long they were surrounded by greenery as they followed the trail. Though, given that the trail was so tight, it caused the ride to be very rocky and jarring. While everyone wanted to complain they really couldn't blame Porc who was cursing with each jar of the cart. After a few minutes the ride suddenly became smooth and they arrived in a clearing that was completely surrounded in trees too thick to pass through with the cart.
"Well this is the end of the trail and the village is nowhere to be seen. I guess we should get off." Porc stated as he brought the cart fully into the clearing. Everyone agreed and disembarked. After a few minutes of stretching and getting the luggage off the cart everyone looked around and tried to find evidence of the village. Yet all they found was more trees, no signs of any civilization anywhere.
"This is ridiculous. How is it that there is no sign of the village when this is where its suppose to be?" Tiana cried out sitting down on the grass with Baby who gave out a mournful croon.
"Um, I just realized this but where is the snow?" Tooth asked as she looked around.
"What?" Aster asked confused by why Tooth would ask about snow.
"When we were at the town there was snow everywhere and while we were on the main road and even coming down the trail there was snow everywhere. And look there is snow on the ground in the trees surrounding us. Yet there is no snow in this clearing, its not even cold." Tooth explained gesturing to the trees around them. After she finished explaining, everyone was able to see that she was telling the truth. The clearing was warm like a summer day, in fact almost all of them had taken off their winter coats because of the heat, and the only other place that didn't have snow was a small path leading into the dark forest.
"Your right. How did we not notice?" Tiana agreed.
"Maybe we didn't notice because we were frustrated and distracted, but what does it mean?" Porc asked.
"Well I know that Winter should be here and that this isn't a natural occurrence." Jack told them with a strange look on his face.
"How do you know that Jackie?" Aster asked as he watched Jack go still and cock his head like he was listening for something.
"I'm not sure why but I feel like something is telling me that there should be a flurry here as well as a few other places that I don't know. And they're telling me that there is a large area that is free of snow when there should be snow and its because something is stopping them. They say they can lead me to it." Jack answered in a hollow voice.
"Who's talking to you Jack?" Tooth asked with concern.
"I don't know. But I think we should trust them." Jack answered moving toward the path that had no snow.
"Wait! Jack!" Aster cried out grabbing Jack around the waist to stop him. Jack struggled for a moment before he suddenly went limp. "Jack?" He asked shaking him a bit, Jack jumped and stood up straight with a shake of his head and looked around confused. "You alright?"
"Yeah I'm fine Aster. Just felt like I wasn't in my body for a bit." Jack assured him though he still looked out at the snow-free path.
"Alright Love. Are you sure that you don't know who was talking to you?" Aster told him turning him away from the path.
"No I don't but, I feel connected to them somehow." Jack replied still trying to look at the path.
"Jack what do you mean that you feel connected to them?" Tooth asked placing a hand on Jack's cheek to look into his eyes. They looked distant and so unlike him.
"Like they're part of my soul, like we've been apart for years and have just been reunited. I don't know how else to describe it, but they mean us no harm. They mean me no harm." Jack explained his eyes sparking with determination to make them believe him. The others shared a glance but before they could tell Jack what they thought a large roar echoed throughout the forest freezing everyone.
"Did that sound like a-"Porc started before another roar interrupted him, this one closer.
"Bear." Tiana stated as they began to hear rustling coming from behind them causing Baby to give out a squawk in panic. The ground then began to vibrate as the bear got closer.
"A really large bear." Aster added. Just as he was about to tell everyone to get back on the cart, the horses got spooked and ran down the trail disappearing. But before they could chase the horses, the bear arrived in the clearing. Large was not the word to describe it. It was enormous, with almost pure white fur except for a patch of black fur on its chin. What was the strangest thing about the bear was that it was wearing armor. It was wearing a collar-like piece of armor that was made of gold and had some type of insignia stamped on the center, its wrists were also wearing armor that was gold and had the same insignia as well as some other designs. The bear stood on its two legs, appearing even larger, and gave out a mighty roar.
"Run!" Porc shouted grabbing Tiana by the arm and dragging her down the snow clear path. Aster grabbed Jack's hand and pulled him down the path as Tooth followed with a snarl. Baby flew after them taking the lead. They all ran down the path with their hearts pounding and with each roar of the bear they moved faster. Yet as suddenly as the bear appeared it was gone and the group was in another part of the forest that was filled with then white trees. And once again the snow was gone and there was nothing around yet they all felt like something or someone was watching them.
"Why- why isn't the bear chasing us anymore?" Tiana asked out of breathe and trying to slow her heart beat down.
"No idea. And this area doesn't look like it belongs in Norway." Porc answered wiping the sweat off his forehead.
" Yeah, this doesn't seem right. And that bear had armor. That's someones bear." Aster stated taking a look around.
"They say he's a protector." Jack said with a small voice from where he sat on a small boulder.
"What is he protecting?" Tooth asked after a moment of silence.
"The large area they were going to show me, and they are also warning me right now." Jack answered looking out at the trees looking for the threat that the voice was telling him about, Baby Tooth also looked around from her perch in a tree cocking her head.
"Warning you about what?" Tiana asked disturbed by this quiet Jack.
"Just don't accept anything. It will end your life." Jack answered moving away from the group.
"Wait. Jack where are you going?" Aster asked scared for him and scared of how he was acting.
"Just follow me and trust me. And remember accept nothing." Jack told them before he vanished into the dark woods with Baby Tooth on his shoulder.
"Well, I guess we follow. Right?" Porc said moving to follow Jack.
"Yeah, lets hurry before something happens to him. Then we find out what the hell is going on in this damn woods." Aster replied. The others nodded and moved to follow and though they tried to look calm, everyone had a hand on their weapons, ready to fight if it came down to it.
As they walked through the dark woods, they could see that Jack was right ahead of them and seemed to be talking to someone. The others were unnerved and though they tried to hear what Jack was saying, they heard nothing.
"This is very creepy." Tiana stated trying to chuckle but it quickly died down when they heard a branch snap.
"I'm more disturbed by Jack and his imaginary voice." Porc replied scanning their surrounding with suspicion.
"Me too. This has never happened before and I don't know why its happening now." Tooth stated keeping an eye on Jack.
"No idea Tooth. Maybe its this place, remember what De Luna said? Nothing is as it seems." Aster reminded them. Then he suddenly had an idea. He reached down his shirt and pulled out his crystal and saw that it was glowing. "Tooth! Pull out your crystal!"
"What?" She asked but did as he said anyway and saw that her crystal was also glowing.
"Why are they glowing?" Tiana asked.
"I don't know. But maybe its reacting to magic." Aster suggested.
"Why do you say magic is causing it to glow." Porc asked.
"Its the only thing I can think of that makes sense about this place. Why the village is so hard to get to, why there is a large bear with armor, and why Jack is being so strange. Also Tooth, Jack, and I are attuned to the elements more than you two are so maybe Jack is being so strange because of his connection to Winter. Maybe the balance of the seasons is just getting to him." Aster explained.
"What do you mean balance of the seasons?" Tiana asked.
"I could explain. See all of nature must be balanced and since this area isn't experiencing Winter as it should be its out of balance and perhaps its try to get Jack to fix it." Tooth told them. But before they could discuss what they thought some more, Jack came to a dead stop.
"Remember not to accept anything." Jack told them before he moved forward and spoke once more, " I will like nothing from you. If I may pass." Then he walked in front of a large tree and stepped through it, vanishing.
"Jack!" Tooth cried out as she ran to where he vanished. But as she touched the tree, all she felt was rough bark. "He's gone!" She turned to ask the others for their help yet when he turned around she saw that they were gone.
"Tiana? Porc? Aster? Where are you?" Tooth cried out trying to find them but all she got was silence. Then a noise rang out behind her, it sounded like stones and metal moving against each other as if someone was covered in them. She slowly turned around drawing one of her swords, yet as she faced the commotion she was shocked into dropping her sword.
Standing in front of her was a mesmerizing, gorgeous woman. The first thing that Tooth noticed was her eyes, they shined with such brilliance and were greener than emeralds. It was as if they held all the beauty in the world and Tooth was frozen by their glow. The woman smiled, showing the most beautiful smile she had every seen. Tooth was in such a trance that she didn't even notice that the woman was transparent and that she was not touching the ground. She didn't see that the woman was shining with a variety of jewels, it was as if she was made out of jewels and mist.
"Hello. I'm the Spirit of the Forest." She introduced herself with a voice that sounded like an angel.
"Hello. I'm Anna." Tooth replied in a breathless tone, not even registering that the woman called herself a spirit.
"A pleasure to meet you. Would you like a gift?" She asked moving closer.
"What kind of gift?"
"The one that all humans crave." She replied before raising her arms and showing Tooth her palms, once she had her attention, gold coins suddenly began to pour out of her palms until there was a large pile between them. "Please accept it." She pleaded moving away with that same disarming smile. Tooth stared down at the gold in confusion, why would this woman want to give me gold and how was she able to create it out of her palms? Yet Tooth was tempted to accept it just to please her yet Jack's warning rang through her head, "Remember not to accept anything". Once she remembered Jack's warning she was able to shake off the woman's charm. She was no ordinary woman. Now that she wasn't dazzled by the woman, she could see that she wasn't human and so she backed away, grabbing her sword.
"I wont accept anything from you, now let me pass and find my King." She told the woman who gave her an even bigger smile.
"Very well. You may pass and find your King. Your companions also passed and will be waiting for you. Well done." She told her before she suddenly vanished and Tooth found herself standing in front of the rest of the group , all looking shocked to see one another except for Jack who was sitting on the ground with a large smile as the wind played with his hair and Baby slept on his knee.
"What just happened? How did we get here?" Tooth asked, her knees feeling weak.
"I'm not sure, when we went after Jack, I found myself alone and this gorgeous woman just appeared in front of me and offered me gold. I was tempted but then I remembered what Jack said and I said no. Then I was here." Tiana told them sinking to the ground trying to process what had just happened.
"The same thing happened to me. I almost said yes. She was just mesmerizing and I didn't want to disappoint her. It was insane." Porc added looking disturbed.
"Yeah mate, exact same thing happened to me. It was...I cant even describe it." Aster replied going over to Jack and taking one of his hands for comfort. Jack smiled up at him and pressed a kiss to Aster's hand trying to give him some comfort.
"That occurred to me as well. I had never felt like that before. It was like I lost all of my training and forgot my mission. I almost failed her test." Tooth said sitting on a nearby stump. Now that she was calmer and more centered, she took a moment to look around their surroundings and saw that they were once again in a clearing. The clearing was filled with flowers and bright grass. There were insects flying around and birds singing, giving the whole clearing a calming and peaceful environment.
"Well I'm glad that you all resisted temptation and the Spirit of the Forest is glad as well, she really wanted us to pass to help Santoff Claussen. She even placed us a few feet away from the village." Jack told them.
"I remember her saying she was the Spirit of the Forest. So she's another protector like the bear? Why did she have to test us?" Tooth asked adjusting her swords.
"Yes she is, and she wanted to make sure we were pure of heart and pure with our intention. North almost failed when they met. So shall we get going?" Jack explained getting Aster's help to stand up as well as get Baby to wake up and fly over to Porc to perch on his headgear.
"How do you know all this, you only talked to her for like a minute?" Tiana asked also standing up.
"The Voice told me, they carried a message from her. So if there are no more questions, we really should get moving. North still needs our help." Jack answered moving away.
"Jack, what voice?" Aster asked but Jack just shrugged and continued to walk out of the clearing. Aster shared a look with the others but since the "Voice" had so far helped them, they saw no reason not to trust Jack and so followed him. As they walked a few feet out of the clearing they began to hear something that didn't belong in the woods. It was children's laughter.
"I'm not hearing things right? Those are children's voices." Tiana stated looking around to see if she could see the kids.
"No, I can hear them too. We must be by the village. Come on, lets pick up the pace." Aster told them falling into a light jog. The others followed his example and began to jog, before too long they could see the trees were thinning out and the laughter was getting louder. Soon enough they exited the trees and were now in an open area that was filled with many houses and right in the center was a strange looking house that looked like it was built into a large tree. People were walking around and children were running around playing some type of game, yet as soon as the villagers noticed the group, they came to a standstill. All the children were quickly grabbed and forced behind an adult.
"Um, hi! Uh, we mean no harm. We were asked to come and provide help." Aster told them yet they all just stared and began to whisper in a variety of different languages that made it difficult for Jack, Tooth, and Aster to translate. "Uh, is North here? Nicholas North? He's the one that called us." He added though he grew quiet as he finished the sentence still unnerved by the silence.
"Well, at least they're not attacking us." Porc stated also unnerved. Baby, who had managed to stay perched as they jogged, gave out a fearful coo and landed down onto Porc's shoulder for comfort.
"Yeah, but they're looking at us like we're freaks. I think I would prefer it if they attacked us." Tiana added shuffling in unease.
"They just saw total strangers enter their village and all they do is stare? If we were violent, this village would be burned to the ground. No wonder North needed backup, they're hopeless." Tooth stated bluntly.
"I believe they became relent on the bear and Spirit of the Forest. They don't expect anyone to get through. They don't believe that it would happen. They really need to realize that they need to defend their home better." Jack added.
As the group talked, a group of people exited the large tree and began to walk toward them until they were a few feet away from them. Within the group they saw an elderly man who looked like a stereotypical wizard with a long white beard, white bushy eyebrows, a pointed hat, and robes. Then there was a young girl that looked around 15 years old, she had shoulder length curly auburn colored hair, with gray eyes. She looked like a kind and compassionate young girl. The third person was North himself who looked at them with a large grin though his eyes held worry.
"Friends! You came!" North shouted with a laugh giving all of them a crushing hug, though Tooth and Jack dodged the hug.
"Of course we came North. You said you were having trouble and we're your friends. We'll always help you." Tiana told him with a smile.
"Thank you. Now allow me to introduce you to some friends of mine." North replied before he gestured to his friends behind him.
"This is the man that saved my life and inspired me to become a doctor. Mr. Ombric Shalazar." He told them gesturing to the wizard looking man who gave them all a warm smile, yet as his name was said, Tooth frowned and mouthed his name sure that she recognized that name somehow.
"And this beautiful young lady is his daughter Katherine. She is like little sister to me." He said gesturing to the young woman who smiled at them and waved.
"Its very nice to meet you both. Allow me to introduce you to our group. This is Tiana, Porc, Anna, though you can call her Tooth, and Jack. I'm Aster. We hope we could help with any trouble that you may have." Aster introduced them, purposely keeping Tooth and Jack's heritage and titles out.
"Anna? I could have sworn that you seem very familiar. In fact you both do." Ombric stated staring at Jack and Tooth as if he was trying to read their minds. Tooth and Jack both tensed up and lightly touched their weapons, though Aster was the only one to notice.
"I highly doubt you would know us Mr. Salazar. We aren't really from around here." Tooth told him lightly pushing Jack behind her. Then Ombric suddenly stood up straight looking so shocked he actually back up a bit.
"Ombric, what is wrong?" North asked surprised at how he was acting, Katherine also looked concern and placed a hand on her adopted fathers arm.
"Άννα?" He whispered in disbelief.
"What did you just say?" Tooth gasped out. Jack moved in front of Tooth and glared at the man.
"How do you know that name?" He asked.
"I thought that I was the last Atlantian. I did not realize that more survived or that she had survived." Ombric answered in Atlantian. Aster, Jack, and Tooth gasped in shock at hearing Ombric speak though the others were confused about what had just been said.
"I remember you now. You were a teacher at the palace, the day of our doom you had left to research the mainlands. We figured you had died. We mourned you. Your alive. How did you survive?" Tooth cried out rushing to give Ombric a hug. Ombric returned the hug and pulled back with shining eyes.
"So if I may be reintroduced to this young man. I'm sure Jack is not your full name." He stated reaching a hand out to shake Jack's hand.
"My name is Jacksonkadash. Its an honor to meet you, though I regret not remembering you, I was very young when the day of our doom occurred." Jack told him shaking his hand. Yet when Jack told Ombric his full name, he froze and looked at him in shock.
"Your the prince. Forgive me for not recognizing you your highness." Ombric apologized giving him a bow as Jack blushed.
"Um, you don't need to bow or apologize. We aren't at the city and I really just want to be treated normally. Also I was a child when you were at the city, I don't believe you would really recognize me from that." Jack told him feeling the others who didn't understand what was going on stare at him.
"Actually Ombric, he is no longer a prince. He is now the King of Atlantis. Unfortunately his mother was chosen by the Heart to protect the city and we lost her. His father was also killed a few years ago by a terrible man." Tooth explained placing an arm around Jack in comfort.
"Ah, I see. I am very sorry for your lose your majesty- I mean Jack. Your mother and father were great rulers and incredible people." Ombric said with a sincere look.
"Thank you Ombric. Now how about we switch to English, that way everyone can understand what we're saying and Aster has a break from translating." Jack said with a smile.
"Yes, that's a good idea. I apologize everyone. Its just been so long since I've spoken in my native tongue." Ombric said to the group. "Um, so Aster. You are also from Atlantis?" He asked since Jack said he was translating.
"Nah mate. I mean I live there now but I was from Australia and then America. I was on the exploration with North a few years ago. I decided to stay though, for Jack." Aster explained with a laugh.
"Um, wait. So Ombric is from Atlantis? North, why didn't you tell him you found the city and that his people were alive?" Tiana asked confused by how Ombric had no idea Atlantis survived.
"Well, after expedition war began and I was one of first to volunteer as a field doctor. This is zhe first time I vas able to come to village. And I did not know Ombric was an Atlantean. He never say." North answered in his defense.
"Yes that is true. I have not seen Nicholas for a long time now and I never told anyone I was an Atlantian. It was a painful memory and I figured I was the last and saw no point in bring up my past. But I am glad to know our culture is still alive and well." Ombric stated.
"Well you should know that currently, Atlantis lies below the ocean. But our people are now thriving because of Aster. We had lost our history and language but we found it because of him and because of them." Jack told him giving Aster's arm a hug and the others a smile.
"I'm glad. Now that I have been rude enough. Why don't we head to my home, I'm sure you are all exhausted and I would love to hear more about this exploration and about Atlantis." Ombric offered moving to wave a hand to the village that had gone back to normal once Ombric, North, and Katherine had approached them.
"Welcome to Santoff Claussen!"
So I hope y'all liked this chapter and like I said above, I did not plan for how this chapter turned out and I wasnt going to make Ombric an Atlantian originally but since that is what he is in the books I decided to include it. Also the Voice that Jack is listening to will be explained in the next chapter and y'all can take guesses to what they are.
Reviews:
Bearbert: Thank you so much for reviewing and as you said here is the new chapter. I hope you enjoyed it!
Also do not forget about the contest as so far no one had guessed correctly and y'all still have time. Also if you have any questions dont be afraid to leave a review.
Till next time! Bye!