Alaia Skyhawk: Ok, I'm going to clarify one common error that I've seen in a lot of fics, but which anyone who has read the books will know. Santoff Claussen is not North's Workshop, it's a village in Siberia which was founded by Ombric, the last surviving wizard from Atlantis. Ombric was North's teacher in the arts of magic, so anything that happens to the village, accidental or not, doesn't go down well with him, lol. I'm clearing this up now, since a lot of fanfics keep mistakenly calling North's Workshop by that name and I didn't want people to be confused while reading this fic.
Also, for anyone who had read the books, I'm going to be playing around with the details and circumstances a bit. You'll probably be able to tell what I'm tweaking when you read this chapter :)
Disclaimer: I don't own Rise of the Guardians, the Guardians of Childhood, or any related characters etc. This story is written purely for entertainment purposes.
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Chapter 12: Santoff Clausen
Jack stood there awkwardly, feeling rather small and certainly not like the great Spirit of Winter that he happened to be. What had started out looking like a perfect piece of avalanche engineering, had now turned into a swathe of enchanted forest gaining a six-foot deep carpet of snow. He also knew he looked a bit of a mess, since he had actually hit six trees, and as if to emphasise that fact he noticed that a large chunk of his woollen cloak was missing. It had been ripped away, probably on one of the trees he'd been 'introduced' to.
That actually upset him, a lot. The cloak was one of his only possessions from his previous life.
Jack buried the hurt he felt at that and used a foot to flip his staff off the snow and up into his grip. He then walked down the packed ridge of snow and stopped once he hit frozen ground in front of the villagers. After that, he winced again and bowed his head in apology to them.
"It wasn't supposed to come down like that. Sorry if I scared anyone."
The old man with the staff approached him, frowning in disapproval.
"Who are you?"
Jack flinched under the man's stare, and then forced himself to straighten up and stand proud. He was, after all, technically a representative of Mother Nature at this moment. He'd already messed up once today, and he didn't need to embarrass himself any further.
"Jack Frost, the Spirit of Winter. The winds only told me about snow build-up on the slope, a couple of hours ago. They didn't find it before now because the magic here distracted them. I'll make sure to come every year in future, and keep it clear so it doesn't get like this again."
The old man raised his eyebrows, while the parents and children behind him began to murmur among themselves.
"You're the Spirit of Winter? So that's why Mother Nature stopped coming to clear the snow. We'd thought it was because she was busy, not that she'd passed the task to another."
There was a pause, and Jack stared at him.
"Wait, she came every year to clear that snow? She knew about this place, and didn't have the courtesy to tell me about it when I was revived as an immortal?" He ran a hand through his hair in exasperation, and muttered under his breath. "Next time I see her, she is going to get a piece of my mind." He floated up into the air a few inches and looked to the man.. "Sorry again for almost burying your village, and waking you all up. I'll go clear this lot, and leave your valley by the end of the day. When I come next year, I'll give you warning before I start work on the slope."
He moved to fly away, but was stopped before taking flight when the old man called out.
"There is no need for haste, young spirit." Jack glanced back, and the man continued. "The snow above us is stable for now, and surely you are tired after that feat. Come, rest a while, and we can talk. You haven't even allowed me to introduce myself." He smiled. "I am Ombric, the last surviving Wizard of Atlantis, and this is the village of Santoff Claussen, the 'place of dreams'. A place where imagination is everything, and it is encouraged above all else."
By now the children had recovered from their surprise, and they rushed over to Jack babbling questions. When they crowded round him, asking him how he became the Spirit of Winter, how he could fly, where did he get his staff, and dozens of other queries, he zipped up into the air before curiosity led to him being prodded as well. He then flicked a snowflake at every child, even as he wondered if they really needed any additional encouragement, and conjures a snowball which he threw at the oldest of the children in front of him.
It hit, and urged on by the essence of laughter and fun, it triggered a snowball fight among the children that silenced the questions and let him escape.
He landed so that Ombric was between him and the children, and glanced at the wizard.
"So, shall we talk before my distraction wears off?"
Ombric chuckled, and indicated Jack should follow him through the door at the foot of the nearby massive tree. Meanwhile the parents had joined in the snowball fight, and theirs and their children's laughter filled the air as dawn lightened the sky.
"The children here are encouraged to ask questions, and to believe that anything is possible. That is why all of us here can see you, even through we had not heard of you before now."
Jack fell into step beside him, curious.
"So none of you are immortals? Why is it I can't sense your belief, then? Doesn't it give power to the immortals like the belief of children elsewhere in the world, does?"
They reached the tree, and started up the steps to the door as Ombric answered. The old man gestured to indicate the village and the forest around it.
"Santoff Claussen is built upon the crater from a meteorite, and so the land here is rich with stardust. I built the village here, as a place of learning, because of that. In time, rumours grew that this place had tremendous treasures and riches, and thieves began seeking it out. I then toiled for centuries, creating the vines and forest around this village, and also our two immortal protectors, the Bear, and the Spirit of the Forest. But none of that would be possible, if not for the belief of those here. Our belief sustains our defences, and our two protectors. Mine also gives me my magic, which has permitted me to live so very many long years. While that makes all those here capable of seeing all immortals, unless we meet those immortals and their Range of Belief overlaps the village, our belief has no effect."
Jack closed his eyes as he listened to the explanation, thinking it over before he nodded and smiled.
"I understand, and still... It's nice to know there's somewhere else where children will be able to see me. I have a dozen or so children back at the village I grew up in, who believe in me. I play games with them, and protect them, every winter." He looked at Ombric. "Speaking of which, I really can't stay here too long. I promised my sister I'd only be gone a few days."
The two of them entered the tree, to a tall cylindrical room which sprouted a table and two chairs from the floor. As he indicated Jack should seat himself, Ombric was also regarding him in surprise.
"You have maintained contact with your mortal family?"
Two mugs appeared from nowhere, containing a steaming brown liquid that smelled quite tempting. Jack accepted the one that floated to him, but only after touching a fingertip to the cup to cool the contents down to only mild warmth. Had he grabbed the cup while the drink was still hot, his powers would have reacted and frozen it solid to protect him from being burnt.
He took a tentative sip, then raised his eyebrows in pleasure.
"What is this?"
Ombric took a mouthful from the contents of his own mug before responding.
"Hot chocolate. While it has yet to gain much popularity in the outside world, due to the present forms of the drink being rather bitter, in time it will be one of the most favoured drinks across the world." He tapped a finger on the table. "And, you did not answer my question. Although I shall accept that you were distracted by your beverage, and not that you were avoiding an answer."
Jack smiled wryly at that, and leaned back in his chair.
"Yes, I'm still in contact, although just with my sister and now, her husband. She was my first believer, and she helped me help Albert remember that he once believed in me too before he grew up. I became the Spirit of Winter nine years ago, when Emily was eight. I have Mother Nature's permission, to interact with her and the village in any way I wish."
Ombric nodded.
"I see. So you are really rather new, and yet you seem to have adapted quite readily. Many who are chosen to rise again, take decades to adjust completely. Even North took a while to adjust, after he was brought back from the terrible wound he sustained in the battle against Pitch at the Earth's core. It was indeed quite a surprise to learn about the true Guardians, the Moon's chosen Guardians, for our small group had begun calling ourselves by that name when Aster got all excited upon our return to the Lunar Lamadary. North was dying when we got him there, yet the Man in the Moon used his power to save him. That was when Aster conducted the ceremony, where North took the Guardian Oath in the moments after his rebirth as an Immortal."
Jack was listening intently, putting that information with what he already knew.
"I was speaking to Sandy, The Sandman, before the winds called me here to deal with that avalanche. He told me that he was the first, and was alone for a very long time, before the Man in the Moon created the first new Immortal since him, the Tooth Fairy. And I'm guessing that Aster is Bunnymund, right? He was the third to be sworn in, and North was the fourth?"
The wizard regarded Jack with pleasant surprise.
"Well now, you're really rather bright to figure all that out so quickly. Indeed, E. Aster Bunnymund was sworn to the Guardian Oath by Toothiana, around about four-hundred and fifty years ago. He then worked in total seclusion from then on, sneaking his chocolate eggs to unhappy children using his tunnels from time-to-time. When people began to use eggs as part of the celebration of Easter, well... Aster took one look at the similarity to his own name, and the use of eggs, and snapped up the chance to make it bigger and better by hiding eggs of his own for the children to find on that day each year. He's been doing it every year ever since."
Jack took another gulp of his warm 'hot' chocolate, entranced by the story.
"So how long ago did North take the Guardian Oath? And who's Pitch?"
"North became a Guardian one-hundred and fourteen years ago, and built his workshop to begin his role as 'Santa' in the years after Pitch's defeat. Pitch is the King of Nightmares, and the master of the Fearlings. We fought him in several battles before at last, when all four of the Man in the Moon's Guardians had come together to face him as one, he was cast down and his power shattered to but a feeble shadow of what it was. But still, fear can never be destroyed, and so his Fearlings continue to stalk the night in search of those children who are filled with unhappiness and fear. Turning their sleep into nightmares."
Jack finished his drink and set the mug on the table, his expression thoughtful.
"Well at least their master isn't causing trouble anymore. Sandy showed me a child that had been touched by a Fearling, and I promised him I'd keep an eye out for those things. If I ever see one of them, there's no way I'm going to stand back and let them go after any children. They'll get a blast of ice to the face if they even try."
He thumped his fist on the table in emphasis, leaving a swirl of frost where it struck. Meanwhile, Ombric was regarding him rather oddly.
"You seem rather odd for a Spirit of the Seasons. The others are by far less... sympathetic... to mortals than you are."
Jack snorted and rolled his eyes.
"They're a bunch of complete stiffs, they have no clue what to make of me, and I don't care what they think of me. I'm not going to stop being myself, just to stop getting on their nerves." He stood up, taking hold of his staff. "Thanks for the drink, and for answering my questions, but I really need to go clear that snow out of your forest. I also need to spread out all the snow I brought down off the mountain, across the valley so that it will melt properly in spring. Otherwise you might get flooded by snow-melt."
Ombric rose to his feet so that he could usher his guest to the door, and he smiled warmly as he opened it to let Jack out.
"It has been a pleasure meeting you as well. And, perhaps, you could stop by once your work is done, so the children can say farewell to you before you return to your village?"
Jack nodded to that, and later that day once everything was done, he soared through the skies back to America with a joyous smile on his face. For around his shoulders flapped a new cloak the same as his old one, but for that the wool was pale-grey, and it had been trimmed with darker grey fur. A cloak fitting, as Ombric had termed it, to give as a token of friendship to the Spirit of Winter.
It got more than a few admiring glances once he arrived back at the village, from the children and from Emily, and they listened avidly to his story when they gathered around him in the woods outside the village. His story about meeting The Sandman in the skies over London, and the tale about the magical village in Siberia that was led by a wizard.
He was just telling them about how the children of the village had given him the cloak, to replace the one he'd torn, when a flicker of light overhead caught his eye. But when Emily and the children said they couldn't see it, he shrugged it off as something only the Immortals could see.
After all, who else would send ripples of multi-coloured light flowing across the sky from somewhere to the north?
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Alaia Skyhawk: Hee hee, I think you can all guess what is coming next... Bunny is going to be a bit peeved at North :P
And as for those tweaks I mentioned above, I'll explain them here for those who didn't catch them.
In the second book, North is wounded by Pitch but saved by some of Bunny's special chocolate. I've changed it so that it was actually the Man in the Moon who saved him, and that at that time he was sworn in as a Guardian.
My other tweak is that Aster was already a Guardian, although he never mentioned it, and had been for centuries when North and Katherine sought him out. He just kept to himself because being the last of the Pookas, he was a bit of a loner (Being the last Pooka is also part of why MiM chose him to be a Guardian)
Last thing I've added (which I only implied in this chapter), is that MiM was the one who swore in Sandy, who swore in Toothiana, who swore in Bunnymund, who swore in North. So it's sort of that the youngest Guardian is the one who officiates the ceremony of the next new Guardian to take the oath. So, naturally, North will #ahem# prepare for that eventuality... All of a sudden that scene in the film becomes that much more funny XD