Alaia Skyhawk: I had a lot of fun with this one. You'll understand why when you read it. All these fun and epic chapters are also why I'm seriously on a roll today. TRIPLE UPDATE! :)
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.
And a shout-out to VanRah on Deviantart, for letting me use their awesome picture of Jack Frost as the new cover for this story! Seriously, go check out their page!
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Chapter 33: A Shift in Perspective
If anyone had said that the Sandman would be sneaking into Santa's workshop through the library window, most would say it was a very silly thing to think. If anyone had told the Sandman himself that he would be sneaking into Santa's workshop through the library window, then before this moment he'd have thought he'd given them a very strange dream at some point in their life.
But of course, his view on things had just taken a very sudden turn, and he was sneaking in via the aforementioned window.
Sandy set down within the room, quickly closing the window lest the wind blow any snow inside. He then proceeded to creep across the rather large room, taking each step with exaggerated care, until he reached the pedestal that the book he carried belonged on.
The pedestal was large, wooden, and had the same ornate decorations on the edges that the Tome of the Guardians did. There was a velvet cover there as well, with the same decorations, that was draped over whatever book Jack had used to disguise the fact the Tome was gone.
Sandy lifted away the cover, revealing 'Five-hundred and twelve ways to make a doll - The complete guide.' It was fairly clear to state that North had a lot of toy-making books in his library, and this one was easily the same size and thickness as the Tome no matter how strange a substitute it was.
He swapped the books over and replaced the cover, before spotting the obvious gap between books on a nearby shelf. He had barely finished putting the doll book where it belonged, when the library door's handle turned and it started to open.
In the blink of an eye Sandy dropped to the floor, curled up on a small cloud of dreamsand, feigning sleep. He'd taken naps in stranger places than North's library in the past, so he knew the ruse would work even if it was odd that he'd entered the workshop via a window and not the front door.
The visitor is a yeti, who paused in surprise before backing out again. But Sandy didn't move. He knew that the yeti would be bringing North to the library within a few minutes.
Sure enough the door opened again after a short while, and North regarded his fellow Guardian with surprise before walking over to him.
"Sandy!" He nudged the little golden man, until Sandy opened his eyes sleepily as if having just woken up. "Why did you not say you visiting? It's been long time since you visit when it not annual meeting."
Sandy yawned and waved in the direction of the workshop, before conjuring an image of a sleigh pulled by reindeer. It was, after all, very close to Christmas.
North fell for the excuse without any trouble at all, what with it being all too easy to lie when your 'language' was a permanent guessing game, and the toymaker interpreted it as he'd hoped.
"Ah, you wanted to visit, but were going to wait until I'd come back from delivering gifts before you come out of here." North frowned, thoughtful. "Hmmm, perhaps you like to ride with me this year? Spread dreams while I leave gifts?"
Sandy blinked up at him, that idea not having come to mind. It sounded... fun. He then smiled and nodded eagerly, and North swept him up into a one-armed hug as the Guardian of Wonder tended to do. North then carried Sandy from the room.
"Good! Good! Is two days until Christmas, so we have cookies and eggnog while yetis finish wrapping last few toys."
Sandy brightened at the mention of eggnog, even as another part of him already wondered what Jack was up to.
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"No no, don't move! Lift your staff back up! Ah yes, keep it there."
Jack fought with the urge to fidget, as he stood utterly still on top of a small crate in the workshop belonging Adam Bennett, Gavin's grandson, the stonemason he'd mentioned to Sandy. While he'd not shown it so much back at the sanctuary, namely because the whole thing hadn't sunk in yet, Jack was now host to an overwhelming sense of elation. He was a Guardian, one of the great protectors of children! Sure, he couldn't tell anyone but his Lieutenants, and for a very good reason, but he still had the urge to go out and create the most epic snowball fight of all time. But at least, thankfully, it was almost dusk. The family knew he had other duties to attend to during the nights, and it would be too dark to work on the statue during those hours anyway.
It was another fifteen minutes before Adam downed his tools, and Jack floated off the crate with a sigh of relief.
"Finally! No offence." He smiled wryly at his great-great-great-great-nephew. "I've just got a lot of things to sort out over the next few days, and thinking about them makes it hard to sit still."
Returning the smile, Adam then glanced at his work. The statue was life-sized, and while there was still a lot of work to do on it, he had the entirety of Jack's figure crudely shaped by this point.
"Well I suppose I can do the work on the clothing and staff without you here, using my sketches, but if you want your face to be right, I'll need you here for that."
Jack leapt over, grinning.
"Done!" He turned for the door. "And now I really need to head off. Mother Nature wants me to recruit some more Lieutenants, and I want to get the first one done as soon as I can."
"No problem, Jack. I'll see you when you get back."
Jack darted out the back door of the workshop, mindful that Adam's neighbours might question a door opening on its own if they saw it. He was then up into the skies within moments, heading for the same area he found Marzanna the first time he'd sought her out.
It was just over an hour later that he arrived at the pine-forest where that meeting had taken place, and he even perched on the top of one of those trees in the same fashion. He then chose to wait, using his powers to set a light snowfall away while he remained on the ground, and trusting that the display would announce his presence.
It wasn't long before Marzanna showed up, wearing the same furs and leathers as she'd worn back then, and she eyed him with a small frown.
"Spirit of Winter, have you finally decided to make me an offer?"
Jack smiled, and nodded.
"As a Nature Immortal, I'm sure you're familiar with the concept of Natural Fear."
Marzanna nodded.
"Indeed, the natural survival instincts that exist within all living creatures, which are an essential part of life and balance. Why do you ask?"
"When I died and became the Spirit of Winter, it was because I fell through ice on a pond. Had I felt a thread of caution before going onto that ice, I may have lived, but my Natural Fear had been dulled. Natural Fear lets someone know if a thing is truly dangerous or not. It lets them be bold in the face of shadows and superstition, but cautious in the face of real threats to their life. You may have heard that I have a 'hobby' of protecting children when I'm able to. If you agree to become my Lieutenant, your task would to be roam the frigid places of the world, where waters freeze over and children may be tempted to play on the ice. It would be your job to whisper warnings to them, so that they think to check for thin ice before stepping out onto it."
Marzanna regarded him thoughtfully, musing over his proposal.
"So you would have an immortal associated with winter and death, working to prevent children from being killed through carelessness?" She paused, her expression cool. "It sounds a worthy task, Jack Frost, for I too have witnessed youths fall to their deaths into icy water. It is a grim fate, and terrible to watch, and I agree that the children of the world have shown a concerning lack of Natural Fear in recent times. Many are hurt, crippled, or even killed by their overconfidence and lack of caution, and that is a terrible waste of young lives."
Jack rose into the air from his perch, gliding over to her to set his staff to her shoulder.
"Then do you swear to serve me as a Lieutenant of Winter, and take upon yourself that task?"
She nodded.
"I, Marzanna, hereby swear to serve the Spirit of Winter as a Lieutenant. I will take up my new task with pride."
Jack wrapped a thread of winter power into her, and smiled.
"I'm sorry I kept you waiting so long, but recent events gave me an idea of a good task for you. If you go wait for me at the Winter Sanctuary, Cernunnos and Lady Yuki will show you around. I have one other immortal to approach, and then I shall return to the sanctuary. I have important information that all my Lieutenants need to hear, but I only want to say it once."
"Understood... And there is no need to apologise. I'd rather wait for a serious offer, than have several stupid ones shown to me first."
She was gone between one eye-blink and the next, leaving Jack staring in bemusement at the spot she had been. Whatever trick-of-the-eye she used to effect such a vanishing act, it certainly gave a good impression of her having disappeared into thin air. Only the snow she'd disturbed from the tree she'd been perched on, and a slight tremor in the air, gave lie to the idea of instantaneous transfer from one spot to another. She probably had some ability to camouflage herself against her surroundings, tricking the eye in the way that Chameleons used their colour changing skin to trick predators and prey.
Leaving those questions for a time when he could actually ask her, Jack turned to head for the Autumn Sanctuary. Despite Oisin originating from England, his sanctuary was actually in the redwood forests on the western coast of North America. A place where the most massive trees Jack had seen anywhere, dominated the landscape and kept the sanctuary cut off from any intrusions by the indigenous locals. The American colonists had yet to cross the width of the continent, but even if they did, the forests would remain a strong natural barrier to the narrow valley where the haven lay.
Jack knew when he'd arrived even before he saw it, by the sudden temperature change as he passed from normal Northern Winter into eternal autumn. And after that, he'd barely descended another fifty feet towards the heart of the place, when ten of Oisin's Lieutenants came charging up into the sky to deal with the 'intruder'.
They skidded to a proverbial stop when they saw who it was, even though they continued to scowl at his presence, and Jack inclined his head courteously and kept things tactfully polite.
"I'm here to speak with Oisin, regarding an instruction from Mother Nature."
The Lieutenants parted, all but one returning to what they'd been doing while the last led him to where the Spirit of Autumn was. But far from the disgruntled acknowledgement the Lieutenants had given Jack, Oisin actually smiled when the Spirit of Winter landed in the centre of his grove.
"Greetings, Jack. What brings you here in the middle of your busiest time of year?"
He gestured to a stool among those around the nearby table, and Jack answered as they both seated themselves.
"Instructions from Mother nature, to recruit at least a couple more Lieutenants. I've just accepted the oath of Marzanna, and she's heading to the Winter Sanctuary now to wait for my return. But Mother Nature recommended another immortal to me, and said that you could direct me to him. She called him 'Qiu Hu'."
Oisin spluttered for a moment in surprise, his eyes widening.
"Qiu Hu? Then I wish you luck with that, for he will certainly refuse."
Jack braced his elbow on the table, and propped his chin on his hand.
"So who is he?"
Oisin grimaced, and started to explain.
"Qiu Hu is a Nature Immortal who deals purely with water and wind, and not any specific season. He holds a large territory of belief in China, where he is believed in almost universally as the 'Autumn Tiger, Great Lord of the West', hence his name. Ariko was the first to attempt to recruit him, but she gave up when he rebuffed her by diverting the river that fed into the Spring Sanctuary, for several days, as a warning to leave him be. She was unable to do anything about it, because the Sanctuary is right in the middle of his territory, so he simply did his work on the river at a point outside her area of authority. She never tried to recruit him again."
Jack raised his eyebrows, impressed.
"I like the sound of him already, if he can put her in her place."
"It is no laughing matter, Frost." Oisin frowned. "Achieng tried next, shortly after she became the Spirit of Summer. Again, this comes from stories I have heard as it was before my time, but by all accounts he didn't cause a drought in the Summer Sanctuary, he flooded it."
Jack winced at the image.
"Ok, I'm starting to see a pattern here... What did he do to you?"
The Spirit of Autumn sighed.
"Ironically, I am the only one with whom he has not made a point of tampering with a sanctuary, perhaps because through no choice of his own, his believers have labelled him as belonging to my season. However, not entirely, for the festivals he gains the most belief from, all lie within the borderline of the Northern Winter Threshold. Some years they are on the autumn side of that division, and others they are on the winter side."
"So I take if you've tried to recruit him more than once?"
At Jack's query, Oisin nodded.
"Yes, although I always made sure to be courteous and not overstay my welcome. I approached him once each year, every year for three centuries, before..."
Jack raised his eyebrows again.
"Before what? What did three-hundred years of harassment make him do to you?"
Oisin winced.
"I wouldn't call it harassment."
"It is if he'd already made it clear he would always say no, and you kept asking. So tell me, what did he do?"
The Spirit of Autumn cringed.
"He used his command of the winds, to keep me pinned in the bottom of a gorge for five months. He only let me out, because Mother Nature came and told him that I was needed to usher in Southern Autumn. I have, admittedly, asked him cautiously on other occasions since, but I have learnt to be wary around him. He may not be a Spirit of the Seasons, but the number of believers he boasts makes him comparable in strength when wielding water and wind."
Jack whistled in awe and appreciation, impressed by Qiu Hu's past exploits.
"I'm starting to see why Mother Nature said to recruit him. Counting Marzanna, I only have three Lieutenants, while you, Ariko, and Achieng all have more than fifty each. It's a bit of a power imbalance."
Oisin stared.
"You only have three Lieutenants?"
Jack's answer was bland.
"Yeah. Unlike you, I haven't had crowds of Nature Immortals to take my pick from, since all the Winter Spirits that exist right now are Legends. Most of them won't even speak to me, thanks to the reputation you, Ariko, and Achieng have given our lot over the centuries. Most Legends assume I'm an arrogant snob, and give me a wide berth." He stood up. "But enough of that, I need you to show me where to find Qiu Hu. Whatever reputation he has, Mother Nature will be breathing down my neck if I don't approach him at least once."
Oisin stood as well, and they both of them proceeded up into the air.
"Then be glad your sanctuary is one he cannot tamper with. He holds no power over ice."
The flight to China was made in silence, while Jack inwardly chafed at the lower altitude and slower speed he was restricted to because of following Oisin. But he didn't complain, because the Spirit of Autumn clearly would rather not be involved in this. It Jack were to hazard a guess, it was probably at least a couple of centuries since the last time Oisin had tried to recruit Qiu Hu.
Their arrival in central China was without fanfare and with much caution, as Oisin then pointed towards a secluded valley and turned to make his retreat.
"You will likely find him there. If not, then he is sure to return within a few days. I wish you luck, Frost. You are going to need it."
The Spirit of Autumn flew off, leaving Jack alone to enter the pocket-valley. Inside wasn't particularly large, but there was a spring-fed pond that led into a stream, and the rocks at the far end formed a spacious cavern within which the owner of the valley could rest. Everywhere else were elegant trees and stands of bamboo, all of which were dusted with snow.
The valley was the image of a winter paradise, and there was no sign of Qiu Hu.
Jack perched on a rock at the edge of the pond to wait, laying his staff on the ground to free up his hands for sculpting giant snowflakes to pass the time. He wore a contented smile as he worked, casting each palm-sized delicate crystal into the air and watching it dance upon the wind until it landed somewhere and either settled in one piece or broke. He was oblivious to all else, held entranced by his work with a child's wonder, even though the snowflakes were his own. This was something he never tired of, and never failed to do at least once per year, for the simple beauty of his icy creations.
Behind him, on the slope to the rear of the little valley, something lurked amid the snow. It slunk down the incline, silent and deadly, until it was right behind him. And the one massive white paw came down on him and pinned him flat and facing up at the sky.
Jack blinked, finding himself face-to-face with a mouth full of fangs and sharp teeth, as the massive white tiger snarled his displeasure at his home being intruded upon.
Qiu Hu growled, his paw still holding Jack down with ease. Not surprising considering the tiger looked as though he easily massed the same as Cernunnos.
"You've got one chance to tell me why you're here, and then you can get out of my valley!"
Jack stared blandly back, and made no effort to escape being pinned.
"Mother Nature told me to come talk to you, so I came. But I have it from Oisin that you've been harassed a lot over the centuries, by Spirits of the Seasons who want you as their Lieutenant."
Qiu Hu snarled again, his teeth inches from Jack's face.
"And you think I don't know who you are, Spirit of Winter? My answer to your obvious reason for being here, is no!"
He lifted away his paw, allowing Jack to sit up. At which point the white-haired spirit picked up his staff and turned to leave.
"Fine, I'll leave you be. At least I can tell Mother Nature that I tried, so she won't scold me."
There was a moment of silence, a surprised pause as Jack began to glide out of the valley, before a startled query made him stop. The massive white tiger looked utterly confused as his voice rumbled across the clearing.
"You're giving up? Just like that?"
Jack turned to face him, and shrugged.
"Like I said, I was told to seek you out. But I'm not about to harass you if you want to be left alone. I put up with Ariko, Achieng, and Oisin all giving me grief over me 'not acting as is befitting for a Spirit of the Seasons', up until the start of this century when I finally earned their respect and we all called truce." He grimaced. "Well, except Ariko, she's still complaining and still glares at me. But we're under orders from Mother Nature to cooperate with the new methods for seasonal transitions, so Ariko just has to deal with it."
Qiu Hu sat down at the entrance of his cave, regarding Jack curiously.
"I will admit that she can be very opinionated. She was most vocal in expressing her displeasure with me after I made my final refusal to become one of her Lieutenants."
Across the other side of the clearing, Jack started to chuckle.
"Did you really cause a drought in the Spring Sanctuary, and a flood in the Summer one?" The tiger nodded, and Jack began to laugh outright. "Oh, and I wish I could have seen Oisin's face when you kept him pinned in that gorge! I'll bet it was priceless!"
At the sound of Jack's infectious laughter, Qiu Hu couldn't help but chuckle in response to that mirth. He then tilted his head.
"You are a strange one, for a Spirit of the Seasons. Completely different from your peers."
Jack set the foot of his staff on the ground, and perched on the tip.
"If everyone was the same, the world would be awfully boring. I'm the sort of guy who builds snow-forts for children, and makes them piles of snowballs to throw at each other. I'm really well known, and believed in, in my home town of Burgess. All the children there can see me, and I tell them stories and play games with them every Northern Winter. The town holds a festival for me every year too, the day after Winter Threshold."
Qiu Hu blinked in surprise.
"You, a Spirit of the Seasons, have actively sought out and earned believers?"
"Well yeah, just because my peers think they're too big and important to 'stoop down' to the level of 'mere Legends', doesn't mean that I do too. So many Legends avoid me, just because they expect me to act like those three. It's annoying."
Jack was smiling, but beneath it could be seen his frustration at the assumptions so many others made about him. It was then, after the silence drew out for almost a minute, that the Spirit of Winter jumped down off his staff and once again turned to leave.
Qiu Hu could only watch in astonishment, hardly able to believe it after all he'd endured at the attentions of the other Spirits of the Seasons. More surprising still was the way the valley seemed to lose some bright spark, a glimmer of joy, as soon as Jack left it. It made the valley, with its pristine covering of snow, seem desolate by comparison.
The tiger leapt to his feet and up into the air, the winds carrying him up to where Jack was heading towards the clouds.
"Wait!"
Jack stopped and turned, startled.
"What?"
Qiu Hu rose up to where he was, and stood upon the winds as a normal tiger would stand upon the ground.
"You truly have no desire to cause me disruption, or to bother me in any way... Yet if things remain as they are, then surely the Spirit of Autumn will continue to pester me every few years. But if I were to give my allegiance and service to another, he would have no choice but to leave me be, correct?"
Jack raised his eyebrows, starting to smile.
"And that 'other' person, would be me?"
The tiger nodded.
"You have shown me far more respect and consideration in the past few minutes, than your peers have shown me during the entirety of my existence." He paused. "And also, winter has always been my favourite Season. The silence of snowfall, and the glow of sunlight on snow."
Jack cracked a smile.
"Not to mention, the colour of snow matches your fur."
The tiger stared at him for a moment at that joke, before starting to laugh loud enough for it to echo across the landscape below.
"Indeed it does, Jack Frost!"
Jack grinned, and touched his staff to the tiger's shoulder.
"Then I ask, do you agree to serve me as a Lieutenant of Winter?"
The white tiger nodded, wearing a feline smile.
"I do so swear to serve you, Spirit of Winter. Let our mutual respect of one another, continue."
Jack continued to smile, as he threaded some of the power of winter into the cat. He then had to force himself not to choke, on the feeling that he'd been kicked in the gut by a massive surge of power. He disguised it with a laugh.
"So, do you want to pick a new name while we're at it? If you're a Lieutenant of Winter, it's going to be awkward to have you be called 'Autumn Tiger'."
The new Lieutenant chuckled.
"I have more than one name, Jack Frost. In those festivals that happen after the first snows have fallen, I am called Zuě Hu, 'Snow Tiger'. That is the name by which you and the others may now call me."
Jack gestured for him to follow, and turned to head south.
"Then follow me, Zuě Hu, and I'll show you where the Winter Sanctuary is and introduce you to the other three Lieutenants of Winter."
They flew off in companionable silence, united in understanding, to a meeting where Jack would reveal to all four of his Lieutenants just how different he really was from his peers. That they served not just a Spirit of the Seasons, but the newest Guardian of Childhood.
It was a joint secret that brought all of them a certain amount of amusement, especially a day and a half later when Cernunnos had his annual race against 'Santa'.
North once again lost, even with Cernunnos now starting at the same time as him every year. And it was to a forest clearing where two women chatted to one another pleasantly, Cernunnos lay taking a nap after his win, and a massive white tiger sat gently batting Winter Sprites about with his huge paws, that North landed his sleigh.
And if a knowing grin passed between Jack and Sandy, who had also rode in the sleigh all night, North didn't notice it as he was teased by Cernunnos for losing again. It was their secret, not known to the other Guardians, and it was the start of an even greater friendship between them.
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Alaia Skyhawk: I'd like to say that Zuě Hu is now probably my favourite Lieutenant, if only for all the put-downs he's given Ariko and the others hehehehehe! :D