Alaia Skyhawk: Here's the next one guys. Bring on the travel sickness!
Oh and one small note about Constellations, so I don't need to crowbar it into the chapter. Constellations generally only have one child per generation, to prevent there being an excess of immortal-creators. So the title and position can pass down via girls or boys. Constellations can be headed by a Tsar or a Tsarina, that's why there's a Tsarina as one of the five waiting on Lumeris.
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.
~(-)~
Chapter 116: Journey Towards Distant Star
The two immortals regarded them with surprise, the small group sat in one of the lesser meeting-rooms at the Grand Assembly. Jamie and Tsar Lunar were the reasoning ones, Wyatt was the general bystander, and Jack and Bunny were the ones looking more than a little startled.
Jack glanced back and forth between them an his fellow immortal.
"Uh, Bunny, didn't you tell me that immortals don't travel to other worlds?"
The Pooka grimaced.
"Ah well that wasn't entirely accurate. Established immortals didn't travel to other worlds during the Old Golden Age, but shipping new ones around was standard practice." He gave Jack a long look. "The Allegiance had over a thousand worlds in it back then, and one-hundred Constellations. Every world had between a hundred and two-hundred immortals, with each Constellation responsible for between five and twenty worlds. Those immortals weren't all made at once, but over centuries. The Constellations would have been trailing back and forth all over the place."
Tsar Lunar nodded to the confused Spirit of Winter.
"He's correct. The Constellations are the central leaders of the Allegiance. To have them away from their capitals for extended periods of time, isn't practical. The only time they would visit a world specifically to create an immortal for it, is when instating the Mother or Father Nature for that world."
Bunny confirmed it when Jack gave him a querying glance.
"Mother and Father Natures always start out as powerful witches and wizards in their own right. Those with powerful Belief Magic, although not up to par with a Constellation, and who also have an affinity for the Forces of Nature on their world. They'd spend up to a decade learning to sense all of those forces, and once they were ready their reigning Constellation would come and turn them into the first Nature Immortal for that world, and show them how to link new immortals into those forces to 'create' other Nature Immortals, Spirits of the Seasons, etc."
Jack blinked, and then made an 'oh' of understanding.
"So basically what I do when I take on or dismiss a Lieutenant. I link them into a little bit of the Power of Winter."
There was silence from both Bunny and Wyatt, the latter pointing a paw limp with shock at Jack.
"You can link immortals into the Forces of Nature on this world?"
Jack regarded him, puzzled by his reaction.
"Um... yes."
Tsar Lunar tapped Wyatt on the arm to get his attention, and began to explain.
"Things are somewhat different on Earth, than the standard practices from the Old Golden Age. With Pitch and the Fearlings here, additional precautions were needed." He glanced at Jack. "I know this has been a secret between myself, Emily Jane, and the Spirits of the Seasons, but with the Nightmare King gone there's no real need to hide it anymore."
Tsar Lunar folded his hands on the surface of the table, in the manner of one who knows his next words will come as a great surprise.
"The Earth has five Constels; One who deals with all of the Forces of Nature, and four who each specialise in a specific Season... I taught Emily Jane how to link Jack and the others into a set of special Ether Frequencies, so that their strength would feed back into her. In turn, she guided them into intuitively learning to do the same thing with their Lieutenants. As an example; all of Jack's Lieutenants are linked to him, and when they gain believers he gains strength as well, in return for granting them strength from his Season. It was to make them too strong, too confusingly linked together, for Pitch to risk attacking them. The give/take network of power they share, was beyond the Fearling's and thus his ability to decipher."
Jack was now pointedly not looking at Bunny. Not surprising when you considered he'd kept a secret that big from one of his best friends.
The Spirit of Winter winced at the semi-wounded glare he was getting from the Pooka, and turned his attention back to Jamie and Tsar Lunar.
"Sooo, that makes me a Constel, huh? Learn something new every day."
Bunny, now frowning, grumbled.
"I guess that explains how a Spirit of the Seasons knows if one of their Lieutenants are attacked, and vice versa. That time I roughed up Marzanna, attacking her was literally attacking an extension of your power. No wonder it made you so pissed off."
Jack glared at him, for the implication he'd defended her purely for that reason.
"It was nothing to do with power. When you attack an immortal linked to a Season, that Season 'shudders', and that then echoes through whichever others have connections to them. I was angry because you'd hurt a member of my 'Winter Family'."
On the other side of the table, Jamie face-palmed at the bickering that had started up. This wasn't what they were here to discuss.
"Jack, Aster, back to business please. You were supposed to be deciding if you'll come with MiM and I to Lumeris."
Jack and Bunny both stared at each other a moment more, then folded their arms and huffed as they then proceeded to ignore each other. The Pooka was the first to respond.
"Fine with me. Easter isn't for several months, and Sophie is more than capable of handling the mid-year checks. We'll be back long before then."
Jack shook his head.
"I can't. Yeah sure, Southern Winter has nothing that my Lieutenants can't take care of on their own, but what about the Mirror Network?"
Jamie smirked behind the cover of his hand, before putting on a straight face and lowering it. Making oblique reference to the paradox that was known to only a handful of people. As a Constellation, he'd been told about it.
"You're forgetting something. You've already seen they can be sustained even if you're not there to do it. It's a simple spell, and it lasts for years before needing to be renewed. You're not going to be gone from Earth that long, Uncle Jack. It'll be six or seven weeks at the most." He pointed at himself. "If I can leave the World Council in the care of Sophie and Allienne for that time, you can trust us to make sure your mirrors keep working."
Tsar Lunar smiled, as he added one more reason to the pile.
"Also, out of you and Kosmotis, you're the only one who can go. Sanderson and Sophie can make up for your absence, along with Toothiana, but there is no one who can fill-in for the Steward of Natural Fear. You and him are the only ones who truly know what is needed for your roles, and also you understand the needs of his role better than he understands the needs of yours. Who better for the other Constellations to learn from, as to what to look for in candidates for those roles, than from one of the originals?"
Bunny smothered a snort of laughter at Jack's expression at being 'shot down', the Spirit of Winter elbowing him once before heaving a sigh.
"Ok, fine, I'll go. Just make sure I'm nowhere near when you tell Tooth; I don't want her getting all flustered-motherly on me."
That was something Bunny agreed with.
"Aye, I'll second that. We'll head to the Moon Clipper while you tell the rest of the Guardians. There's no point in saying farewells. Not when it's normal for us to go two or three months between seeing each other."
Which was why two hours later, Jack and Bunny stood waiting in the hangar where the Evenglade Star was docked. No doubt Tooth would scold them when they got back, but that was preferable to the flustering. The fluster could last over an hour, the scolding never lasted longer than ten minutes.
Bunny was being rather philosophical about the whole leaving Earth thing, but Jack was now starting to fidget. He was apprehensive. The Moon was already close to the limit of the range between him and his believers, and also his nature powers. Passing beyond their range had him nervous.
"Did they really ship immortals around like this?"
Bunny nodded, noting the pair of moonbots that had entered the hangar. They were wheeling a pair of cargo-trolleys, each with a large ovoid-shaped capsule on it from the Moon Clipper's storage. The ship had, after all, set off into hiding fully equipped to send immortals to other worlds once rebuilding started.
"Yeah, though admittedly they were brand new ones with barely more than the crew of their transport as their initial believers. They didn't have our problem of being established somewhere, though really it'll only be a problem when we arrive. We're supposed to be a surprise, along with Jamie and Tsar Lunar, so we'll have to make do with them and the crew once they wake us up just before we get there."
Jack went utterly still.
"Wake us up?"
Bunny started walking towards the capsules, which had been left on the loading cradle to the rear of the ship.
"Immortals, even new ones, don't take interstellar travel very well. All that Ether whizzing by... When we're shipped, we sleep through it."
He went to one of the capsules and opened it, checked the readings from the little screens on the side, and nodded. He then went to the other, checked it the same way, and then proceeded to climb into that one.
It was now he noticed Jack hadn't moved. "Go on, hop in. Don't be such a baby."
Jack pointed at it.
"When I agreed to go, nothing was said about that. And why isn't anyone here to help us into those things?"
Bunny, now half-prone in his capsule and with a paw holding the inner handle of the lid, sighed.
"Because the fewer the distractions, the faster you'll fall asleep. If you're that bothered, I'll sit and wait for you to doze off."
"Bunny!"
The Pooka raised an eyebrow.
"No buts, you already told Tsar Lunar you'd go and help choose those first candidates. You know, the ones that will travel back to Earth with us once the visit is over? So you and Kosmotis can train them and decide which ones meet the grade. Now lie down and pipe down."
Jack crossed his arms and hunched down stubbornly.
"No."
Bunny shook his head and lay down.
"Your choice."
He closed his capsule, and Jack walked over in curiosity to watch through the clear-glass of the lid. Bunny had settled himself comfortably in the cushioned interior, his breathing already starting to slow to that of sleep. Shortly after that the lights on the side of the capsule turned from red to yellow, there was a soft whirr, and all the air inside the capsule was sucked out. The lights then turned green.
Immortals may not need air to survive, but put if you a sleeping one in a vacuum they become inclined to sleep through a bomb-blast. With careful handling, an immortal thus transported would sleep for upwards of several months before waking up on their own. Far more time than needed to reach any destination in the Allegiance from any other part of it. Waking the immortal up once they got there, was as simple as letting the air back in and knocking on the lid.
Jack of course didn't know exactly what had happened, or that these capsules worked on that very simple principle. All he knew was that Bunny had decided to sleep through the trip in a box.
The Spirit of Winter sat on the disembarking ramp almost sulkily, waiting for the crew, Jamie, and Tsar Lunar to arrive. When they did and started to board the ship, Wyatt paused beside him.
"Why aren't you in your capsule?"
Jack frowned.
"I'm not travelling in that thing."
Tsar Lunar paused beside them now, tapping the Pooka on the arm.
"Jack is very stubborn. Just leave him to it."
The looks he was getting from the crew only served to annoy Jack more, especially when both Bunny's capsule and the empty one were loaded into the cargo compartment. And so the Spirit of Winter steadfastly insisted on being on the bridge when the ship set off from the Moon Clipper. Despite the first initial drop in power that came as soon as they left Earth's orbit... and beyond the range of Jack's believers and Winter.
Jamie lingered near his uncle, noting the moment Jack flinched and his eyes started to water in discomfort. The moisture on his face wasn't even freezing like it normally would.
"Are you ok, Uncle Jack?"
Jack pasted on an obviously forced grin.
"With two Constellations here who believe in me, and the crew, I'm good."
At the controls, Jakub had a paw on the in-system speed slider.
"Last chance to go to sleep first."
Jack hunkered down stubbornly just as he'd done with Bunny.
"No chance."
Wyatt, sat at the other set of controls, now looked over his shoulder at the immortal. Being old enough to remember the early days of the Old Golden Age, he'd seen first hand what Jack was about to experience.
"Say that again in a few seconds."
He nodded to Jakub, who set the ship to just above light-speed, and the result on Jack was immediate. The immortal clamped his hands onto the back of the nearest chair, like a vice, and clenched his eyes shut.
Jamie put a hand on his shoulder in concern.
"Jack, are you ok?"
Jack went to stubbornly nod his head. But the motion caused instant nausea, and a groan he couldn't keep in escaped him.
Jakub now took hold of the steering controls, twitched them ever so slightly, and Jack's response to that was to wrap both arms and legs around the chair and cling there like a limpet. The Pooka was starting to look more amused than concerned.
"I can slow us back down, and give you time to go to sleep in a capsule."
Jack now looked rather paler than even his normally pale complexion, and he still had his eyes screwed shut. His tone of voice was definitely edging towards 'petulant child'.
"I am not sleeping in one of those things!"
Jamie regarded him in bemusement, even as all the others on the bridge were trying not to laugh, and let out a sigh.
"You know, you really are too stubborn for your own good at times."
He made several gestures, whispered a couple of odd words, and pointed at Jack. The Spirit of Winter then went limp and dropped to the floor, obviously fast asleep.
Wyatt nodded in approval, and remarked with humour.
"That's one way to do it. Although I never expected he could be so... childish."
Jamie brought a hand to his face in resignation, even as two members of the crew picked up Jack to put him in his capsule.
"You have no idea."
~(-)~
It was several hours later that Jamie went to the cargo compartment to check on Jack and Bunny. The large room was empty but for the two capsules, which had been securely strapped down to the floor, and the single member of the crew who remained on watch just in case one of the two immortals woke up. If that happened he'd alert the bridge, and the ship would be dropped from faster-that-light until the immortal was asleep again.
It was almost certain not to happen, but the precaution was taken anyway.
Jamie nodded to the woman as he approached the capsules, the first of which contained Bunny. The Pooka looked peaceful, and was completely still. Not a hint of any movement at all. Jamie then peered into the other one, at Jack, but in this case the utter motionlessness disturbed him. For immortals, breathing was just a reflex from their mortal lives, and they only did while in air or talking. But when you put an immortal underwater, or in a vacuum, they didn't 'breathe' at all.
Jamie placed a hand on the lid, speaking quietly.
"It's creepy seeing him like this. If I didn't know better, and couldn't 'hear' the Ether resonating to his presence... He looks dead. I've never seen him so still. Even when he sleeps normally, he twitches every so often."
The woman nodded, clearly a little unnerved by their stillness herself.
"This would be the first time we've transported an immortal, what with having none for so long, but every crew knows the stories. Part of the training, see? For when we'd have immortals again." She shrugged. "Early days of the Old Golden Age, they moved a few immortals from one world to another while they were awake. At the slower speeds they were fine. But soon as the ship passed the speed of light, the poor blighters couldn't even tell which way was up."
Jamie managed a weak attempt at a smile.
"Yeah, my uncle definitely hated that, by the way he clung to the chair. You're right, they're better asleep."
He sat down in the chair the woman brought over for him, to sit with his sleeping friends for a while. It was a routine he repeated over the coming days, in between talking with Tsar Lunar and Wyatt about what the Allegiance was like at present. But anticipation began to build in him as the second week drew towards its end, and they got closer and closer to Lumeris.
When they finally reached the edge of the Lumeris System, Jamie was fit to burst with growing excitement. After all, he was about to visit another planet. What imaginative person wouldn't dream at least once of doing that?
They were halfway into the system, and back down to just below light-speed, when Father Time appeared on the bridge next to Tsar Lunar. The ancient immortal didn't say much.
"All five are waiting, and have been made aware of the Evenglade Star's approach. When I told them to gather here, I also took the liberty of informing them to bring Legend Immortal candidates matching two general groups. Those of firm resolve, with tendency for caution, and those with an inclination to make people laugh and smile. I'm aware there's more to those two jobs than that, but it gives a base group to pick from."
Tsar Lunar nodded.
"Thank you, Father Time. Keeping Jack and Aster here for more than two weeks would not be wise, and now Jack will not need to wait for candidates to be transported here." He glanced at Jamie. "Speaking of whom, now would be the time to wake the two of them."
Jamie didn't need telling twice to go to the cargo compartment. Once there and having been told what to do already, he slipped his fingers into a recess on each capsule to touch the buttons shielded within those depressions.
There was an audible gush of air back into both capsules, and Jamie knocked on the Pooka's one first. It took a minute or so of repeated knocking before Bunny's ears twitched and he opened his eyes. He then opened the capsule from the inside but doesn't get out. Instead he sat there groaning quietly under his breath and looking a bit ill. Waking up to power from just sixteen believers, was a bit of a smack in the face when you're used to over a billion.
"Almost there, huh?"
Jamie helped him out of the capsule.
"We're halfway into the Lumeris System. We'll be at the planet in about two hours."
Bunny winced as he stretched out his stiff limbs.
"Remind me to never again agree to make a surprise visit to a world. If I ever do this again, I want to wake up to lots of nice believers. You got that?"
Jamie chuckled, his expression wry.
"Got it."
Both of them went to the other capsule, within which Jack was frowning slightly. Bunny opened the lid and gave his shoulder a little tap, rousing Jack further until the younger immortal's eyes snapped open.
Jack sat up sharply, instantly regretted it, and then curled up into a groaning ball of misery. Bunny might have been at sixteen believers right now, but Jack was at sixteen believers and no winter within reach. He'd never had his power this low before. The only force of nature close by was the 'cold' of space, and that wasn't really helping him much.
"What the heck did I do to deserve this? Is this payback for all those times I was on the Naughty List?"
Bunny gave him a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.
"We're almost there, Snowflake. Once we've reached orbit then head down for landing, you'll be find and dandy."
Jack uncurled, face a bit grey, and allowed Bunny to help him out of the capsule. That was when Jamie exerted his will upon the Ether, temporarily increasing the available resonance for both of their non-nature frequency sets.
Both perked up a bit, and Jack favoured him with a smile. It seemed he held no grudge for his nephew knocking him out and packing him into the 'box'.
"Thanks."
They accompanied him back to the bridge, where Wyatt gave both of them a check over as was standard for transported immortals. Bunny actually helped with his, he knew what it involved, but Jack was more than a little bemused when both he and Wyatt spent fifteen minutes doing the same questions and checks with him.
But once that was done, they all settled down to watch Lumeris come into view an hour or so later.
The planet was twice the size of the Earth, but had a greater ratio of ocean to land. The atmosphere reflected the light of Lumeris' sun in odd ways, sparking faint auroras all across it. Its three moons were like pearls hung against the backdrop of space around it.
Wyatt grinned when he saw Jack and Jamie's faces.
"You think it looks pretty from here, just wait until you're down there."
Soon they reached orbit and Jack brightened further, able to detect Lumeris' 'winter', or at least those parts of it that were the same forces as on Earth. The strength he drew from it, and the resulting burst of energy, had him bouncing in his seat with pent-up excitement. That caused a considerable amount of amusement among the rest of those on board, and had Jamie joking about putting his uncle on a leash so they wouldn't lose him to the upper atmosphere once they landed.
They proceed down, the ship descending through a sky which while pale blue at the horizon, remained an indigo star-scape higher up. Rippled with occasional auroras that gleamed amid the light from the sun. And when they passed over rolling fields of plants and grasses that seemed to gleam with inner magic, towards a city of white spires, Jack smiled to himself.
"Just like in Sandy's dreamscape... This place is beautiful."
Jamie was just as entranced, even more so as they reached Lunestra and banked towards the gleaming white citadel at the centre. They landed on a plaza in one of the citadel gardens, and there were five robed figures and their escort descending the nearby stairs towards it.
Bunny chuckled quietly, caught up in the same infectious anticipation as everyone else on board.
"Showtime... You brought the banners?"
Tsar Lunar smiled, chuckling as well.
"Of course."
~(-)~
The five Constellations descended the stairs, all eyes on the Evenglade Star as it came in to land. They had not expected it back so soon. The time that had passed was as little to allow no more than a day or so at the coordinates they'd gone to investigate. Did it mean there had been nothing there? But then, why had Father Time had the Constellations gather? Why have them bring with them two groups of candidates whose qualities had never been deliberately selected for before? He'd told them to gather within barely an hour of the Evenglade Star leaving beyond the border of the Lumeris System four weeks previous.
Tsar Gallus glanced at his peers, Tsars Vespa, Noctua, Apis, and Tsarina Anser all sharing the same puzzled thoughts. They may not have voiced those thoughts aloud, but they each could see the others were thinking them.
They reached the plaza and stopped a short distance from the ship, their escort forming up in neat rows of gold and white-armoured figures either side. Watching as a disembarking ramp unfolded up out of the plaza to line up with the hatch of the ship.
The hatch then opened, the familiar figures of Wyatt and Jakub emerging into the light. In a line behind each of them, the rest of the crew filtered out. Together they formed a line down either side of the broad ramp, the unexpected formality being the only warning to the five Constellations that they had an important visitor. But what came out next was not what they expected.
Two figures emerged first, visible to the Constellations but only fuzzy blurs to their escort. One was a young man with white hair, barefoot and dressed in ragged trousers, yet his white-edged slivery-blue cloak was of finest make. The other was an unfamiliar Pooka, wearing arm and leg-guards and a bandoleer instead of the usual robes of his race. Each of the strange pair were carrying a stout pole in one hand and a roll of coloured cloth in the other.
There's something odd about them, that the Constellations couldn't quite fathom, until Tsar Vespa let out a gasp. He'd spotted the 'G' symbols that both of them were wearing
"They're immortals... Guardians."
Jack and Bunny grinned, aware of the expressions of surprise on those five faces, and feeling the belief of those five and their escort kicking in. The two of them now threaded a loop on their cloth rolls, onto the appropriate hook on their poles. They let the cloth unroll and the banners were unveiled. One with the crest of Constellation Lunanoff, carried by Bunny, and the other showing Constellation Solus. It was at this moment that Jamie and Tsar Lunar stepped into view at the hatch, pausing a few seconds before descending past their honour guard of grinning crew-members.
Jack and Bunny fell into step behind them as they continued towards the other five Constellations, Wyatt and Jakub leading either side at the front.
When they reached the five, Wyatt saluted them.
"Your eminences, it is with great joy that we return with momentous news. Let all of the Allegiance rejoice! For the Nightmare King is no more, Constellation Lunanoff lives on, and Constellation Solus has recently ascended!" He bowed, a sweeping arm gesture taking in the auspicious pair beside him. "May I present to you, Tsar Lunar XII and Tsar Solus I. I also present my august kinsman, E. Aster Bunnymund, the Guardian of Hope for Planet Earth, and Jackson Overland Frost, the Guardian of Fun and Spirit of Winter for Planet Earth."
Both immortals, still grinning, inclined their heads in greeting to the astounded five. The local Constellations who were presently utterly speechless.
It was Tsarina Anser who broke the silence, crying out in delight and joy. She rushed forward impulsively to hug Tsar Lunar and Jamie, the latter speaking as it came his turn for the hug.
"We'll show you where you've been going wrong when trying to create immortals."
There was a sort of astonished and elated paralysis over the entire plaza, except for Tsarina Anser as she finally released Jamie from the hug only for her to launch the next one at Jack. By now Bunny, Wyatt, and Jakub were smiling, their laughter spilling over to the crew.
After a few more moments of shocked silence, Tsar Gallus turned towards his escort and called out. There was a tone of bewildered joy in his voice, such was he overwhelmed by what had just happened.
"Have the heralds announce the news at once! Send word to all the Silver Allegiance!"
One of the escorts raced away, at which point Jack cleared his throat and spoke over the head of Tsarina Anser.
"Would that announcement include Bunny and me? Not to complain or anything, but he and I aren't exactly comfortable right now. We've gone from over a billion believers, down to just the people standing here."
Tsarina Anser let go of him with a 'whoops' expression and ran after the messenger, calling out at the top of her lungs. Dignity didn't seem to be on her mind as she hoisted up the hem of her robe so she wouldn't trip over in her haste.
"Take word to the heralds, of our two immortal visitors as well!"
Jamie, Jack, Bunny, and Tsar Lunar all glanced at one another, bursting out laughing with elation even as Wyatt remarked in belated irony.
"Welcome to Lumeris."
~(-)~
Alaia Skyhawk: I was grinning for that last bit. I think Tsarina Anser is my favourite of the five, just because I can have so much fun with her.
As for where I got their names, they are the names of now disused constellations. Vespa "wasp", Apis "Bee", Gallus "Rooster", Noctua "Owl", and Anser "Goose". I may or may not rig a chance for Tsarina Anser to meet Katherine :)