Secret of Frost and Moon

Santoff Clausen

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.

~(-)~

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."