Christmas Contest Entry - And Eight Tiny Reindeer

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Christmas Contest Entry - And Eight Tiny Reindeer

CdnDraxis
Contest Entry ID #13151

     CdnDraxis was patrolling the northern wastes when the alert from Director Nova came in. He listened in disbelief at the details of Santa’s capture by Krampus, and the morphon empowering of the demon.  The horror of the situation stunned him into inactivity, and he could only stare at the horizon as the snow swirled around his ankles and began to accumulate.
     But the cold and snow were old friends. As the dim light of day further faded into night, the first glimmers of the aurora borealis drew him out of his reverie and back to the situation at hand. With a shudder and a shake, like the ruffling of a bird’s feathers, he settled his furs about himself and began to ponder the problem.
     Santa could not be destroyed. Despite the boasting of the Krampus, Santa was an elemental force of nature, a supernatural being with ties to this world stronger than those of the Krampus. Even with a boost of power by the morphons, there are just some things that cannot be unmade. That being said, it might be possible to incapacitate and imprison Santa, to block him from interfering with the Krampus’s mad plans.
     So, trapped...but where? CdnDraxis thought it unlikely that Krampus could have removed Santa forcefully from his workshop fortress, but Santa could have been lured out and ambushed. From there, he could have been taken to a secret location and imprisoned. The Krampus was a northern demon, so it would hold that his choice of prison would be within his bulwark of power. So the best place to start would be the workshop fortress, and expand the search from there.
     CdnDraxis spread wide his arms, and began to draw in the essences of the North; the biting cold of the zephyrs borealis, which drew warmth from flesh; the permanence of the ice, which preserved all things in suspension beyond time; and the energy of the auroras, power drawn to this place by the planet itself. He opened himself to the Gintarra, the elemental dragon of the North: the creature he had been destined to serve since birth, but who now instead assisted him since the morphons had altered who he had become. “Guide me, Cold One, that I may do what must be done” he called out over the frozen tundra.
     He felt the peace settle over him as his senses expanded and he became one with the environment, a true Avatar of the North. With a gesture, he summoned the zephyrs and began to slide over the frozen landscape, gaining speed as he headed to the North Pole. Sight clarified as the auroras showed him obstacles to avoid and the easier paths to steer and glide. As he approached the frozen sea, the pack ice groaned and creaked as it bent to his will and smoothed out to ease his journey.
     After several hours, CdnDraxis began to near Santa’s workshop fortress. He slowed his progress as he was hailed by the elven guards, pop-guns at the ready. “Director Nova sent me; can you tell me what happened?”  CdnDraxis called out, arms held out harmlessly to the sides.
     “Several hours ago, there was a call that the reindeer herds to the west were under attack, so Santa and a squad went to investigate. We have heard nothing since from any of them” replied a female elf.
     “It is best if you all remain here, and shore up the defenses, in case Krampus tries for the fortress. The reindeer and I will find the Man for you” said CdnDraxis, as he began to slide to the west. He heard a horn blow, and the fortress began to light up as the defenses sprang into place.  He traveled for a short distance and came upon the reindeer herd stomping around in a panic.
     He slowed and calmly approached the herd as they gathered in a defensive pack. With an intuitive feeling, CdnDraxis stopped and stomped on the ground with his right foot, throwing his head up and down. The herd calmed, and a large bull stepped forward and bowed his antlered head to a startled CdnDraxis.  He bowed back, saying “I know of the attack. Do you know which way they went?” As one, the herd turned and faced west. “Thank you” said CdnDraxis, as he continued west. The herd followed silently behind him on his quest.
     CdnDraxis found tracks in the snow which he followed for a while, but they faded out after a mile, wind and snow erasing traces of Krampus’s passing. He stopped, and starred ahead for a moment, then knelt and thrust his hands into the snow. He thrust his power down and out into the frozen landscape, searching for something. He reached up for more power, and drew down the aurora borealis and whispered a word out into the swirling winds: “Wrong”.
     Power quested outward, recognizing that which belonged and continuing the search. After several minutes, the energy bounced off something foreign, something not natural to the tundra. CdnDraxis opened his eyes, and spied in the distance a mound in the ice above which the aurora danced. He and the herd approached the mound, and found a dome of black ice, sitting like a blister on the tundra. It pushed the eye away from itself, but also seemed to suck the hope and life out of CdnDraxis as he tried to stare at it.
     CdnDraxis began to draw in the powers of the North, concentrating and focusing them until he felt he could not contain any more. Just then, he felt a nose on his back and, with a glance, saw the herd had formed a wedge behind the bull now touching him. His capacity surged open and he drew down further energies, until he wielded more power than he ever had before. With a cry of triumph, he thrust the power into the dome, and it shattered, crumbled and vanished into the howling winds.
     Lying on the ground was the Man himself, dressed in that red suit children knew everywhere. As CdnDraxis approached, he drew in a deep breath, opened his eyes and smiled as he said “Merry Christmas, young one”.
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Re: Christmas Contest Entry - And Eight Tiny Reindeer

TheCloser
Well done!