The wasteland once used to bring happiness to good boys and girls

After centuries of giving good boys and girls gifts on one special night every year for over 200 years, that tradition will not be followed this year.

Santa Claus, aka Saint Nick, regrettably informed the world that his resources have run completely dry. Thirty years ago, he had asked both the Americans and Asians to assist with new toy and gift production, due to his receding resources. This decision would have its down sides, such as American marketing crafting a wholesome holiday into a country's economic balance. With little remaining resources for Santa's elves to craft any sort of useful or fun toys, let alone mass produce them, Santa is powerless in his situation. Now, he has lost all control as an old nemesis also threatens the good folk everywhere. Even his elves haven't come up with a solution.

His elves were fugitives from the forests from once they lived, flushed out by pioneers and armies nearly 300 years ago. After being exiled from their home, the elves began training with the Japanese. They had learned ninjitsu, and became keepers of a forbidden martial art. The Japanese trusted the good natured elves to use the dark art for world peace.

Santa, at the time, resided on a large peninsula on the east side of central north america. He had been living there for countless centuries, maintaining peace with nature, gaining knowledge of his land and of the world abound - a task few humans could assess at that time. He had in his possession the fabled "fountain of youth", which gave him his seemingless eternal life. It was upon the threat of the Europeans and the re-colonization of the land to the north that he had to gather what he could of his mystical water, and leave immediately. The fountain was then destroyed in fear of misuse.

In his wisdom, he had heard of the elves of the east. A meeting was arranged in the frigid Siberia. To ensure he wasn't being followed, Santa destroyed the icy transpacific bridge connecting the two continents in the far north after he crossed. Upon meeting, both parties recognized the cause for world peace, and joined forces. To eliminate the possibility of being forced from their home again, they decided the frigid North Pole was to be their base of operations - their new permanent home. Very few travellers have ever dared to cross that area, including the brave Norse vikings, so the choice was optimal.

Meanwhile, there was another being who also kept watch over world events. In his time, he had resided in southern Africa, living amongst many tribes, offering wisdom in exchange for worship. He was the king of kings, but possessed many dark means to reach his ends. To keep their immortal king pleased, the people offered sacrifices, virgins, and exotic gifts. The most exotic of all his possessions were a litter of nearly extinct fenrir wolf pups. There were 8 of them in total, vicious, powerful, mystical creatures acquired from a far corner of the world. He bred the fenrir over many years, bending them to his desires.

Then, tribesmen began a frantic call of emergency. White men were capturing and removing their people en mass. Complete disorder broke out. Tribes slaughtering one another, trading their own with the terrible captors in exchange for their own freedom. The whole continent reeled in chaos. The king knew where they were going, and why they were being taken. The call to the south was already made to prepare for his arrival. The king had dethroned and retreated to the pole of the south, carried by his mighty fenrir.

He was aware that the wise man Santa had taken off to the far west. He knew as much as the intention to meet the elves of the east, but the information after that was sketchy. The south pole had been prepared for the King's arrival. Home to countless frost imps, they laid trenches and build wretched structures from the ice to satisfy their new king. Ever constant toiling under the polar days and nights proved to build an empire no human would live to see.

Back in the North, Santa had acquired Canadian reindeer, a rare type. The reindeer were known for tapping into their own life force, exerting great strength and dexterity. Santa had begun the plans for contributing to world peace by constructing factories, meant to build and distribute toys and gifts to the children of the world. The elves were responsible for the laboring tasks of acquiring material, research and design, building and stocking all goods. Santa would be maticulous in determining what young kind hearts he would visit - a reward for their good behavior. Hopefully an example would be set to the less kind children, and they too would receive presents on one special night for being good.

Santa Claus, once a philosopher of the Roman Empire, had crossed paths with the legend Jesus Christ. Ideas were exchanged, much wisdom spoken between them. Santa, having appreciated Jesus's knowledge, choose to find peace within himself, and factioned from the Romans. However, over time, the word of his onlooker was corrupted and twisted through dark times. Those that believed they were following in the steps of Jesus Christ's words became pawns of those that corrupted the word further to their own benefit. Taking matters into his own hands, it became that Santa felt for the good of mankind, no longer needing peers nor needing external reason to validate his morals. Although religion was highly popular, Santa separated himself from the vast differences and arguments.

North Pole operations were moving along. It became clear that there had to be a set date at which to deliver the elven made toys. Santa, with warm memories of the inspirational chat he had with Jesus, choose Jesus's birthday to be the day of gift giving. It was a tough decision, as this would immediately affiliate him with the following of Christ. This could alienate others due to their beliefs. It was not religion he was trying to convey, but a collective effort towards peace and goodness. The decision stood. They would have to understand.

The first delivering came. Santa harnessed a dozen reindeer to his well crafted elven sleigh. He packed his ride with gifts, and a long list of children to receive them. Several elves joined him on his journey, as their training would best suit locations that required stealth and speed. There were several skills of the east elven arts that Santa had learned, most importantly the deformation of one's own body to move through difficult spaces. Dwellings that had locked doors and windows required such skills, as most people had chimneys to keep themselves warm through the cold winters. Santa could skillfully maneuver down the odd passage, make his business, then escape in the same fashion. He wore red and white, representing the warmth of his hearth and the cold of his land. He was rarely detected, and with comforting words, the children felt they could trust him.

After a hard night, all presents were delivered. Word spread softly of the miracle. In a short amount of time, everyone had heard of a stranger in red and white travelling by reindeer. Of course, word reached the south pole. The king had found opportunity in this event. Before, he had shared his wisdom to receive worship. What if he also gave gifts, regardless of one's age or alignment? In return, they pay tribute to their king. A splendid idea he thought. He called upon his imps to begin construction of various gifts - unique, fun, addicting toys. His fenrir would carry him across the world in the span of a night. He would have his chief imps with him. Altogether, they would visit domains of leaders, and distribute gifts to any who would pay him tribute. Those that refused his gifts would fall before his mighty fenrir.

The calculating Wa-Santa

While the king of the south pole was preparing, the second and third deliveries had been made by Santa of the North. The king had decided that he shall spread his word, and his gifts, 12 days before Santa should make the fourth delivery. To ensure upfront success, the king of the south would not just deliver one night, but every night until the day of Santa's delivery. By that time, Santa's gifts would be rendered irrelevant, and the people would be controlled as easily as pigs in a trow. The king took up a name, for better immediate recognition. He would be known as Wa-Santa.

Wa-Santa unleashed his plan on schedule. It became known as the Twelve Days of Christmas. No one was spared from his giving rampage. Again, chaos broke out as greed set in. Word immediately reached the North, where Santa was appalled by the terrible intentions of this newcomer. Dropping everything, including the forth delivery, the entire North Pole prepared for war. This would totally contradict what they stood for, what they had built. It had to be now before the veins of evil had writhed through the good people he was trying to reach.

Messengers of the North carried a declaration of war to the corrupt south pole. There was one elven casualty upon delivery, but an immediate escape saved the rest of the northerners. The confrontation would take place at Easter Island, a remote island in the Pacific Ocean. This would be a war few would ever hear of, but it will change the fate of mankind. Santa and as many elves as he could find travelled south. Wa-Santa, his fenrir, and legions of imps travelled north. They clashed at dawn.

The imps were completely out skilled by the by the elven ninjas, but the elves were far outnumbered. A terrific battle took place throughout the day, as gloom and blood covered the entire island. Wa-Santa had called for four of his fenrir to join the battle, four more than the entire north forces wanted to deal with. Thousands of elves bravely cut through the tens of thousands of imp, also viciously fighting for their lives. The fenrir took to the frontlines thrashing any creature near it. At this time, the elves regrouped and concentrated their efforts on the fenrir.

Santa dropped into battle, leading his elves against the four nightmares. The imps backed off to watch the spectacle, and the bloody battlegrounds became silent. The fenrir barely took enough time to pause, then lashed forward. Santa took one solo, in hand to hand combat. The other three were attempting to decimate the hundreds of elves that moved like fluid around them. The fenrir were fast and deadly, dropping sometimes a dozen warriors in one slash. The ninja struck back just as hard, carving flesh and draining the blood of a near extinct wolf race.

Santa with brute force strength crushed and broke the predator, but not without being mauled himself. The fenrir took a devastating slash at Saint Nicks' torso, relieving him of most of his lower organs. Pure adrenalin commanded a choke hold of the beast. Santa collapsed the beast's skull, dropping it's huge body into the soaked earth. Santa fell as well. Hundreds of elves had fallen, but their efforts not in vein. Two of the fenrir had been found slumped over, and the last limping with undying rage.

The imps cowered, turned and fled. Wa-Santa choose to cut his losses, and retreat with his four remaining fenrir as they were too valuable to lose in addition. The north had won, but the remaining elves focused on the new problem: Santa was dying, fast. They administered medical attention, using sacred medicine to slow his imminent death. The reindeer that brought him to the island, hidden from the battle, now were charged with getting their leader back to the pole immediately. Moving through the upper atmosphere in painfully low oxygen, they were able to return in minutes.

The reconstruction of Santa's torso began immediately. Technology was not advanced, so they relied on mystic and arcane solutions. They crafted a life support device that would last many years, but it's size was rather bulky. Upon Santa's recovery, he was very lighthearted about having to wear the large permanent device. It made him look fat! He strut it around with a hearty "ho ho ho!" as his artificial belly jiggled.

Wa-Santa had called a truce with the North. He went so far as to offer his services if they were ever needed. Santa was relieved that peace could be restored, and again began work to continue the new yearly tradition. For many years, children all over the world be on their best behavior, knowing that Santa Claus is watching them.

However, problems starting rising in the 20th century. The population had been increasing quicker, and raw material was becoming hard to come by. Worse yet, technology was beginning to make the yearly trip much harder. Two world wars had just finished, and mankind had put their scientists into overdrive, demanding technology that only the ancient mystics understood. They had developed television, which caused both children and adults to mimic the actions of their analog peers. They wanted more, better, faster - they became hard to please. Instead of enjoying their gift, they would toss it aside and complain that their siblings or friends got a better gift. There were many good children, but as they saw their peers with better toys, they demanded better gifts. Santa looked at his options. He decided to take a chance.

He called upon Wa-Santa. Santa charged Wa-Santa with the task of coming up with better toys. Santa would then deliver the toys as usual. Wa-Santa complied, but not without looking at his situation strategically. He would have to wait. For the next 20-30 years, all was moving smoothly, and the children were pleased. However, a harsh reality struck. Wa-Santa had found his time. While Santa was delivering his presents, so was Wa-Santa. Santa's resources were so low that he could not step in without being crushed. Wa-Santa moved freely over the planet, once again enacting the Twelve Days of Christmas. Santa feared it was all over unless he could think of something fast.

That's when he called upon the Americans and the Asians. The Americans rely upon his figure to push sales where Santa has become a retail celebrity. Their strong military could help stop Wa-Santa. The Asians had the factory powerhouses to build the toys he needed to distribute, thus removing the need to rely on Wa-Santa's factories. The Americans decided to do some research before accepting Santa's plea. They discovered that by years of factory work on the poles, Santa and Wa-Santa were directly contributing to the melting of the polar caps. The Americans arrogantly refused to support Santa's cause. The Asians made demands for return payment that Santa could not offer. Santa had no choice but to return home, and use what resources they had left.

Wa-Santa, in the meantime, was happily giving gifts to children, adults, bad, good, whatever. Mothers and fathers would receive presents from underneath their Christmas tree with "From: Santa", bewildering the alleged giver. Naughty children also received gifts, which was still not understood by their parents. No one was willing to take action though - they were getting their gifts. The good children were still getting their gifts from Santa, but these were usually the presents that went into the closest, to be handed down to a little brother or sister. Then, the fateful day came.

"The North Pole has been completely stripmined, I'm sorry, but Christmas will have to be cancelled." Santa said with teary eyes. His elves were equally as saddened, as they have worked so hard for so many years. Will they have to abandon their home once again? Then one of the elder elves came up with an idea. "We shall return to Japan, and ask for their help." Yes, the growing technological giant could save them. They had first turned to Taiwan, Korea, and China for their manufacturing strongarm, but forgot to consider the country of the rising sun. They had been devastated by the wars, but surely they could still help.

The North pleaded with Japan for their support. After thoughtful consideration, the small country agreed. The skilled elves of the North and the dedication of the Japanese workers would work together to bring supreme gifts to all good children. Not even Wa-Santa could compete with the unique and advanced assortment of toys. The children were again pleased, and the real Santa was giving the children what they want. It was a large price to pay, but it was worth it.

The Americans had been scheming up plans for years, trying to eliminate these gifts. After all, if the children are being given gifts, that means their parents aren't buying gifts. They set up an organization called NORAD to track Santa's movements. However, after years of study, they've come to grips with "He's just moving too fast, there's nothing we can do. We've experimented with top secret aircraft in the deserts of New Mexico. Nothing we've come up with have the speed and maneuverability of that sleigh." Santa, once again, is unstoppable. And for one night each year, all children of the world celebrate his coming, hoping they've been good enough.

Back at the south pole, things haven't changed much. Even though Wa-Santa's plans have failed, he still waits for another chance. As he plots and waits for Santa to weaken, in twelve days prior to Christmas, confused adults will look at each other with gifts in hand, wondering exactly who their mystery Santa is.