This is a story about how Santa Claus came to be. It is not like any of the stories you have heard before but this one just might be true.
Once upon a time in a land far, far away there was a beautiful Kingdom called Myra, where the sun shined all year round and the people were happy. Then one day a wizard came to talk with the King, asking for his daughter’s hand in marriage, offering a strong alliance. The King denied the wizard’s request for his daughter, had already been promised away to another Kingdom and she was to be married on her twenty-first birthday. The wizard left unhappy. A year later he came again asking to marry the Princess, this time he offered heaps of gold together with the strong alliance. Once again, the King denied him, saying that nothing he could offer would make him go back on his alliance with the neighbouring King. The wizard returned again a year later, just before the Princess' eighteenth birthday, this time he did not offer gold or power. Instead, he walked out on the balcony with the King and pointed towards the neighbouring Kingdom, saying that he had just destroyed it and if he was denied the Princess again, he would destroy the Kingdom of Myra. This time the King had had enough and drew his sword but he was too slow. The wizard froze the King with a single swipe of his hand before he cursed the Kingdom with a never-ending blizzard. Within days the Kingdom was turned into a cold forsaken wasteland, except for the enchanted forest that was protected by the witch, nothing could enter the forest without her permission. The people rose up to fight the wizard but to no avail. He had turned the King’s army into mindless snowmen and fought the back. From that day the wizard was known as King Frost and anyone who tried to oppose him was turned into a snowman too. The Princess, she disappeared, nobody knows what really happened to her but many believe that King Frost is holding her captive in the castle.
Our story begins a few years later with a young man on his eighteenth birthday on his way to the bakery. For the last six years he has been completely alone, living on the frozen streets. His dad had died in a war when he was just a little boy and his mother was turned into a snowman when she tried to oppose King Frost. The baker, Holly, is his only friend, she has been feeding him with the bread she could not sell.
“Happy birthday Niko. Today you become a man” Holly greeted as he walked through the door. She smiled yet she looked quite sad. The bakery was empty and by the looks it she has not sold any bread today.
The young man, Niko, sat down at a table as Holly brought him some fresh baked buns. “Thanks Holly. Where is everybody?”
“Frost has raised the price on coal again. Nobody can afford to eat and be warm at the same time” she sighed and sat down across from him.
“Why is Frost doing this to us? Doesn’t he care if we live?” he asked, he never really understood why all of this happened. Or how someone could treat people like this. “If I were King, I would end the blizzard and make sure that everybody had a home and could afford to eat”.
Holly smiled at his innocence; he reminds her of his mother who fought King Frost for the same values. She had helped her create this bakery six years ago. “You have a good heart Niko but King Frost doesn’t. All Frost cares about is wealth and power and he gains strength from our suffering. The more we suffer the greater is his magical powers. That is why I opened this bakery. I wanted to help the people and lessen their pain but now if they can’t afford to buy bread then I can’t afford to stay open”.
“You can’t close! We have to do something. We have to find a way to stop Frost from ruining our Kingdom” it made him so angry, thinking about how anyone could treat good people like this. If he had the power, he would free the Kingdom but so he imagined most felt.
Holly stopped him with a hand on his “don’t let the snowmen hear you talk like that or you will end up in the dungeon or as one of them. Now I need a favour from you, can you take a basket of bread and go around from door to door? Try to sell it at a quarter off but if you must, then go as low as half price. I need to earn some money”. She packed some bread in a basket for him. He has often helped out and she would have hired him long ago but she never had the money for it.
With the basket in his hand, Niko walked from door to door greeting people, trying to sell whatever bread he could. Unfortunately, barely anyone could afford it and after visiting a hundred homes he had only sold seven breads. It pained him to see how they were all suffering and that there was nothing he could do. Towards the evening, he returned to the bakery with the last breads in his basket but something was wrong. Thirteen snowmen were standing outside the small shop with long spears of ice in their hands. Niko stopped a little further away to spectate the situation for he knew it was unwise to get involved with the snowmen. Then suddenly without a warning, all thirteen snowmen forced their way into the shop and a moment later they came out again dragging Holly between them. One snowman was carrying two sacks in his stick hands, one with all her coal and one with all her gold. Holly was calling for help, pleading to be let go but the did not listen, the snowmen did not care. Without thinking, Niko ran towards the snowmen and swung the basket full of bread into the head of the nearest snowman, knocking it off. He needed to help her, he could not stand by and let her be taken, he could not lose her too.
“Niko don’t do it. Run!” Holly yelled with tears in her eyes as she watched the snowmen easily overpower him. No matter how much she needed help, she never wanted him to get in danger.
“A troublemaker let’s bring him to King Frost” one of the snowmen said and two others grabbed Niko by the arms, lifting him off the frozen ground.
“Please don’t. Please let him go. I promise to say yes if you let him go” Holly pleaded. She would trade her life to save him from ever getting turned into a snowman.
The snowman who lost his head picked it up and placed it back on its shoulders. “You will say yes to King Frost if we let this riff raff go? Why should we trust you?”
With a heavy head she sighed “I hereby solemnly swear on the people of Myra, that I will follow you to the castle and say yes to marry King Frost if you let Niko go”. As she spoke her oath, golden glitter drizzled down over her.
“King Frost will be pleased to hear this. Let the boy go… by throwing him over the cliff to the enchanted forest” the leading snowman commanded and with a firm grip escorted Holly away. She tried to fight it but she could not help, her feet walked the way.
Three of the other snowmen dragged Niko to the edge of the cliff looking over the forest and as commanded, tossed him over the side. For two minutes he tumbled down the steep frozen cliff side trying to stop himself. Scared he kept falling closer and closer to the edge of the trees and the magical barrier that protected them. He had often been warned against entering the forest and he had heard many rumours that those who had tried had lost their minds. He closed his eyes and braced for impact; this would be the end to his sad life but nothing happened. He did not suddenly stop, hitting a barrier. He did not feel his mind going mad. He just kept tumbling deeper into the dark of the forest. Here, the air was warmer and the ground was not frozen solid. He could hear the birds chirp and sing and the squirrels were playing around. It was like a whole other world and he had almost forgotten how wonderful it could be when everything was not covered in snow. Being here made him happy yet he quickly turned around to exit the forest. He wanted to leave before his presence would offend the witch but the edge of the forest was gone. Somehow, he had been transported deep into the enchanted forest and the way out was lost. Or maybe he really had lost his mind he thought to himself. Then, as if the trees sensed that he was lost, garlands of red, gold and green lights sprouted in the foliage to showing a path deeper into the forest. With nowhere else to go, Niko decided to follow the lights and soon arrived at a small clearing with a cozy wooden hut and a kettle hanging over an open fire pit. It looked warm and comfortable, just like the home he so often has dreamt about. Curious about this mythical small woodland home, he looked around wondering if this could be the home of the witch.
“Welcome Niko Laus. I have been awaiting you” a wrinkly old lady said warm-heartedly as she emerged from behind a pine tree that she was decorating with small wooden ornaments of animals.
Startled by the sudden appearance of the old woman, he let out a loud yip and stepped away from her things. “How do you know who I am? Who are you?” he asked, scared she might use her magic on him.
“I am the witch Befana and the stars have foretold that one day the hero who will defeat Frost will come into my forest. It, of course does not have to be you my dear boy, there are others out there who can do it too but you get the chance today. Do you want a cup of tea?” Befana said dramatically and poured a cup of the most aromatic tea he had ever smelled.
Niko politely took the cup and sat down on a bench of stone he did not see before. “I can be the one who saves us from this eternal winter? How?” he found it difficult to believe for he has never done anything great in his life. He would surely be no match for the might King Frost he thought. Yet, if it was true then how could he not try. “I’m just a nobody who lives in the streets”.
Befana chuckled at his disbelief, she had seen many heroes in her life and the best were always those in disbelief “it does matter where you live or who you are. All that matters is that you have a good heart. Inside you is the power to be a great man and a hero but only if that is what you want. If not, then do not worry, it is okay to be afraid and let someone else do the scary and hard work. It is okay to not be the hero and just be you. You never have to be anything more than you want”.
Niko felt comforted by her words. Fighting King Frost and be the great hero did sound scary and it felt good knowing that he did not have to do it. That even if he failed, someone else could be the hero and save them from this curse. He even considered saying no but he had to be the hero. He had to at least try and save Holly. “What do I have to do?”
Smiling, Befana threw a handful of powder onto the fire and green smoke rose. “To defeat Frost and save the Kingdom you must succeed in three tasks” vague imagery began to take form in the smoke as she talked “first you need to bring joy to people and a mighty steed will come to your aid. Secondly you have to free the future Queen of Myra from her prison in the north tower and she will guide you to victory. And last you must take the Orb of Frost and release the magic bound inside. But be warned that once you have won, you will be changed forever”.
“Bring joy to the people, free the future Queen and release the magic” Niko repeated as he made a mental note of his tasks. It sounded rather difficult, he thought. “Thanks for your help, now how do I get out of the forest?”
“Just turn around and walk through the trees and you will be back in the town. But before you go, take this with you. It will help protect you against the cold” from one of the pockets in her dress she pulled out a long red coat and a red hat “and with this sack you can carry everything that you need”.
Niko thanked the witch again and put on the coat and hat. Right away he could feel a warm tingling running through him like a fire started burning inside him. At first the clothes were a little too large but soon they fit his body perfectly. Then he turned around and just like she said they were only a few trees away from the town. After leaving the forest he went straight to the bakery. The smoke had showed a pair of hands giving a gift and the best gift he could give to anyone right now would be bread or coal. And since he did not have any coal, he would have to share bread. In the bakery he found twenty baked breads lying in the display about to go stale and in the backroom, he found thirty breads ready to be put in the oven. Unfortunately, the oven is cold and the snowmen took all of the coal. He had a little money in his pocket from the bread he sold earlier but it would not be enough to keep the oven running. He paced back and forth thinking about what to do and as he did, the sack in his hand became heavier and heavier. He opened it up and found it full of coal, coal that had not been there before. With the coal from the sack, he baked the bread as fast as he could and when he was finally done it was two at night. Then he lifted the sack to empty out the last of the coal but it had already disappeared without a single trace. Odd he thought but he did not stop. One bread after the other he put all fifty loafs into the sack. Looking at the sack you would not think that it could hold fifty loafs but it did nevertheless and yet it was as light as before. While everybody slept tight this cold night, he snuck to the nearest house. He gently opened the door and tiptoed his way inside, for he did not want to wake the owners. The family were sleeping in their shared bed with three blankets on top, trying to stay warm. He placed a loaf of bread on the table and thought about the coal he had before. It would be nice if he had some more for the family could surely use some of it. And just like before when he thought about the coal, the sack became heavy. The bread was gone and coal was back and now he was sure, the sack was magical would provide the coal he needed. He thought about it for moment but decided it was best not to greed and then he took a handful placed on the table next to the bread. All over town, wherever he went, it was the same. Happy to know that he was doing a difference, at least for a day, he placed a loaf of bread and some coal and never seemed to run out. At sunrise he had visited all of the homes and went back to bakery, exhausted, and fell asleep in Holly’s bed.
Later he got woken up by the sound of children playing and when he looked out the window, he could see them running around, having fun. It was the first time in six years that he heard and saw people enjoying themselves. A smile ran across his lips as he watched them play tag, have a snowball fight and make snow angels. He just wished that Holly was here to see it too, she would have loved it. She often talked about how she missed the children’s laughter. He put on his red coat and hat and left the bakery.
“You have done good, Niko Laus. You have brought joy to the people and it has momentarily weakened the blizzard. You can now cross the bridge to the castle” a big, beautiful reindeer with golden bells down its side had appeared right behind him.
“Are you the steed Befana told me would come?” Niko asked surprised that he did not hear it arrive.
The reindeer bowed respectfully “I am Blitzen, your magical reindeer. I will carry you, wherever you need to go”.
Without hesitation, he saddled up “then let’s go to the castle”.
With great haste they rode towards the castle. The blizzard became stronger and colder the closer they got but with his magical red coat, he barely felt it. As he crossed the long bridge over the icy river, he had to hold on tight to Blitzen or the wind would have blown him into the water and he would be washed out to the sea. For a moment he almost felt lost, everything around him was white and he could not see where they were going. The trip over the bridge felt like an eternity and then it was suddenly over. The weather cleared up and became calm as they arrived on the other side. He could finally see the castle. It was tall, beautiful and completely covered in ice. Outside the castle walls were an army of hundreds of snowmen, standing guard, waiting for someone to come by.
“What do we do now? We need to get up to the north tower” Niko asked, hoping that Blitzen had an idea. He could maybe fight one or two snowmen but not an army.
“We fly” Blitzen said and jumped into the air and before he could say another word, they were riding over the wall.
“I did not know that reindeer could fly” Niko laughed. Below he could see the snowmen rush inside the castle and a moment later the alarm bell rang.
“Magical reindeer can fly as long as there is joy in the world” Blitzen said and flew up to the window in the north tower.
They arrived just as a woman opened the window to see what was going on. There was something special about her, it almost looked like she was shining. Niko had never seen this woman before but she was chained and locked up in the tower, so he was sure, she was the one he had to rescue. She was the future queen of Myra.
“I have come to rescue you” he announced and the woman let out a small scream of surprise.
“Sorry, you startled me. I expected my rescuer to come through the door. Come in please” the woman stepped away from the window to let Blitzen and Niko through.
“I am Niko Laus. I was asked by the witch Befana to rescue you. She said that the future Queen Myra is locked up in the north tower and she will lead me to victory over King Frost” he said and bowed.
The woman grinned and it almost looked like she was blushing “I am Lucia. I was the Princess royal guard. I helped her escape many years ago. Help me get these chains off so I can access my magic again”.
“You are not the Princess” Niko said surprised “are there other prisoners in this tower?”
“No, I am the only one in this tower. King Frost has turned everybody else into snowmen. But that does not mean I am not the future Queen. Maybe I will marry the Princess when all this is over” she said and lifted the chains of ice up for Niko to inspect them.
The chains were heavy and quite sturdy. It would be impossible for him to break them with his bare hands. He felt like a fool for not bringing any tools. All he brought was the magical sack that suddenly felt heavy again. He opened it thinking that the coal had reappeared. It would take some time but at least he could melt away the chains. But this time he did not find coal, instead he found all kinds of hammers and saws. He took out a saw that felt warm to his touch and began to work on the chains.
“Do you know where King Frost keeps the other prisoners?” he asked while sawing as fast as he could. Even though the warm saw was gliding smoothly it still took some time as the chains were thicker than his fist.
“There are no other prisoners here. Everybody Frost captures are turned into snowmen. I only remained myself because of the magic inside me” Lucia said looking worried at his face.
“There have to be others. Yesterday, the snowmen captured my friend Holly and brought her to the castle. I need your help to free her. It is my fault she is here, I tried to stop the snowmen but I was powerless so she swore that she would marry King Frost if they let me go” it still made no sense to him why King Frost wanted to marry Holly.
“He found Holly? Then we have to hurry. Once the marriage is official, life will get much worse” as the chains broke and her hands came free, she lit up like the sun and a second later she was standing before Niko in a golden armour with a sword and shield of golden light. “Follow me”.
With a swing of her sword, she cut down the frozen door. She led the way down the tower and everywhere she walked the snow around her slowly began to melt. Riding on Blitzen, Niko followed close behind her with the now empty sack in his hand. All the way down to the foot of the tower they were met by snowmen trying to stop them but to Lucia they were no match. She cut them down with ease and pushed them aside. She was impressive and there was no one who could stop her. Niko was happy to have her as an ally, he would not have been able to save Holly alone. Without wavering or hesitation, she led the way to the great hall and after fighting off the snowmen who stood guard, she opened the doors.
“I object” she yelled as she walked through the door and her voice echoed loudly in the room.
The room was filled with snowmen and up in front of the thrones were King Frost standing across from Holly, holding her hands. Her feet were encapsulated in ice making it impossible for her to run. A wiseman from the city was standing by their side with two rings in his hands. He too was frozen to the ground.
“Lucia…” Holly exclaimed happily but ice magically formed in her mouth and gagged her. King Frost took a ring and placed it on her finger.
“You are too late Lucia. In mere moments, Holly will be my wife and I will be the true King of Myra. There is nothing you can do to stop me now” King Frost announced victoriously and the snowmen turned to keep Lucia away.
“Niko, I will draw King Frost into a battle. It is up to you to get hold of the Orb of Frost. It is the source of his power and once you break it, his magic will be broken too” Lucia said and lifted her sword. A bright and warm light shined from it and all the snowmen instantly melted away. “If you want to marry the princess you will have to defeat me first”.
Clearly irritated by this interruption, King Frost formed a dome of ice around the wiseman and Holly. “I have defeated you once Lucia and I will defeat you again and once I am King and the power of Myra flows through me, I will turn you into a snowman like everybody else”. Magic flowed to him from high up under the ceiling where a blue orb was hanging. The magic changed him into a large hairy black beast with long twisted horns, a split tongue, a long-knotted tail and hooves for feet. He towered over them at four meters tall.
Lucia engaged King Frost in an all-out fierce battle of epic proportions, while Niko and Blitzen flew up in the air towards the blue orb. All he had to do was to break it but it was difficult to get near it. Magic and spells were flying in all directions, freezing, burning and blinding, turning the great hall into a dangerous battlefield. Niko narrowly dodged a ray of shining light that bounced off a wall of ice. Then he made a drastic nosedive under a series of sharp icicles that flew through the air. He finally made it up under the ceiling and was just about to grab the orb when he was knocked off Blitzen by King Frost’s giant hand. He hit the rafters and just barely managed to hang on while Blitzen fell to the floor. Below him he could see King Frost slowly winning the battle against Lucia. There was six meters down to the ground and the orb was just out of reach. Even when he stretched all that he could, he was not able touch it. He would have to jump to reach it and then he would fall a long way down. He shook the sack, hoping that something had appeared that could help but it remained empty. He had no choice and took a deep breath before he jumped forward. He reached for the orb and his hand closed around it, he got it. He closed his eyes waiting for the impact with the frozen marble floor but he felt any pain. He landed soft and comfortable on felt like a big pillow, the magical sack had grown to twice his size and was full of feathers.
With a club of ice, King Frost broke Lucia’s shield and pinned her to the ground “you have lost Lucia. Now I will marry the Princess and you will be gone” he said and encapsulated her in ice.
“No, it is you who have lost” Niko stood up with orb in his hand and he threw it on the floor.
The orb shattered in a million pieces and a vortex appeared that sucked the powers out of King Frost. The magic swirled and swirled like a storm and then it disappeared. The snowmen reassembled and turned back to people. The snow and ice began to melt and for the first time in six years they could feel the warmth of the sun. All that was left was the dried-up body of an old man lying dead on the floor.
“You saved us all. You did it” Holly exclaimed joyfully as she embraced both Niko and Lucia. “From now on, on the twenty-fourth of December we will celebrate this day, a day of hope, love and freedom”.
The people celebrated them for a whole week and when he saw the love and joy he had brought, he knew that that was his calling. Riding on Blitzen he set out in the world to help those in need and bring joy. Within a year he was flying around in a sleigh with eight magical reindeers and children of every age and size knew him. Some called him Saint Nicholas, others Sinterklaas, some even began to call him Santa Claus but no matter what they called him, they all knew him. Lucia and Holly got married and ruled Kingdom of Myrra fairly for sixty years and every year on the twenty-fourth of December they threw a giant party to celebrate their freedom, just as she promised.
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