Warlock's Icy Heart: Chapter 1

     Cover art from Santa Clause is Comin to Town by Rankin/Bass.

 

Warlock’s Icy Heart
        (A prologue based off Santa Clause is Coming to Town)    By AJ Peaslee

In the midst of the chilling night, a snowstorm had begun to gather. The clouds were painted a deep black, suggesting a massive amount of snow behind them. The creatures of the night took shelter for the storm ahead, sensing the snow long before any man did. A sudden and powerful gust smashes through the mountains of the Whispering Winds, making the trees bow from pressure.  The wind stops just as quickly as it started, and the sky opens up. Snowflakes begin to fall, dancing with grace until they find the ground. As the flakes begin to fall faster and become more lively, the sound of someone cackling is heard. From the darkness comes a figure draped in a sparkling white robe. His hair and beard are wild and untamed. The nose, long and pointed. The eyes above them are a deep blue masked beneath a scowl. A warlock’s cap rests on his head that matches the robe collects the snow. His hands are clammy and white, while the fingers are stretched in an inhumanly fashion. The mouth opens and reveals a set of sharp, jagged teeth that could easily have passed for a shark’s. The wizard walks about in the speckled dark, laughing and shouting in glee.

“Yes! Yes! Freeze everything mighty winds and heavy snow! Paint the land with ice and smash the trees with hail!” The warlock screams out.

The sky opens up even more, releasing a palette of hail, freezing rain and sleet. The wizard is becoming soaked in the storm’s rage, but his smile only grows wider.

“May the Earth be trapped in an icy grip, may the elves never make their trip! I, The Winter Warlock forbid it!”

The snow began to fall faster and harder, making the air thick and cold. Winter walks through a small plain that is already heavily covered. The surrounding area is mostly dead vegetation caused by the endless freeze and the warlock’s spell casting. The trees are warped and pulled in unnatural ways. They hang heavy with the weight of the ice on their shoulders. Where there was once grass is now dirt with many frost heaves and yellow weeds. It was a frozen palace of Winter’s design.

 The mountain of Whispering Winds was always like this, Winter made sure of it. It wasn’t just because he loved casting magic, it was also because of the Kringles. They were a band of elves that lived at the edge of Whispering Winds, and they were too jolly for Winter’s tastes. They dressed in red tunics with white trimming that had long hats to match. The Kringles made toys out of wood and metal year round, everything from dolls to yo-yos. When they had quite a large amount built up they planned their trip to Somber town where the girls and boys laid in wait. They delivered for many years, until Winter took over the mountain. He would not let them pass, creating ice walls and intense hail storms to make them turn around. The poor small framed elves could not fight off this barrage of magic, and Winter loved that thought. But the time of the year he dreaded was Christmas. He loathed the word, it was when everyone was merrymaking and being kind. It made his icy heart that much more colder. Christmas was also the time of the year when the Kringles would try and sneak past him. He made sure THAT was put to a halt. They gave up trying to pass altogether many years ago. Winter grinned and laughed when he thought about them giving up toy making, it was his ultimate goal. If he was not going to be happy, then everyone else would feel the same woes.

Little Winter know that something would happen this night that would change everything in the near future. A baby would grow up to be a man, and that man would become Kris Kringle: The person that would be known as Santa Clause.

In Somber town, the hateful and arrogant mayor Burgermeister Meisterburger had found a baby on his doorstep with a note that read:

“Please take care of my child. He will grow up into a fine man if he receives the love and affection he needs.”

Next to it was a nametag that had Clause etched into it. Burgermiester ordered his knights to get rid of the child by taking it to an orphanage. But Winter’s storm was too strong and the knights lost the child in the storm. He drifted into the Whispering Winds. There, he was in trouble, for Winter was not far away.

Winter continued his walk around the mountain, laughing and praising the skies above. The more he shouted, the more snow fell. But his shouting would be his undoing, for the animals of the forest found the baby Clause. They covered him in sticks and leaves hoping that Winter would be too busy to notice him. When Winter approached from the white darkness, he knelt down to pick up some snow. He gathered a handful up and tapped it with his index finger. The ball shot up into the sky and burst with a blue light. The snowflakes began to fall in much larger sizes. When his eyes came back down to the area in front of him, he saw the pile of sticks and leaves. He was somewhat curious, but decided that It was nothing. No fool would dare be on this mountain now. He thought he saw a small mass of red hair underneath the cover, but paid it no heed figuring it was just some unusually colored leaves. Winter strode on into the night’s blackness. Shortly after he disappeared from view, the animals took Kris to the other side of the mountain and left him at the doorstep of the Kringle’s shop.

As Winter continued his walk through the mountain, he came upon his castle in the distance. It was a palace of ice complete with twin towers and a mighty gate of basketball sized hail. Winter had seen enough of the storm and was quite sure that there would be no trespassers tonight. Those thoughts led him to go inside his castle and continue the study of magic. He was extremely wise in all matters that involved the use of ice, snow, hail and everything frozen. He believed that not even Jack Frost could compare to his knowledge and power. He was THE Winter Warlock. He was a being of chilly hate and cold words. But something inside him longed for…an unknown emotion. He was never quite sure what it was, but it was something that was out of place in his frozen world.

The sun rose the next day, chasing the storm off with it’s mighty glow. Throughout the night the various animals kept check on the baby Clause, keeping him warm and clam. Eventually the Kringles came out their door to see the wonderful sight. They took the child to their leader, Tanta Kringle and named him Kris. As he grew he learned much of the Kringle’s toy making and their history. He even went outside and learned from the animals, who taught him various techniques.

On one of this learning sessions, Winter happened to be standing on a cliff overlooking the Kringle’s shop. He saw a young boy in the Kringle tunic with red hair. He was flabbergasted when he saw Kris. A Kringle that was not an elf? He was unsure of what to think.

“How is that even possible? A human Kringle? Absurd, there is no way. Elves are elves! However did they get a human in their ranks? No matter, he will not have any more luck than them when he tries to pass my mountain.” Winter thought to himself.

He was secretly worried about the boy though. He wouldn’t admit it, but he was sure this was some sort of an omen. The thing that bothered him the most is how Kris got there, Winter would have seen him if he tried to pass….so how? He pondered this for some time, trying to figure out how Kris evaded him. Sitting outside his palace, he was stricken with boredom and deep thought. While thinking, he kept raising his fingers and pointing at a nearby snow bank. Ice Bolts would shoot out and hit it, creating icy snowmen. Shortly after they were created they were destroyed by another ice bolt. Winters beard overlap his right arm which was holding his head up. He kept grinding his sharp teeth together, all while in a deep state of thought. Kris had been on his mind for a long time. Would he try to pass the mountain someday? Where did he come from? Winter did not find the answers he seeked.

Then his mind wandered to something else, something that has always bothered him. Why hadn’t the Kringles try to give him a toy? Winter, despite all his fury and grumpy ways would have loved nothing more than to receive a toy. He was never given one, but then again, he was never a child either. He was born a warlock, created by another in the midst of a blizzard. Perhaps this was why he was so angry, so fearsome. He was angry for never being shown kindness. And in turn, that anger lead to hate toward everyone else. He was not only jealous, but also sorrow stricken. Winter drifted away in these thoughts and then snapped to his senses. He instantly blew that cloud away and began to shout and thrash.

“Me? The Winter Warlock wants a toy? A TOY!? Never, not me, not now.” Winter cursed aloud.

He stormed off and stomped his way back into his palace of ice. The gate slammed with a thunderous bang and Winter went to continue his studies once more. But he could not keep his eyes and mind on the scrolls, it was fixated on a toy…something he thought he hated.

“I need to stop thinking about it, I never liked, nor wanted a toy! Just…stop!” Winter shouted aloud to himself.

But he felt as though he was lying to himself a bit, for what he felt outside rang true, as much as his cold filled soul hated to admit. He continued to brush the idea way, studying his scrolls deep into the day.

As the years grew on, Kris began to turn into a fine young man. His red hair became more vibrant and his face ruggedly handsome. Eventually he was old enough to venture out on his own, and that was what he had planned to do. After bagging up a large amount of toys for the girls and boys of Somber town, Kris prepared himself for the journey ahead. Tanta and the other Kringles bade him farewell as he stepped out into the moonlit night. Kris carried the sack of toys up the tiring hills and further into the heart of the mountain.

Winter had been out and about, but was not really in the mood to cast any deep magic. The Kringles had not tried to pass in many years, and the townsfolk never bothered, so he became less worried about it.  He had a small flurry going that made the snow fall in an almost slowed time state, but only because he hated to see a day go by without that white glimmer. As we wandered about, he decided to craft a magic crystal snowball. This marvelous work of magic created just what the name implied. Winter gazed into it to see if anyone was wandering around on his mountain. His eyes widened when he saw the tunic of a Kringle!

“So, Kris Kringle is trying to sneak past me? Fool, I will make my presence known.” Winter grimly stated.

As Kris walked through the mountain trail to Somber town, he was quite worried that the Warlock would come out at anytime to freeze him. The eerie dead trees and unusual silence only added to his fear. He kept walking though, determined to hand out the toys. But out of the darkness boomed a voice.

“Go back, or you are…doomed.” Winter rang out hoarsely.

Kris tried to ignore the warning and kept walking, hoping that Winter’s bark was worse than his bite. He eventually reached Somber town, and after some words with the locals, handed out the Kringle toys. Kris didn’t know that Burgermiester had outlawed toys and that he was considered a criminal. He quickly ran from the town before the knight’s could arrest him, but this did not bother him at all. He was determined to make sure the children had toys, one way or another. As he began crossing the mountain to get back to the Kringle workshop, he had totally forgotten about the Warlock’s warning….unfortunately Winter had not. He saw Kris coming, and he prepared to ambush him.

When Kris came to a stop and rested at a  nearby tree, he noticed a sign that caught his attention. It read: You are trespassing on the land of the Winter Warlock. Right after Kris read those words, his gut tightened and he knew he was in danger. Suddenly the tree’s arms sprang to life and grabbed him. Their grip was too tight to fight off, and Kris watched in terror as a blinding flash appeared before him. Winter had teleported before him, and was not pleased to see him.

“You disturbed me for the very last time! I have you now, and you will never get away!” Winter bellowed.

Kris tried to convince him to let him go, but Winter refused. Winter was prepared to make sure that the children and the Kringles would never see Kris again. But then Kris said something that made Winter stop in both step and thought: “I will give you a toy.”

Winter’s heart nearly sank, his eyes became somewhat saddened and his voice rose from a gravely state to a calm and peaceful tone. Winter was in shock, he was unsure if this was real. Someone wanted to give him a gift, a toy no less? For the first time, Winter felt something other than cold in his heart, he felt a warmth unlike anything he had experienced. He released Kris and was given a toy train, which he held up to his face tenderly. Unsure how it managed to manifest itself, a single, crystal teardrop trickled out from his eye. At that very moment, the Warlock’s icy heart had melted for good.

He quickly became friends with Kris and taught him much about the world of magic. They had many experiences together. He watched him marry the future Mrs. Clause, and he even lit the first Christmas Tree. But above all, he was present when Kris Kringle became the entity of giving and care: Santa Clause.  When Winter thinks back to the days of old when he was an ominous being, he realizes what happened to him that changed him. He received what he had secretly longed for: Love.
                    
The End