Wizard Santa

Wizard Santa is not so much a name, but an entity. A title of distinction & power passed down centuries.

Santa Claus (the original)

The first Wizard Santa is said to have lived centuries ago, sometime within the first 100 years after the Tundra Wars (see Rise and Fall of the First Vempire). The legends speak of a kind old man of the North; a Frost Elf in some cultures, a hardy human in others, or maybe even a Frost Gnome to the smaller races. Whatever his race, all agreed on his mission; he brought toys to all the kids on his nice list and coal to those on his naughty list. They say he was a powerful wizard with whimsical magic, spreading it all across the world as he visited each house, with a toy or coal for each kid. Scattered reports indicate some of the coal having diamonds within, indicating Santa's belief that the child can join his nice list next year if they earn it. He always knew when you were sleeping, and he certainly knew if you were awake. The legends presume this was part of his magic, and arcane scholars suspected Santa of being a Daidrin Aura Wizard. The legendary figure had a colony of Frost Gnomes to help him create toys for the world's children, and he even befriended/tamed much of the northern wildlife, such as reindeer, arctic wolves, polar bears, etc. 
It is said that the first Wizard Santa operated for a few hundred years, his kindness steeped into legend & culture. However, sometime after, the operation changed into something more... sinister. 

Wizard Santa (the trafficker)

Unbeknownst to most of the world, the Santa Claus they knew and loved was no more. After the most successful Christmas he ever pulled off, Santa Claus, his right-hand gnome Jaquilus Frostfoot, and the other Frost Gnome helpers celebrated with the Christmas party of the centuries. Santa got drunk & holly, fully letting his guard down amongst his found family, as did they all. Unfortunately, this drunkness was used as a weakness, as when Santa went off to lie down, Jaquilus escorted him. It was here that he made his move decades in the making; Jaquilus revealed his mastery of Daidrin necromancy and attacked Santa when they were alone, draining him of his whimsical power & lifeforce. Jaquilus teleported them both to the highest tower of Santa's Workshop & prepared a despicable ritual of ancient Daidrin magicks, placing himself & Santa's body in the center. Under the light of the Moon and bathed in the Everstorm's dark aura, Jaquilus merged into Santa's flesh and morphed their forms into one; a plump yet sinister Frost Elf. The new Wizard Santa was born within the flesh of the old.
In the first few years, Wizard Santa kept the operation going as normal, having studied his former master's mannerisms and knowing the operation like the back of his hand. However, he began capturing several children on the naughty list instead of giving them coal, spreading the incidents far enough around the world to keep suspicion low. He used his dark magicks to experiment horribly on these children over the years, turning some into monsters and others into slaves. Over time, he used the toy operation as a cover to abuse Santa's List (special spellbook, the original bound by Santa himself) capture naughty children, selling the slaves to humanoid trafficking networks while beefing up the rest into a small army. This army became the first iteration of the St. Knights, serving Wizard Santa's will in the case of resistance. Eventually, his gnome helpers caught wind of his activities, but calling him out was their biggest mistake. Anticipating this, Wizard Santa turned the St. Knights and his vicious reindeer on the workers, killing all who resisted and turning the rest into his slaves. They would work in the factory as permanet "helpers", suffering the conditions as mentioned in The Christmas Coverup. All the while, Wizard Santa's operation grew into the massive humanoid trafficking operation it is known as today.
Eventually, the operation grew the attention of the Shadow Triad. Avernion (as a shadow projection) approached Wizard Santa and offered a deal; a cut of the kids & adults capture in his operation so he could feed on their souls. In exchange, the Shadow Triad would consider Santa's Workshop a neutral territory, immune to their territorial matters & global schemes. Avernion, as a show of good faith, would also teach Wizard Santa secrets of the Daidrin Gaioforce, greater sparking the wizard's interest. Thus, a new partnership was born, which would unknowingly backfire on one of them.

Wizard Santa II (the descendent)

While Wizard Santa never married, he used his position to sire a half-elf child (half Frost Elf, half Human), a son. However, with his already long Elven lifespan, he had no intention of letting his son succeed him. Instead, he would raise the boy into a powerful wizard like himself, while keeping the darkest secrets of the Gaioforce to himself. Once Wizard Santa was older (about 600 years) and the son around 200 years, the  former would turn on the latter, seeking to drain his lifeforce and repeat the same ritual he completed on Santa Claus centuries before to regain his youth. However, the boy had studied his father's tricks intimately, having trained with him his whole life. He was also tipped off by Avernion the Shadow King of his father's plans, a debt which would come due in unforseen ways for the young man. He was also not a fan of Wizard Santa's slave operation, wanting nothing more than to end it. All of this served as a perfect opportunity for Avernion, and thus the plan was set in motion. Wizard Santa & his son dueled with hundreds of Frost Gnome & other slaves as spectators, a battle which created a spectacle in the sky some called the Northern Lights that raged through the Everstorm. While his father was powerful & wise, the son was younger and fresher, armed with a limber body and magical amplifications from Avernion. With a climatic final blow, the son struck his father down, capturing his powerful necromantic soul and sealing it into a crystal ball. The son claimed the title of Wizard Santa and prepared to end the slave operation once and for all, but was stopped by Avernion. With the powerful Wizard Santa gone and the vulnerable one to take his place, Avernion reclaimed the gifts he gave the latter to defeat his father, leaving him only with his natural, yet still impressive, wizarding prowess. He then called in his end of the bargain; Avernion wanted a greater cut of the slaves than he had before and demanded contnuance of the operation. In exchange, Wizard Santa would experience the same freedoms as his father, but with a catch. If he ever ends the operation or fails to keep it at the levels Avernion desires, the Shadow Triad will wipe Santa's Workshop and all its helpers off the map. When the young Wizard Santa initially refuses, Avernion demonstrates his power with Lady Gaelica, who uses a fraction of her undead army to attack the workshop; decimating its exterior defenses and brutally killing/eating a third of his Frost Gnome & humanoid slave workforce. Lady Gaelica personally attacks and nearly kills Wizard Santa, but leaves him barely alive upon Avernion's orders. Lady Gaelica teleports herself and her undead troops away, with Avernion imploring the new Wizard Santa to see reason before they have to "work harder" to convince him. He then dissipates into the shadows, leaving Wizard Santa with no choice but to keep the operation going.
While Wizard Santa attempted to be kinder than his predecessor, he could only do it for so long. Initially, he used the crystal ball to commune with his father's spirit, gaining advice on how to best run the operation while becoming slowly corrupted with his father's essence. By the modern day, Wizard Santa exists as two distinct sides; the psychopathic shadow of his father mixed with the benevolent yet broken shadow of his former self. His struggle is similar to the dichotomy of his father & the original Santa Claus; perhaps the old magicks of Chris Cringle made their way into his soul, conflicting him with the darkness of his life.  However, in casually meeting the Gaiobros one fateful day in a Vilsafar tavern, Wizard Santa saw an opportunity. Powerful enough adventurers, who rarely travel up north with good intentions, could give him the edge he needed to destroy the Shadow Triad and end the slave operation once and for all. But he couldn't let Avernion see blatant recruitment against his interests, so he devised a plan. Using his whimsical nature, Wizard Santa intrigued the party with a riddle toward the Isle of Smiles, knowing it was the only way to seamlessly give them access to Santa's Workshop via teleportation. He also knew that his presence would intrigue them into his operations, potentially inspiring them to investigate and shut it down. In case they didn't pick up on it, Wizard Santa stashed a scroll (see "The True Meaning of Christmas) in the Vilsafar Grand Library for them to find. His plan worked, as this scroll and what they learned in the Moonfather’s Castle filled in the blanks and sprung them towards the Isle of Smiles. Once they find their way to him, he would inform them of the truth and get them to help take down Avernion. However, little did he know that his evil side planned to expose him. When the Gaiobros arrive at Santa's Workshop, his evil side will take over, kill them, turn his good side over to Avernion for his treachery, and take over the body as the one true Santa.

Related Plots

• The War on Christmas

Related Reports

• GB Chapter 30: Battle of the Partridge Tower