We all know Santa Claus as the fat, jolly, old man who somehow delivers presents to every house around the world in just one night with a little help from his flying Reindeer and magical elves. He has become a symbol of generosity, childhood innocence and imagination. However the true story of Saint Nick goes beyond mere gift giving. Little do most know his real legacy is that of protecting humanity from the worst, most powerful supernatural forces all year round, but particularly on Christmas where the darkest creatures attempt to pervert the anniversary of Christ's birth through mass slaughter and dark magic.
Compiled here for the first time is a factual account of Santa's life, though it should be acknowledged that given little Saint Nick's secretive nature, there is very little that is known about him overall. Ironically one of the most famous men on earth is still also something of an enigma. Still even Santa Claus can't remain completely hidden in the modern world and therefore modern scholars and historians have therefore at the very least been able to separate some of the myth from fiction.
It's a testament to what a hero the real Santa Claus is that the myth of him as the most generous man, still doesn't do his life justice.
Saint Nicholas Clause was born on the 15th of March in the year 270 in the ancient maritime city of Lycia. He came from a very wealthy family and had an incredibly happy and loving childhood, though his parents ensured that he was never reluctant to share his privilege with the other children of the city. According to the legends it all began when he was just six and his father saw the young Nicholas shouting at a servant and told his son that he had to show the servants as much respect as he did his parents. Saint Nicholas' father explained very clearly to the boy that not everyone who has wealth deserves it, and that sadly the world can be a very unfair place and that if you had the power to make it better, even in just a small way, you should take it. The boy was deeply moved by his fathers gentle words, and he not only apologised to the servant named Galius (who ironically would become like a second father to the boy.) He made it his mission to share as much of his wealth as he could with the townsfolk. Ironically when he was a teenager he went a little bit overboard and spent a bit too much of his parents money. Still his relationship with his parents always remained close and loving, but tragically it was to come to an end when he was just 15 and Lycia came under attack by Dragurs, ocean dwelling vampires.
The Roman empire had never had a great history with the supernatural (particularly vampires) and whilst the vampire war in Trajan's time had ended in a Roman victory, in the centuries since every now and again pockets of vampires would attack and destroy small Roman provinces in an effort to try and restart the war. Ultimately the bloodsuckers always failed because Rome even with the division between the east and west was far more unified and powerful than the chaotic bloodsuckers could ever hope to be.
Still the Dragurs, unlike the other vampires of Europe had the advantage of being able to build an army under the ocean out of the Roman's reach. The attack was brutal and the city only survived thanks to Nicholas' parents. They had over the years been able to obtain rare Christian artifacts, being devout believers and had managed to procure objects said to contain the last traces of Angelic power, left over from when the Angels stayed on earth centuries ago. (Though not all the Angels had fled, but that is a story for another time.)
His parents had never dared to touch the sacred objects until now, only wanting to preserve them, but the horror of the Dragurs convinced them both to finally act, with Nicholas' mother believing that the lord had ensured they would find these objects to look after for this battle. Utilizing some of the Angelic power, Nicholas' parents were able to catch the vampires off guard and attack the monsters. Though only a few of the beasts were killed, the vampires were scared at the idea of the city having more Angelic power and fled. Nicholas' parents were hailed as heroes, but tragically just a few days later the leader of the Dragur attack known as Rakon (one of the few who wasn't scared off) attacked them at a celebratory feast and slew both in front of the young Nicholas.
History books would later write that the island was simply overcome with a plague and that Nicholas' parents succumbed to it, something which always called him great pain, even if he understood it was for the greater good to prevent the supernatural from being exposed to humanity.
After their deaths Nicholas inherited their vast fortune, with Galius again taking over as his main parental figure from now on and mentor. Nicholas continued his parents legacy both in the clergy, (where his uncle helped ordain him as a Priest) and through his charitable actions, giving vast amounts of their wealth away to the poor, more than even his parents ever did.
His first battle with the supernatural after the Dragurs happened when he was in his early 20s and came upon a poor man who was being pursued by a demon. In desperation the man named Halva had sold his soul to a demon for wealth during his youth, but sadly in the ten years between then and the deal Halva, who never believed he had much of a future, had also fallen in love and had three children. When the demon came to collect the debt Halva fled with his family across the world and visited many priests and warlocks and even other demons in the hopes that they could break the curse. Sadly none could as the original demon, a particularly powerful creature called Bravencia had placed a lock around his soul.
Eventually after hearing of how the Dragurs had been repelled in Lycia by holy magic he visited the city in the hopes that some of that magic could be used to help him. Tragically along the way Halva's 3 daughters were captured by Bravencia. Whilst Halva would have been happy to hand himself over, he knew the demon would not keep its word and drag them all to hell.
He approached Saint Nick, and despite his own terror of the demon, (whose reputation was infamous among the clergy) Nicholas agreed to help. Contrary to some accounts he did not desire to hunt the paranormal as a result of his parents deaths. The experience had not surprisingly left him terrified of paranormal creatures, but fortunately the legend of the vampires being driven off by holy magic had made many other demons less willing to attack the province, meaning Nicholas had never been forced to face his fear.
This demon however was determined to get the one person that had been able to evade its deals in hundreds of years and would not be so easily scared off.
Still despite his terror, Saint Nick couldn't turn the man and his wife away and not only give them shelter he dug into his parents supply of Angelic magic that he dared not touch before now. Despite his lack of skill as a wizard, Nicholas had an aptitude for light magic to the point where he was able to easily defeat Bravencia (who was tricked through gold coins that contained enchantments) and not only did Saint Nick rescue the three daughters who were returned to their parents afterwards, but he freed many of the other souls he had trapped along the way.
There have been many different theories as to why Saint Nick proved to be such a natural at utilizing the magic. Some have speculated that it is because his family were descended from some of the original followers of Christ and therefore had a natural aptitude for Angelic power passed down over the generations (which would explain his parents' similar affinity.) Others have speculated that it was because he had proven he was pure of heart for years through his selfless actions that he was worthy to use it. Some however have argued that contrary to his saintly image, he was consumed with vengeance and spent years studying the magics with the help of Galius to wage war against the supernatural in secret. Whatever the reason, after saving the family from the demon, Nicholas continued to utilize the magic to protect people across the Empire from various supernatural threats. Sadly however the Empire itself did not appreciate his efforts due to the widespread persecution of Christianity, which eventually forced Saint Nicholas with the aid of Galius to leave the empire and travel all over the world in his boat, (that he is believed to have constructed through magic.)
He not only battled monsters across the world, but collected other samples of lone and stray Angelic magic to protect and use it against the forces of evil. In time his powers became greater and he was eventually able to use the magic to effectively render himself immortal. He also put together a team of heroes made up from all over the world who became among the most notable and feared demon killers of their age. They included the African warrior queen Abeba, the Caradon (a shark man) named Salko and Edwin, a young man from England whose village had similarly been destroyed by the Dragurs who in many ways became like a son to Saint Nicholas. During this period Nicholas faced Rakon many more times as the vampire attempted to rebuild his power base, with Rakon ironically being just as obsessed with revenge against Saint Nick for how his parents had humiliated him as the priest was against the bloodsucker.
Saint Nick was eventually able to avenge his parents death when Rakon had managed to find an old ritual from Posiedon that could allow him to control the waves. Hundreds of boats were sunk by the monster who hoped to convert the men, but using his magic Saint Nick was able to temporarily rebuke the waves and slay Rakon, restoring order to the oceans. For this he earned the title of the Patron saint of Sailors and travellers.
At some point after several years his team disbanded. Abeba and Edwin fell in love and married, Salko returned to the ocean to help his people and Nicholas was left with only Gallius and not long after Saint Nick's activities caused a group known as the Deaneria, to target him. They were humans gifted angelic powers eons ago after proving themselves. They were in fact the only group of humans the Angels had gifted in such a way who had survived by this stage. Sadly they had also become arrogant after centuries of power and largely cut themselves off from humanity at this stage, viewing the rest of humanity as corrupt and decadent. They only rarely left the paradise island they had created with Angelic magic when there was a crisis that threatened the earth. Saint Nick's actions in some ways shamed them and so they soon contacted him. Saint Nick had heard legends and stories of the Deaneria and like most had viewed them as heroes, however when he was invited to live on their island, he saw the truth of how lazy and decadent they had become and how they had only asked him there out of jealousy, so that his reputation would not outshine theirs. In the centuries since they had been first established the Deaneria's Angelic power had long since become corrupted as well by their own nature to the point where it was now indistinguishable from dark magic.
When he was able to flee their island, the Deaneria caused the death of Galius in the process, which led to Saint Nick vowing revenge. Sadly however the Deaneria worked with the new emperor, Diocletian who had renewed the empire's persecution of Christians to a far greater extent to capture Saint Nick when he returned to Myra (after receiving a false call from help by the town's mayor who was threatened by the Deaneria.)
The Romans were only able to contain Nick thanks to the Deaneria's rituals and aid. Whilst Diocletian wasn't too happy at working with the Deaneria, he at least respected that they would keep out of the way of the Empire.
Saint Nick was imprisoned and brutally tortured for five years under Diocletian's rule, as the Emperor hoped to break him to the point where he would denounce Christ, but Saint Nick remained steadfast in his beliefs, and eventually he was released in 313 by the subsequent Emperor Constantine the Great, who brought an end to the 20 year long great persecution of Christians, instigated by Diocletian. Whilst he never renounced his faith, Saint Nicholas was affected by the years of torture and isolation as well as the betrayal from other so-called followers of Christ that he kept a low profile for a few years until being called on by Constantine to deal with what would become his archenemy, Krampus.
Much like Saint Nick, Krampus in life had come from a wealthy family who collected many powerful magical artifacts and spells, though unlike Saint Nick's family they were corrupt and decadent and used them to take over their home town in Germany of Vanken. Krampus meanwhile was the most wicked and cruel of them all and when he was a teenager, murdered both his parents and his siblings to gain access to their magics. He planned to use an artifact from the ancient Chinese city of Shambhala, that had been built in Tibet by Dragons eons ago. It ultimately fell in their conflict with the gods, but during its heyday it was home to some of the most powerful wizards and witches ever to live on the planet. The legendary time travelling, benevolent vampire, Professor Fang was originally part of the order, before he was turned.
The magics of the Shambhala were designed to help a person reach the highest stage of their existence, but when it was corrupted by enemy agents, it instead did the reverse and degenerated the person to savage beastman known as a Yeti. Most in the city were corrupted this way, leading to the rise of the Yeti in Tibet. In the ensuing centuries the magics that had created the Yetis would make their way to other countries and be used to create more of their kind, leading to sightings of these hideous beast men all over the planet (such as the famous Sasquatch.)
Krampus meanwhile wanted to utilize the artifact from Shambhala, not knowing about the true origin of the Yetis (as most knowledge of the city beyond its old power and status had been lost.) His tampering with it ultimately caused him to degenerate into a hideous beast man, but his experiments with other magics ensured that he did not become a mindless brute like most Yeti. He not only retained his intelligence, but also mutated in further ways, becoming a completely unique, albeit still hideous monstrosity. His own arrogance and greed in tampering with magic that even his vile parents had dared not touch proved to be his undoing and afterwards Krampus spent years trying to find a way to undo the spell. Eventually he came to accept that there was no way to reverse and sought to punish the world that he knew could never accept him. Before whilst he had always been ruthless, in his own twisted mind, Krampus believed that he could recreate Shambhala and avoid its mistakes and that any evil he carried out for that greater cause (including the death of his family) was justified. Ironically he had always looked down on his family because they used magic for petty and vindictive reasons. Now however he dropped any pretense and simply sowed chaos and destruction wherever he went for his own twisted reasons.
The curse he placed on Rome, just a few years after Saint Nicholas' release, was his biggest yet and led to a mass famine throughout the land. Saint Nick had already been called back into action to help deal with the famine in local areas, but when even Rome's greatest hunters and wizards could not curb it, Constantine was forced to go to Saint Nick, who despite his disdain for the Empire nevertheless agreed. It took him many months, which was arguably the hardest period for the empire since the Trajan wars, but he was eventually able to track down Krampus which led to an intense battle between the two that ended in Krampus' defeat. However before Saint Nicholas could finally finish the monster Krampus used his last ounce of power to set fire to a nearby orphanage as he knew that Saint Nick wouldn't pursue him and leave the children. Sure enough the vile monster was able to escape this way, and though Saint Nick rescued most of the children, tragically 20 of them were killed in the attack. Nicholas was so overcome by guilt he broke his most sacred vow, to never resurrect the dead. He knew from his travels how any spell that ever tried to bring back the dead always came with a price and very rarely if ever brought them back as they were, but the guilt became too much for him. He managed to bring all 20 of the children back seemingly without any problems such was his skill. For this alone, he became celebrated throughout Rome and known as the Patron Saint of Children.
He also returned to his travels around the world, renewed with a desire to fight evil, though at first Saint Nick travelled alone on his old magic boat until he was forced to return to the children he had resurrected. When they reached their teens, the magic began to affect them in various ways. Their skin turned white, their eyes turned red and they began to experience unnatural powers as a result of the magic. They were sentenced to death, but fortunately Saint Nick was able to rescue them just before the execution and they fled in his boat. He would spend many years trying to help them and undo the negative effects of the spell, but sadly there was nothing he could do and the 20 orphans were forced to stay with Saint Nick who came to love them as his children.
In the ensuing centuries Saint Nick established two bases, in the North Pole and Greenland, both of which were hidden using magic. From there Saint Nick and the resurrected orphans would construct weapons and spells to help people battle demons and vampires across the world, though he also continued to give gifts to the poor and needy children around the world too. Often the gifts would contain a hidden charm or spell that would help ward off demons, vampires and other creatures. There would also be a Dinosaur sanctuary installed in the 19th century under the Greenland base.
Dinosaurs contrary to what mainstream science tells us are not extinct. (Leaving aside the fact that birds are in fact Dinosaurs.) Many species of Dinosaurs have been revived using magic at various points throughout our history. Indeed Dragons were in fact resurrected Dinosaurs, who were changed via powerful magics. Several of these resurrected Dinosaurs were left scattered around the earth in remote areas and so Santa constructed a thriving, magical jungle environment for them under his base where all stray Dinosaurs could live.
During one of his stays in the North Pole, Santa also discovered a herd of demonic deer-like creatures known as the Noravan. These beasts had been bred by Odin to use as mounts for the Valkyries centuries ago. After the Norse gods had left the earth, they were abandoned and slowly but surely hunted by demons and humans alike. The last herd of them had settled in this area, and Saint Nick decided to look after them, eventually training the beasts to be his loyal pets and helpers. Whilst he was devoted to destroying evil in all its forms, Saint Nick did not view all demons as inherently evil. He absolutely was willing to help and even if possible redeem any demonic creature he could. The Noravan whilst powerful were specifically bred by Odin to not be aggressive which is why they had been slaughtered so easily.
Saint Nick not only taught them to stand up for themselves, but to fly his sled around the world. Again having been bred for the Valkyries the creatures could fly through the air at a tremendous speed and whilst Santa's magical sled could fly on its own, it was only in a slow, deliberate fashion. The Noravan helped pull it across the sky at a tremendous speed. The leader of the pack was Rudolph, who possessed a nose made of hell fire. (There was said to be one in every 100 Noravan that possessed this feature.)
Saint Nick used the Noravan to travel around the world at a much faster and more effective rate than his boat, with his sled also being bigger on the inside than the outside to hold the masses of weapons and spells and gifts he would deposit. Whilst Saint Nick used the Noravan to travel the world throughout the year, his busiest time would be in December, the month of Jesus Christ's birth. The holy energy was strongest at this time of year and so demons and vampires and the dark forces not only fought back to a greater extent, they also hoped to try and corrupt the light magic left by our lord and savior. Therefore not only was Saint Nick forced to deposit more weapons and spells during this time, but he was also forced to take action himself, leading to him often travelling around the entire world in a single night in December, the eve of Christ's birth. He would often leave his spells and gifts in people's houses without the people knowing it, by climbing down the chimney or other small places. Despite Saint Nick's larger than life frame, he accomplished this by using the same magic in his sled, which would expand these small places temporarily in such a way that wouldn't affect the rest of the house. Whilst he fought evil the entire year round, he only placed spells on the night of Christmas eve as if he planted too much magic in any one house at a time it could lead to unpleasant side effects. Also this allowed Saint Nick and his orphans (who many mistook for Elves) time to perfect the demon warding magics, with the enchantments Saint Nick placed in homes and villages having an effect all year round. He also wore a special red suit, constructed by the former Orphans which rendered him immune to many dark spells and powers, and increased his strength as well.
In time this led to Saint Nick becoming more associated with this date and the solstice festival than any other. Stories of a father Christmas spread throughout the world, with his name later being bastardised into Santa Claus. It is believed that Saint Nick himself was responsible for this, as he felt the name Santa would make those who did not share his Christian faith more willing to trust him (as sadly religious tensions in many parts of the world meant his help was often spurned.) Still he always remained a devout man and the name Saint Nick did continue to be known as well.
From the 13th century on Santa became nothing more than a myth to most people, thanks to the demonic vandals. These soul-devouring creatures took over European society from behind the scenes during this time and would suppress knowledge of the supernatural to make humans easier to both rule and hunt. Santa naturally fought against this deception and the vandals themselves, but sadly there was nothing he could do to halt their rule and indeed the demons even temporarily beat him back, forcing him to lay low for many years. After the Vandals rule came to an end in the 17th century, the lie they perpetuated about the supernatural continued for hundreds of years after, and during that time Santa sadly was forced to go along with it as he knew that after so many centuries of humanity believing they were the masters of the world. The existence of vampires, demons and magic would be too much for them. He was therefore forced to fight a silent battle against the supernatural. That said many hunters around the world knew the truth, with many joining the Orphans as part of his workshop in the North Pole to create weapons. He also apparently rubbed shoulders with many famous people, with Freddie Mercury, John Lennon and Amy Winehouse being among his good friends.
The myth of Santa meanwhile was also altered too. The demons, vampires and monsters were removed from most versions of the story to make it more palpable for the masses, and instead Santa became seen primarily as a generous, magical figure who flew around the world giving gifts to children. Ironically the vandals' lie made it impossible for the real Santa to deliver gifts to children as obviously doing so would alert their parents. Instead he could only leave spells to protect them for dark spirits and monsters who still converged around Christmas eve and Christmas day more than any other time of year. Still at the very least the tradition of giving gifts lived on among the general public as did many of the symbols that Saint Nick had used to ward off demons for centuries. Mistletoe for instance was often hung by Saint Nick inside a house as when mixed in with the right magics it could ward off most demonic spirits, whilst similarly Evergreen Conifers could be utilized too, with the spells often causing them to light up in red, blue and yellow colours. All of these would be reflected in modern day Christmas tree and Mistletoe traditions, though obviously the modern versions lacked the power without magic, but Saint Nick was still able to find other more subtle ways to implant protective magics in people's houses during Christmas time without exposing the existence of supernatural from the 14th to 21st centuries.
At some point in the 15th century Saint Nick or Santa found a partner in the form of Sarenia, a warrior woman from the Amazon rainforest. Her tribe were locked in a particularly brutal conflict with a race of tree dwelling vampires called the Asanbosam. Their shaman had been able to contact Santa's base (Which was open to all forms of magical contact at all points.) For help, but sadly by the time he arrived there, the bloodsuckers had destroyed their village. Sarenia was seemingly the only survivor. She was one of their oldest and most seasoned warriors. In fact she was over 300 years old. The greatest warrior in her tribe was blessed with immortality through ancient magics to protect them with a new warrior being chosen whenever the old died. Sarenia had been the longest lived of these warriors, but sadly the vampires were too well organised and even she couldn't repel them. Santa's sled was overrun by the bloodsuckers too, with the Noravan being forced to scatter, leaving Santa alone in the forest. Fortunately Sarenia was able to protect Santa until the Noravan returned and rescued them both.
Santa took Sarenia to his base in Greenland to recover and whilst at first she was almost too broken to go on, in time she was inspired by Saint Nick to continue to fight the good fight against evil around the world and became his partner. Both learned much from the other as fighters and in terms of the supernatural, as whilst Santa had visited her part of the world on his travels many times, he did not have the extensive experience she did.
In time the two eventually fell in love and married. Both had shied away from romance for centuries due to their immortal nature and their devotion to their duty, but both it seemed finally found the right match in each other. Sarenia would endure as part of the myth too, where she became known as Mrs Claus. She didn't mind the myth and even found it quite cute, though she always insisted that she and her husband's larger frames were entirely as a result of muscle and resented the myths for depicting them otherwise.
Sadly Saint Nick and Sarenia faced many recurring threats over their adventures as well. The worst was Krampus, who returned to face Saint Nick many times. The twisted monster was initially obsessed with revenge but after Saint Nick saved his life (solely to gain access to a potion from the ruins of Krampus family vaults that could save Sarenia.) He was genuinely moved and tried to find redemption. Sadly in his twisted mind this involved punishing the wicked on Christmas to ensure that Jesus' positive magic would not be corrupted. This naturally led to further clashes with Saint Nick, with Krampus' hatred only growing to Saint Nick for in his mind, standing in the way of his redemption. Whilst he continued to punish the wicked on Christmas, for the rest of the year he would continue to wage war against Saint Nick and continued to indulge in his own sadistic urges believing that his purge of the wicked on Christmas cleansed his sins throughout the year.
Santa and Sarenia would also face the vampires responsible for the slaughter of their loved ones, the Asanbosam and Rakon who was later resurrected by his followers.
By far Santa's most personal enemy however was Jack Frost. He was originally one of the orphans Saint Nick brought back, but sadly as the centuries wore on the magic that kept them alive began to mutate and alter their bodies. Whilst Saint Nick was able to reverse its effects on most of the orphans, one was too far gone in the North Pole base and fled into the wilderness in his delirium. His body broke down but his spirit survived and merged with the very elements, turning him into a powerful frost spirit. He would go on to travel the world creating frost zombie creatures, though he was only able to function in the coldest countries. Saint Nick tried to help and cure him, but it soon became apparent he would have to put the Frost Spirit to rest and though he was seemingly able to banish him many times, the creature would always somehow manage to return.
Still in spite of these dangers, Santa's war against the supernatural continued until the mid 21st century. Tragically Sarenia would die saving his life in an attack on his North Pole base. Following this Santa found it hard to go on and quietly retired for a number of years until he joined the Circus Family, a group of time travelling reformed demons, vampires as well as aliens and witches who journeyed through time and space in a magic circus battling evil. Saint Nicholas joined the third iteration of the family, though he would stay into the fourth. What became of him on these travels is a story for another time, though he apparently came to settle on an earth colony on Mars in the far future where he reportedly spent his final years making toys for Martian children. His magics did not render him completely immortal, they simply extended his life, but after centuries on earth and through time and space time finally ran out for Saint Nicholas.
There are many great lessons to take away from the life of Saint Nick, but the most important was the one his parents bestowed upon him all those centuries ago, to value generosity and use whatever advantages or privilege he had to help others, one that he not only followed for thousands of years, but inspired and still inspires countless people to do, especially on Christmas.