Christmas RP

[RedxXxDawn]

One night, over a large city in the northern polar region, an unusually big and bright star had suddenly appeared in the sky. Or at least the people there had assumed it was a star. People all over the city of Polaris came outside in the cold winter night, and gathered together. Bright faces filled with hope lit up the entire crowd. Together they sung peaceful hymns to greet the star with as a warm welcoming, and many held up various offerings. The people of Polaris believed what they were seeing was the North Star, which would bring forth angelic beings, and rain down gifts and treats for them.

But Santa knew better. Although usually bright and cheerful himself, he was not as quick to behold the divine gifts that may or may not come. For he remembered what had happened the last time that star had shone. Whether or not it was even a star at all, he had yet to figure out. Astrology was not one of his strong points, so he left such technicalities to his wife. Quickly preparing himself, Santa flipped a switch that activated the red alert system. An alarm sounded throughout his entire base, which echoed through the city as well. He made his announcement to his army through a loudspeaker. "Attention, attention!" he began, with a voice as big as the sea. "All troupes, ready your weapons and prepare immediately! Red alert, I repeat, this is a red alert emergency! That North Star is not what the people think it is! It is a portal to another world, where a new enemy will emerge and strike. Their numbers are sure to be enormous, and they are powerful beings who can use dark magics. Yes, you heard me, they wield dark magic! Grab your weapons, armor, magic tomes and artifacts, and everything else you'll need and prepare yourselves for the battle of a lifetime. Your generals will be given instructions for your positions, orders and other specifics."

After that announcement was made, he made a separate one to the townsfolk through a news broadcast. It was a warning of the threat to come, and an order for the civilians to evacuate at once. The warning was advertised on live television that interrupted each and every program, all radio stations, on people's iPhones, so forth. But to Santa's surprise and horror, not one of the civilians complied. They remained outside under the North Star, which brightened the inky black sky enough to make it seem like a new moon.


Cella was outside her home when she heard the announcement, basking in the radiant starlight with the rest of the neighborhood. She was about to put her iPhone away after taking a picture of the North Star, but then she got a message. Opening her inbox, she heard the announcement replay itself again, and order her to report to the base. Putting her iPhone away, she sighed and moaned her annoyance at the whole thing. She was supposed to have the day off. And today of all days, when she thought the North Star would bring the people gifts. What a terrible thing to miss out on, but when duty calls duty calls.
Almost grudgingly, she went home and put on her green tunic. Units in Santa's forces who wore green were considered lesser ranks, not that Cella minded or anything. Taking up her bow, quiver and other supplies, she headed to the base to receive her orders.


****


When Cella arrived, she saw many others there waiting in unison. Some commanders were already barking orders at their troops, some were not even present yet. Her commander was Saint Nick himself, who had yet to arrive. She began to wonder exactly what this new threat was. Dark magics? she mused. Of all things, dark magic? From people that come from the North Star? This isn't fair, she grumbled inwardly, unaware that it showed. I was really looking forward to what good things were being offered, too...
There, she waited for Santa and the rest of her squad to arrive.

[Moonshine]

Vyrn strode into camp, leading Ferhint, her horse, behind her. The notice had gone out through the forest that the North Star had emerged again, bringing with it darkness. "How ironic," Vyrn muttered to Ferhint, "that the North Star, the absolute brightest, is the holder of the most dark magic. Hmph. That's our luck." A bright yellow banner announcing that "REGISTER HERE FOR SAINT NICKS FORCES" caught her eye. Others were milling around waiting for someone to take charge and organize their cluttered ranks.

[lantgreen]

Bill was sleeping in his private workshop, where he builds and fixes weaponry for the army, when the alarm sounded off. He wasn't happy at all at the sound and groggily got out of his bed and stumbled to the door. Next to his door was his gear and he dressed himself before heading out. He placed his hand in front of his face to block some of the sun till his eyes adjusted. He looked around and saw all the platoons being commanded by their officers and some without. He adjusted his armor and weight of his gear before walking towards the location where he would meet his C.O. Santa. He spotted his snow elf comrade waiting for their C.O. as well, and spoke to her and his groggily morning tone, "Mornin' Cella, what's goin' on?"

[Moonshine]

Noticing that a group of rather important people were gathering, she walked over to them. "I'm Vryn, and I was sent here to represent the Forest Elves. I was hoping you could give me some direction." She staked her horse to the ground while waiting for a reply.

[RedxXxDawn]

"Oh, hi Bill!" Cella replied to the dwarf. "Not exactly sure what's going on, but it sure looks big. You see that bright star up there?" she said, pointing up. "You'd think it would be the last thing that can deliver darkness, right? I wonder why the general says it's so dangerous? I mean, it looks so bright and all.." Disappointment dripped from her tone as she said that. She was looking forward to the gifts that would rain down on the people, but now was being warned that it was evil? She wanted to believe that Santa was wrong, and even tried to convince herself that he was. But Saint Nick was a very wise individual. He was not one to cry wolf when there was no threat. And he certainly was not selfish enough to evacuate the city just to harvest all of the spoils for himself. Cella had never known any one person that selfish, for the people of Polaris were typically generous and kind.

Some of the captains had arrived now. All were dressed in red; whether clad in armor, tunics, leather or robes. Those who wore red were considered high-ranking officers, and were usually in charge of a squad or larger-scale project. Those who wore green; whether tunics, armor, etc. were the lower ranks. Like Cella. She heard the commanders assimilate their soldiers and go over plans of positioning, attack, retreat, and more. But where was the one commanding Cella's squad? Cella breathed in, then out, then mentally told herself that he would be there soon.

Then Cella noticed the forest elf approach. "R-right!" she replied suddenly attentively. "Are you a new recruit? Our commander is General Claus. Right now it looks like we're in a bit of an emergency, here, though no threat has presented itself yet. The commander of our squadron is Saint Nick himself. Trust me, you'll like him. Everybody does! -Ah! Speak of the devil!"

That was when the commander had arrived. A burly knight clad in bright red armor with platinum white trims, a dark red cape billowing behind him, Santa's heavy boots clanged loudly as he walked down the metal steps. An enormous sword was strapped to his back, and a was axe hooked into his belt. Tall but not giant, proud but not vain, he held his head up high, snow white beard flowing down in front of him. He stood before his squad and nodded. "Atten.. tion!" he snapped.

All of his squad mates lined up right away. They stood in order of ranks, lowest to highest from left to right. Only one person stood to Cella's left, making her the second-lowest rank in the squad. "Do not let that bright star fool you, my children," General Claus began. "Today is grim, and there will probably be many losses and a terrible aftermath when this is over. That 'North Star' is actually a gateway to another world. A world filled with devils. Creatures of pure evil whose malice knows no bounds; horrid monstrosities found only in the deepest depths of children's nightmares. They will come. An evacuation is already in progress, but so far the people are refusing to comply. They are deluded by this phenomenon, thinking it will rain gifts down when the devils will be coming. These devils are the same foul creatures I have banished from over two thousand years ago; during the last Christmas war. And now, they are about to return. The devils are roughly humanoid in shape, but they vary greatly in sizes; like the whovillians tend to be."

It was true. Whoville people did have a very wide range of sizes. Some were tiny enough to fit in the palm of an adult human hand, others were large enough to eat that hand and swallow it in a single gulp. "As ugly as these devils are," General Claus continued, "they are also intelligent beings. Intelligent enough to craft their own weapons and wield dark magic; the most difficult art of magic for anyone born of this world to utilize. But for them it is not difficult at all, for the devils have a natural affinity for it. But fortunately, they rarely wield any other types of magic. And back then they did not have all of the same weapons that we have today. They lack the guns, tanks and missiles that we arm ourselves with, but are still capable of using swords, bows, and the like."

Santa blinked. "Our top priority is to save the people. Defeating the devils is important too, but the lives of our people come first. Knowing that the people will likely change their minds about staying there once they see for themselves the threat at hand, we have multiple escape routes set up in advance. We are also positioning lots of snowmobile transports, planes, and other means of escape to carry large amounts of people to aid in their escape." He drew forth a large map, unrolled it and presented it to the whole squad. "Now, we are to remain at Nav Point Alpha," he said, pointing to a white spot on the map. "From that point, we will attack the devils once the signal is given. We also want to provide cover fire for the people when they revert to the escape route tunnels and vehicles. Everybody got that?"


***


One hour passed. In that time, Santa's people had all taken positions and the escape vehicles and transports had all been prepared, started, and readied to take off at any minute. This was the calm before the battle. Santa's squad was the one to remain closest to where the people were, which was on top of one of the many hills and cliffs that loomed over the city. He informed his squad previously that he will be leading them in a downhill charge to meet the devils head on. Tightly gripping the hilt of his sword in anticipation, Santa's eyes squinted from the brightness of the North Stat. Cella took one last moment to check her equipment to make sure she had everything, and she did. She then had an arrow nocked and ready, aimed at the North Star itself.

Which seemed to be... growing? No, falling. The North Star was falling from the sky. Not crashing down like a meteor but slowly descending, its luminous aura pulsating with life making it look all the more heavenly. In mere moments, the star was directly above the city. In a spot thousands of feet in the air, it finally came to a halt. A brief silence hung in the air. It seemed as though time itself had stopped, if not for the flickering and pulsating of the star above the city.

Then a figure emerged from the heavenly body. Slowly descending from the star was a beautiful woman with long blonde hair, clad in flowing white robes. A thin golden circle shone above her head, which, like the star she had come from, also pulsated from its own radiant aura. White feathered wings spread outward from her back, allowing her to glide down to the people.
Many gasps had come from the townsfolk below, and some from Santa's people. "Well, I'll be darned..." mused Santa in a whisper.
The angel floated down to the first person in her path. A wealthy human roughly in his thirties or forties stood with open arms and a welcoming smile, ready to be the first to receive her divine gift.
And that he did.

But her gift was far from divine. Far from kind, or even humane. He did not scream when the blow came. His body simply fell limp. Only when he hit the ground did the people see that his head had been cleaved vertically in two, grey and red matter pouring from his open skull and being absorbed into the snow.
Holding a bloodied war axe, the angel laughed. All the raucous birds and summer insects could not equal the sound. The people gasped in horror. Some screamed.

But it did not end there. The star's shining light immediately began to fade, but was otherwise present and still bright. The angel's robe had suddenly rotted away, her skin shattered like glass, and her true form was revealed. No, Cella realized. Not her. It. Beneath her divine exterior was an ugly, fetid, disease-ridden thing. Its skin was that of a human's, but the shape of its body was wrong. Its head hunched forward instead of upright, and its arms were longer than its legs. A black scaly tube snaked from the rear-side of its head to where one would guess its kidney was located. On the other side of its head was an empty, smoking crater. Smiling with a exaggeratedly wide mouth, the devil bore rows of dozens of sharp teeth. It had no visible eyes, but the sadism it felt was made clear from its chittering laughter. With an arm too long to be human, the devil made a single swipe at the next person it saw. The person could not react in time, and was sent sprawling away.

The people screamed and began to flee, but the terror did not end there. More of the devils had descended from the star. Some floated down slowly, some were simply dropped carelessly. More of them came. All those that emerged began wreaking havoc amongst the peoples. Then they began pouring from the star by the dozen by the dozen. Then by what looked to Cella like the hundreds.

"Now!" General Claus shouted. "Advance!" Leading the downhill charge, Santa drew his immense sword from its scabbard. The double-sided blade was just as sharp and heav as it was beautiful. Cella would have found its platinum brightness a bit of a distraction if not for the North Star to compare it to. With his squadron right behind him, Santa fearlessly attacked the first devil he saw. With a sword slightly longer than he was tall, Saint Nick cleaved the devil right through. Inky black blood spewed from its body as it fell in two on the snow.

Cella was not far from the general when she fired her first two arrows. One arrow bit into a devil's eye, blinding it since that was the only eye it had. The other arrow stabbed another in the heart, and it fell limp then and there. As she fired more arrows, Cella was finding that not all of the devils were as easy to slay. Some of their bodies were so twisted and misshapen that she had difficulty finding where their weak points were. The devils were so individual, so very different in their shapes and sizes. More so in their shapes. One of them had an extra set of arms, which it used to wield a sword, spear, axe and a mace. Another devil had a gnarled mass of a body. From its pores, quills were spewed at Santa's soldiers.

Cella decided to stay away from the latter for now, and tried to clear a path for the people darting toward the nearest escape tunnel. Other squads from different locations were doing similar things to aid in the people's evacuation.

[Moonshine]

(( oh dang. I honestly am going to have to withdraw from this. This is way over my head, and I also have several other rps going on at the moment. I am terribly terribly sorry. ))

[RedxXxDawn]

(I'm sorry to hear that, but thank you for telling us)

[lantgreen]

(I read some of it last night, I'll continue in a bit, and if you could, tone it down a bit)

[RedxXxDawn]

(I read some of it last night, I'll continue in a bit, and if you could, tone it down a bit)

I don't understand. What's the matter?

[lantgreen]

It's an advance post and you're working two scenes in one post, that post could have easily been worked between us and made into 3 pages, it's like you're advancing in the story too fast and too much