Madness fills out the circle, and then starts running along the sigils, reaching out into the world and pulling magic into itself to pull forth what those watching the ritual fill itself assumed was a series of crazy chickens. The magic wound through the circles and finally finished. It fell dramatically, creating a circle in the snow that appeared to be a hole to the center of the earth lined by rainbows of Madness.

This had never happened during a summoning before. Out of the hole, a series of gnomish elves climbed out. The short beings looked at the two men, one surrounded by a cloud of spores. Lanetli is shocked, not quite sure how to react he simply stands there. Penjaga and Uhlanya step forward and get down on a knee, attempting to put themselves on their level.

"You haven't seen the weirdest of it yet, mate," says the elf in a gravelly voice before chuckling and walking away. Penjaga looks up just in time to see a series of reindeer fly out of the hole, all harnessed and pulling a sleigh, which flies out behind them, holding a man in red.

"What the fuck. . ." Lanetli says confusion is heavy in his tone and face as he does. The sleigh swoops down before coming to a halt directly in front of Penjaga and his familiar.

Penjaga stands up, Uhlanya taking her silhouette form and standing on his shoulder. A man steps out, wearing similar attire to Lanetli, although they are far less robe-like and far closer to an actual coat. The hat is the same, the boots, and even the pants are the same. The man himself is large, clearly not uselessly fat, but well muscled and bulky, like a powerlifter about a year into their training. The man removes goggles from his eyes, leaving a clear ring of snow around his kind eyes. He boasts a long white beard, a bit messy and unkempt, but all added together making an understanding character.

"Young Madness, and Ancient Time. The two I needed to see." says the large man, his smile causing his blue eyes to squint just a little.

"Who are you?" asks Lanetli. To Penjaga and Uhlanya it seemed obvious. Clearly, Madness had stepped in and summoned a replacement for Lanetli. Penjaga has a distinct feeling that this new St. Nick would stick around for a very long time.

"I'm Santa. Come inside, we have a lot to talk about," he says before starting the trek to the cottage in the middle of nowhere. Uhlanya creates a curtain of spores around her master and he finds himself in the cottage, sitting comfortably on a chair. Uhlanya spreads from under the chair and back to her silhouette on his lap. Lanetli opens the door and steps to the side, holding it open for the burly man behind him. "Many thanks. Now, I'm glad you waited until you were finished to summon me, I have a lot of work to do to prepare for next year," he says, coming in and taking a seat across from Penjaga and Uhlanya. Lanetli pulls a chair from midair and sits it next to his apprentice, facing the new man.

"What do you mean 'to prepare for next year'?" asks Lanetli.

"He's Santa, he's gonna build and distribute toys every year," says Penjaga in a matter-of-fact tone.

"I'm Santa, kid," he responds.

"Not anymore. I was prepared in another world, your Madness reached over to a similar world and prepared a Faith mage, myself, to take over for you." says the large man.

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"What do you mean?" asks Lanetli, choking up as tears start running down his face. He's not ready to accept this gift, he's spent too long thinking it would never happen. Now a stranger says he can take the burden? Fat chance.

"I know what you've done. The horrors. But the good outweighs the evil. I have Faith that anyone can be better, given Time, and you have had much more than you needed." he says, standing and crossing the small room. Lanetli, a twig of a man in comparison, stands as well, tears streaming freely down his face.

"I'm forgiven?" Lanetli asks quietly, as if afraid of the answer.

"You've been forgiven in my eyes for a millennium," Santa responds, hugging the man that so clearly needs it. The two squeeze each other with strength only magi can summon. "I, Santa Clause, representative of Faith, and purveyor of forgiveness, take upon myself the Curse of Balance in place on Lanetli Nicholas, representative of Time, and life of eternity."

The two don't stop hugging during this wonderful, heartwarming experience, and Lanetli just says "Thank you. . ." before a light springs up between the two, a balance forming above both, clearly tilted to the side with the "wrongdoings" of Lanetli. The light is taken in entirely by Santa, who then holds Lanetli at arm's length.

"You are ready to ascend, my boy," he says.

"My work's not done yet," he says, wiping tears from his eyes and turning to Penjaga. "I need you to train me up a new Time mage, alright? I need them to ascend and take my place in the pyramid as soon as possible so I can save Elysia. Can you do that?" he asks.

"Sure thing boss," says Penjaga, who had watched the interaction from the sidelines like a movie. Uhlanya even mimed clapping, shaking the tendrils of spores wildly.

"Here are three testing orbs, in case the testing breaks a few. That book might have designs for them too, so don't stop trying to get it open," says Lanetli, who pulls out orbs from nowhere.

Then a giant glowing green minotaur appears in the room, the perfect size for the room, horns nearly scraping the ceiling. The same minotaur that was in the pyramid when Lanetli had portalled them to his cottage. "Now is when you take my place and incarnate. It is TIME for you to become the eternity that you had exemplified for so many years." says the icon.

"I promise. I will find someone to replace you, don't worry about that," says Penjaga.

"I believe in you. Thank you, Penjaga. Thank you for everything. None of this would have happened if some freak of a kid hadn't ignored the laws of magic and moved through a time stop." Lanetli says, hugging the boy, who had stood. There was a clucking heard from behind the icon of Time, and Major General Bakaw steps out from behind the minotaur. "Major General. You helped me when my mind was broken. You were there for me for all these years. But we can't continue together anymore. You'll dissolve into magic when I leave, and you won't remember this, but I love you. Thank all of you."

"You have said your goodbyes. You have eternity to see them again, and they will fall to your blade, brother. It is TIME." says the icon.

Lanetli turns to the icon, a smile splitting his face, even as more tears of pure joy roll down his face. "I'm ready to go," he says. The minotaur dissolves into green light, while Lanetli seems to expand before blurring and becoming one with the world. With every second that ticks by, Penjaga can feel Lanetli's gratitude from then on.

"Do you need a ride back, Madness?" asks Santa.

"No, but I want one," says Penjaga eagerly. Santa laughs and hops into his sleigh, motioning the boy and his familiar to join him. They pick up the orbs from the ground and joyously hop into the back of the sleigh.

Santa snaps the reins and the reindeer shoot off into the night, pulling the sleigh behind them. After a short ride, Penjaga arrives home, giggling from the joy ride. "Be good now, I'm not as careless as Lanetli was," says Santa playfully, although it's clear that he's not completely joking. Penjaga laughs and jumps from the roof, finding himself sitting on his couch and looking out the window.

Santa and his reindeer are silhouetted against the full moon, and an amplified voice shouts out in a deep tone, "Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night!"